Sage & Vera

2:45 PM

twenty
Sage|Vera

Sage distracted himself by chewing on the tip of his mechanical pencil. There were fifteen minutes left in class, but the entire lecture felt like five years. He seriously hated taking Economics, and didn't know why he was forced into taking this stupid class because "enough students weren't interested". Sage hid away his scowl when his academic advisor told him he would perform well in Econ, and there would be nothing too difficult for him to deal with during his senior year in high school. Economics wasn't hard at all, in Sage's opinion. But he thought it was a total waste of time. He had no interest in class, and often had to fake his enthusiasm when the teacher silently thanked him for all of his constant participation. The class was boring. In the nicest and most spiteful way, the class was absolutely boring.

Sage spent most of his time daydreaming, his thoughts slipping away from his class lecture and thinking of Vera. He was beginning to miss her when he had to go to school, or didn't have time to hang out with her after because of exams, college applications, or just life simply getting in the way. He would think of her gray hair that made her look like such a bad ass, and how easy it was to hold her in his arms when he would pick her up and run down streets of snow. He missed the sound of her laugh when she made the most ridiculous jokes. He never met someone who genuinely liked to laugh at their own nonsense, and adored the fact that Vera was unlike anyone he has ever met before. She was smart, she was caring. She was weird and fun. Beautiful, annoying, and frustrating. She was everything and more to him.

He wanted to run his fingers through her hair. Learn how to braid it, and make it smell just as good as she makes it smell on a daily basis. He wanted to give her advice, the same kind of comfort and sincerity she offered him when they first met. She deserved it. She also deserved happiness. And Sage really wanted to be the person  to give her that happiness. He was smiling to himself without realizing it, and already had the plan to call her and ask her if she wanted to hang out with him today. As soon as the final bell rang, he would do it.

When Sage glanced up at the clock, he noticed that the fifteen minutes turned into five. ❝Great job today, guys. Make sure you check your emails, because I will be sending over the PDFs for tonight's homework assignment. And there is also an essay due Friday at midnight, so make sure you find enough time to submit something authentic, and not rushed. Or plagiarized. Have a great rest of your day!❞ Mrs. Anderson's voice, Sage's teacher, suddenly filled his ears and forced him out of his thoughts. She was ending class five minutes early today.

Sage didn't rush, unlike everyone else. He slipped out of his chair and grabbed his bag, slipping in his laptop and notebook before pulling the arms of his coat on his shoulders. Looking for his AirPods, he pulled them out from their case and pushed them into his ears, and found a song to play from his playlist. September Song by JP Cooper began, and Sage felt himself pause for a moment as his mind slipped back to a distant memory, of him and Vera dancing to this exact song. He smiled again, his cheeks feeling somewhat hot when he reached for his bag. He waved a goodbye to Mrs. Anderson and let himself drown into the sound of the song. As he made his way to the school exit, he nodded his head or did a tiny wave to the people who beamed at him or waved eagerly. He was proud of how well he was able to hide that he hated this place.

Sage didn't hear the slight commotion outside, of his classmates standing out the door. Many were waiting for other students to get out, or their parents to pick them up, but Sage noticed that he had to shimmy himself through the small sea of classmates and stopped short when he noticed what everyone was staring at, but not really staring at. Like trying to know what's going on without being too nosey. Vera was sitting on the steps, looking down at her phone screen. She wasn't wearing a coat, as if they weren't in the middle of winter. Her hair was pulled up in a loose bun with bangs falling into her eyes, and wore... Sage couldn't even get to really see it because she was slouching as she sat, a sign sitting on her lap. Here for Sage the Babe. AKA Roof Boy. AKA Him. She was here for him.