Indra's Heart

TWO | 02

One Party, One Night

⋆⁺₊⋆ ☾⋆⁺₊⋆

"Okay, you were right. I shouldn't have lied."

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Will huffs, shoving a couple of fries into his mouth as he hollowly looks past my head at the hive of students searching for a place to divulge in the cafeteria's mediocre slop.

"He doesn't do anything but drag everybody else down with him, and you walked right into it like a dummy."

His eyes refocus on mine. I look away.

Truthfully, I don't know why I vouched for Corvin. Maybe it was the pressure of it all. Or maybe Will is right and I'm only book smart.

"Next time, put his lame ass in his place and stop thinkin' that you can save everybody, Drew."

"Hey, y'all." My other best-friend saunters
towards us, lunch tray in hand, and I'm grateful for the interruption. More than a couple of heads turn to watch her and it's understandable; Sierra Charles is a sight to see.

Her sandy brown hair is pulled into a high ponytail that's been curled at the ends and slicked down in the front. The delicate spray of freckles across her button nose and cheek bones are fully visible on her light brown skin, a telltale that she's gone without makeup.

"Wassup, Si." I bump fists with her as she settles into the seat next to Will, diagonal from me.

"Well hello to you too, William." She acknowledges his rude silence with a playful nudge.

He nods.

"Anyway." Sierra exhales, taking a generous bite out of a red apple.

We quickly fall into discussion about last weekend's excursions, and her hazel eyes nearly pop out of her head when I mention that there's going to be a sequel to that garbage horror film.

"Wow, it's really our last year in this place. Seems like just yesterday you trampled me in the hallway." She taps her painted fingernails on the table and I smile at the seventh-grade memory.

Will had taken my left shoe while I was getting dressed after gym class and I dashed down the hallway after him, completely knocking over this scrawny new student and scattering all of her books.

"I'm just glad you had a sense of humor."
Being that she wasn't hurt or angry, Sierra accepted my apology in a heartbeat and together we got my shoe back. Running in the hallway did land the three of us in detention though. Thirteen-year-old Will and I decided then that she was the coolest girl ever.

"I caught so much hell for getting in trouble on my first day and cracking the lens on my glasses." She giggles, imitating the harsh language that poured from Ms. Leala's mouth when she retrieved her daughter after school.

"Nah, I'm the one who got cussed out for 'hitting a girl.' Had me scrambling trying to explain that to my family." Another exaggerated detail on Mrs. Fields' part. "She acted like I punched you in the mouth."

Deep laughter erupts from the both of us, and I even see Will biting back a smile. Those days seem so long ago to me. Things have changed.
Puberty kicked in the summer before eleventh grade. Suddenly, my arms weren't as bony and there's no longer a need for Sierra's giant bifocals after her corrective eye surgery. Will has slightly bulked up from sports. And just like that, we are twisting the doorknob to early adulthood.