The Gradebook

Chapter 6: Table For Two

CHAPTER 6: TABLE FOR TWO

And so, instinctively once again, I did something quite embarrassing. I spewed out my coffee right on his face.

“Whoops,” I croaked, feeling intimidated by his angry expression. I sent him a sheepish smile, and then gazed over to the only other seat left beside the table.

He must’ve seen my skeptical look, because he scoffed and said, “Oh, well. Just your luck, eh?”

“What are the chances?” I said, harshly staring down his perfectly innocent refreshment. He grabbed a napkin off the table and roughly rubbed off the remainder of cream that hadn’t already soaked into his skin, giving him the appearance of a human cappuccino. I giggled at that thought.

“Oh, so now you think it’s funny, too? You’re the sweetest person out there, Mia,” Ethan said, with a shake of his head. I was almost afraid shame would bubble up inside me, but good riddance I haven’t felt that for a long time.

“I’m glad you finally noticed,” my eyebrow rose up when I said that, the amount of sarcasm he delivered over the years really getting under my skin.

Realizing I’d been hovering beside the table like a sketchy suspect, I slid onto the gingham seat. Ethan sat opposite me, and he seemed to be pleading for my absence as much as I did his. Never have I wanted to be so alone.

“Excuse me? Well, if that’s the case, I couldn’t have put it better myself,” Ethan drawled slowly between sips of the beverage he had. Blame my thoughts that had the tendency to speak its mind out loud.

I would’ve left, but one quick glance at the window beside me, which was foggy to the max, told me that driving somewhere else would be an almost impossible feat.

“What’d you order?”

“An espresso. Helps calm my nerves,” Ethan responded.

My look morphed into one of confusion. “I thought coffee does the opposite? Keeps you buzzed?”

“I guess I’m a unique person.”

“You got that right, Ethan,” I told him. My phone went off, and I growled in frustration as I saw Audrey had sent me a text. About her romantic interest. Like I cared.

“Nice picture, Mia,” Ethan chuckled.

With a groan, I looked down at my cell phone wallpaper. I definitely had the brains to put a picture of my fourteenth birthday party, where I had the ugliest looking makeup plastered all over my face, and Alec had his own smeared with Revlon lipstick. Audrey and Stella were giggling in the background, and a whole bunch of other kids roamed the picture too.

“Yep, it’s an once-in-a-lifetime snapshot,” I said with embarrassment.

“Yeah, it is pretty rare, considering you never wear short shorts.”

“Do I sense sarcasm?”