Touch ☞☜ Phan

Chapter Four

"Hey, guys, I'm Phil, and I'm an actual saint! I love plants and animals. Hey, I'm gonna get you friends, bro. Wow, I'm so great."

"Hi, so, my name is Dan. Friends? All I have by my side is depression," Phil says. We've been doing impressions of each other all hour.

Mr. Doug approaches Phil and me with a gigantic grin on his face. "I see that you two are getting along," he says, winking.  "I wish that the other desk neighbors could be getting along this well."

"Do you think Mr. Doug believes that we're together?," Phil asks once Mr. Doug leaves.

"What?"

"Mr. Doug winked at us when he said he noticed that we've been getting along."

"Oh, I don't know.  Do you think Mr. Doug is gay?," I ask.

"I don't know.  I hope so.  That'd be cool."

I nod in agreement.

"Hey, we should talk to somebody and make today's friend," Phil suggests.

I look around the room.  My eyes fall on somebody. Her hair is wavy and a strawberry blonde color.  She has glitter in her hair and glittery makeup on her face.  Her dangly earrings are massive, pink, and shaped like crescent moons.  She's wearing a pink cardigan sweater that has specks of silver glitter all over it.

"Let's go talk to her," I say to Phil, discretely pointing.

"She looks like a Tumblr model," Phil comments.  He gets up and walks over to her.  I follow.

"Hey, what's your name?," Phil asks.

She blushes.  "Amelia.  What's yours?"

"Phil," the new boy replies as Amelia shakes his hand.

"I'm Dan," I say as Amelia shakes my hand.  When I scratch my arm, "acquaintance" appears in the air.  The word "curiosity" follows.

I wish that I could have a more useful power.  This one doesn't enable me to save the world or anything.

"What's up?," Amelia asks.

"Dan and I need friends," Phil says bluntly.

"Same," Amelia says.

"What's your favorite color?"

"Oh, erm, any pastel, I guess. Black's also pretty rad."

"What's your favorite animal?," Phil asks.

Amelia laughs. "Is this an interrogation?"

"I'm attempting to begin a conversation," Phil says.

"I love frogs. Well, I guess it's my turn to ask a question now."

"Okay."

"Why'd you choose me to become friends with?"

I shrug. "You stood out."

Amelia blushes again, her cheeks matching the color of her cardigan sweater.

"Do you have Tumblr?," Phil asks.

Amelia nods.

Phil laughs.  "Wow, I never would've guessed."

"I'm not as predictable as you probably expect me to be," Amelia insists.

"I wouldn't call anybody predictable," Phil says. "Nobody is consistent."

"That's a good point," I say.

"I party," Amelia says. "You wouldn't have expected that from a Tumblr user. There's a party that I'll be attending tonight, actually."

"Ooh, Dan and I want to go," Phil says, which causes me to glare at him for the first time ever.

Amelia shows Phil the address on her phone, and Phil copies it down.

The bell dismisses us from class, and Phil and I exchange our goodbyes with Amelia. "See you guys at the party," she says.

"Are you going to try to date Amelia?," Phil asks once we take our seats in the cafeteria.

I shake my head. "No."

"Are you sure? Amelia also is in need of friends and likes black. You must've found something to like pertaining to her. I mean, you pointed her out to me. You told her that she stood out to you."

"I don't want to date Amelia, Phil. I pointed her out to you since I thought she looked interesting. You wanted to make a friend."

"Why are you lying to me?," Phil asks. He genuinely appears upset.

"I promise I'm not lying, Phil." Why is there so much tension between Phil and me right now?

"Okay, I believe you. Should we go to that party?"

"No, Phil. I have to babysit tonight anyway."

"When tonight?"

"From four to seven," I reply.

Phil laughs. "The party starts at eight. Can I help you babysit?"

I contemplate this. I mean, I can use the help. "I guess."

"I drove to school since my dad was sick and didn't need the car this morning. I can drive you to the kids' house after school," Phil offers.

"Okay," I reply.

"I can also drive you to the party."

I roll my eyes, but I can't help but smile. Perhaps attending a party won't be so bad with Phil by my side.