Survival of the Unfit

Chapter 17

April

I sighed and tied my apron on before hopping the counter, heading over to none other than Levi Wolfe seated at table four with a pile of homework and lemonade in hand, looking like a deer caught in the headlights. What could he possibly want? I had no cupcakes to ice at the moment, just some cookies that needed sprinkles (which would take seconds) and a cake in the back, but I really wasn’t planning on running into him at work. Work was my sanctuary.

I took a seat across from him and pulled my hair into a bun as he stared at me in shock. Taking the lavender elastic headband off my wrist, I slipped it on and asked, “What?”

“Er, I don’t, uh, know,” he stuttered out. I narrowed my eyes in annoyance before focusing on putting stray pieces of hair back in my bun. But it was weird to see him in a more friendly setting.

I noticed his Joy Division shirt and perked up a little. “Hey, I like that band too.”

He didn’t say anything for a moment, still in a state of shock until he shook his head the slightest and asked, “Sorry, what?”

“Your shirt. The band on your shirt. I like it.” I nodded towards the familiar logo. He looked down at it and took a second for him to realize what he was wearing. What was up with him today. “Joy Division,” I elaborated. “Unknown Pleasures is a good album.”

“Yeah,” he mumbled, staring at his shirt. “Yeah, yeah they are.” He picked his head up abruptly. “I uh, mean it is.”

I chuckled and pulled his physics book towards me, leafing through the pages. “What’s gotten into you today? It’s as if I…” I paused and looked up, raising an eyebrow and smirking. “Intimidate you.”

He scoffed and got a reading packet from a folder, putting his name on the top and starting the questions, finally back to his normal self after a snarky comment. “Not even in your dreams will you intimidate me, Swanson.”

I frowned. “I thought we agreed on April.”

“April, sorry.” He continued doing questions, unfazed. God, what was up with him.         

I shook my head around and went back to looking through his textbook. “What did you need me for?”

He sighed and wiggled his pencil, looking up at me from his homework. “Just to talk.”

Again, I stopped and stared at him questionably, blue eyes wide and innocent for once. “To talk.”

“Yep.” He reached over and slammed his physics book shut on the page I was reading. “I want to know pre-heroine April.”

I snorted. “I never got into drugs, for one. And she was a simple loser from New York. With a friend.” I glanced at my hands and the table, remembering days with afterschool salads again and conversations about Caesar.

“Where in New York?” he politely questioned.

“Far west side, near Pennsylvania and Lake Erie,” I responded. “Town called Winterwell, considerably smaller school than here.” I waited for the Game of Thrones reference, but strangely enough, there wasn’t one.

“Why did you move down here?” he continued.

“Nicer weather. Job opportunity. That kind of thing.”

“Do you like it better?”

“Considering I can die at almost any moment, not really.” I took his lemonade and opened the lid, pausing to ask before taking a sip. “Can I…?”

“Go ahead,” he said, moving down a question on his paper, not regarding me. “And you can use the straw, I don’t have cooties.”

“Cooties are STDs once you get to high school,” I commented, taking a drink.