Over the Wall: A Collection of Short Stories (NaNoWriMo 2014)

Day 20: Chocolate Chips and Cagney's Girl

Note: This is sort of a short one since it was to make up for not writing on exactly November 20th because I am going to go see Mockingjay and they're doing a marathon of the movies at the movie theater so I will have like no time. Hope you enjoy :)

She had long since memorized the back of his head. So much that she could pick the back of his head out of a line up or see him across a crowd. Not that it was a useful skill. He barely knew she existed. Well, he knew she existed but not in the context she wanted him to know she existed.

He, Cagney, sat two rows up from her and one seat left, a perfect angle. They were in APUSH (Advanced Placement United States History), it was called APUSH to save the precious time of the students who had no time to spare, and it was a class that was filled with people they had both known since kindergarten, almost. At least they had known everyone long enough. It was a good class, especially since it was in the morning when it was still almost dark out.

She didn’t know why exactly she loved having the class in the morning. It was just cozy somehow. For one, there were the people she had known forever. It wasn’t like some classes where you sat there awkwardly for a long time not knowing everyone until about halfway through the year when you finally got comfortable but still couldn’t really talk to them. With these people she could talk as little as she wanted, or as much as she wanted, or whatever she felt like. She had known these people long enough to not have to worry about this. Of course that didn’t help her in her other classes when she showed up looking homeless to her morning classes it didn’t help in her afternoon classes when she had people she didn’t really know in there.

For another, it was dark and warm in the classroom. Especially now, when it was very cold outside and no one wanted to be outside for longer than they had to, it was nice to run into a dark and warm classroom. It didn’t help her when she was very tired and almost fell asleep but it was still nice.

The last reason was Cagney. Such an old fashioned name but he was an old fashioned kind of handsome. He was so very handsome. He sort of looked like one of those guys you see in old fashioned photographs, the ones of the guys in the army from World War II and stuff. Well, if those guys wore jeans and long-sleeved t-shirts. It worked though. Somehow it worked for him.

At that moment she was supposed to be paying attention to the lecture on the Civil War. Usually she enjoyed these lectures, she really liked her teacher and her teacher’s lectures, but today they had a sub. She hated those kinds of subs. Regular subs were okay since they usually just sat there and everyone pretended to do their busy work before launching into non-school stuff but this sub was actually trying to teach.

He wasn’t doing a very good job at teaching either. He was just droning on and on about how the election of 1860 being the catalyst of the secession of the South and the Civil War but it wasn’t interesting at all. She was practically fallen asleep three times even though she wasn’t even warm and cozy anymore.

She had taken off her thick jacket and her cardigan and was only left in a long sleeved t-shirt and she was getting pretty cold but she was still not able to stay awake. It was dark and the sub had the projector on but she decided to finally put her cardigan back on so she could at least be warm while she fought sleep. Maybe she should just put her hair up, it was getting all annoying laying on her neck like that.

She turned to her friend, Tracy, who was sitting next to her who already had her head on her desk resting on her crumpled up jacket. Tracy was no help in situations like these.

She had known Tracy since the first grade when they were lumped together since it was alphabetical order. They had become fast friends since she was pretty quiet but Tracy was the kid who caused havoc around the classroom and glued her hands together. They had a cliche ying-yang relationship going on, they were a regular movie friendship.

Tracy been there for her for years. She had been there when her parents had gotten divorced in the fourth grade, when Mitch Grayson had called her a bitch in the seventh grade, and even when they had met Cagney in ninth grade. Tracy had been there for everything and she could not live without her. She was very scared for when they graduated in a few months. They didn’t speak of it.

She turned from Tracy and turned back to the front of the classroom and tried to pay attention as well as she could. It was so so boring. She just couldn’t wait until this class was finally over and she could finally go home.

...

The quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, she thinks hopefully as she makes the chocolate chip cookie dough.

Friends of hers are coming over to watch a movie tonight and she hopes Cagney will come. And likes chocolate chip cookies. Tracy comes and sits at the counter as she eyes her suspiciously.

"You do realize we have enough food right? We don't need cookies. Everyone brought enough."

"But I didn't make anything." She says stubbornly, trying to picture him eating and loving the cookies. She blushes just thinking if him. She thinks about how pathetic she is. Tracy grins.

"Oh, I see. They're not for us, your friends, they're for him." She glares at her friend.

"They're for everyone." Tracy scoffs.

"Liar. He's not here yet so get these in the oven. You don't want to give him food poisoning from the dough." She rolls her eyes and Tracy laughs as she goes back into the living room with everyone else.

It was a while before Cagney finally arrived but when he did everyone was shocked to see that he had brought a girl. She was a very pretty girl and she suddenly found herself comparing to the girl Cagney had brought. Cagney’s girl.

Cagney’s girl was also very funny and sweet and made a point to compliment the cookies. The cookies she had made because she hoped Cagney would like them. She felt like an idiot.

It was about halfway through the movie when someone finally asked how the two had met and how long they had been dating. Cagney and Cagney’s girl suddenly started laughing, which she had thought was very rude. They did this for a while until Cagney finally said,

“We’re not dating.” To the confusion of everyone at the party.

“What?” She asked, probably a little too loudly than she should’ve.

“We’re cousins.” Cagney’s girl, now Cagney’s cousin said. Cagney nodded and she felt relieved. So he wasn’t dating that girl.

After everyone had settled down, Cagney came and sat down next to her. She looked at him in surprise.

“Hey Sara, I haven’t been able to come talk to you yet.” He smiled.

“Hey.” She said, smiling back.

“Did you really think I was dating my cousin?”

“Well there was no other possible explanation.”

“I don’t want you to think that.” He said and her stomach twisted into a knot.

“Oh.” Was all she said.

“Yeah.” He said, turning back to the movie. He took her hand as he did so. She looked at their hands then back to him a few times before turning to the movie.

She couldn’t have told you what happened in the movie if you paid her.