A Few Hundred Poppies

15. Crop Top, Hair Gel

"This shit's gotta be celebrated," Troy stated, grinning from ear to ear. He stood up and proceeded to clamber onto the bench, knocking Art's soda bottle off the table. "In honour of Fridays and Ever and Lee's patch up, we're gonna play...PAINTBALL!" He punched the air with his fist, and when we didn't react, he looked down at us with the disappointment of a brown dad whose kid can't solve a math problem. "You guys are on a different level of buzzkilling," he sulked, sliding down to his seat.

"My bad, should've thrown up some confetti - the shiny kind," I drawled, rolling my eyes. "Seriously, though, it's good to have you guys back together."

"It's great and all, but the exams literally start next week, we should be studying," Art asserted, delicately pushing a fry into her mouth.

"I'm just gonna tell Ma that we're gonna group study. If she hears about paintball, I'll get my ass whooped," I said, taking a sip of my soda with a short slurp.

From beside me, West poked my arm with his index finger. "I'm gonna need those fries," he muttered. I transferred a handful of overly salted potato from my tray to his, and although I tried to look annoyed, a small smile fought its way to my face. "How you don't have a pot belly is beyond me," I joked.

"Since when does Aditi share her food?" Lee quizzed, making me glare at her.

West shrugged, offering me half a smirk. "She can't help it, I'm too handsome," he said. I scoffed and punched his arm lightly.

"He wishes, Lee. He wishes."

"You know, West, it's good that you're becoming less stiff," Art smiled. His features relaxed further as a fry dangled from his hand, but he didn't attempt to reply to her.

"He's only doing it because I'm into fun people," I chimed in, making Troy choke on his soda and the rest gawk. I hid a small smile by putting the can back to my lips as West lightly shoved my arm with his.

The tweaking in the cafeteria speakers made my ears perk up as Principal Sen's voice began to echo off the freshly-painted walls: "The students in charge of organising the dance are requested to come to my office shortly. Thank you."

The six of us gingerly exchanged glances. "You have the binder, right, Adi?" Ever asked, snatching up the paper towel from his tray and wiping the corners of his mouth on it.

"Of course I have it. I mean, it should be in my locker. Ugh, shut up, I'll just get anxiety worrying over it," I ranted. Promising that I'll meet them in front of Sen's office, I hurried to the lockers. I sighed shortly in relief at the sight of the mauve binder. Picking it up from the floor of the locker, I noticed a familiar handwriting on a sea green sticky note: wish you were gay.

"What the..." I shook my head, a tad amused, scrunched up the paper and tossed it into the nearest bin, making my way towards the staircase. When I reached the top of the stairs, West offered me a small smile before knocking twice on the Principal's door and pushing it open. The rest of us followed him in.

The Principal nodded appreciatively as she skimmed through the papers. She looked up, taking off her blue-tinted glasses and placing them on her desk. "Well done. I suppose you've all tasted and agreed that each dish is of standard?" We exchanged sheepish looks, which caught her attention. While I was well-versed in Sharma's Sweetmeat, none of us had actually had the fancy main course from The Ledbury, nor the Korean appetizers from Li's.

"Well, haven't you? If you do it in pairs, you'll be done quickly," she quipped. As I mentally groaned, she reached for the drawer of her desk and took out a slip, scribbling away on it. Troy peered to get a better look. "Since you're doing this for the school, I'm sure it can fund the sampling," Principal Sen allowed me a quick wink and handed the paper to me. I managed a weak smile.