"Hello, Billy," Annie greeted formally.
"Hi, Annie," the boy replied.
A minute of silence passed. "I like burgers," Billy told her for no reason.
"Okay," Annie responded.
More minutes passed. "The girls serving the burgers are cute too," Billy observed suddenly.
"Okay," Annie acknowledged again. Not something that she needed to know. Something was not right.
After another minute, they were almost at the head of the line. "Those cakes look really good," Billy observed.
Then Annie realized it. Billy normally avoided her. She looked up to the boy. "Are you following me?" What a weird question to ask in a queue they had just spent the last few minutes in.
"Hmm... oh, no." A heartbeat later, he added under his breath, "Yes."
Annie put on an amused expression. "Oh? Are you suddenly interested in me?"
"Maybe," he admitted.
"Why the sudden change of heart?" Annie asked, "You used to avoid me."
"Well, you seem different lately," Billy noted, "I wanted to see how true it is. Besides, you're cute."
Annie smiled coyly. "Oh, you know all girls like to hear that."
"I'll remember that. And it's your turn," Billy pointed out when the customer ahead of Annie had left with her order.
Annie bought herself two tuna rolls and some delightful cake. The decoration on the cake was a little out of symmetry so she knew it had been baked by a fellow student.
Maybe she should invite Billy to have lunch with her.
Ooh, that capricious boy was sweet-talking the girl selling the cakes! Fine, Annie would have lunch on her own! She just needed a juice box from the vending machine and she could go eat outside. What did she care about him anyway?
Annie had her lunch outside sitting on a bench under a tree with a clear sky overhead and a cool weather.
The tuna rolls were nice. It had a slight peppery taste that Annie enjoyed. Onions added crunchiness while a little mayonnaise contributed a smooth, sour flavor. Lunch was not too bad, if only the cake was not too sweet. Too much jam had been applied between the layers of the cake. The jam itself was too sweet. It was probably made by students.
The apple juice Annie had bought was not suitable to wash down the lingering sweetness in her mouth. So she returned to the cafeteria for a drink from the water fountain.
No, she was not concerned about bumping into Billy again. Why should she be? The Gardening Club was of more interest.
The Gardening Club had set up in the flower garden in between the buildings of the school. Annie was not too interested in the names on the labels attached to various potted plants. She was more attracted to the beautiful flowers of many types and color.
Posted on boards about the garden were scenes around the school - pictures of flower beds, bushes and trees that the club maintained. There were also photos of club members working on the plants. One of the boards was dedicated to the scene of the school during the time when the Gardening Club was inactive. The school at that time had appeared dull and lifeless, a collection of buildings among concrete paths and plain grass. "Join the Gardening Club or Fernham High will look like this!" threatened the words at the bottom of the board.
Of course once she had shown interest in that board depicting the past image of the school, Annie was targeted for recruitment. That led to a merry little chase around the garden. When Annie had finally escaped the recruiters, more or less intact, she fled into the gymnasium to go check on Second Sis and the sport teams there.
No comments:
Post a Comment