Sandy had a love-hate relationship with the school bell. At times, she was happy when the bell rang, when it signaled the time for break or the end of school. At other times, she disliked its ring, when it announced the start of school or the end of break.
That moment was one when she was happy with the bell, for it had signaled the end of school.
Sandy packed up her things before she joined the exodus of students out of the heated classroom into the cold corridor outside. When she stepped out of the school building, a blast of cold wind caught her. Her hair stood on end and she shivered. It was much colder compared to the morning.
She zipped her jacket tighter. It was going to be agonizing to cycle home in that temperature, especially since she was wearing shorts - it had not been as cold in the morning. And she had socks instead of stockings that day since she did not want to worry about getting bicycle grease on the stockings. Her knees were going to ache in the cold.
"Sandy," a familiar voice called her.
Sandy turned to find Selina standing behind her. She noted that Esper was not around. "Hey, Selina."
"What's wrong, Sandy?" Selina asked, "You usually rush back home."
"Oh, it's just... so cold. I have to cycle in the cold." Sandy shivered.
"Maybe a cup of hot chocolate will warm you up enough for the trip home," Selina suggested, "Come, I'll buy you some."
Sandy did not need to be invited twice for a free cup of hot chocolate.
Selina took her to the school cafeteria. Apparently, many of her schoolmates had the same idea. There were many teenagers in the cafeteria buying various hot beverages, some to drink there, others to take on the journey home.
The tall girl bought them each a cup of hot chocolate. They sat together at one of the empty tables.
"Thanks," said Sandy gratefully as she warmed her hands with the paper cup.
"You're welcome," Selina said politely in return.
"You're always with Esper," Sandy mentioned, "Why not today?"
"I had something to do today," Selina replied vaguely, "So I can't go home with her like I usually do."
"The two of you are very close," Sandy commented, "I always see the two of you together."
"Yes," Selina agreed, "We happen to live close to each other so her mum or my dad would pick us up after school."
"Won't your dad still be working when school's over?" Sandy asked.
Unusually, Sandy was asking a lot of questions. She was curious about Selina. Of her friends in her gossip group, she knew Selina the least. She had known Ariel since middle school. And she knew perhaps a little more about Esper - the curly-haired girl had been pretty vocal whenever they were together. But Selina was a quiet mystery.
"Oh, my dad works from home. Some sort of Internet business. Technical stuff I don't really understand."
"What about your mum?"
"My mum isn't with us anymore," Selina replied uneasily. She looked away. "Let's talk about something else."
"Oh, okay," Sandy uttered. So Selina lost her mum. Interesting. "Selina, how did you meet Esper?"
Selina gazed distantly out one of the cafeteria windows. "Let's see... it was last summer... I met her when I came to school to register. We got along right from the start."
"Selina, you're very good in sports," Sandy complimented.
"Thank you. It's natural talent, I guess."
"It's also your body. You're tall and strong."
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