🐱 🐱 🐱

“The guy making coffees at Dairy’s today wrote “Preejay” on my cup, that’s…that is a new one. Creative, I’ll give him that. What’s the weirdest misspelling you’ve ever seen on a coffee cup?”

“That’s definitely a little out there, I gotta say. Are you sure you didn’t have one of those silent seizures midway through saying your name? Maybe you had a bit of a slur,” Alice joked, pulling a binder out of her backpack. “But I think the weirdest one I got was when a barista spelled my name A-L-I-S. Not super crazy, but it bugged me enough that I still think about it right before I fall asleep sometimes.”

“I don’t think I could ask for a better fan if I’m being honest. I am truly honoured” the boy beamed, taking her completely seriously in that moment. The thought crept into his mind that maybe he should begin making more time for her outside of these little run-ins every once in a while. He missed her and the little weird things she did. Her knitting and her embroidering among many other things “Valentine’s day” the boy nodded, only having been aware of this face when he walked into school that morning. His gaze shifted from her to the paper in her hand, instantly reaching for it and pulling it out of the envelope while a grin spread across his face “I didn’t get you anything, though” he admitted, fingers tracing over the clearly homemade card, something that made it feel all the more special 

“Oh,” Alice exhaled, feeling faintly disappointed. It wasn’t that she even expected anything from him necessarily, but sometimes it was difficult for her feelings not to get a little bruised no matter what. It was just one of the many downsides of being sensitive. “That’s totally fine,” she assured him with a smile. “Not everyone is as Valentine’s-crazy at me, I am willing to recognize that — as much as it pains me.” She clutched at her heart, feigning vague distress. “Though as your number one fan, I gotta say that I’m rooting for your conversion to being as big a St. Valentine devotee one day.”

remi probably blanked out several times during every other word that alice spoke.  he however pulled it off as he nodded and hm’d every other second. now as she got to the end of her little ramble he gave one more nod. “you know i didn’t really get much of what you said, but i do remember the little class parties.  never really got many valentine cards then either.   guess i’m not one of the   popular   kids,  or guys.”

“Oh! Right,” Alice said, fruitlessly trying not to make her disappointment too obvious. She then frowned at Remi’s next words, shaking her head in disbelief. “What? You’re kidding. That’s so mean of your classmates. My teachers always made it a rule that you had to bring one for everyone, probably to avoid stuff like that.” She paused a moment as she thought then smiled lightly, hoping to navigate the tone to something more positive. “But I’m sure you’re a very cool guy—one may even say swell—which is vastly better than being popular. I’m strictly of the belief that popularity is a thing that ebbs and flows, but coolness... Well, coolness is pretty much forever. You’re born with it, you know. It’s totally inherent.”

“I’m working on it- I think there are a couple other kids beating me out on that title but pretty soon I’ll reign as king of the tardies” he teased, eyebrows raising playfully as he gently pulled her to the side of the hallway so they were out of the bustling traffic as kids started to push their way through and to their next class- something Josh was less concerned about than ever now that Alive was there and with him “So- what to I owe the pleasure of your sudden visit?” he asked, totally aware that they were not as close as they had been in the past. Something that was sad but natural when it came to growing up “Not that I’m complaining”

“i’m still questioning the whole point of it,   besides  the candy.   either way i still want people to know that you should do the things you do for your significant other on valentine’s day every other day.   not just that day.   it’s sad they only put that much effort on special days in general.”

“You can show your love and appreciation for them everyday, but you can’t always do the whole gifts-chocolate-flowers thing, necessarily. Talk about a potential dent in your bank account. So... I don’t know, I just like it. It can be really nice to have a special day like that.” Alice paused, pressing her lips together, then grinned as she straightened. “But do you know what I miss? In elementary school, when we had to bring a valentine for everyone in our class. Like, there were ones with the Disney princesses or comic book characters or Snoopy.” Her smiled widened. “One year my mom and I made a bunch with little love monsters on them, with a unique monster for each of my classmates. See, that kind of stuff was definitely sweet and totally validates the holiday. You can’t deny that. And the little parties we had in class, too? Downright adorable.”

During the time that had passed since the chaos of midnight madness, Liv hadn’t really spoken to much of anyone. Alice was included on that long list. She had managed to make it to school every day since the blast was sent to everyone within the tristate area but that was really the furthest she had managed to go. The only reason she even pulled the girl aside was the fading bruise on her cheek, a little peek of rage flaming up which caused her to take some sort of action. She wasn’t blind, she had noticed the near reluctance that came from the girl. Something that almost made her simply walk away but the words slipped out of her before she could bother. “So no one hurt you intentionally?” she asked, brows furrowed “You’re not lying to me?”

Alice’s eyes widened a little at Liv’s questions before she shook her head quickly. The last thing she wanted was for Liv to worry about something inconsequential that happened her; Liv was the person who people were whispering about, Liv was the person who everyone was saying —Alice cut off her own thought before she could finish it. Her stomach turned to knots. “Oh, no. No, of course not,” she said emphatically. “I really was just being dumb. There were a couple of kids grappling with each other and they looked like freshmen, so I thought I could handle mediating it? But, um, it didn’t really work out very well. It surprised me more than it hurt, anyway,” she rambled, fiddling with her necklace. “I’m fine. Really.”

Josh was, as usual, slacking off in the hallway- messing around with friends, laughing and pushing them around when his attention was pulled away from them. Instantly, he was captivated by the girl, thoughts of his friends disappearing. Instantly he stopped walked and turned to face her, knowing that she would struggle to keep pace with him “Hey- hi” hands brushed through his hair, eyes raking over her for a moment before landing on her eyes. A chuckle bubbled out of him “I’m never in a rush to get to class, you should know that” he joked

Alice came to a stop as he did, flattered by how he let his friends walk off without him as he turned his gaze to her. Josh was always good at making her feel like she was the only person in the room, the person who held his attention. She never felt ignored or dismissed with him. It was a rare quality to find in someone—and a lovely one, too. “Hey-hi,” she repeated back, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. Her mouth formed an ‘o’-shape at his words as she nodded slowly, placing a hand over her heart as she feigned earnestness. “Oooh, of course. You’re Northlake High’s record holder in Most Tardies, right? What kind of friend am I to forget such an accomplishment?”

          “Mine stems from academics honestly. People that didn’t overthink things didn’t get very far in life. Even simple peasants that we never learned about in school that didn’t stick to the norm and continued to resist Feudalism were overthinkers. Great military leaders overthought battle strategy. It’s not a bad thing to over think, even for neurotic reasons,” he responded, nodding. “The internet is great for that. Sometimes spirals are the best and sometimes they’e the worst. Like at two in the morning, when I really should be sleeping, I’m researching politics in some random tiny country that I’ll probably never visit, but I have to keep researching because if I stop, my brain will feel like it imploded. Sometimes I feel like I retain too much information.” Akio looked up. “I guess it depends. I’ll practically do research on anything, but usually they aren’t as somber. Then again, I’ll practically find the niche topic in every subject and write on that.” 

“That’s what I figured. Cool, intellectual pursuits,” Alice replied, smiling. “But um, you probably have a point. If only the things I overthought were as important as freedom from serfdom or the outcome of a war. I mostly just overthink, like, the tone I used when I told a friend something or whether or not I’ve flossed enough or how much longer my cat’s going to live.” Making a face, she then continued with feigned solemnity, “You know, just really crucial, life-changing things.” She nodded along as he spoke, finding some comfort in all that he had to say. Alice always felt like she talked too much and it was always nice to speak to someone who seemed like that had a lot of thoughts running through their head, too. His were probably a little more organized, granted, but it was nice all the same. “I don’t think I’ve had a single full night’s rest since I discovered Wikipedia and my dad stopped turning off the WiFi at 10 PM. Concealer is God’s gift unto me and the bags under my eyes. Though I have to admit that most of my late nights are thanks to movie marathons, which is really just a different kind of education.” She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, then nodded again. “Do you write about them for classes or, um — for fun?”

You’re a cutie and I love you.

Happy V-Day!

“oh   GREAT…   another   holiday people are going to spend money on.   you know this holiday is one of the   STUPIDEST   holidays.   why is it even a   holiday   to begin with?”

“Come on, it can be pretty dang fun. You don’t necessarily have to spend money, either. I make homemade cards every year for my friends because I’m a bit of a penny-pincher myself. Plus, any day that comes with an excuse to eat chocolate isn’t half-bad, if you ask me. It’s one of the reasons I like Halloween so much, too.”

@aliceedith

The bell sounded for lunch and instantly the hallways were crowded with a million students. Double the population in a school that was probably already a little overpopulated to begin with. The girl weaved in and out of the other kids, aware of the gazes sent her way and trying her hardest not to care. Eyes landed on a familiar face in passing, a quick smile and nod of recognition sent in Alice’s direction before she stopped and turned back around to catch up with her “Hey,” she breathed, grabbing her by her arm to let her know that she was on her tail “What the hell happened to you?”

Alice made a brief face of discomfort as she was jostled walking down the crowded hall, her expression only going slack for a split second when her eyes caught onto Liv’s. It had been almost a week since they had really spoken. Alice had been unsure of how to approach in the least confrontational manner, unsure of how to ask any questions without upsetting anyone in the process. The last thing she wanted to do was insult her friend. She gave Liv a small, tight-lipped smile in return, making a mental note to buck up and text her after school before twitching a little in reaction to the hand wrapping around her forearm. It took a moment for Liv’s question to catch up with Alice, her mind still lingering on her previous line of thinking. “Um,” she started. “Oh!” Bringing a hand up to her face, she grimaced. “Midnight Madness. I was being dumb and someone elbowed me in the face — accidentally. It was an accident. I wasn’t involved in any real, uh, fisticuffs.”

Valentine’s Day was easily one of Alice’s favorite days of the year, because celebrating love didn’t have to be contained to just the romantic kind—though she was very fond of that one, especially this year—but it was also an invitation to honor the filial and familial, too. She perked up when she spotted Josh’s familiar head of hair in the hallway as she gathered her things from her locker before her free period. Quickly grabbing hold of a little something else she had stowed away in her backpack before shrugging it back on, she then closed her locker door and hurried to catch up with him. “Hellooo there, stranger,” she greeted with feigned coyness, gently bumping her shoulder against him when they were finally side-by-side. She had to quicken her pace to keep up with his longer stride, a smile drawn across her face. “Are in a rush to class or do you have a free minute?”