A New Regular
According to the calendar, late March is technically spring. Nature, however, likes find the loopholes in technicalities and rub them in people's faces. The coldsnap and four straight days of rain seemed to be her ways of letting the city of Retroville know that something was amiss. Unfortunately, no one ever seemed to notice anything in this town until it was much too late.
The students of Retroville high were too absorbed in their own little worlds to realize the ominous foreshadowing provided by the weather.
At the gang's usual lunch table, Sheen stared out the window at the storm.
"Man, this rain really bites. I hate walking around, not being able to see hardly anything and getting soaked. Wouldn't it be great if there was something that would keep the rain off of you?"
Carl and Cindy just stared at him in disbelief.
"You mean…like an umbrella?"
"Yeah! You're so smart, Libs!"
Cindy slapped her palm to her face and shook her head in utter disgust. "You do realize it takes all my physical strength not to beat you senseless on a daily basis, right?"
"What a coincidence, it takes all my physical strength to listen to you when you talk. Speaking of which, I feel as though my blood sugar level is a bit low. Care to escort me to the snack machine, Carl?"
"Uh… ok."
"Good, you're buying."The two boys left the table.
Cindy turned to her friend. "How do you put up with that on a daily basis?"
"Don't start, Cindy."
"No, in all seriousness: your boyfriend has the mental capacity of a baked potato. I would have ended him by now. You clearly have the patience of a saint."
"And your man Jimmy can't pick up on social cues. Let's not criticize other people's boyfriends."
"He's not my-"
"Yeah, yeah, I know: you aren't technically 'going out', you just have an agreement that makes no sense to the rest of the world! Seriously, how do you put up with that?"
Earlier that year, the two had decided to act on their mutual attraction to each other. The result was…well pretty great, in her opinion. Libby just didn't understand the way things had to be.
"I don't know; it's just easier this way."
"Oh yes, not having a definite title to know where you stand sounds like heaven. What is it you two are afraid of? That the rest of the school will run you up the mill gossiping?"
"I really could not care less what the people in this stupid school think…but I'd rather not have everyone talking to much that it gets back to…you know…"
Libby nodded her head with understanding. In the few weeks that she and Jimmy had been, um, dating, she hadn't really known how to break the news to her mother. That was the sort of distraction she was supposed to be avoiding, so who knows how the woman would react.
"I understand girl, but he is taking you to the prom, you'll have to tell her eventually."
"I know…but what is there to tell really? That we occasionally spend time alone talking about school and-"
"Making out in the lab?"
"Hanging out! I was going to say hanging out! But I will tell her, I'm just waiting for the…right…moment" She trailed off because at that moment, afore-mentioned genius approached the table.
The fuzzy feeling in her stomach grew. Dang it, how does he always do that?
"Greeting ladies. How are you this fine Friday?" Jimmy sat down next to Cindy. Since their relationship changed from platonic to… er...not platonic, she had taken to sitting across from her best friend. This worked out for him, except for the occasional suggestive glances that Libby shot them.
"Oh I'm great, if you like almost drowning on the walk from your car." Libby smirked.
At that moment Sheen came back to the table. "Well," he said putting his arm around her, "the important thing is my ultra-lady is still alive and it is almost the weekend, because my life would be totally pointless without you both."
"Oh, Sheen…" She smiled and the two begin their ritual kiss-fest.
The other two let out a collective groan.
"Uh, some of us are trying to eat here!" Cindy shot at them. "I'd rather not lose my lunch before I even get the chance to ingest it."
Libby pulled away. "Whatever."
Carl took sat down on the other side Jimmy. "Hey Jim. What did I miss?"
"Just more face eating than in a zombie movie." Cindy smirked. Libby glared at her.
When they first started…intermingling, Jimmy worried she would expect such public displays of affection out of him. Fortunately she abhorred such nonsense.
Although, have you ever wondered why? Yeah, because it's weird and awkward for other people. When has she ever cared what other people thought?
He shook his head. His mind was often at war with itself about matters concerning the blond. He could figure out the Navier-Stokes equations in a matter of minutes, but she still remained a mystery. How one person could manage to capture so much of his attention…
"So, any big weekend plans?"
"Well," Sheen said, "I will be spending Saturday practicing my hook shot and re-organizing my Ultralord collection." He looked at the incredulous expressions on their faces. "What? Don't judge me!"
He turned to Cindy. "How about you?"
She sighed. "Nothing out of the ordinary: studying, tae kwon do class, more studying…" a sly expression came over her face. "Of course, my dad's company is entertaining a potential client, so my parents are going to dinner and a play this evening. I might have the evening to myself."
He smiled. "Hmm, we might have to do something to fix that. Let me know when they leave."
"I'll be sure to do that."
Libby glanced at them. "Cin, haven't your parents noticed the increased number of calls to his number on your phone bill?"
"No, we found a way around that."
"Found a way around…? You're not spies, ok, there is no reason to talk like that."
"Spies wish they could be this tactful,"
"What do you do, sign language from your windows?"
They smiled at each other. "No," Jimmy said, "But that's a pretty good idea. It would have saved me some time."
"Hey!"
"Kidding! Kind of…"
No, their way of discreet communication was much more clever. Much more clever indeed.
