I was still seething when I walked into the cafeteria. My eyes found the usual table we sat at and spotted Alex immediately. He turned his gaze as if sensing me and hesitated as he took in my appearance. Judging by the smirk he tried hiding, he knew before I approached the table something had happened. I was beginning to think he was in on it all. If that was true then I knew whose side he chose.

"Your sister's ruining my life," I told the table as I dragged my chair out with a loud screech against the tiled floor.

I tossed my bag on the table where it fell on its side in front of Alex. He frowned now telling me he had no clue what I was talking about, "What could have happened in the span of five minutes?"

Tyler stopped his conversation with D to look at me with a similar frown as he waited for my answer. D appeared annoyed as usual but sat by to listen, then he laid eyes on my bag, "Did your mom pack any of those beef tacos she made last week?"

"Uh... no. But there's some stuffed peppers if you want them."

I pushed the thermal bag toward him. I wasn't in the mood for anything green colored right now. His grin spread at the offer. He immediately jumped on it, digging through my pouch for the right container. I let him ravage the contents of my lunch and turned back to Alex.

"She stole crickets from Mr Harper's class, you know, the one's we're feeding the frogs. She put them in my bookbag and they poured out of my locker like something from the ten plagues. They attacked Sophia and she ran away from me screaming as your sister laughed down the hall."

Hearing Sophia's name he rolled his eyes and went back to his lunch tray, "I don't think you need help ruining that."

I glared at him, "We were having an actual conversation. I wasn't ruining anything."

"Then it was only a matter of time," he muttered, angrily stabbing his fork in an unsuspecting pile of macaroni.

I go to argue further but D interrupts me through a full mouth, "Your sister has some serious ego complex. The kind that'll give a guy mommy issues."

Alex reached over the table to punch his arm, hard. D shouted in pain then in terror as he fumbled with and dropped the other half of the pepper he was still eating. He looked back at Alex, gaping as if he'd dropped his baby off a balcony. "What the hell, man?"

Alex ignored him, going back to assaulting his meal. I decided to just leave it at that. Clearly his sister was a sensitive topic right now. Maybe they got into a fight or something. Normally he would tell me though. I figured I'd ask him later, when there weren't so many ears around.

"You alright," Tyler asked before anyone else could start up a conversation.

Alex scowled at his food he was essentially just playing with now. "I'm fine."

"Well, you look like shit," D bluntly grunted as he leaned back in his seat and started picking at a roll on his tray.

He was being a pouty jerk but he wasn't lying. Alex did look rough lately. I didn't need to ask to know the reasons for that though. He stared ahead contemplating if he wanted to share. Even if he did he wouldn't tell the guys the full truth. They knew they struggled and it was hard on him. They knew he worked a lot but that was it.

"I stayed up all night studying for history," he finally admitted.

It was probably true. Everyone in my class struggled with history this year. We had a new teacher after the last one moved on to be a professor for college. The new one struggled to settle in. She was young, fresh out of school, and had just got married talking about having a kid already. Call it spiteful or jealousy but I didn't like her.

She was more concerned with gossip than teaching us anything useful. She had too many opinions and she wanted them to be known. If you disagreed she didn't like you and she made class hard for you. Alex disagreed with her all the time. I did too but I didn't have the nerve to speak out to a teacher like he did. She irked me the wrong way.

I believed a teacher should be a teacher. She wanted to be friends instead. Funnily enough she told us our first class with her "I'm not old enough to be your mom but too old to be your friend". It seemed more like a ploy. She knew she was decently pretty compared to the other older teachers at our school. She had the arrogance of someone who thought they could get away with murder because of this.

Maybe I just didn't like liars or maybe I didn't like people who thought they were superior to others because of something so superficial. Either way she was not a good teacher. People like Alex suffered because of that. He was naturally gifted. He didn't need to study most of the time to understand the lesson. With her he had to and he couldn't do that on his own.

Alex struggled putting certain events with certain dates, and sometimes discerning fact from fiction. It was the only subject he really struggled with since elementary school where his only concern was learning how to read in general. I think they went hand in hand sometimes. Alex liked math, at least he was good with numbers I mean. I didn't know what it was about combining the two that made it so difficult for him.

"You should get a tutor," Ty suggested then pointed a thumb at D, "I'd help but I'm basically reteaching this idiot everything he doesn't pay attention to during every class just so he can stay on the team."

D shoved his hand away with a scoff, "Maybe you just need a break. Ty's Halloween party is around the corner. Think you'll make it?"

It was still a month away but D always hyped it up to everyone. Tyler's parents were huge Halloween nuts. They were kinda freaks actually, well-meaning freaks but freaks. They did up their house like something from the movies. They got the fog machines, realistic cobwebs, even weird hologram things. They lived down the road from us and you could hear the screams all around the block.

They let Tyler invite people over while they trick or treated with his sister. This was probably the last year he was going to get to do it before she was too old and he went to college. Alex looked at me now, waiting for my response before coming up with his own. I didn't like going. I smiled as I realized I had the perfect excuse to get out of it this year.

"I can't. My parents are going to visit their parents in Mexico for Day of the Dead. I'm in charge of the house."

"You can't leave for a few hours?"

I shook my head at D's plea, "Nona and Kara are doing they're movie marathon thing. I've gotta keep an eye on them."

He grumbled obstinately but nodded in understanding. Alex on the other hand looked deep in thought as he mulled this over. Usually if I wasn't going to a party he definitely wouldn't. He didn't drink, he didn't dance, he didn't like talking to people. There was nothing appealing about a high school party to him.

He finally nodded and smiled at D, "Yeah, I think I'll go. I could blow off some steam."

"Yes."

D sat up and moved his chair over next to Alex. He grabbed his shoulder and shook it slightly as he explained how girls would flood the door if they both went. He used a more vulgar phrasing but I wasn't in the mood to entertain the thought. I just smiled as they started talking about the details. Alex didn't go out often unless it was with me.

Not that he couldn't handle it. He just had no interest in leaving his house. He complained about Nona. He was just as bad if not for me. It was good to see him doing something for himself.

I let them talk as I grabbed my bag. Mom packed enough for me to eat on for months if I wanted. I wasn't planning on getting stuck at school so most of it made a good leftover for when I got home. A lot of the time D's bottomless stomach helped though. Mom probably anticipated this, knowing my friends.

I pulled out the bag with the enchiladas in them and dug in. I barely took two bites before I stopped as the texture felt off. The softened shell, melted cheese, and cooked veggies shouldn't have this kind of juicy pop. I dropped the food and covered my mouth when my brain processed the one thing it could be. Then I sprinted for the nearest trash when I saw the legs sticking out to throw it back up.

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August 25, 2024

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