Chapter 3 - Cafe Date

“It’s strange to see you wanting to ditch.”, I say as she wraps her arms around mine.

“Yeah? Well I think you coming with me is stranger!”

“What are you talking about? I go with you all the time. I don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

Her grip tightens ever so slightly, just enough for me to notice.

“That’s right… I’m making you keep that promise, Michael!”

“Yes, yes. There’s no need for such a thing. Are you hungry by the way? Let’s drop by the café before going to wherever you want. I’m starving.”

“Was there a need to ask me that? You were going to the café whether I was hungry or not.”

“You know me too well.”, I comment as we enter the café we frequent as a group. But this time, it’s just the two of us.

Instead of beelining to our usual table, Alexis heads deeper into the café, to the tables for two. It’s weird to see her make such decisions, since she was the one who picked our group table in the first place.

But since it’s just the both of us, I suppose it makes sense that taking up a table for four wouldn’t sit well with her.

“You’ll have your usual, right? Strawberry milkshake with pancakes?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, I’ll have the same then!”

“What’s gotten into you? I remember you telling me to cut down on strawberry things since that’s all I apparently eat. And now you’re getting one too? Don’t you dislike strawberry?”. I ask out of concern.

“I should be asking you that. What’s gotten into you? Am I not allowed to try new things now?”

Again with that line…

“N-no. I just found it strange. You’ve been acting weird today, Alexis.”, I muttered after the waiter took our order.

“How am I acting weird?”, she asks, tilting her head to the side.

I’m not sure if that was a rhetorical question or not. But I don’t feel any sarcasm or anything that leads to that thought. “You know, you’re the one acting weird here. What happened to “I have to keep my everyday life as normal as it can be.’?”, she ends while crossing her arms.

I know what she’s trying to do. I’m well aware of her little antics. But as usual, I’m unable to say anything to her.

“Okay then, Alexis. Let’s leave it at that and talk about other things.”, I suggest.

“What other topic do you have in mind?”

“For starters, what made you want to cut your hair all of a sudden?”

Without a moment of hesitation, and seemingly with no regard for others, she slams her palms on the table, making me, and practically the entire café, jump in their seats.

“Finally! I honestly thought you were so dense that you were never going to notice.”

I didn’t know that I was supposed to comment on that.

Instances like this happen few and far between. But when it does happen, I am swiftly reminded that it’s Alexis I’m talking to.

Thinking back at it now, I should have paid more attention to Kathrynn’s little peptalk about complimenting girls. I’m lost for words.

“Its…uh… good. Yeah, that’s it. It suits you.”

If I were a girl, I wouldn’t think twice about not taking that pathetic attempt as a compliment.

“Pfft! What’s with that? That’s such a Michael-esque response! Don’t worry, I know you’re not good at these things. Thanks though!”

Again, it’s Alexis I’m speaking to.

If she knew that, why did she have to put me on the spot like that? This girl…

“To answer your question, I wanted a change for once. I got bored of long hair, know what I’m saying?”

I don’t, but I nod along, nonetheless.

“You’ve loved your hair for as long as I can remember. Such a change is completely out of left field, even by your standards. Well, we can’t change it now. Where did you have your hair cut by the way?”

She smiles. An awfully proud smile at that. “Hehe, I cut it myself!”

Ah… that explains it. I was going to tell her to never visit it again. I don’t know what I should say now.

“Well it’s your hair. I’ve got no right to intervene and say anything.”

“Now that I’ve answered your question, answer mine! What happened to you earlier?”

I knew this was going to happen, but I failed to prepare in advance. More like, I didn’t want to even think about it.

Ugh…

But knowing how persistent she is, she isn’t going to stop until she gets an answer she’s satisfied with. It’s her only negative trait. Despite knowing all of that, I feign ignorance once more.

“There’s nothing to say, Alexis. I was just overwhelmed with things.”

Her eyes furrow briefly before widening in disbelief. There’s disappointment in her eyes as if she were let down, but there isn’t anything I can do other than to drop everything. And… I don’t think now is the right time.

The fear of one of the closest people in my life not believing me is far too terrifying for me to even consider any other course of action.

The question now is… how long will I be able to keep up this façade? It’s exhausting.

It’ll be easier for me to tell her. Tell her that I can’t hear the new girl’s name, and she’s unable to hear mine.

I… don’t know what to do.

“Is it that bad that you’re unable to tell me?”, she asks softly.

A hint of shock and disappointment can be heard in her voice. A sort of tone you’d hear from a person who had just been betrayed by their loved ones.

Silence befalls us for the first time today as neither of us know what to say next. I want to apologize, but I can’t bring myself to do so. Why should I apologize for protecting her?

—Am I even protecting her?

Our food arrives before another word is spoken. It’s never usually this quiet with us two. But it is. Far too quiet, which only reminds me of the state of the classroom when she introduced herself.

The everyday noises of the café can no longer be heard as if I had gone completely deaf. The rift between us is growing at a rapid rate. I’ve… never been this disconnected from her.

The person I’ve cared for the most, lived with practically my whole life too. There’s no reason for me to be this “far” from her. Yet, I am.

No— it’s because I’m keeping something from her, and it’s taking a toll on me.

…

I’ve come to a decision. A decision that should have never been one to begin with. I’ll tell her everything.

“Alexis, I—”

“When did you learn to be like Zander, Mikey?”, I am cut off and saved by Kathrynn placing her hand on my shoulder before squeezing on it.

The feeling of relief, pain, and surprise nearly causes my mind to collapse on itself. But whatever it is I’m feeling, Alexis probably has it a hundred times worse. I can sense her irritation from the tensing of her jaw.

Any positive emotion is short-lived however, when I noticed, to my dismay, that Kathrynn is present with the new girl. The whole reason why I’m in this mess in the first place.

“A solo table? That’s new.”, Kathrynn sarcastically remarks with a shake of a head. “Also, that’s weird, Lexy. Strawberry?”

Kathrynn takes notice and comments on the anomaly as well.

“I’m sorry, what are you two doing here?”

“I could say the same thing, Mikey. Why don’t we move back to our table? You two are alright with that, right?”

Something tells me that we’ve peeved her off somewhat. Though Alexis doesn’t seem to be all that bothered by it. In fact, she lifts her plate and milkshake before me and walks towards our usual table without muttering a word.

The reason why they’re here in the first place still confuses me. Shouldn’t they still be in class? Actually, I’m in no position to say anything. I ditched with Alexis, after all.

It’s not like they ditched too. Kathrynn isn’t the type to do that.

I follow close behind and sit at our usual table.

The atmosphere is tense. Undeniably, uncomfortably, unbelievably tense.

Even more so than before despite it being the 4 of us. I suppose that’s to be expected.

“So, Michael Chaers, and Alexis Lucia, what made you two think you could sneak away from us? I thought you two were better than that.”

The tapping of her fingers quickens as she heaves a deep sigh.

Again, I’m at a loss for words. If I say anything that isn’t perfect, I might get executed. Meanwhile… Alexis is eating.

“What made you want to cut classes all of a sudden, Mikey? This isn’t like you. Don’t you hate doing things you don’t normally do? I’m not sure which I should be more surprised with. You ditching, or convincing Alexis to go with you.”

She’s convinced that I was the one who brought Alexis along when it’s the opposite. I’d correct her, but it would appear as if I’m being defensive. To save myself from that headache, I play along.

It’s been one headache after the other.

I take the opportunity to sneak a glance at the no-named girl on her right. She’s disconnected from the situation as I expected. Looking out of the window, she’s completely out of it. I’m inclined to assume that she forgot about us and is in her own world.

“Don’t you dare force your soul elsewhere, Mikey. “Now answer my question.”, she declares, lifting her hand off the table and crossing her arms.

There’s no stopping once she gets to this point.

“Okay, I wanted to go on a date with Alexis.”

—I’m sorry, what?

What did I just—

I recoil as does Kathrynn, eyes wide, and speechless. Alexis is frozen in the middle of chewing, and understandably so. It’s one thing for me to take the blame, and it’s another for me to lie so blatantly in front of Kathrynn, no less.

It’s only a matter of time until she calls me out for it. But instead of what I expected, she averts her eyes downwards with her beet-red cheeks seen through her hair.

Huh…?

“I-if you told us earlier, I-I wouldn’t have interrupted!”

She’s… flustered?

“Yeah, Kathrynn! Michael and I were on a date until you intervened! He was about to tell me what he was planning to do later.”

“H-hey I wasn’t—“,

“Uwah……”

Alexis finally speaks up, only to add to the guilt on Kathrynn’s shoulders, as well as trying to get me in even hotter water with everyone involved. She can be a bit of a sadist at times. And that part of her decided to rear its ugly head now of all times.

Similar to Kathrynn, her timing is just as painfully perfect.

“Pfft!”, a laugh escapes the new girl’s mouth, allowing Kathrynn to regather herself and regain control of the conversation.

“A-anyway, you two shouldn’t have left like that.”, she clears her throat.

“Oh right, Kathrynn—”

“Katie.”

“Yes, yes, what brings you two here?”, I ask to steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Our teacher for the rest of the day apparently asked for an early vacation, so we have the rest of the day off. Zander was the first to notice your absence and quickly dismissed the class to look for you two.”

I forgot that Zander has the power to do that.

“That’s a common occurrence here by the way, ————————.”, she turns towards the new girl, who looks confused. Probably surprised by the amount of power Zander has.

I can’t blame her for that. It never fails to surprise me too. Especially when remembering that we’re all in our first year.

“Zander this, Zander that, where is he anyway?”

“Please, Mikey. Is that even a valid question? You should already be well aware of his antics and where he usually spends his time outside of school.”

Kathryn’s irritation is palpable. The tapping of her fingers on the table resumes as she uses her other hand to twirl her hair.

Just like that, silence surrounds us once again. Alexis continues eating while I’m unable to move or mutter another word because of the heavy air around me.

If there’s ever a time when I want Alexis to say something outlandishly random, it would be now. And as if she had just read my mind, she opens her mouth to break the silence.

“Hey, Michael. I’ve been meaning to ask you something for a while now. Why were you—”

Before she could finish her sentence, a rather boisterous and irritating voice abruptly interrupts her. “Well, well, well, would you look at that. Everyone’s already here. I apologize for cutting you off there, Alexis. Sorry I’m late too.”, Zander apologizes as she takes his seat at the head of the table which feels fitting and weird at the same time.

I know I asked about him earlier, but now that he’s here, I feel like disappearing. Especially when he’s got this smirk on his face.

“Now then, allow me to continue your question for you, Alexis — Why were you two together during the break?”