Awesome art by Splashheart8!! ^^^

TW: Swearing, Science equations :shudder:

Lunch was very boring. 

I decided I would actually do something at lunch and go for a walk. Then I started overthinking and realized it would look kinda sad if I walked around school on my own for an hour. I ended up getting distracted by my phone and did nothing for the rest of lunch.

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful. I had art next and I sat alone in the back of the class and no one bothered me. 

Science was boring too, we were in a seating plan again so I was sitting at a desk near the front next to Penny again. 

I had my arms crossed on the desk and my face buried in them, but the teacher told me off for 'sleeping in class'. I was just staring blankly at the desk in front of me but I guess that isn't any better.

"Vega. Get a pen out and do your work, please." The teacher snapped at me. She stalked off before I had a chance to say anything. 

Rude.

I dragged the worksheet towards myself and groaned inwardly.

"Penny? Can I borrow a pencil?" I rubbed my eyes and rested my elbows on the desk.

"Piper." She said.

"Huh?"

"I'd prefer it if you called me Piper." She said, pulling a pencil out and handing it to me.

"Oh.. okay, sure," I said, starting with the worksheet the teacher had given me. "Why?"

Fuck, that's really rude.

"Sorry-" I started, but Piper shook her head and waved her hands in front of her.

"No, it's fine. I just feel like Penny is too.. girly, y'know?" 

I nodded. 

"Oh yeah. That makes sense... Piper."

"Thanks," she grinned, then rolled her eyes and scowled. "Unfortunately my parents don't think so."

I blinked. I wasn't expecting that.

"...shit."

Piper just shrugged.

"Yeah, well," She pulled her short sandy hair out of her face. "Not everyone's gonna agree with it."

I started with the balancing chemical equations because whatever our teacher's name is was shooting daggers at me.

"Any specific reason for the name change?" I tried to awkwardly turn away from the teacher so she didn't see me talking - I dunno why I bothered, she definitely already hates me.

Piper leaned sideways towards me. "I'm a demigirl," She said casually.

"O-oh." I stuttered.

That explains it.

"So do I still call you she or..."

"Eh, she or they is fine, I don't really care." They said over their shoulder.

I nodded and we both went quiet. I had no idea what to say.

"I'm gay." I offered.

"Cool." She said. "Hey, are you actually any good at science? I've got no damn clue what I'm doing!" She threw her hands up in frustration.

I cocked my head to one side and pulled the paper closer. "Yeah, sure, you see how there are certain numbers in the corners? You basically have to have the same number of oxygen, carbon and water of both sides of the equals sign." I pointed at the water symbol, "Like how water - H2O - has two oxygens, but the oxygen on the other side only has one? You put a two in front of it so that it's even." Piper narrowed their eyes and nodded like they suddenly knew the answer to the universe or something.

"Yeah, thank you that makes much more sense now!" She held up her hand and looked at me expectantly.

"Uh sorry I don't really do high fives.." 

But Piper grabbed my hand and made me high-five them anyway.

I helped Piper out with the rest of the worksheet, then it was pretty much the end of the day so we packed up all our stuff. The bell rang and I managed to slip out of the class without getting further judged/told off by the teacher.

I did see Connor leave but I didn't say anything to him because he was going to the buses in the opposite direction. And I was thinking of walking that way but that would be really creepy if I didn't say anything to him.

I left out the other entrance and turned down a street with houses along one side, and the ýylan river on the other side.

It usually takes me about 20-30 minutes to walk home, I'm in between two hills, so I'm closer than some people than need to bus or drive, but it still takes me a while. 

I kinda like walking though. I've got next to nothing after school, all I really do is guitar practice on Friday (mum thinks it's good for me) but that's fun and chill so I don't mind that.

The guy that teaches me is really nice too... 

But apart from Fridays, it doesn't really matter when I get home so I'm free to take as long as I want. Sometimes I walk down by the river and feed the ducks. Once a swan even followed me home (pretty sure it was tryna attack me but that's not the point).

Sometimes I listen to music but most of the time I just think about... anything, really.

I walked up to my doorstep and unlocked the front door. There were no cars in the driveway so mum was still at work and I had the house to myself.

The big wooden door creaked a tiny bit as it swung in, and I dropped my bag on the floor, kicked off my shoes and dragged my bag into the kitchen by a strap hanging off the bottom of it.

I practically yanked the cupboard doors off their hinges as I rummaged through all our food until I found a packet of Doritos I definitely wasn't supposed to be eating. I emptied half the bag into a bowl and put it on one end of the dining table.

After grabbing my favourite mug - sage green with a white pattern that looks like it belongs on an old person's curtains - and throwing a tea bag in it, I left the room, flicking on the switch at the base of the kettle as I walked past.

My room is down the hallway and to the right, on the east side of the house. I'd say it's quite big for a bedroom, but that might be the high ceilings. 

I strip off my uniform, chuck it to the side, then look through the crumpled clothes on my floor to find something else to put on. I can't be bothered looking nice so I grab a pair of shorts that don't fit and a hoodie. I try to rearrange my uniform so it doesn't end up with a million creases, but eventually, give up and slump down on my bed to watch random stuff on Youtube.

About an hour later I groan, roll over and decide I should probably go and do something.

Somehow I drag myself back to the dining room and I sit down with my phone and the bowl of chips. 20 minutes later (or maybe more) jingling bells and little paw steps patter down the hallway.

"Mooch!" I call out, and my lynx point siamese comes running in. I push my chair out and pick her up, hugging her close to my chest. She starts purring and when I kiss her on the forehead she snuggles into my neck.

Mooch is my pet cat. Her name is Mochi and in non-cat nerd words, she's a cream cat with grey stripes on her head, legs and tail. Her fur is brownish where it fades to a different colour and her eyes are light blue. She's got a little pink nose and a matching pink collar with a little blue tag, she's slightly cross-eyed and I love her more than anything in the world.

I flip her around so I'm cradling her like a baby and carry her down the corridor. 

"You want some food, Mochi?" I cooed, and she nodded, squirming around so she could see down the hallway. I gently put her down and she trotted after me as I scooped a bunch of cat food into her bowl.

She hesitated - it's so cute, Mooch always waits so we can eat at the same time - I shook my head, and she waited for a split second before dragging her bowl closer with her paws and starting to eat. 

She then followed me back to the dining room and curled up on my lap as I sat at the table. I heard a car pull into the driveway, and as a key turned in the door I could also hear mum coming down the hallway going off on another passive-aggressive rant to one of her clients on the phone.

Mum kicked off her high heels and lifted her arms up so Mary could take her coat off. Mum hung up with whoever she was talking to and turned around.

"Hey, you." Mum pulled Mary in by the collar and kissed her. I wrinkled my nose and squeezed my eyes shut.

"Mum-" I started but she cut me off.

"Ugh sorry," she grumbled. Mary took the phone off her and they walked into the dining room to join me. Mum rushed over to me.

"There's my little constellation!" She squeezed my face and hugged me around my neck.

Mum then grabbed a pair of chopsticks between her teeth, picked a box out of the brown paper bag Mary was holding and made a beeline for her room.

I turned to Mary for answers and she shrugged.

"She's got an important interview tomorrow."

I nodded. 

"When does she not," I rolled my eyes.

"I know! I get no time to-" Mary stopped partway through her sentence. "Uh, talk to her."

She plopped the paper bag on the table.

"Is Chinese alright with you, V?"

"Yeah, that's good," I said pulling out a box of stir fried noodles and the wooden chopsticks. Take away is very common in our house. Mum's a news reporter, so she's always busy with stories and interviews and all that stuff. Mary - mum's girlfriend - works at a restaurant.

"I'm gonna go to the guest room, 'kay?" Mary picked up the remaining contents of the bag.

"Yup."

I'm pretty good with chopsticks. Maybe that's because every second night it's Chinese for dinner, or because Mary's restaurant is Japanese and we go there almost every weekend because it's 25% off for family and mum wants to support her. Whatever it is, it's definitely not from mum, she pretty much abandoned her Japanese-ness when we moved here. I speak a bit of broken Japanese, but mum would rather speak Tagalog anyway. Because dad was Filipino.

It's not really a flex but I dunno.

I think guys that're good with chopsticks are hot.

Even though I'm not supposed to, I feed Mochi some of the prawns because I know she loves them. 

I spend maybe another hour on Youtube because I'm boring and there's nothing else to do.

After I put my phone down I carry the takeaway dishes into the kitchen and find my mug with a tea bag in it. I never actually made that tea.

I put the kettle on again and dumped a spoon of sugar in the cup. Because mum and Mary were both somewhere else I snatched the whipped cream from the fridge as well.

A couple of minutes later I sat down at the table with my... drink that probably wouldn't classify as tea anymore as it was maybe forty percent milk and thirty percent cream.

I took a big sip of my 'tea' and my phone pinged so I flipped it over, expecting it to be nothing.

I saw the Instagram logo, and then my eyes flicked down and I saw Connor's name.

FUCK??

I spat my tea out and Mochi leapt high off my lap, scrambling away.

"Shit! Sorry, Mooch!" I slapped my phone face down on the table and ripped out a million tissues to wipe up the tea.

I took a few deep breaths then slowly picked my phone up off the table.

connorrr.ss1 has requested to follow you

I open insta and stare at the notification. I try to stop my hand from shaking and click 'accept'.

I follow him back and it brings me to the messages page. I'm about to turn my phone off when I see three dots in the bottom corner.

He's typing.

...Two amazing pieces of art this chapter!!

Mochi by IAmNotABookwormButOk!!! She's SO ADORABLE

Sorry it's a short chapter. Also there's pretty much no interaction between Connor and Vega. But I'm introducing new characters which is important.
Next chapter will be quite short, and a bit different to the usual ones... you'll see soon enough

° . * ° . * 1970 words ° . * ° . *

Published November 1, 2022

See ya in the next one!