The Line Drive

five

Mackenzie

Somehow I'd made it through dinner with Edwin, Friday classes, and Brandon's party without going clinically insane. It had been hit or miss for a couple of moments when Hannah had gotten so drunk that she threw up all over the outside of my car, and then Kate called her ex-boyfriend at 1AM to tell him that he was a 'raging alcoholic piece of trash'.

At least Hannah had been a decent person and helped me clean it off in the morning. Kate had still been fast asleep on our couch when I'd left to come to school to work on homework and newspaper.

I'm sitting in the newspaper office, editing my afternoon away, eating almonds because it was the only thing I could find in the pantry that was edible as-is. The thing I hate most about the office is that it has narrow windows, so often I feel like I'm sitting in a fish bowl, because people can stare at me and I rarely notice them because the windows are to my side. I swear I feel like I'm being watched, but when I look over, there's no one there. Why would there be? It's Sunday, no one spends Sunday in the Student Center. It's always creeped me out.

I'm reading through the sports articles, trying to get it over with as fast as possible, when my phone lights up. It's Dane. I stare at his name for a long moment before finally picking up my phone.

Have you eaten lunch? His text catches me off guard, because when he asked for my number in the library, I had just assumed he was fucking with me, and would never use it past texting me the one time.

Even though I'm tempted to ignore him, I text back. No? I don't know why I put the question mark there.

He replies immediately. Do you like pizza?

I laugh to myself. I'm not clinically insane. Of course I like pizza.

You seem like the type of person who might be lactose intolerant. I'm not sure what that means, but I feel kind of offended. His next text comes quickly. What's your favorite? Basic-bitch pizzas only.

Cheese.

That's the ultimate basic-bitch pizza. He replies. I slam my phone down on the desk, feeling like maybe he's flirting with me or maybe he's just being an asshole. I'm not used to even the vague possibility of someone flirting with me. But I do know that Dane has a girlfriend, she hangs off of him everywhere they go.

My phone doesn't light up again so I return to editing. I'm almost through the sports articles when a knock on the door causes me to jump. I hear a short laugh, and I peer through the narrow windows.

Dane is standing there, a plate of pizza in either hand. He's mouthing something, but I'm terrible at reading lips so I really have no clue what he's trying to communicate. I roll my chair over and open the door.

"I brought you lunch." He announces, setting a plate down in front of me. It has two slices of cheese pizza on it. Leaving the door open, he collapses in one of the other chairs. His plate has six slices on it. I briefly wonder if he's poisoned it because I didn't think I left the best impression on him in the library.

I eye him suspiciously, as I take a bite of the pizza. It's shitty, student center pizza, but it's honestly not the worst pizza I've ever had. And, as I eat it, I realize that I'm actually really hungry. Almonds were definitely not cutting it.

"What do you want?"

"A guy can't just do something nice for a girl that he met in the library two days ago?"

"No." I say pointedly.

"I've been thinking." He takes a massive bite of pizza and I'm surprised he doesn't choke on it.