This is just a quick little drabble thing that takes place immediately before Of Rats and Men.
It's a Date
Casey drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly. This was worse than the game against Ridgemont when they'd tied it up and he was up for the shootout in overtime. Everything was riding on this next play….
April stood near the edge of a locker bay, the bright paint on the open locker door behind her making her stand out from the crowd in the halls. He'd thought he'd never have any friends again after he'd blown it with Nick, and everybody in this lame new school had avoided him like he had the plague.
And then he'd met April. And she was smart, and funny, and he could talk to her, and she knew ninjas, and she was down with the whole vigilante thing. The only thing cooler than having her as a friend would be having her as a girlfriend.
If only he could stop chickening out every time he tried to ask her on a date.
He breathed deep again, running a hand through his hair.
Play it cool Jones. No pressure. Just your entire future happiness riding on this one.
Letting out the breath, he put on his best air of unconcern and sauntered over to her.
"Hey," he said, putting out a hand to lean against the lockers next to her. Unfortunately, he'd forgotten that the row of lockers ended. His hand met empty air and he overbalanced, his head colliding with the edge of the lockers before he could stop himself.
"Casey!" April gasped, reaching out to steady him. "Geez, are you okay?"
"Um… yeah. Yeah, I'm cool." Rubbing his head, he winced at the lump his fingers encountered.
Okay, okay, pull it together. Catch it on the rebound.
"So anyway, I was thinkin'—" His voice cracked on the last word, ending in a squeak. He cleared his throat, but the expression on her face told him it was too much to hope that she hadn't noticed.
Eye on the goal, Jones. You're in the endzone.
"—you wanna go get some pizza after class?"
April's face brightened, but before she could answer, the locker next to her slammed shut, and Casey found himself staring down into a pair of bespectacled eyes.
"Great idea!" Irma said. "That new place that just opened up advertises gluten-free options. Do you know how surprisingly hard it is to find gluten-free options in this neighbourhood? You'd think that our local businesses would be more savvy to today's market demands; it's not exactly uncommon for people in our age demographic to experience severe digestive issues when attempting to cope with a gluten rich—" Her gaze strayed to the clock on the wall, and she gasped. "Holy cats, we're late for Trig! Come on, April!"
Without pausing to let him get a word in edgewise, Irma grabbed April's wrist and tugged her down the hall.
"W-wait…" Casey stammered.
April raised a hand and gave him a cheery wave. "See you after class, Casey!"
And then she was gone, leaving him standing alone in the middle of the empty hall. He stared agape for a moment before he turned to the faded puma mascot on the wall, its furry head gone mangy over time and one of its glass eyes turning so that the puma was cross eyed.
"…what just happened?"
But the puma had no wisdom to impart. Casey's only answer was his own voice echoing off the walls.