I sat with Dan at lunch, and he was busy looking at his phone.
“I bought a dozen roses.”
“Mmm-hmm,” I replied as I glanced towards Tony and then scanned the lunchroom to find Anna.
“All red.”
“Do yo think she’ll like them?”
“Oh yeah. I didn’t put my name on them. I just asked them to write ‘from an admirer’ on the card.
Anna was on the other side of the room, trying to look positive while holding a grudge at Tony across the great divide that was our cafeteria.
“I kind of hope she gets them in sixth period. I’d love to see her reaction once she walks to the office and receives them.”
“So, she’ll have absolutely no idea who sent them?” I asked as I took a bite of a carrot. Dan had the cafeteria special of the day: pizza and French fries.
“As long as she doesn’t think they’re from Tony, I’ll feel fine, just to see her expression. Walking into class with the eyes all electric blue and everyone else admiring them. That’s what I want to see. I want to see the happy Anna. I think she’s in there somewhere.”
I could only nod because if I tried to think to about it, I’d laugh and choke on my carrots.
Anna stood up from her chair and started walking across the lunchroom towards Tony.
“This could go two ways,” Dan stated. “They’re either going to talk things over, or she’s going to try and hit him again.”
The whole lunchroom eventually turned their collective eyes once again to the former duo. Anna slammed her hands on the table.
“Is there someone else, Anthony? Who is she? Tell me, now!” Anna grabbed onto a carton of milk in front of Tony.
Tony looked away from her, tapped his fingers on the table, and then stood up, making it a little harder to be a target.
“Yes, Anna, there is and I’m not telling you anything else except we’re done.”
Anna screamed and threw the carton at Tony, but she appeared to have terrible aim as the carton flew through the air and landed upright on the Chess Club table.
The peals of laughter echoed all around. I wasn’t sure if everyone was laughing because she was told “no”—again—, that she had lousy aim, or because the milk didn’t spill when it landed. Anna left the lunchroom in a fury.
“I count that in ‘win’ category,” Dan said as he took a bite of his pizza.
I looked at Tony and our eyes once again locked for a moment. I wanted to run across the room and jump into his arms and profess to the school our feelings for each other. I broke our eye contact to avoid my lusty desires.
At seventh period, my heart raced at every thought I had of Tony. There were a few times that I wanted to make all of those rumors, all those stories, true…just between us of course. The doubts I had were shattered the moment he stood up to Anna. We were made for each other and I desired the day when we could could let it all be known to everyone. I wanted to make one of those origami style notes and give it to him, secretly, but thought better of it as Anna probably knew his locker combination and it would give her just enough information to find someone with matching handwriting.
Dan sat in the back of the room, completely oblivious to the teacher’s droning as he had witnessed Anna receiving the flowers and true to his word, he seemed content with her holding said flowers. I didn’t have the heart to tell him she threw them in the trash after breaking off the head of each flower in crazy-eyed blaze.
“You have work tonight?” Dan asked as we walked down the hallway.
“Yes,” I lied. I didn’t want to, but how else was I going to get to see Tony if Dan wanted to come by and play a few rounds of Doom.
“Gotta save up the money, you know.”
“I need to get a job, but it’s got to be somewhere I won’t have to serve anybody.”
“I thought you wanted to work with me?”
“I did, but I thought the odds a young woman would walk in and give me her phone number are low compared to how may idiots will come in and ask stupid questions.”
“It happens,” I replied with a nod. It’s not like we sold steak tartar or ratatouille, just pizza and spaghetti, but there were always people walking in and staring at the board as if they’re never seen one before.
“Yeah, I know you went out with that girl.”
“Yeah, that too.”
“I found out Anna destroyed the flowers. I’m saddened about it, but it will not deter me.”
“You could always go to the same college as her.”
“Ha, I know, who am I kidding? She’s way out of my league.”
“No one’s in any leagues, Dan. As much a I don’t like her, what’s stopping you from talking to her.”
“Everything, Chris. Yeah, she’s vulnerable right now. Inside, she is terrified as Tony was like, her pillar, her rock, and without him she’s like half a person.”
“That’s one way to put it,” I replied as we arrived at Dan’s locker. He opened it to see the one rose, intact, standing upright.
“Will you look at, Chris?”
“Is that one of the roses from your order?”
“Yes, same.”
I looked down the hallway and saw Anna walking towards us. She stepped in front of Dan and pout her arm on his shoulder. I took several steps back.
“Did you send me the flowers?”
“Yeah, I, saw you were feeling down and someone as pretty as you shouldn’t feel down.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. Dan, is it?”
“Yeah, yes, Daniel Powell.”
“Well, Danny, again, thank you.” She then reached in and kissed Dan on the lips.
She then ran down the hall and looked back at us.
“Breathe, Danny She’s turned the corner.”
I knew this was something I would never hear the end of but it was also something that would keep Danny busy for that afternoon.
“I was going to see if you wanted to play Doom but…I think I have some small changes I need go make to life. What’s a good cologne to buy?”
I could only shrug.
“Yeah, I can’t reinvent the wheel too much. I mean, she likes me for me, right?”
“Looks like it,” I replied down the hall and saw Tony with a smirk on his face.
“I need to think a few things over. Give me a call after work, so we can talk but this.”
“You got it. Congratulations?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Dan replied as he grabbed his backpack and the rose. “It’s all looking up for me.”
“Catch you later,” I said as I walked down the hallway to my locker. I knew Tony wouldn’t come up to me, even after school. We were never in the same social circles, so he had no reason to come up to for casual conservations, that and we said we wouldn’t.
“Hey, Riley!” A voice growled, causing me to jump.
I turned to see Tony and I wanted to hug him and punch him at the same time.
“You still working at that pizza place?”
“Yes,” I replied with a slight nod.
“What would it cost to have a few pies delivered?”
“We don’t deliver.”
“Could they do it as a favor?”
“Sure. What is the address?”
“5427 South Beacon. Having a small party, you know?”
I resisted the urge to smile and instead kept a stoic face as other students passed by.
:Can you have them there at five?”
“Yes, we can do that.”
“Thanks, man,” Tony replied with a wink to me.
I let him walk away, quickly grabbed my textbooks and then high-tailed it to the parking lot.