Mina leaned back on the back legs of her chair, strawberry frappuccino sitting half-forgotten on the patio table in front of her. She gestured vaguely with her hands as she spoke, in the way people did without realizing as if the motions somehow aided in the act of speech. Her hair spilled over the back of her chair despite the ends caught between it and her back, and one of her feet rested against the leg of the table, pushing on it slightly to rock her chair gently back and forth. 

“Like what was she really expecting with that, you know?”

“Uh…”


“Like everyone already knew what was going on with her and Mackenzie and then she suddenly shows up after spring break with her hair dyed flamingo pink and she just expects no one to realize what happened?”

“Ah…”

 It’s like who does she really think she’s fooling, you know?”

“Uhuh…”

“And you [i]know[/i] they think they’re gonna be slick about it, acting like no one realizes. God, they’re so obnoxious, right? Like they’re so in-your-face about it, right?!”

“Um.” Mina’s increasingly reluctant conversation partner cleared his throat, raising one hand. “Mina, I uh. I mean, I’m really flattered you accepted my confession, and I’m happy you invited me out so quickly… Like, immediately…”

“Nn-hn. What about it?” Mina took a sip of her frappuccino, having recalled its presence in the brief gap where she wasn’t talking. It wasn’t really cold anymore, and the bottom of the cup seemed to just be strawberry juice at this point, but she didn’t seem to care. 

The boy, Martin, cleared his throat again, seeming to wither under her gaze. “I mean, uh. I- I can’t help but wonder if you’re really just going to, um. Just uh… talk about them the whole time…?”

“Nn-hn,” Mina answered, with zero hesitation. She set her dissolved beverage back on the table. “You said you were interested in me, yeah? So you’re interested in what I have to say about stuff, yeah?”

Martin hesitated, his eyes dropping to the surface of the table beneath Mina’s sudden accusatory tone. “Yeah, of- of course I am, really!I just- its just. Different than I was expecting, is all…”

“So?” Mina’s eyes dragged themselves over to the street the cafe sat on, suddenly transfixed on the students walking home or crowding into the various stores and small restaurants lining it. “That’s just an issue with your own expectations, right?”

Martin’s mouth hung open for a moment, processing possible replies for a moment before he cleared his throat again with an uncomfortable chuckle. “Yeah, I uh. I suppose you’re right, sorry. Do you uh.. Do you mind if I go to the bathroom real quick?”

Mina grunted noncommittally, not bothering to look at the boy as he scurried away from their table. Honestly, the nerve of that guy! How could he talk about expectations when they’d never even spoken before? Unless they had. To be honest, she hadn’t even remembered the guy existed until he’d asked her to meet him behind the school. What a cliche, Mina was willing to bet the guy just stayed at home watching anime all day. She scowled at the handful of young couples she spotted holding hands as they passed. Honestly, just die already.

She sighed, and the front legs of her chair re-established contact with the ground. Mina slumped over the patio table, pushing the cup with her elbow as she rested her chin in her hand. She supposed she could [i]try[/i] to be a bit nicer to the guy. She had absolutely no intention of maintaining this charade past today, but she may as well try to make the act convincing for now. There wouldn’t be much point to this otherwise, right?

Where [i]was[/i] he, anyway? It had probably been like ten minutes or so, and Martin still wasn’t back yet. Was he constipated or something? Geez! Mina craned her neck over her shoulder, seeing if she could spot him, but no, nothing - actually, would she be able to spot him anyway? He didn’t exactly stand out. Seriously, what a bland guy. But still, where was he?! 

Mina started to rise from the table, thinking she might just go get him from the bathroom herself, then froze when she spotted something on the street. A shock of bright pink hair, bobbing in the crowd. 

Oh no! Oh no no no! Mina dove under the table; there was no way she was about to get caught [i]alone.[/i] Ugh, stupid Martin and his digestive problems! Why did he think she even bothered to bring him here?! And he had the nerve to disappear before the most important part?! 

She peeked out of her hiding place, tracking that stupid pink flag through the crowd. Ugh, and she had her [i]groupies[/i] with her - what, was her boyfriend busy? She had to dust off those shrill little soccer club nobodies? Mina could almost [i]swear[/i] she was being mocked right now. 

Mina ducked back down under the table, sitting cross-legged while she waited for her adversary to pass. Forget being nice, she was gonna wring Martin’s stupid neck the next time she saw him. She sighed, head in her hand as she waited some minutes until the coast was clear, ignoring the occasional glance from passersby wondering what she was doing under the table. 

Once she felt enough time had passed, Mina crawled out from under the table, stretching and dusting off the seat of her pants. Ugh, the cafe staff really needed to clean this patio better. She glanced around, but still saw no sign of Martin. Jerk. She grabbed her drink off the table and tossed it at the nearest trashcan like a baseball. Instead of going in, the cup rebounded off the rim, spilling all over the ground. Someone was playing a prank on her, they had to be.