Fools Fall

8- Noah

Noah

Walking into Student Center East, I turned toward the cafeteria of UIC that had Panda Express, Chick-fil-A, and a wide variety of cafeteria food on the first floor. But I took the escalator to the second floor where I knew Dunkin' Donuts and Moes were at. And damn right, I was getting myself an iced coffee along with a messy burrito.

With my iced coffee in hand and my Moes burrito safely wrapped up and ready to be eaten, I spotted a familiar spooky girl shoving a bite of her own burrito into her mouth like there was no other food on earth. She didn't even care about her long, coffin-shaped, fake nails getting messy. She only cared about devouring that burrito. I sat down next to her, her intense eyes watching me as I did so, and I said, "must be a good burrito."

"You wouldn't believe," Ciera spoke with her mouth full, but had her hand covering her mouth so I couldn't see her chew thankfully. When she swallowed her food, she deadpanned, "So hanging out one night means you can sit next to me?"

"Sharing a joint doesn't equate to friendship?" I asked in the same dry tone as hers as I set down my food and drink. Ciera almost cracked a smile, but regained her hard expression. I took my phone out and sent a picture of my iced coffee to Sam. I don't know when it started, but whenever Sam or I have an iced coffee, we send a picture of it to each other along with some form of a joke.

My Sam
Today 12:38

[coffee image]
PTSD

"Please don't tell me you just posted a picture of your coffee," Ciera spoke in a judgmental tone.

I chuckled, "No, I sent it to my boyfriend. Kind of an inside joke." She had her eyebrows raised when I looked at her as if expecting me to explain. "Point of an inside joke is to keep it inside," I told her lightheartedly and that was when I received a message from Sam.

My Sam
Today 12:38

[coffee image]
PTSD

Don't let anyone spill
coffee on you! Only I
can!! 😤😤

I laughed, thinking about Sam spilling coffee all over me, the first time we met. It wasn't funny then, but now it was. Ciera commented, "must be a good joke."

"It is," I confirmed smugly, putting my phone in my pocket after replying, 'only you' to Sam. I unwrapped my burrito and was about to pick it up after taking a sip of my iced coffee, but Ciera picked up my burrito. She took a bite before I could stop her.

I looked at her with my jaw slack, "you did not just fucking take a bite of my burrito," I said in awe.

Ciera shrugged, "you said we were friends," and she set my burrito back down. "That's good."

"Yeah, I know it's fucking good," I picked up my food and began eating.

"You know about BSB?" She asked, then polished off her burrito, not caring about the rice or shredded cheese that fell out.

"Wow, you're messy. Didn't anyone tell you how to be ladylike?" I questioned jokingly.

To which Ciera responded with flipping me off while telling me, "gender is a social construct and so is gender roles."

I almost smiled because she got me. Sam would like Ciera, I decided. "BSB?" I questioned from her original comment.

"The Behavioral Science Building? There's like a rooftop on the second floor. We all go there to smoke," Ciera explained. "So finish that burrito."

"Well, you already ate half of it," I muttered.

"And I'll eat the other half too," she told me seriously. I bet she would have and I wondered how she was so skinny. Ciera waited for me to finish my burrito. She wasn't the best company with her dry mood and her insulting the way I chewed (saying I was too loud to which I told her to 'close your fucking ears then'). And following her to the Behavioral Science Building ten minutes later.

Up on the second floor, there was an outside area where students were indeed smoking marijuana. Jude, Dina, and Kyle were there passing a blunt around and laughing about something. Ciera and I walked up to them. "Hey!" Dina exclaimed. We greeted her and the rest of them while Kyle passed me the blunt.

I brought the rolled up weed to my mouth, inhaled a big breath and held it there for a minute before I swallowed and blew out the satisfying smoke. I passed it to Ciera after taking my second hit. "What were you guys talking about?" Ciera asked.

"This weekend's Halloween party Jude is throwing," Dina told me excitedly.

"I thought you stay in a dorm?" I questioned Jude.

"I do, but my parent's house is just twenty minutes outside of Chicago," he explained. "My parents are in London until Thanksgiving, so I have the whole house to myself till then."

I nodded in understanding, while Dina said, "you'll be there with Sam, right?"

"Uh, yeah probably." I wasn't sure about the party. I wanted to go, but Sam drove out to me twice already and to ask him to do that again? That would be unfair especially cause I knew he would do that for me even if he didn't want to.

Unless I just go by myself. I thought Sam mentioned Elliot having some sort of hang out for Halloween? Maybe Sam would rather hang with them and us two do our own thing. "I don't know, might just be me. I'll let you guys know," I told the group and took another hit from the blunt.

**

Bit of a short one so I'll post chapter 9 soon! Hopefully but Sunday or Monday night the latest.

So I started rereading Waiting Room and I forgot how fucking good the book is😩❤️ anyone else read it?🙋🏻

Thank you for reading!! ❤️❤️

-Xoxo Bert