~~11:15 pm ~~
o Angel
As the staff of the Home Food Inn began to clear up and take care of the mess left behind by the party, everyone began to split up. Some were going home on rides of their own, while others were going to be taking public transportation.
I gave Ate Caitleen a hug. “Happy eighteenth again.”
She released me and smiled gratefully. “Thanks, baby girl. I had a great time thanks to all of you.”
The last remaining guests filed out through the exit, leaving me and a few others still inside.
I approached Carol, who was picking up her small handbag from her seat.
“Hey, do you have a ride home?” I asked her.
She turned to me, then shook her head. “No. You?”
“Nope. Wanna tag along?”
“Who else is coming along?”
I glanced to my left, where Dash Santos, Martin, and Dante were gathering their backpacks.
“Maybe they will,” I answered, gesturing toward the three guys.
Carol glanced at them. “Well, okay, sure.”
One of our friends, May Osiris, came up to us.
“Any of you commuting home?”
“Yup, we both are,” I said with a nod, “Coming, Ate May?”
“Yeah.”
Dash, Martin, and Dante strode over to us.
“You ladies taking the train?” Dash asked us, his hand on one strap of his backpack.
“Yep,” May answered him.
“Cool. We are, too.”
So we left the buffet place and began walking to 39th Avenue Station, which wasn’t far.
On the way there, Dash, Martin, Carol, and May walked ahead. Dante and I lagged behind. Our hands would hold each other periodically, though neither of us acted out of the ordinary. Once or twice, Carol and May would look back at us and ask if we were okay. We would simply nod, hastily letting go of each other, only to hold on again once they turned away.
When we got on the train bound south, the six of us sat together on one row of seats. Dante and I sat next to each other, of course, but since our friends were too close and could easily spot us holding hands, we kept our hands to ourselves, although I surreptitiously leaned on Dante’s arm a bit.
Fifteen minutes later, the train pulled to a stop at Canyon Meadows station. Dash and Carol lived at Canyon Meadows, so they got up and bid the rest of us goodbye.
“Bye, Carol,” I said brightly, spreading my arms out so I could give her a hug.
Carol gave me a small smile but made no move to embrace me. “Bye, Angel.”
Dante bumped fists with Dash, then looked at Carol. “You take care, Carol.”
My best friend gave Dante a similar smile. “Thanks, Dante. Bye… I’ll see you around.”
I watched her and Dash step out of the train, then the train began to accelerate once again.
Two train stations later, Martin, May, Dante, and I got off the train and went on our separate ways. Martin went off to board the Route 153 bus standing by at the bus stop just across the street from the train platform, while May got on the Route 14 bus bound for Bridlewood.
YOU ARE READING
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Teen FictionSixteen-year old Dante Evadoni is a normal boy with a normal life - he's in eleventh grade, he has a fair few friends, he's not popular and he's quiet - and a problem that has followed him for two years: he's heels over head in love with a girl he c...
