Comfy Closets - Chapter 51: Chapter 51

Leah's POV
"This is great work, Miss Bennett. I can always count on you to bring in the best works of the class, and promptly too."
I smiled politely and nodded at Ms Parry as students trickled out of the classroom. It really wasn't anything, just the worksheet all done and finished. Given everyone else was taking it home as homework, to my teacher, this was exceptionally impressive. But not really.
"Ms Parry, before I go, I wanted to ask if I could have the next lesson's homework to do instead." The woman looked at me, confused. I scratched at my ear sheepishly. "It's just that I'm trying to get ahead of schoolwork before more heavy assignments get piled on. I have a lot of things to focus on now and it'll only get more intense. So, is it okay if you give me the next lesson's work to do? I've already read the chapters about it, so I'll understand the concepts."
I bit at my lip and watched as she deliberated. She finally hummed with agreement. "Alright, I can do that. Just let me print out the assignment and you can have at it," my chemistry teacher smiled brightly - a rare sight in itself. I really was her favourite student; it was obvious to tell. And I guess I didn't mind it, not when the benefits made things more convenient for me.
I shot her another smile and waited, awkwardly rocking on my heels as she did something on the computer before handing a freshly printed paper to me.
With a final quirk of the lips, I left the classroom in quick strides as another little weight dropped onto my mental pile of things to be completed.
"Okay, deal with this later. Eh, actually, it's not too bad. Probably will get it done in an hour..."
I mumbled to myself, eyes focused on the page as I walked down the now dwindling hallways, the only ones that remained being the stragglers and members of after school clubs or players with sports training. So much to do, so much to do! And I had to get it completed by the end of the week, latest. Sometimes, just seeing all of the tasks laid out in front of me was overwhelming, but I knew with a certainty that things really will get worse by the next month. All I could do was prepare myself.
My feet took me to my locker to pick up a certain special bag, then I was off to the second-floor meeting room that would hold our student council gathering.
"Hey, y'all!" I greeted enthusiastically as I pushed the door open to see everyone else already here. I got 'hellos' and smiles in return, and especially so when I dumped the bag I held onto the table, tipping it over and spilling out the bountiful of snacks contained within.
"We love you, Leah," Catherine cried out as she instantly tore open an Oreo packet and stuffed a cookie into her mouth. Everyone else got out of their seats and gathered around the bag to pick out their treats to munch on for the duration of the meeting. I picked out my own snack from the rapidly disappearing pile and nibbled on the red stick of candy as I sat comfortably at the table's head chair.
I'd realised a while ago that these meetings weren't always fun to attend, even if they were essential. So I figured, what better incentive was there than sweet, sweet candy-hm, maybe ice cream. But I couldn't exactly keep that in my locker.
As the rest of them slowly settled back down, all with tooth-decaying treats in hand, I patiently waited and idly wandered my gaze out the window. The view of the school's sports grounds sprawled out below, some of the fields occupied by teams already. From here, I could see people milling about, throwing stuff and kicking around other stuff. I recognised the soccer pitch just outside as the sun blazed down with the afternoon heat - the last lingering vestiges of summer before autumn took hold. It seemed to be the girl's team practising today.
Hmm. I felt the corners of my lips turn up, ever so slightly, but more genuine than any other as of late. A fleeting thought. About a girl I bumped into only just a few minutes before. It was just a thought. But it was one that didn't seem to want to drift away...
"Leah."
I jerked my head back to the room and snapped out of my daze as I saw Samuel looking at me expectantly. "Hm?"
"Should we start?"
"Right!" I exclaimed and sat up straight, nodding to him, the vice-president of the council. "What do we need to go over today?"
The brown-haired boy looked over some notes in front of him as he chewed on some chocolate. "A lot today. Planning for the upcoming dance. Budgets for the other clubs. Oh, that one's important. The estimated amount we allocated to them last time needs to be altered, especially after the funding we gave to the 'chill' room accidentally went over-budget. The pool table was a big expense - we probably went too 'all-out' with that..."
I hummed and wrote down notes of my own as I bit on the stick of candy in my mouth, pressing down the urge to groan out loud.
Damn it, this meeting's gonna be one of the long ones...
_______________
"Alright, we'll talk over the more minute details next time. For now, that'll do. I guess that's it for today, thank you for coming guys."
Murmurs and chattering went around as we packed up the laptops and papers. I got my bag and was about to walk out with the others when I felt the buzzing sound from within. We left as a group and I hurriedly fished out my phone and glanced at it briefly. Realising I'd gotten a text from two people in the last hour, I checked them and saw one from Lena reminding me about our early dinner together, and another one from Blake with just a few words.
Blakeee - you wanna hang at my place?
I frowned, pursing my lips slightly. To be honest, even if I didn't have to meet up with my sister today, I still wouldn't feel like going. Good that I had an actual excuse though.
Le - i can't today. i'm eating out with my sister.
Blakeee - just come over after.
Well, he was insistent. I knew what he had in mind, and really, I just wasn't in the mood for it - and hinted as such. Just with different words.
Le - not tonight babe. i've got tons of work to do. another time?
He didn't reply right away so I just left it at that for now, waving goodbye to the others as we exited the building and went our separate ways. I got in my car and set a course for my aunt's place. Lena had insisted we eat at the coffee shop, prompted by the guilt of not having visited Aunt Jemma in so long.
As I drove my way there, I couldn't help but become slightly annoyed about the short conversation with my boyfriend. He just couldn't see between the lines, of the few lines there were to begin with. I've realised it has been like this more and more often lately and I just didn't know what to do. The insistent words, impatient demeanour - I just didn't know.
We've only been together for a few months, and he's fun. Charismatic, with that wide, knee-weakening smile... it wasn't hard to see us turn from friends into something more. But as of late it's been... less fun. These arguments over the simplest things, petty remarks behind backs - I doubt that's healthy. And obviously, it's him who usually starts these things, but I digress.
Shaking my head, I rid myself of these thoughts as I arrived at the café. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about stupid boyfriends and their stupid texts. I pushed the simmering annoyance aside for now and entered the shop, instantly greeted by the smells of familiar coffee. The next to greet me was the bright smile coming from the woman behind the counter.
A short, energetic lady that stood at five-foot-three came out to hug me with a dazzling smile so befitting her nickname.
"Aunt Jemma! Hey, how've you been?"
The sole proprietor of Makrdey Café hugged me tight and held me by the shoulders. "I've been great! Doing well." But she frowned and did a quick one-eighty when she smacked my upper arm. "But you hardly visit! I see why Lena and Landon don't, but you? Don't you ever miss your aunt?"
I shot her a sheepish grin. "Of course, I've just been busy lately, Auntie Jem. Sorry. I'll try to visit more often, but Lena's gonna be here soon. She wanted to come to visit you too before she left for college again."
As if mystically summoned by her name, the girl coincidentally walked through the door just then, pulling the scarf off of her neck. "Auntie! Hi!" Lena said, eyes bright as she nearly missed us and walked right by.
My auntie squealed and the two greeted each other with an embrace, not having seen each other for a period longer than I. Our aunt was about to launch into her series of questions and nosy enquiries when one of her staff called for some assistance from behind the counter.
"Aw damn, I have to go help Sara with the coming rush. But go ahead! Find a seat for yourself. I'll get you your favourites and try to come out later to sit with you girls."
With that, she left us to ourselves and I shrugged, leading the way to the back where the lights were dimmer, and the vibe was cosier. My sister plumped down in her sofa seat and let out a sigh as I sat across. I gave her a curious look.
"You look tired."
"Hmm? Yeah, spent the whole day with my old friends. Walking around for hours and exhausting every topic you can think of is very tiring, I've found."
I smirked. "I never thought I'd see the day that you'd say you were tired of shopping."
"I'm not! I didn't get enough sleep last night, and-get this, the girls were bugging me to go out with them again tonight. I really don't know where they get all their energy from. I need to try their hangover cures," my sister groaned as she laid her head back against the plush couch. I tried to suppress the smile on my lips.
"Grandma."
A glare was sent my way. "You're the grandma."
"That makes no sense. You're older than me. You'd be the grandma first."
The childish back-and-forth went on for a few more minutes before one of the staff brought over our cups of coffee - my favourite caramel latte and Lena's usual mocha. With cups now in hand, we settled down with the remarks and sipped from the life-giving liquid.
I tentatively glanced up at her from the rim of my cup, frowning slightly. My sister, four years my elder, was only back for a short break from university and she'll soon have to leave in a few days. For all the banter and ribbing that usually took place, I still missed her being here in the months between the breaks. I would never tell her that, of course, but it was easy to miss what was always there before.
Our slow sips turned into talks about the small things, then everything. From college to boys, lovers and so on, we caught each other up on the need-to-know and sometimes venturing into the too-much-information section too. Well, that was mostly Lena.
"-but he wouldn't let it go, and so I couldn't do anything else but kick him out. But no, he just had to-"
I cleared my throat suddenly to cut into my sister's babble and directed her attention behind her as I spotted a certain woman approaching our table with two plates of food in hand. Lena immediately shut up when she noticed and put on a wide, innocent smile.
"Hey, Auntie Jem, what you got there?"
"Oh, just some wraps you might like. I do wonder why you girls rarely come here though; you practically get food for free."
Both of us made incoherent sounds of feinted obliviousness as we bit into the food. "Oh, this is good," I mumbled around my mouthful and Jemma grinned.
Lena swallowed her bit and moved on to something else now that our aunt was here. I noticed her eyes glinting slightly. "So... Leah, how's the BF?"
Our aunt was quick to jump on the topic. "Really now? Since when? Who is he? What's his name?"
I narrowed my eyes at my devil of a sister and answered with reluctance. "It's only been a few months. His name's Blake, nothing much to say about him..."
"Oh come on. He's the boy you're dating, I wanna know more!"
Now I really felt disinclined to say much. The reminder of Blake and I's last conversation dampened my mood. I pursed my lips and sighed softly, leaning back in my chair. "There's nothing much to know."
Auntie Jem stopped in her badgering and gazed at me for a few seconds. "Has something happened between you two?"
I stayed quiet, not knowing what to say. I felt her sit down beside me but I didn't quite meet her eyes.
"I don't know. Things have just been weird. Not like the beginning. It's... yeah." I trailed off. What was there to say if even I wasn't sure of what to think of it?
Lena looked to me with these eyes that gently prodded me to continue, and despite myself, I tried.
"Maybe I don't like him like before?" I said unsurely, throwing it out there. The other two nodded; not in agreement, just acknowledging it. I sighed again. "Honestly, I don't really wanna talk about him anymore."
They paused, taking the cue to swiftly change the subject, and I felt grateful for that. But the next topic wasn't something I completely enjoyed talking about either.
"Wait, well besides that, I gotta know, are there other people you're interested in? Is that why...?" Lena suggested slowly, for which I returned with a look.
"I-no, Lena! Well-okay, it's not like I'm not interested in other people, but I'm dating Blake right now!"
"Oh, who's these 'other people'?" our aunt's eyebrows rose curiously as the little glint in her eyes made me regret ever speaking.
"No one!"
"LeLe, you gotta tell us! Is it a guy? Or a girl? Someone who's into sports? I know you like those," my sister teased.
"My god," I groaned, covering my face as I felt it heat up. It really wasn't anything, and I knew that. Just a few people here and there that I found attractive, but I squinted my eyes shut as my brain brought up the image of one of my more recent attractions. I peeked at them with a glare. "I'm not talking about it."
Their faces fell in disappointment, realising I wasn't going to budge. Our aunt seemingly finished with this conversation, got up to get back to work. "Alright, I've stayed long enough. I should go and help the others. But we should talk longer another time. I'll ask your mom if we can have a dinner get-together, maybe?"
I lowered my hands and managed a kind smile. "That sounds good. It'll be nice to see Thalia and James."
She smiled and left then. We continued eating our wraps and jumped from random topics between bites. Although, we really did stress on about the stress the both of us had from school, something we related on too much.
Talking with my sister wasn't like talking with my best friends where we were open to the most private of details in some ways. It was different - more, somehow. I had nothing to hide with them, my family, and I get the impression that it isn't like that with other families, but... I'm glad I had this with them. I'd feel more alone than I already was without this.
"Wait, Lena, I really need the toilet," I stopped her as we were getting up from our seats, her second cup of coffee in hand as we readied to leave.
"What? Why can't you go at home?"
"I can't hold it 'til then! Just wait a second, okay?" I said, not waiting for an answer and hurrying away as I felt the urge increase the longer I thought about it.
I thankfully relieved myself, and with a bit of speed, before stepping out and washing my hands, carefully clearing away the eyeliner smudge under my eye. I frowned when I heard yelling from outside and hurried to open the door when I heard Lena's loud voice.
"-SOMEONE PASS ME NAPKINS PLEASE?!?"
"What the hell-"
I darted my gaze around the room, and that was when I heard her voice again. "LELE! Come over here! I need your help!"
Eyes wide, I finally spotted my sister standing near the counter as she was given napkins, frantically wiping the arms of some girl. By the look of the big, vividly contrasting splash of brown on her front, it seemed like someone spilt coffee all over the poor girl by accident. Knowing my sister, it was probably her. Her and her clumsy ass.
I was stuck in place for a second, a little too shocked to move. But as my sister wiped down her arms, I finally noticed how red they were and rushed forwards with concern. I grabbed the extra napkins from my sister and started wiping down her shirt, trying to get rid of as much coffee as I could, however helpless it was now.
As I wiped against her shirt, I was vaguely aware of the type of body I was wiping. It was hard muscle through the shirt, suggesting a toned quality to her build. A peek down showed powerful, tanned, muscly long legs, and it was then that I chanced a peek up at the face of the person.
Holy crap.
I felt my jaw drop as her face registered in my brain. My hand went to cover it, but I just kept looking at her, a shock electrifying my body as the recognition slowly dawned on me.
It's her.
Oh man-what do I-how do I react? Um, ahh- My mouth moved before I could even think.
"Wait! I know you! You go to my school! Alex, right?"
Oh fucking hell. What the-I'm sure that isn't her name! But my brain's not working right now! What is it, what is-
"I-It's Alyssa, actually," the girl with the bright blue eyes said, shaking me out of my internal panic. Right. Okay. Not too far off. Act normal. Act cool. Just be chill. "And y-yeah, I go to Longman. I think I'm in your Chem class too."
She scratched the back of her neck as she looked down, sweeping brown hair away as it fell in front of her face. At the sight, a thought rose unbidden in my mind. She's cute.
I nearly smacked my face then. Stupid brain! And of course! It was Alyssa. Alyssa Woods, I think. How did I not know that straight away?
"Right! Sorry, Alyssa." I smiled sheepishly, and as I gazed at her flushed face, I was reminded of a certain memory from just a few hours ago. "And oh yeah, from today! The one that nearly knocked me on my ass," I laughed slightly, watching as the corners of her lips timidly quirked up a bit.
"Wait, you two know each other?"
I'd forgotten my sister was standing right there. She looked between the two of us with a tilt to her head, eyes narrowed and confused.
"No!" Alyssa said loudly, and I saw her cheeks redden as she cleared her throat and modulated her voice. "No. We're just in the same class."
She darted her gaze to me, and I met them, my heart speeding up inside. Her eyes were so beautiful. Long lashes framed them well. A darker blue encircled the outside edges, and there was a lighter, brighter azure blue encompassing the rest, a mesmerizing ombre of shades that played together so perfectly. Streaks of a darker colour were scattered in its depths and I just, for the life of me, could not look away as I found one detail after another to be captivated by. Like I could just sink into them and be lost forever. She was so beautiful.
And just as I was about to move my gaze to the light spattering of freckles painted so faintly across her nose and cheeks, my sister had to cut in. "Eh, same thing. But sorry again for what happened, I shouldn't have been on the phone," she said apologetically, drawing Alyssa's attention to her and away from me. "I'm Lena by the way, Leah's sister. Do you have anything else to change into? I feel terrible." Lena looked up and down her outfit, guilt creasing lines onto her forehead. But the girl just brushed it aside, unperturbed.
"I'm fine, it was an accident. I do have clothes in my car, but I'm heading home after this anyway. It's okay," she reassured softly. Lena still looked concerned though.
"Are you sure? It's getting pretty windy outside. I have a jacket in my car. I can go get it."
My sister made a move to open the door but before she could, my mind made up a quick decision and spit it out.
"You can have mine."
Alyssa's eyes widened as she watched me take off my denim jacket and hold it out to her. She seemed surprised and looked like she was about to refuse, but I smiled and nudged my hand closer. The athlete bit her plump lip as she took it slowly, putting it on in front of us. It was one of my favourite jackets, but I felt okay giving it to her for some reason, smiling as she slid her arms into the sleeves. I thought it looked quite good on her. Very good.
Lena was giving me a look, but I purposefully focused on the girl in front of me and ignored her. "Thanks," Alyssa said quietly, smiling shyly at me. I felt my heart skip a beat.
Despite the weird feelings rising in my body, I decided to put up a confident front in the face of her shyness. "No worries, just return it to me at school some time."
I threw in a subtle wink, hoping Lena didn't notice it as she started making her way out the door, now that the incident was resolved.
"Sorry again!" Lena called back and exited the building with me right behind. I looked at her one last time, just taking in the sight of her and her beauty before I had to turn away. And when I did, I kept her image in my head for just a little longer. I couldn't help it.
The picture of her there, standing in my jacket... I didn't know why I liked that so much.
"Hmm... so, what was that?"
Lena glanced sideways at me, a knowing look in them as that smirk of hers said all of what she thought. I rolled my eyes and looked the other way, hiding a rising blush from her.
"What? I was just being nice."
"Really now? It has nothing to do with the fact that you like that girl?"
"Shut up!" I shoved her side as she laughed.
"It was so painfully obvious! And you just had to pop out that chivalry act - it gave it away."
I grumbled curse words under my breath as I continued to look away from her. To tell the truth, not only did I want her to have my jacket, but I kinda wanted to use it as an excuse to see her again in the future... I mean, she's gotta return it some time, and when that comes, I'll have a chance to talk to her again.
I couldn't help but smile to myself as I ignored my sister's wiggling eyebrows and headed for my car. I didn't even know if she liked girls - and I had a boyfriend for god's sake! Which I just remembered. But I couldn't have stopped myself from what I did. What a beauty. And so damn cute.
Alyssa. She had a pretty name. I liked it. There are so many different nicknames that you could use too, for a name like that. Aly, or Al, maybe even A... or what about Lyssa?