Procrastination is the best way of catching up with yesterday.
-Don Marquis-
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- L I L A -
My eyebrows creased for the ninth time as I sighed, dropping the chopsticks. "I seriously don't get why I can't eat with my hands, Matthew."
We were sitting in the cafeteria the next day, a box of sushi in front of Matthew and I with him on my right and Yasmine on my left. Every Friday, the school sold freshly made sushi from the bar. The school dinners were pretty good, but it depended on what day you went in at. Obviously, I had decided to recommend the sushi to Matthew, which was what started the whole chopstick scenario. I honestly just wanted to stand up and get a fork due to the frustration I was feeling.
Yasmine, who was perfectly fine with eating burger and fries, glanced at me in amusement, shaking her head.
"It's so much better if you eat it with chopsticks. Here, let me show you." He chuckled, reaching for my hands after I picked the chopsticks up again. When his hands came into contact with mine, I immediately blushed, Yasmine's sly wink causing it to spread across my cheeks. Then, her eyebrows rose and fell swiftly. "Open the chopsticks with your middle finger and close it with your index finger."
Trying again, I smiled when I got the roll in my mouth successfully. "Did you do it?" he asked, eating another sushi roll after he poured a few drops of soy sauce on it.
"Yeah, but I'd eat much faster if I ate with my hands."
"Okay, can you do me a favour?" he responded, drinking from his Ribena bottle. After I replied, he pointed to his bag. "My timetable is in my bag; could you tell me what lesson I have next?"
Reaching into his open bag, I scanned my eyes over his timetable, confused. "I can't read Braille."
"Oh! I forgot they gave me a new timetable." He laughed, taking it from my hands and running his fingers over it. "I have music next."
"You're so lucky!"
Yasmine chucked a fry into her mouth, smiling. "We have music too, Lila." She informed me, continuing. "We're just in a different class than Matthew. Same time, just different-." Her eyelids came down in rapid blinks, her face distorting in excitement as her sentence was cut short. "Lila...Greg came into the cafeteria." She whispered with a smile, pinching my arm in excitement.
"Is this the Greg from yesterday?" Matthew interjected, placing his chopsticks on top of the closed box.
My friend responded with a sound of annoyance, her eyes widening a fraction more. "Lila, Greg got a haircut!" she continued, with more excitement, covering her mouth with her hand.
"I know!" I whispered loudly, staring at her. "I'm looking at him!"
"Well, I'm not; will someone explain who Greg is?" Matthew interrupted, causing me to snort whilst he had this expression of pure bafflement plastered across his face.
"Sorry." I smiled apologetically. "Greg is Yasmine's crush."
"May be my boyfriend, if things go right. Don't tell anyone I said that, though." Yasmine input, finishing the rest of her fries.
He imitated zipping his lips shut and held his thumb up. "I won't tell a soul." He promised, standing up with Toby's leash in his right hand. "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to walk around with Toby, let him use his legs."
"Okay. Bye, Matthew."
"See you later, Lila." He smiled lazily, walking right passed me and allowing me to get a whiff of his musky cologne.
The time the clock displayed encouraged me to open the box again and finish the sushi since I knew the next time I would eat would be a couple of hours after I arrived at home, Exiting the cafeteria, Yasmine swung her gym bag back and forth, humming a TV programme's theme tune. "I still haven't come to the conclusion that Matthew is hot, but I have come to the conclusion that he has a nice smile."
I could honestly say that he was really good looking. One thing I noticed whenever I was around Matthew was that he never took off his glasses. The only time I actually saw his eyes was when we went to eat buffalo wings and the day he told me he was blind after I so stupidly came to the conclusion that he was just being weird and wearing glasses inside.
Going outside where the benches were, I saw Matthew walking around on the grass with Toby, his guide dog stopping once they reached the wall.
"How was eating with Greg yesterday?"
Taking a seat on the table, I propped my legs onto the bench, Yasmine glancing at me. "It was fun. We talked a lot," she bit her lip, a blush overcoming her features. "He kissed my cheek after and said he wanted to take me out on a date."
I hid my surprise and excitement, examining my cuticles. "About time." My attempt failed as my face broke out into a smile. "You two suit."
"Really?"
"Nah. I just said that for fun."
Picking up on my sarcasm, she rolled her eyes for a few seconds, shoving me lightly. "Do you even have a crush on anyone?" she asked, her eyebrows creasing.
I shook my head, trying to remember the last time I had a crush on someone. I had had a couple boyfriends in the past, but for the last couple of months or so, no one had really caught my eye. "I haven't really noticed anyone."
She nodded her head, smirking. "What about Matthew?"
"Matthew?"
"Matthew."
I stared at her confusedly. "Why would I like Matthew if I only met him this week?" I voiced my thoughts, averting my eyes to look at him before I returned to Yasmine's face.
She shrugged her shoulders. "I never said you liked him, I just asked if you've noticed him."
"Well, yeah." I answered, placing my hands on my knees. "But that's only because I'm showing him around school and he came to the bakery."
Yasmine looked down at the green grass, a faint smile adorning her face. "You two seem like you'll be good friends," she stated, toying with the hem of her shirt, "you get along."
Acknowledging her answer, I agreed, but it was too early to say. I had only been spending time with him since yesterday because I was showing him around school. My eyes went to Matthew once more. He was approaching the general direction of our table. "We're over here, Matthew!" my friend shouted, seeing him approach us slightly more confidently.
"When does lunch finish?" he asked, feeling around for the seat and sitting beside my feet.
I looked at my watch, reciting how much time we had left, which was approximately 15 minutes. "We should probably leave in 10 minutes so you avoid everyone when getting to class." I suggested, taking my bag off my back and placing it in between my feet. I unzipped my bag, retrieving my planner. "I have Mr. Woods, who do you have, Yasmine?"
She examined hers and chuckled. "I have the same as last year; I have Mr. Coleman."
"Did you know that your heartbeat changes and mimics the music you listen to?" Matthew commented. "That's why people listen to upbeat music when they're on runs, to get them pumped." He ran his hand through Toby's fur.
I exchanged a look with Yasmine, smiling when I looked back at Matthew, "I listen to loud music when I run."
"I listen to what ever sounds good." Yasmine replied.
"It depends if the song means anything to me." He stated, rubbing the temple of his black glasses. "I know it doesn't make a difference since I can't see, but, it's nice to close my eyes and just really listen to the song and lyrics."
"It is nice," I articulated, doing up my jacket, "music is a good to block out everyone; or more specifically, my younger sister and older brother."
At that, his face lit up and he straightened his back slightly. "You have siblings at home? You're so lucky."
Simultaneously, Yasmine and I scoffed loudly, laughing humourlessly. "Lucky?" I repeated, rolling my eyes at the memory of annoying moments Dan and Helena had. "Luck is finding a $10 bill on the ground, having siblings is more of a curse."
He shrugged, grinning. "That's what everyone says, but if you were the only child in the house like me, you'd love to have a couple sisters or brothers around." He began. "My older brother is married and lives in Atlanta."
"I'm the oldest, which means that I get no privacy, like my door can't be closed for two seconds before one of my five siblings come barging in." Yasmine grumbled, scowling.
"It's just my parents and me it gets pretty boring talking to my mom all the time, I mean, I love her, but there's a limit to how much I can speak about painting for."
I hummed, remembering the fact that his mom had paint splotches all over her clothes and hand. Smiling, I placed my hand on Matthew's shoulder. "Is that why you came to the bakery?"
"Well, yeah." He chuckled, tilting his head upwards. "She started talking about different shades of grey just because we have grey eyes."
"You have grey eyes?" Yasmine questioned, curiosity sparked in her dark brown eyes.
Matthew shifted in his seat, nodding. I took my hand off his shoulder, positioning it in my pockets snugly. "I don't take my glasses off often."
"Is it because people stare?" she asked, fumbling with her fingertips.
I noticed the atmosphere hadn't changed, like I expected it to, Matthew's lips moving to one side for a moment. "I feel people staring at me all the time, it's just people think that blind people have eyes that are weird and I'd rather them not stare at me so intensely."
"You don't have weird eyes, though." I responded, glancing at my watch and being aware of the time. "We're going to have to go now, it's ten to."
Nodding, he patted Toby, standing up.
I stood behind him as he walked up the stairs to the music rooms with his guide dog, Matthew getting to his class with ease. "Lila, when did you start making coffee?" he questioned at the door, tilting his head to the left slightly.
"Last year, when I started working part time."
"I like coffee," he stated, a faint smile covering his features, "and I like caramel."