The bells rang for lunchtime and the teacher had to suspend his teaching. Students flooded the halls, trying to make it to the cafeteria.
The teacher packed up his lunch and made his way to a staircase leading to the rear exit of the school. He sat there like he was expecting someone.He was a tall looking man, about 6 foot 0,had a clean faded haircut with glasses over his eyes. He wore white long sleeves and black trousers,a pair of dressing shoes on his feet.
After about 5 minutes of waiting,a woman showed up and sat beside him.
The woman looked young, almost like a teenager but she wasn't, she had strong feminine features. She wore a tracksuit and had a silver whistle strapped around her neck."Where's the food, where's the food?. I'm so very hungry."
"Chill out Lola, it's right here. I don't get why you gotta be so cranky when you're hungry."
Lola ignored him and placed the lunchbox he handed to her on the steps. She blessed the food and started eating.
The man was also eating from the same lunchbox
After few minutes of eating quietly,Lola spoke.
"This sure is nice,Bart."
"The food?, yeah i know. I made it myself."
"Not that,silly..."
She paused and continued.
"We've been having lunch together everyday for the past 20 years,it feels nice."
"Yeah,i just wish you'd learn to cook for yourself,you can't survive on only canned food and toast if someday I'm not around."
He smiled for a second.
"I'm kidding, let's keep doing this, I have no problem with cooking-"
"Bart." She had a bothered look on her face as she stood up.
"What's up?" Bart looked puzzled.
"I've made my decision."
"Yeah?"
"I'm quitting this job."
"Huh?. Why?"
"I've been stuck as a P.E teacher for 5 years Bart,true i get paid but i just don't feel alive here. I don't feel like this is all i can do with my life."
There was a brief silence,then Bart spoke.
"It's fine,i get it."
"I know we've been together since we were 9 but i don't think i want to be a teacher anymore, maybe it's time to walk a different road."
"I understand."
He didn't sound disappointed at all and this bothered Lola.
"Well, I'm glad you're cool with it. I'll go turn in my resignation."
As she walked to the principal's office,she noticed Bart walking behind her.
"What are you doing?. Don't you like have a class after now?"
"Well.."
his voice went up by a whole octave
"They'll have to find a new music teacher."
"Hmm?
"He pulled out a white envelope from his pocket and showed her.
"I'm also sick of this place and i was planning to quit yesterday but I didn't know how to tell you, that's why i said nothing."
"So you decided to wait until i made the first move. Big bad Lola,quit your job Lola."
Lola smirked.
"Something like that."
They looked at each other. There was a brief pause, then they started laughing.
"Hey Bart, let's get outta here yeah?"
"Sure, let's."
Bart and Lola sat at a bar drinking. It was late evening now. Just from Lola's voice you could tell she was drunk.
"Hey Lo, did you tell John you were quitting your job?"
"Why- why,tell me,w- why should i have told him."
"Err- because he's your boyfriend and he deserves to know?"
"Was Bart,past tense."
"You got dumped again?. This is like what?,your third breakup this month?."
"Second, it's the- it's ze second one. Oh and i dumped him,i did ze dumping this time and -"
Her voice faded as she slowly fell asleep with her face on the table.
Bart looked at his drunk best friend with eyes of pity.
"Oh Lola, always so unlucky. This is why i don't like commitments."
He paid the bar owner and stood up. He wasn't drunk because he had only few shots of whiskey, whereas Lola almost downed an entire bottle.
Bart lifted Lola on his back,her small figure made it easy to carry her around. As he walked down the road he could hear Lola mumbling.
"You have such strong arms- and y- your shoulders are very firm too"
"Yeah?"
He laughed
"Yesh,i remember when you- you used to be a wimpy-"
Her voice faded again. Lola who was known to be a noisy person, looked peaceful whenever she slept and Bart liked that.
On getting to her apartment,Bart pulled out a bunch of keys from his pocket. The keys were attached to a purple coloured bunny keychain. He opened the door with a key out of the bunch. The key he used was a spare key,he didn't bother asking for Lola's because they were in possession of each other's spare keys.
Lola was deep in sleep. Bart took her to her room and laid her on the bed. He took off her shoes and socks then tucked her in afterwards.
"Goodnight Lo."
He said as he brushed her hair away from her lips with his index finger.
While walking home from Lola's apartment Bart got a call. He hesitated picking up,he picked up anyway.
*Hello,Bart*
"Hey Trisha."
*Would you like to come over?*
He paused,then spoke.
"I'm sorry, I've got plans tonight."
*Plans huh?,new girl?. Or are you hanging out with your "best friend" again.*
"Woah woah."
He scoffed.
"I don't owe you any explanations now do i?"
*Bart... why are you scared of commitments?,why are you scared of being happy?.*
"Yeah okay I'm not having this conversation."
He hung up and sighed."I ask myself the same question all the time."
Later that night,he stood in front of a telephone booth, puffing smoke from his cigarette. A car stopped in front of him and he got in.
"buzz buzz,buzz buzz" the alarm clock rang as it vibrated and fell to the ground. Lola laid in bed with her eyes wide open,looking drained. she couldn't get any sleep because she spent the night vomiting due to her hangover."Never again" she whispered to herself as she got off the bed.Lola lived in a spacious apartment. It had a big bedroom,big kitchen,the bathroom and toilet were of decent size as well.Sluggishly she walked to her bathroom,she wore the same clothes she had on the previous day because she was too drunk to take them off. She took up her toothbrush and applied toothpaste on it, shortly after brushing she had her shower, then proceeded to have breakfast. While sitting on her couch eating cereal and watching TV,her eyes wandered to a framed picture beside the TV.The frame had a picture of Bart and Lola,they had on college graduation gowns. Lola stared at it for a while and smiled"It feels just like i met him yesterday"She was deep in reminiscing about the first time
Bart sat on a couch, across from a man. The man was dressed in a red shirt with a black tux on top. He poured glasses of wine for both him and Bart. They were in a bar that looked very classy. The type only rich people could afford.After what seemed like forever Bart broke the silence."Why'd you call me?,I'm guessing it's not because you needed a drinking buddy,Simon?"He laughed."I did need a drinking buddy but yes,that isn't the actual reason. I think you're well aware of why i wanted to meet you."Bart was silent, almost like he had lost his ability to speak."You've hurt Katelyn so much,i don't know why she hurts herself over useless trash like you!."Suddenly Simon's tone went from soft to raging."You heartless piece of shit. Five years, you've been hurting my sister for the past five years. Will you only stop when you totally destroy her?"".... I'm sorry,i.. don't know what to say"Bart said softly. Simon's anger increased."Of course you have nothing to say. My sister...my
Bart could hear his own heart pounding loudly. His thoughts were all over the place as he tried to process what Lola had just said."A... date?"Bart asked as he gulped."Yup, let's go on a date."Lola answered almost immediately."wait a sec,not hanging out,an actual date?, like a date date?."Bart felt like the moment he waited his whole life for finally came, he went from feeling depressed to bursting with joy, although he didn't let it show."yupp,an actual date, I have an awesome idea, with this idea we'll get into relationships with awesome people in no time!"Lola said as she proceeded to eat. Bart came back to reality immediately he understood what she actually meant,he felt bitter, more bitter than he felt when he came home."Oh....a date- I'm not interested.""What's wrong?"Lola asked as she put the fork down,she knew her best friend too well,he was awful at keeping poker faces."I'm not interested,i feel like... I'm never going to be with anyone. It always gets complicated
Lola had gone back to her place after sharing her plan with Bart. They both made phone calls and secured their first "targets"."What to wear,what to wear"She continuously said while sweeping through the clothes in her wardrobe with her fingers. Lola was a bit of a tomboy so naturally she felt comfortable in male clothes."I literally have nothing here, tracksuits and jeans through and through. I can't find a dress!"She lamented as she threw herself on the bed out of frustration."Maybe i should ask Bart's opinion."She walked to the side of the room where her phone was plugged in,as she grabbed it,she heard her front door opening."Bart,is that you?"She asked from the room."Yeah,who else has a spare key."Bart laughed in the living room."I thought you had stuff to do,you ain't preparing for our double date this evening?"Lola asked as she came into the living room."Oh but I'm already prepared,i came over because you weren't""How'd you even-""Lola,you know, I feel quite insult
It was past 8 in the evening,Bart and George sat across the table from Stephanie as they waited for Lola in the cafe that was picked for their date. The reason Lola had not shown up the same time as Bart was because it'd give the wrong impression to their potential partners,due to this,Lola decided it was best for one of them to arrive first at the venue.As they waited for Lola,Bart and George were doing some catching up, while Stephanie tapped on her phone continuously.The bell on the door rang and they noticed that Lola had arrived. she wore the clothes Bart bought her and seeing her made him very happy,Bart tried his hardest to stop himself from smiling.Lola stood by the door, admiring the cafe,it was a lovely, quiet place. There were very few customers and few staffs. The floor was beautifully decorated in flowers,the walls were see-through glass,but most of it was painted white. As Lola walked towards their table,she took a deep breath,the atmosphere scented of coffee and vani
Bart sat there, totally frozen, just staring at Stephanie."You see Mr. Bart,i gotta say, it's really rude to be thinking about another girl while you're on a date with me."Stephanie took a sip of her coffee. Upon hearing this,Bart snapped out from his current state."I'm really sorry Miss Stephanie, you're totally right, I'm acting very rudely, please forgive me."Stephanie put down her coffee mug and smiled."I'm kidding.""You are?""I mean, it's wrong to be on a date with someone and think about someone else but this is pretty different.""It's- different?""It is. Bart,i actually didn't come out here looking for a boyfriend, I'm too busy for a relationship right now.""Lola forced you into coming?""Not quite. I just thought I'd be fun to hang out with new people, hopefully make a new friend.""I really didn't want to go on a date with anyone,i did it for Lola.""Yeah? You're a fun guy,i can tell. You just have a lot on your mind right now. Wanna be friends?""You and i?"Stepha
George Jr was quite a cunning man, he had the habit of getting into bed with every woman he interacted with and Lola was about to become his next prey.Lola followed him to a pub where they sat and talked about life and work. She tried her hardest to exclude Bart from the conversation but it was almost impossible because they spent all their time together.George kept ordering tequila for both of them, he was a heavy drinker so he had no problem with this."So... George, enough about me. Tell me about yourself."Lola said before taking her third shot of tequila."Me? My life is not half as interesting as yours, Miss Lola.""C'mon c'mon, don't be like that.""Okay, well, i work at a bank, I'm the manager. I'm not currently seeing anyone, I'm very available. I have a lot of money too""Didn't really need to know the money part""Well, you said i should tell you about myself""Um...""My point is, i can spoil you, Lola. I can give you anything you need."He leaned close to her and put hi
Bart walked over to their table and stood over a totally wasted Lola.“Seriously though, what am I gonna do with you”He looked across the table at George who just sat there quietly.“Hey, George, listen I’m so sorry about this, man.” “What’s there to be sorry about?”“Well, I wasn’t totally honest with you. Lola and I are actually best friends; we’ve known each other for almost our whole lives. We just thought it’d be awkward if our dates found out that we were that close with each other”“It’s fine, it’s really fine but, you have to be more careful, Bart.”“What do you mean?”“If you want something, you gotta look for it, and when you find it, you’re supposed to hold on to it. Don’t hand something you really want to someone else so willingly. You’ve always been a wise man, Bartholomew; don’t go acting like a fool.”Bart just stood there, totally speechless. George gulped down his last shot of tequila, a