Flash Fiction Friday

"You are not the best judge of character." Chelsea looked over at me as if I was not to say a word about who she was dating now.

"And what makes you, so sure? You are?" After all, I was the one who would hear about it, sooner or later at lunch. I was just her best friend between guys. We were eating lunch, once again in the school cafeteria. We trudged on in our snow boots, stopping to get ketchup for our fries.

"Hey, there.. stranger." Some one said from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at Sheldon's pouty lip. He followed me to our spot. Only Chelsea was sitting where he usually set. I'd made friends with someone while Chelsea was seeing Carter.

"You know, Sheldon, right?" I bit a fry trying to stay mute as possible. Sheldon was already setting on the other side of me, sharing my ketchup. He liked to mix his fries with mustard.

Chelsea looked at me as if I needed to tell Sheldon to go away. But I couldn't. He was such a good friend. He wanted to hear what ever I had to say, and sometimes our discussions about movies and celebrities could carry over with texts and conversations over the phone. We were even starting our own Teen Wolf fan fiction online.

Naturally, fair and dark blond Sheldon with a few freckles on his nose, offered Chelsea a handshake. She brushed him off as if he were a loser or god forbid a theater geek.

"May I have a word with you, Ash." Chelsea said, who was all neat in her black and white striped sweater and amazing hair... straight as straight could be.

"Why?" I looked kind of spacey. Maybe. I wasn't wearing makeup the way Chelsea told me too. I hadn't seen a curling iron in ages. I was already wearing my Valentines Day Tee that Sheldon and I found at the Dollar General. I couldn't possibly tell her I was buying clothes there. But Sheldon and I sometimes, liked to go thrifting.

"Yeah? Why?" Sheldon asked as if to remind her that he was here too.

Chelsea was suddenly in a mood. A bad one. Sheldon and I both watched. She removed herself from where we set.

"This is all my fault." I nibbled my bottom lip.

"No, its not." He dipped a fry in my ketchup and fed it to me. "She's being the bitch." He winced. He ate a fry. "Look, I know ..what she'll say to you. I do."

"What would she say?" I looked at him.

"She'll say I'm gay. She'll tell you, to stop talking to me." He looked at his burger as if he was not going to touch it.

"No, she wouldn't." But I knew she would. I pretty much had her figured out. I cut the burger in half and took my half. "OK, I wouldn't listen to her. I wouldn't." I took a bite of the burger. He ate his half.

It was true. I liked us together.

It could get down right silly. We'd acted some part from a Degrassi scene in the school hallway once. And we were the only real audience. We'd also walked in on a very dark make-out session (the last place we ever expected to find the populars at lunch) in the auditorium... the time I read allowed a Dr. Seuss poem acting as if I might be Emily Dickens. Yes, we were odd balls. But I did like being weird with Sheldon.

He held my hand. I couldn't help but watch. This was definitely new. But I felt the laughter inside me. We really were happy together.