Page 88 of Clichés & Curses

Miles let out a sigh. ‘When Colton arrived at practice yesterday, he was disoriented and out of focus. You could tell his mind was elsewhere. Once we had a break, I decided to ask him what was wrong. It was then he told me he missed you guys’ weekly ASL practice session.’

‘And the class too,’ I added.

‘And the class too,’ Miles parroted. ‘But that wasn’t what he was panicking about. I couldn’t ask him to elaborate more, since we were still practicing. Only after it was over, I could finallycorner him about it. That’s when he told me he had missed the practice session, and about how you texted him about it, and how he hadn’t replied to you yet, because he didn’t know what to say.’

‘Why would he panic? I would’ve understood,’ I said.

‘He was scared.’

‘About what?’

‘That you wouldn’t believe him considering what went down last week between you two,’ he answered.

It took me a moment to figure out how Miles could’ve found out about what had happened the previous week between us, until I realized how simple the answer was.

‘He told you.’

Miles winced slightly at my accusation, but he gave me a nod. ‘He did. But you can’t blame the guy, he was just venting out his emotions. Anyway, he was freaked out over what to do. He didn’t want you to think he was some kind of an asshole that ditched you, just because of a small disagreement. He freaked out even more, because he should’ve just replied to you straight away, instead of waiting.’

The picture materialized in my head before I could stop it: the look of frustration on Colton’s face as he told Miles about his mistake of not texting me right away, the look of confusion on how to fix this, and the look of hurt as he recalled what happened at ‘the spot’ a week ago.

While I mostly believed the reason he had given me the day before, I couldn’t help that tiny part in me—the one that was guilty—that doubted his honesty. So, it was nice to hear it from someone else—his best friend, no less, to be reassured that he was, indeed, telling the truth.

‘Okay, so he overslept,’ I said. ‘But I still don’t understand why you’re telling me all of this.’ I paused, before continuing. ‘Is that why you’re here? How did you know I was here?

At that, he blushed. ‘I texted Nina and asked if she knew where you were. She told me this coffee shop would be my best shot.’

Of course she did.

‘I just wanted to tell you that Colton is a nice guy and the whole situation yesterday just happened at the wrong time, that’s all. Colton wouldn’t have just left you hanging, when he knows how important the class is to you even after what happened between you two.’

‘Well, I’m glad—’

‘And I think Colton deserves a chance if you’re willing to give him one,’ Miles cut me off.

That caught me off guard. ‘A chance?’

‘I know it’s your choice, and I’m not trying to force you to do anything,’ Miles replied. ‘But Colton is a great guy. He just happens to be a star athlete, instead of the other way around.’

It was my turn to let out a wince, recognizing my own words being thrown back at me. ‘He told you about that as well.’

‘Yeah,’ Miles trailed off, his hand coming up to his hair and messing it up.

‘I don’t understand,’ I expressed. ‘If Colton didn’t ask you to be here, then why are you trying to win me over his good side?’

‘He’s happier on Wednesdays,’ Miles said without hesitation. ‘If you exclude the two recent ones.’

‘And how does that apply to me?’ I argued. I knew where he was heading with this, but I wanted to make sure I wasn’t over my head with my imagination.

‘I think you know exactly how it applies to you,’ Miles argued back. ‘Don’t get me wrong, Colton has always been an all-around happy guy on most days. But ever since the start of this semester, I’ve noticed there’s one day of the week, when he looks happier and lighter than usual. No matter what our coach puts us through, it doesn’t get to him as much as it would on any other day,’ Miles continued. ‘He did tell me about the practice sessionsyou guys were having, and how he’ll meet up with his partner for ASL class every Wednesday before baseball practice, but I never thought much about it. It wasn’t until we ran into you outside the baseball stadium that it finally hit me.’

He went on.

‘It wasyou,’ Miles stated, point blank. ‘The reason why he looks so happy every time he arrives for baseball practice on Wednesday, was because he just got back from spending time with you.’

The sounds of the coffee shop became the only ones I could hear as I took in his words, which I wanted to believe in so badly. But what if Miles was wrong? What if he was just making things up from his perspective?

‘Well, I think you’re wrong, Miles,’ I protested instead.

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