Stranded Pixels of Us

The Future is a Prank

Drake woke up from his bed with a smile on his rough face as he looked like he slept quite soundly. He stared at the Ying Yang necklace that he held on to all night and his smile became wider. It was evident that he hadn't recovered from the shock of yesterday. 

    As usual, he ran to the bathroom and had a bath, more of a happy one than a relief this time. The vibes he showcased in his every action expressed the feelings going on in his brain. He wore a brown long-sleeved turtleneck shirt on his white jean and a fit black sneaker. He hadn't dressed this superb in a long time and he was proud he did.

    After some minutes of this dressing, he made his way downstairs radiating those good emotions and ran into grandma who was sitting on the couch just facing the staircase. She was awe-struck as her words suddenly gasped in exhilaration. She knew something was up and whatever it was really made her smile.

    Her words seemed to have gotten a life of theirs as she said, "God! This drip certainly wasn't made on earth!" as her smile kept increasing with her every breath.

    Drake noticed the surprise on Suzanne's face and he didn't feel awkward about it like anyone would have thought. He smiled too, broader as she did. 

    "That is some jaw-dropping line, Suzanne. Never knew you had it in you." He replied as he chuckled lightly.

    "You know, I was not only considered a goddess in my time, I was considered the fairest of them all" Suzanne said as she hyped herself to keep the comical mood steady.

    "I bet there was no worthier prince than Gerard either" Drake replied with his laughter now overshadowing his words. He walked towards the fridge and pulled out a carton of milk which he poured into a glass cup and straight down his throat.

    "Bye, Suzanne" Drake said as he tried to lick the milk traces that were hanging around his lips and towards his jaw. He put his bag on his back and left the house. He was in a charged mood and he definitely wanted to sustain it as he brought out his earpiece and phone and played some Dean Lewis' music as he walked to school.

    It was lunch time and Drake headed to the cafeteria, alone, he hadn't seen Alessia since his first period and he couldn't get to talk to her. He walked to the cafeteria hoping to maybe see her and probably spit out some awkward words in the absence of his normal rather lonely and gloomy self.

    He had his meal served by a new attendant; a very handsome man in his early twenties, quite tall and with a smile so contagious it could infect the food. He took his tray having a couple sandwiches and an apple with a bottle water beside them as he walked up to an isolated section which was already home to all of his meals.

    From the part of the hall where he sat, he could see all of the faces, the smiles, the awkward patterns of eating and virtually, all of the happenings here. He sometimes would laugh as he turned his face to his tray or the ground. In his regular view of all these, he came across Alessia who recently found her way to the cafeteria. He looked at her so keenly that his lucid eyeballs were at ease and fixed on her alone. 

    He saw something that began to return his smile to whatever facial expression was always on his face. Alessia was caught up in a prolonged dialogue with the new guy at the counter that Drake considered lethally attractive. In whatever mood that began to rise from his bowels, his face suddenly changed to that of a criminal on a death row.

    He lost his appetite. Is this really what a miniature of an heartbreak feels like? He tried to stop staring at this ugly scene that disgusted him but he couldn't summon the courage.

    "Ha ha ha" Alessia laughed so loud that gravity was startled. Was he flirting with her, or was she?

    These thoughts started to torture Drake and he couldn't find his way around them. He stayed there, so quiet that he barely took any deep breaths. After more than a minute of seeing this drama unfold right in front of his eyes, he decided to leave the cafeteria which only had one entrance and exit except for the emergency one which was not being used.

His footsteps chanted anger, his breath spoke heartbreak and his face read the word, "Sadness" as he walked towards the exit. He knew he was going to see her closely as he left but he didn't care anymore. He made up his mind that he was just going to walk away from her, and from all of it.

    He kept walking with his head going low and to the middle of the road sometime. As he approached her, just about 4 feet away, a voice happily called out to him. He was in no mood to reply, so he kept going, faster this time.