The little things.

How long have I spent telling you all these stories already? I wonder how much time it would make if we counted it in hours. Ten? Twenty? Should we count bathroom breaks? It’s been a long while, at least, and I still have more to go, if you’re interested in hearing them.

I try to tell you all the parts that I think would be interesting to hear, but… Well, if I’m glad of one thing from back then, it was that I had learned to appreciate the little moments, to see the beauty in common things. I don’t tell you many of those moments because they’re fond memories that don’t make for an exciting story. Though if you’re still listening to me, I’d have to guess you don’t mind these pointless stories.

I’m sounding like an old man, aren’t I?

Anyway, I bring this up because that same day, during the last period, our teacher told us to form pairs to write a short essay. He asked us to form pairs, or in other words, group work. For four years of middle school and three of high school, that had been one of my most dreaded events. You can guess why, right? No friends to ask, too afraid to approach strangers, all ending with the teacher forcing me into a random group who didn’t want me there. A total nightmare for the socially anxious.

My senior year, however, was completely different. The moment the teacher mentioned we’d work in pairs, my eyes went to the side of the room where Mila, Grace and Sarah were. The three girls also looked back at me and we agreed on our pairings with eyes only. People began to move from their seats all over the classroom. I, too, picked up my desk and moved it next to Mila’s so we could work together.

There’s nothing interesting to tell about the work. It was just a plain old essay. What matters is that I had a partner to work with. Hell, even if not any of my three girlfriends, I was confident I could’ve gone up to a number of my other classmates. That is what I mean by learning to appreciate the little things. Sitting side by side with someone, working on an assignment might be one of the most common school experiences, yet I felt there was something special to treasure about moments like these.

Sorry. I don’t mean to try and sound all wise. It’s just something I’ve thought about since back then.

Speaking of the essay, though, Grace and Sarah finished way faster than Mila and me, as one would expect. After they handed over their essay, Grace went to stand behind me, leaning over me and watching me write.

She kissed the top of my head and said, “Love, your handwriting is awful.”

It was. I was too used to typing on a keyboard. Still… “Better than Mila’s,” I said.

“That’s true,” Grace admitted with a slight nod, while Mila herself seemed too take it as a plus for her because it meant I had to write the essay instead of her.

“Want me to bring you Robert’s calligraphy books?” Sarah offered teasingly, sitting to the side on her chair across from me.

I smiled. “How are they doing, by the way?”

“Well enough. Violet was asking when you’re coming over again.”

“Maybe…”

Grace tapped my head hard with her finger. “Focus. You have 10 minutes left.”

“Ah, speaking of,” Mila said. “My mom asked me to go buy her some things at a particular cosmetic store. Wanna come with?”

I nodded. “I’ll go.”

“We can’t today, remember?” Grace said.

“I know. I was only asking Oliver.” Mila pouted. “You’re shopping with your mom today, Sarah has to pick up her brother at soccer practice, and Noelle and Alice have a council meeting. I remember.”

“Well, you didn’t reply last night, so I thought you hadn’t read the message,” Grace said.

Mila chuckled. “Sorry. My grandma came to visit and we played cards until eleven.”

And this is another one of those things that I like but I don’t mention a lot. I tag along for the girls’ errands all the time, even if I don’t have any business of my own to attend to. They ask me to go with them and I’m happy to oblige. This kind of stuff is not very eventful, so I don’t bring it up. After all, it’s not like I can tell you of every hour of my life, right? We’d be here forever if that was the case.

Things is, I bring this up because… something did happen this time.

After the bell rang and Mila and I exited our classroom, Thomas and Ben tagged along with us while going down the stairs, and in all the talking Mila mentioned where we were going.

“Oh!” Thomas exclaimed. “Would I be a third wheel if I asked to go with you? There’s a hand cream they only sell there, and…”

“Oh yeah,” I nodded in realization. “Maria was complaining the other day that she’d run out.”

Ben chuckled. “An attentive boyfriend, aren’t you?”

“Well, you know…” Thomas shrugged with a smile on his face.

“I think that’s the same one my mom sent me to buy,” Mila said. “Sure, come with us. You’re not third wheeling, right Oliver?”

I groaned and rubbed the back of my neck. “Well…”

Mila playfully elbowed me on the ribs while Thomas and Ben laughed.

We parted ways with Ben and went to the parking lot to Mila’s car. As we approached, I saw my girlfriend’s face light up. “Oliver.” She called to me before lobbing her car keys at me.

“W-What?” I asked her.

“You drive,” she told me, grinning,

“But I don’t know where the shop is…”

“We’ll search for it on my phone.”

“You know, I’m starting to reconsider going with you two…” Thomas said.

I frowned. “Get in and put on your seatbelt,” I told him.

I admit, I was nervous. I had practiced driving on the road already, but it wasn’t something I was used to yet. Besides, it was Mila’s car, and a pretty expensive one at that, but… Well, it made me happy that she trusted me with it. I’d be careful.

And no, we didn’t crash or anything. That wasn’t what I meant before. The thing I was referring to didn’t happen to us. Not exactly.

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