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als-notebook · 7 days

Text

teem eht riohc?

Something is a bit off.

Mischa Bachinski looked around the room, fidgeting with his hands in front of him. He had decided to join the choir on his own, finding an interest in singing—but he had to admit he was nervous. He searched for an adult; the choir director, Father Marcus; but couldn’t find him. Instead he found the other choir members sitting together, chatting somewhat casually.

“Hi,” he said to the other members, his voice cracking. “I wanted to… join the choir… Where is the director?”

“Hello,” said a chipper sounding boy. “Father Marcus is out sick, I believe! But we decided to hang out anyway! Anyway, I’m Noel! Noel Gruber! What’s your name?” Noel smiled at Mischa. Noel had black hair, parted in the middle, and was the tallest in the group.

Mischa was a little bit overwhelmed by the boy’s friendliness. He seemed almost too eager. “Oh! I am Mischa. Mischa Bachinski,” he said softly.

“Who’s this loser?” A girl asked, an annoyed tone in her voice. Mischa looked over to see the shortest in the group. She wore her curly, purple-and-dark-brown hair down, and wore glasses. She was chewing on a pink piece of gum.

“Be nice, Constance,” another girl replied in a hushed tone. This girl was ginger, and a few inches taller than the other girl. She seemed… down.

The final choir member waved to Mischa with a neutral face. He stood with a plain pair of crutches, and his curly hair was tied back into a small ponytail.

“This is my best friend, Ocean O’Connell Rosenberg,” Noel said, pointing to the sad-looking girl. “She is pretty quiet most of the time, but she is super nice! Everyone loves her!” Next, he pointed to the girl with the glasses. “As Ocean said, this is Constance Blackwood! She can be… mean, sometimes…” He sighed as Constance flipped him off. “And this is Ricky,” he continued, pointing to the boy with the crutches. “I thought he would make a good addition to the choir to make it more accessible, assuming he could sign the songs… turns out he doesn’t know sign language.”

“He’s too busy being a nerd,” Constance said, laughing. Ricky looked unamused, typing on his phone. A quick moment of silence passed before the choir heard a text-to-speech voice begin to speak: “What? I just really like geometry! There’s nothing wrong with being a nerd, anyway!”

#counterclockwise #ride the cyclone

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als-notebook · 12 days

Text

just me and you

A friend visits Noel after a long day at work.

It was late at the Mega Mall, and it would soon close for the day. Noel Gruber stood in the Taco Bell, exhausted; he was on the closing shift. Finally, he clocked out, his muscles aching. All he wanted to do was go home. He stepped out of the mall…

Just to realize it was pouring. Great. A fantastic end to an awful day. Noel stared at the rain from under the covered area, wondering if he should wait it out. He took his phone out of his pocket, checking the weather app. It said that it would be raining for the next hour. Even better, he thought. As he started to walk through the cold rain, he started to cry. He felt miserable, but he had to get home somehow.

Noel didn’t go far before he heard a familiar voice. “Hey! What are you doing out in the rain, dummy?”

Noel looked up from the concrete sidewalk to his right, his arms wrapped around himself, shaking. He simply stared at his friend with puffy, red eyes.

Mischa’s eyes landed on Noel’s, and his expression softened. He stepped out of his shitty car into the rain and wrapped his arms around the other boy. He rested one hand on his back, and the other on his head. Noel felt pathetic as he leaned into him, full-on sobbing, now.

“What are you doing here?”

“You said you were having a bad day. And I did not want you walking home in the rain.” Mischa replied. Noel remembered texting Mischa on his break about the shitty customers yelling at him, and his manager on his ass about everything. Mischa pulled away from Noel, looking at him. “Let’s get out of here, man.”

Mischa hurried to the driver’s seat, and Noel ran to the passenger’s seat. They both shut the car doors, sighing. “Okay. We go home now.” Mischa said, starting up his car and driving off.

Most of the drive, the two boys sat in silence, other than the hip-hop music playing on low volume and the sound of cars rolling through puddles. Sitting at a stop light, Noel broke the silence. “Sorry for getting your car all soaked.”

Mischa chuckled. “Hah! You are shaking like leaf. I’m more concerned about you being soaked than my car.”

Noel smiled sheepishly down at his hands in his lap. “You’re concerned about me?”

“Pffssh… Well…” Mischa said, a bit embarrassed. “Yes… You will get a cold…”

Noel looked at Mischa and grinned at him. “You’re so sweet.”

Mischa’s ears turned beet red, and he furrowed his brows. “I am not sweet. I am bitter… cool. And mysterious.”

“Sure you are,” Noel teased.

Soon, they reached Noel’s house. His mom’s car was not in the driveway—she was at work tonight. Mischa got out of the car, shutting the door, and walked over to the passenger’s side. He opened the door and held his hoodie over himself and the door. “Come on,” he said to Noel.

Noel looked up at the jacket in the air and stepped out of the car. Mischa shut the door and stayed close as the two rushed over to the covered porch. Noel walked onto the porch, and Mischa stayed on the steps. “There you go,” Mischa said to Noel, his hoodie still held above him. “I see you later.” Mischa began to walk away until he heard Noel say something from behind him.

“Wait. No. Stay.”

Mischa turned back around and looked at Noel, who stood fidgeting with his hands. He stepped onto the porch and held his jacket under his arm. “Okay.”

Noel looked at the ground, his cheeks turning pink. “You’re not going to ask why..?”

Mischa shrugged. “I do not need a reason. I will stay if you want me to stay.”

The two boys entered the house and Noel walked to the bathroom and grabbed a towel, drying his hair and his face.

“I’m gonna change,” he said to Mischa. Mischa nodded, and Noel grabbed a change of clothes and closed the bathroom door. Shortly after, Noel opened the door again, this time in a t-shirt and shorts. He glanced over at Mischa, who was still standing by the door awkwardly. “Oh, right,” he muttered, looking at his damp brown curls.

Noel went into the bathroom again, grabbing another dry towel. He approached Mischa and ruffled his hair with it.

“Yoo,” Mischa laughed. “I can dry my own hair!”

Noel laughed back at him. “Oh, whatever. Soo dramatic.” He stopped messing with Mischa’s hair, and threw the towel over his shoulder. “Do you want a change of clothes? Mine might fit you…”

Mischa shook his head. “Nah. I should dry off soon.” He didn’t get as soaked as Noel did–he wasn’t out in the rain for as long. “Do you feel better?”

Noel smiled, nodding. “Yeah. I do.” He looked at Mischa for a moment, tilting his head. “Thank you for caring so much.”

“It is only nature,” Mischa shrugged, looking away sheepishly.

“I’m like, actually exhausted. Do you wanna… stay over..?”

Mischa looked back at Noel, a little bit surprised. He thought about it, and he decided that he really didn’t want to go back home… or leave at all, for that matter. “Yeah. Sure.”

Noel smiled and grabbed Mischa’s wrist, leading him to his room. His room had beige walls, similar to the rest of the house. Noel had always wanted to paint the walls dark red, but was never allowed. It was decorated in dark decor. “Sorry it’s a bit of a mess in here… I take a lot of time choosing outfits,” Noel said, blushing. There were clothes strewn across the carpet.

“I don’t mind,” Mischa said. “It’s cleaner than my room, that’s for sure,” he said lightheartedly. What he did not mention was that he lived in a basement that was hardly an excuse for a room—but Noel knew that. And he didn’t blame him.

Noel got into the left side of his bed. “You can sleep on this side,” Noel said, nodding to the right.

Mischa stood in the doorway for a moment, not really understanding how the other boy was being so casual about this. Soon enough, though, he shrugged it off, realizing that he didn’t really mind, either. He closed the door and crawled into the bed next to Noel, facing him.

Noel looked back at Mischa, and he couldn’t help but smile. There was something so comforting about laying next to him in silence after a long day.

Mischa reached over, brushing Noel’s bangs out of his face and behind his ear. He looks so lovely, he thought.

Noel turned onto his back, staring at the ceiling before deciding to move in closer to Mischa; who accepted this move almost instantly, wrapping his arms around the other boy and resting his chin on top of his head. The two fell asleep quickly, wrapped up in each other’s warmth. They weren’t even a little bit concerned about Noel’s mother’s reaction, who would come into her son’s room after a long shift to check up on him, only to be met with the only slightly shocking sight of him sleeping comfortably in the arms of his close friend.

#nischa #ride the cyclone #oneshot

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