"I got us doughnuts." A perky, familiar voice exclaimed from behind me.

Glimpsing behind me, I saw Lizzie lugging a small-sized box of fresh doughnuts a few inches away. She slouched down into her chair at the table. Lizzie, Tracey, and I are hanging out at the public library, our prominent hang-out spot to chill in peace. We've never had to hear the high-pitched squeals of misbehaving children or the unamused scowls of adults here. It's usually quiet, other than the noises of librarians wheeling carts of books.

To make matters better, we always sat at the quiet corner of the library, where rows upon rows of books waited to be found and read.

"I got all kinds, especially the jelly ones, my favorite." Lizzie grinned broadly. She opened the box with caution, revealing the multiple-flavored doughnuts.

They laid perfectly in their place. I could already feel my mouth water as I gazed at them in delight.

"They're mines, too." Tracey moaned, her eyes peered up from her book.

She reached her hand into the box, grasping a strawberry-pink jelly doughnut. Within moments, I reached out my hand to grab a chocolate doughnut. As soon as I inserted a piece of it inside of my mouth, the delicious chocolate cream melted inside.

"Thanks for getting the doughnuts," I began, "But why did you get them?"

Whenever the three of us have a delicious treat in the library, there's usually something important we talk about. Sometimes, we'd have a deep conversation. Other times, we'd read a book out loud as a group.

"I got them because we're going to have a nice conversation while we're here." She explained with a wink.

"Oh? What are we going to talk about?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

Today, I thought I was going to get caught up in the book I wanted to read for the longest time. However, I guess that's not going to happen, especially today, a late Sunday afternoon. During the week, I'll be so caught up in school that I'll have almost no time to read.

"The party, of course, along with Tyler," Tracey said in a sweet voice, her smile promptly turning into a smirk. 

"Ugh, fine." I rolled my eyes playfully, "I'll tell you all about what happened between us."

Automatically, their eyes lit up, glistening through the artificial light of the building. Millicent's birthday party turned out to be nothing of what I expected, to me, anyway. It felt kind of tedious, but maybe because I'm not very close to the popular students.

The only thing I enjoyed about Millicent's party was talking with Tyler. I have to admit, he's very genuine when you have a full-on discussion with him. He's more sincere than expected.

"Say all the details, Rose." Lizzie chimed, setting her half-eaten doughnut on a napkin.

"Well, fine." I crossed my arms, my cheeks slightly turning into a strawberry-red hue, "Tyler's a lot friendlier than I thought."

"Oh? It's good that he's friendly." Tracey gushed while energetically tapping her fingers on the wooden table.

"You two went away from the party yesterday. What did you do?" Lizzie challenged with a huge smirk.

"We went to a park across from Millicent's subdivision. When we arrived there, we sat at a bench together and communicated." I replied, "He also gave me his phone number."

"Wow, that's cool," Tracey smirked, chanting energetically, "Has he texted you?"

"Or have you texted him?" Lizzie added, desperate for an answer.

Now that they've mentioned it, I haven't received a message from him, nor have I sent him one. I guess that this is pure awkward. Maybe it'll be a while until one of us decides to send a message. It's not that I'm afraid to send one to him. It's just that I'm not used to this. I don't want to ask him random questions about his life. It may come out as nosy, and I don't him to see me as that type of person.

"He hasn't texted me. And I haven't texted him." I shrugged casually.

"Do you plan on texting him?" Lizzie challenged.

"No." I responded promptly, "Not yet, at least."

My friend's smirks grew bigger as they exchanged glances. I know that they're up to something. But the question is, what are they up to?

"So," Tracey cleared her throat, "If you decide to text first, what will it be about?"

I knew that they'd eventually ask me this question. I just had that gut feeling inside and out. While starting to bite my lip, I started to mutter my response deliberately.

"I... don't know. I haven't thought about it until you mentioned it." I replied bluntly.

"That's understandable." Lizzie chuckled.

What would I text Tyler about? I don't think I can just speak with him about anything, especially something I think wouldn't interest him. Sooner or later, I might figure it out. But then again, there's a moderate possibility that it would happen.

"You'll think of something soon. Plus, he might leave a surprise for you and text first, so don't worry." Tracey reassured me.

She does have a reasonable point. If he texted first, then that'd leave me less trouble from figuring out what to text him with.

***

My back was glued to my dark green-colored locker as my feet stood on the tiled, white floor that had grizzled marble patterns on it. My face was glued to the screen of my phone as I checked on social media posts from popular classmates.

Before I could get too focused on looking at my screen, the five-minute bell started to ring throughout the corridors of the school, signalizing that class would start soon. Before I put my phone away in my pocket, I immediately liked Millicent's most recent post. They were pictures of her and her closest friends taking selfies and bonding together.

With a small grin plastered across my face pattened with decent make-up, I tucked my phone into the pocket of my jeans and proceeded down the hall. It only took me a few minutes to arrive at history class. A mix of hesitant emotions started to overfill me as I casually shuffled to my seat. Today, Ms. Washington would be giving us back an exam we did last week.

Ever since the exam had been announced, I've nearly studied for hours, just to get a decent grade. Now, I hope that my studying has paid off. I plopped myself into my chair, patiently waiting for the teacher to start the class.

"Good morning, everyone." Ms. Washington proclaimed, clasping her hands together, "Before we start class today, I will hand out your exams from last week."

She picked up a thick stack of papers as everyone in class started to give each other hesitant glimpses. When Ms. Washington reached my desk first, that's when everyone's eyes were turned on me.

"Keep up the excellent work, Ms. Jiminez-Cruz." She grinned, placing the exam on my desk upside down.

When I turned it over, I saw a large ninety-two on my paper in red ink. Outside, all I did was muster a small smile. Inside, I was doing a happy dance. My extra studying has paid off, just like I wanted it to.

However, I can tell that not all of my classmates were as happy about this as I am. From behind me, I overheard two girls whispering, loud enough for me to hear everything.

"Ugh, she's always the one to get a good score on these exams." One of them sneered.

"I know, right?" The other girl scoffed, "I only got a sixty-five on this."

I couldn't help but roll my eyes. I didn't pass my exam with plain luck. I passed it with hard studying. Not everyone in the class understood that.

Once Ms. Washington was finished handing out our papers, she approached her desk and started to prepare today's lesson. Before I could take out my notebook and pencil, I felt a small vibration through my pocket, the same one that my phone was in. I wanted to resist my urge to take it out and check whatever notification I've received. But at the same time, I wanted to check it for a moment, before Ms. Washington starts today's lesson.

I cautiously snuck my phone out of my pocket, placing it on my lap where almost no one could notice it. As I pressed the home button to turn it on, I saw a text message from an anonymous, yet familiar phone number. Within instants, I realized that it was Tyler that messaged me.

Tracey was right. Since Tyler texted first, there isn't anything for me to stress my head off about. I'm glad that he decided to text first. I probably wouldn't have come up with anything good text about, since I'm horrible at starting conversations. 

I registered his phone number onto my contacts, opened his message, and read it carefully.

Tyler: Hey, Rose. I know that it's the middle of class and such, but I didn't want to wait until later to text you this because I might forget. However, I was wondering if you wanted to come to the school's basketball game tomorrow.

I tried to think of the best response possible. I was never interested in coming to basketball games, especially since it isn't free, and I don't have any spare money. But then again, since Tyler invited me to the game, I definitely can't decline the offer. I quickly started to type my response, mainly so I can get off my phone quicker.

Me: Hi. I'd come to the game, but there's one problem. I don't have money to attend. 

After I pressed send, Tyler started to type again within seconds. He must have his phone on and with him at all times. He probably has his strategy of not getting caught with it by teachers. Based on this, he must be good at not getting his phone confiscated. 

Tyler: Oh, that's fine. I have an extra ticket for the game. Originally, it was supposed to be for someone else, but they got sick. I had no choice left but to give it to you since I couldn't get a refund.

Me: Thank you, Tyler. I'll meet you after school to get the ticket.

Tyler: No problem.

This time, I decided to tuck my phone into the front pocket of my backpack. I don't want to get distracted again, especially since I'm in class. Within a few moments, Ms. Washington started her lecture for the day. 

"Okay, class. We will now be starting our new unit. Today, you will have to take notes while I present everything." She declared with her spirited voice, glimpsing at the class from left to right.

I picked up my pencil and started to write down my notes. It wouldn't be long before lunchtime would be here. There were only a rough forty-five minutes left of class. Then, I'd finally get a break. 

***

When the bell rang, Ms. Washington dismissed us and everyone started to get out of their chairs to exit the classroom for lunch.

I gathered all of my supplies off of my desk to place inside of my backpack. When I was finished, I tossed my backpack on my shoulder and got ready to exit the room. My closest friends weren't in this class, so I'm forced to walk alone, unless I bump into them, which is unlikely.

As soon as I set a foot at the door, I saw clusters of students huddled together, shouting each others' names and playing around. I made a beeline to the cafeteria on the first level of the large building.

When I entered the cafeteria doors, I heard the loud howls of students goofing off and saw students huddled together in groups. I shuffled across the large room and grabbed a tray. For my meal, I decided to order a slice of cheese pizza, fresh fruit, and a milkshake. It's kind of a weird mix, but out of all of what they're serving today, this is what I wanted to eat most.

Once the lunch lady was finished preparing my meal and drink, I headed over to the middle of the cafeteria, where Millicent and her friends sat at. For the past two weeks, I've sat at her table for only one time. Maybe she'd let me sit with her again because we're closer than ever now. 

In the end, there was only one way to find out.