YOSOATYD Chapter 3: Men in Black (‘Cause Everyone’s at a Funeral)
The rain fell on a sea of mourners with indifferent faces. Most of the people in attendance were on their phones. Egg stood among them, lost in thought as the eulogist droned on. He was doing his best to capture the attention of a crowd that had been to more than a few funerals. Egg wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t seen him die. It was usually polite to attend the funeral of a person who you witnessed the death of. Then again, maybe no one would be here if… She glanced up and accidentally made eye contact with Chad. He gave her a hard stare. They hadn’t talked since the incident; Egg was hardcore avoiding him. She knew that she didn’t have to make a choice anymore, so why was is so difficult to make it official with Chad? Was she afraid of the backlash from the students at school? Or maybe it was the guilt holding her back. After all, wasn’t it her fault, at least in part, that Topher was now dead? Poor, pathetic Topher. He was just a little too small for his glasses and stumbled over words when he was nervous. But he always gave Egg his brownie when they were serving them in the cafeteria. Who would give her a brownie now? Suddenly, she was pulled from her thoughts by a flash of red. It was a boy she’d never seen before. He was dressed in black, but had a red rose pin through the lapel of his suit. His hair was brown, almost grey in the day’s dark weather. His eyes were dark and mysterious, and she realized that he was looking at her! Her heart fluttered, but she immediately berated it. She didn’t need any more choices! Her choice was Chad, and that was the end of the question. But as the mystery boy wandered closer to her, she couldn’t help but admire his strong jawline and the exotic tones in his voice as he made small talk with strangers. Near the end of the funeral, while everyone was in smaller groups, he finally approached her.
“Hello.”
“Hello.”
“I’m Chadopher. I’m new to the area. Topher was my neighbor.”
Egg studied his open expression. His eyes seemed kind, but deep down she could sense a fiery passion. She was instantly drawn to him.
“I’m Egg,” she replied. “I went to school with Topher.”
“I didn’t really know him, but he seemed nice.” Chadopher ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. “Hey, I live pretty close by. I heard that some of the people at the funeral are going out for lunch, but I don’t really know anyone yet. You wanna come over and have lunch?”
“Sure,” Egg smiled. It was just lunch, she reasoned. It wouldn’t turn into anything.
“Great!” Chadopher threw her a dazzling smile, and grabbed her hand to lead her off.
Oh no, she thought. It might turn into something.
