A sharp smack echoed through the hallway as Greg slapped palms with a passing student. The other boy barely broke stride, throwing up a peace sign over his shoulder as he continued down the corridor.
Greg grinned.
Life was good. No, life was fantastic.
He pivoted on one foot and immediately spotted another familiar face weaving through the morning crowd.
“Yo, Ashley!”
The girl looked up just in time to see Greg heading directly toward her.
“Oh no.”
“OH YES.”
Before she could retreat, Greg wrapped his arms around her middle and lifted her clean off the ground. Ashley let out a startled yelp that gave way to giggles as Greg spun once, twice, then three times before carefully setting her back down.
The entire manoeuvre lasted less than five seconds.
“Morning,” Greg said cheerfully.
Ashley stared at him with a smile. “What is wrong with you?”
He opened his mouth, paused, and thought about it. “Many things,” he replied with a shrug.
“Fair.” Then she shook her head and continued walking, still laughing under her breath.
Greg watched her go, grinned to himself, and continued toward class.
His feet felt lighter than usual. Even Winslow looked a little less terrible this morning, which was impressive considering someone had apparently spilled an entire carton of chocolate milk in the hallway and simply left it there to die.
Greg stepped around the mess with a grin and nearly walked straight into a locker.
“Whoa.”
He caught himself at the last second, glanced around to see if anyone had noticed, and immediately spotted three people staring at him.
Greg pointed finger-guns at them. One finger-gunned him back, but another looked confused. The third slowly shook his head and kept walking.
Still, a jaunty whistle escaped him as he made his way through the halls.
Life.
Was.
Fantastic.
By the time he entered his first class of the day, the grin hadn’t left his face once.
Sparky was already seated.
His friend looked up from where he was slumped in his chair and immediately frowned. Then he frowned harder and slowly raised an eyebrow.
Greg’s smile somehow widened, and Sparky visibly regretted looking in his direction.
“What got you smiling this early in the morning, brah?”
Greg turned toward him, his smile refusing to budge.
Sparky made a face and looked away. “Jesus Christ.”
“Got a date, bro.”
Sparky turned back. “With that Tammi chick?”
Greg nodded rapidly. “This Saturday.”
Sparky nodded too, but then the motion gradually slowed, and his expression became increasingly suspicious.
“Just to be clear,” Sparky started carefully, “you know she’s probably—”
“Yup.”
Greg popped the p.
Sparky blinked. “And you don’t mind?”
“Nope.” He popped the p again.
Sparky stared at him for several seconds, Greg stared back, then he gave Sparky a thumbs-up.
Finally, Sparky sighed. “You know, most people would consider that a problem.”
Greg shrugged. “I’ve always wanted to sway a villainess to the light side.”
Sparky closed his eyes, visibly counted to three, and opened them again.
“Right.” His tone suggested he understood absolutely nothing, but Greg nodded anyway. “I wish you luck.”
The weirdo went unsaid.
Greg appreciated the restraint.
Before either of them could continue, their teacher entered the classroom carrying a stack of papers and looking vaguely annoyed to be there. The room gradually quieted down.
Greg turned toward the front, but the grin still hadn’t left his face.
Saturday couldn’t come fast enough.