I glance at the clock. “9:35” it reads. Just six more minutes of this class and then it’s the period before lunch.

Out of the corner of my eye, I can see Adelia putting her, of course, blue water bottle down on the desk quietly.

“I’ll let you guys pack up early. Just chill for the next six minutes,” Mrs. Arnold announces, tapping the stack of papers in her hand against the table, neatly lining up the edges.

I turn to shove everything in my backpack, when suddenly I hear a clunk. Something fell.

Peering over at where the sound came from, Adelia sits, frozen in place, looking unsure of what to do. Looking down at the floor next to her, I can see a puddle of water growing by the second.

“Oh dear,” Mrs. Arnold sighs, looking down at Adelia through her glasses. “Elena, why don’t you go with Adelia to the bathroom to get some paper towels? Be quick; class will end soon.”

I stiffen when I hear my name at first, which is my usual reaction whenever a teacher says my name, but then my shoulders relax. Oh. Okay.

Adelia and I get up and exit the chemistry classroom without saying a word, but as soon as the door closes behind us and we’re winding through the halls down to the bathroom, I start to giggle uncontrollably. 

“What?” Adelia demands, trying to hide the smile that’s creeping up across her face.

“It’s kind of silly that you managed to spill all of your water in class.”

“How is that funny?” Adelia questions, crossing her arms, laughing in confusion.

“I don’t know. I just laugh at stupid things that happen.”

“Oh, so you’re calling me stupid?” Adelia huffs, pretending to be angry. She’s so cute when she jokes around like this.

“No! I’m not calling you stupid; I’m calling what happened stupid.”

“Yeah right,” Adelia rolls her eyes.

Unfortunately, the bathroom isn’t exactly close; chemistry is on the main level, and the two options we have are the bathroom in the lower level or the bathroom in the main level, but opposite side of the building. Both are about the same distance.

We end up going to the one on the main level, since it’s more likely to be open; I’ve learned these past few days that this school locks most of its bathrooms to prevent students from doing drugs in them. How that exactly prevents that sort of activity, I don’t know.

Entering the bathroom, I go to one of the towel dispensers, and Adelia goes to the other. We gather as many paper towels as we can fit into our hands, then speed walk back to chemistry so we’re not late for our next class.

“Ugh, this is so annoying,” Adelia mutters, almost tripping over her shoe laces, which have gotten untied during our little jaunt, but of course she can’t bend down to tie them because there’s a wad of paper towels in her hands. Honestly, we both look ridiculous. So I say so.

“Well, I mean, yeah. Just two idiots walking around the school with too many paper towels in their hands to count,” Adelia replies to my comment.

As soon as we creep back into the chemistry classroom, the clock reads “12:40.” We’re gonna be late.

Just as we both kneel down to clean up the mess, the bell rings. Don’t tell me we have to stay until we’re done cleaning up.

As if reading my mind, Mrs. Arnold states, “All of you can go, except for Adelia. You have to clean up. I’m sure it won’t take long.” She glances over at me. “Elena, you’ve been more than helpful; you can go.”

I consider, but in the end, I decide on staying to help Adelia. “It’s okay, Adelia and I have class together next anyway.”

Mrs. Arnold nods and returns to flipping through papers at her desk.

“You didn’t have to do that,” Adelia whispers as she stands up to throw out the paper towels.

“But I wanted to. I wanted to be with you.”

Adelia’s cheeks go a bit pink at that, and I realize that what I said might have come out in a way that makes it seem that I like Adelia, so I quickly attempt to save myself. “I mean–just as friends.” I wince at my word choice. Adelia says nothing, nor can I see any reaction on her face, since she’s turned away from me now, heading over to the trash can. Ugh. Why did I have to go about messing that up? I groan in my head.

“Well then, looks like we’re done,” Adelia states as soon as she gets back to her desk, packing up the rest of her stuff. 

I sling my backpack over my shoulders. “Yeah…” My mind scrambles for something to say to make up for what I just said; I made it way too awkward and I want to fix it.

Just as Adelia turns to exit the classroom, I grab her arm. “Hey.”

She turns back around in surprise. “Yeah?”

I say the words before giving them a second think. “Wanna come over to my house after school today? We can study for the lab safety quiz we have tomorrow.” I rest my hands on both her shoulders, leaning in.

“I–uh–sure!” Adelia squeaks. She looks a little flustered.

“Sorry,” she whispers as we wave goodbye to Mrs. Arnold and exit the classroom, heading to algebra. “I just get a little uncomfortable when people get that close to me. Not always though!” Adelia clarifies. “Just sometimes. I don’t know why.”

“Oh,” I murmur as we head up the flight of stairs. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable.”

“No, it’s okay!” Adelia’s face twists into an expression that makes it look like she regrets she ever said anything. “I mean–I guess it just reminds me of when–” she whispers. I can hardly catch the words she’s saying.

“What is it?”

Adelia shakes her head, clutching her binder to her chest. “No, nevermind. Just…forget I said anything.”