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“Hi!” the voice said. “Wait a minute!”
Ralph smiled and waited for his boyfriend to catch up with him. “There you are! What took you so long today?”
Daniel “Piggy” Williams huffed in annoyance. “The librarian kept me late. Lot of books to put away today.” He rolled his eyes slightly. “It’s better than being by the music hall. Or the sports lockers. I don’t know how you still stand it.”
Ralph laughed a little. “Well, I like flag football. A silly fight isn’t enough to keep me from it.”
They stepped through the automatic doors together, cool air washing over them. One wouldn’t expect Whole Foods to be a popular after-school hangout, but it was near the school and had a hotbar and cafe. Kids flocked there soon after the final bell dismissed them from their classes.
“What should we get today?” Ralph mused.
“We could get a couple bottles of lemonade. I’m thirsty.”
“Yeah! And some cookies to go with it?”
Piggy nodded eagerly. Side by side, they headed to the drink cooler.
Ralph picked up a bottle of lemonade at eye level. “When’s your cast coming off?” He gestured to the cast on Piggy’s left arm.
Piggy meticulously scanned the prices, looking for the cheapest bottle on the shelf. “In a month or so.” He selected one near the bottom, and turned to Ralph, confident in his choice. “Can you believe Roger?”
Ralph blew out air through his lips. “I can’t believe anything that happened on that trip. I’m never giving my dad a trip form to sign again.”
Piggy nodded. “Me neither.” He took a few steps towards the bakery, then stopped. “Well…”
“Well what?” Ralph stopped next to him.
“You wouldn’t be with me if it wasn’t for the camping trip. You’d be ignoring me with your sports friends.” Piggy flushed, suddenly aware of how Ralph didn’t have sports friends anymore. “Sorry.”
Ralph shook his head, looking at the linoleum. “No, you’re right. I wouldn’t have wanted to be friends with them if I knew they’d act like that anyway. It was really messed up.”
Piggy nodded. They fell into step, walking towards the wafting scents of the bakery. “What happened after I left? Did the teachers put anyone in trouble?”
Ralph looked through the store’s selection of cookies. “Not really, no one specific. You should have seen the assembly they made us sit through. We missed evening activity.”
“Everyone?”
“Everyone. Chocolate chip okay?”
Piggy was lost in thought. “Everyone didn’t push me off the hiking trail. Jus’ Roger, and Jack had something to do with it, I expect.”
“They didn’t know anyone pushed you. The assembly was about people making fun of it.” Ralph lifted the container of cookies, trying to remind Piggy of his original question.
“Oh. Yeah, chocolate chip is fine.”
“You okay?”
Piggy nodded, looking pensive. “Jus’ thinking… I wonder if they’ll still hold the camping trip for the grade below.”
Ralph snorted. “Probably not. They’re nuts about safety. Remember how much water they made us drink?”
Piggy chuckled. “Bonkers. I saw someone pouring it under the table when the counselors weren’t looking.”
“It’s what we all wanted to do!” Ralph took Piggy’s hand. They walked towards the checkout line, warmth and happiness on their faces. The world faded away as they talked and laughed. All the school’s fighting, bullying and homework temporarily left their minds as they paid and went to sit down. For half an hour, nothing existed in their worlds but cookies, lemonade, and each other’s company.