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Have a great summer break, everyone!
Amity finished reading the last email with her results and slowly closed her laptop, then proceeded to throw it across the bed. Her head hit the pillow and she heaved the deepest sigh in the history of sighs.
She had done it. She had survived another year of college and passed all her finals with flying colors. Of course, that last part was to be expected. She was Amity Blight, for crying out loud! Model student at Hexside University, and on track to become Valedictorian in both her majors.
She hadn’t really wanted to study bio-engineering alongside her business management degree, but mother dearest had insisted, and hell, she couldn’t say no, could she? Like, really, she had called Amity last week after seeing her report card – they didn’t do report cards at this university, but the dean couldn’t argue with the wife of the most powerful man in town – and finding an A-, which made her go ballistic.
“I hope you’ll be taking the remedial to make up for it, dear,” Odalia Blight had said, that sickeningly sweet voice grating Amity’s brain to the point she had to keep the phone a few inches from her ear.
“Yes, Mother,” had been all she could say, rolling her eyes so hard she was surprised she could even see after that.
Now, after getting an A+ on her biochem final, she could finally rest. One of the perks of being the daughter of Blight Industries’ CEO was that she got a spacious dorm room just off campus, meaning she wouldn’t get bothered by the end-of-year parade that stupid alpha-gamma-whatever fraternity was bound to throw tomorrow morning.
She looked at the clock on her nightstand and groaned. It was 11 P.M. She had been waiting all day for the confirmation email to arrive and had totally lost track of time, meaning she missed lunch and dinner. As much as a good night’s rest was tempting right now, the more rational part of her brain told her she probably needed to get some food in her system.
A tiny gremlin voice inside her head also reminded her that a new episode of her favorite show had dropped today, and she should totally stay up all night catching up on everything she missed.
So much for sleep, she thought ruefully, hoisting herself out of bed and stretching. She caught a glimpse of herself in the vanity mirror and blinked. Because today she had been able to stay in bed and stare at her inbox all day, she had allowed herself an oversized hoodie someone had left in her room one time, spotted leggings, and a pair of comfy sandals Emira had bought for her birthday last year. Her eyes had heavy bags under them and her cheeks were a little sunken. Nothing a little midnight snack couldn’t fix.
Amity considered changing, because “a Blight must always look their very best,” but she didn’t have it in her to care. Besides, it’s not like she’s gonna run into many people at a store at 11 P.M., right?
Doing an admirable job of pulling her auburn hair in a high bun, she grabbed her keys from the banister by the door and headed out toward her car, locking the dorm behind her. The last thing she needed was someone breaking in while she was out looking like this.
The five-minute drive to the convenience store was uneventful aside from one fairly obnoxious guy riding a beat-up truck honking at her during the longest red light of Amity’s life. Eventually – and without killing anyone, mind you – she reached her destination.
The store was, thank the heavens, empty. She gave the cashier a quick nod without really looking at them, grabbed a basket, and began her search for the least healthy snacks imaginable. Any other night, she might have attempted to make a half-decent meal, but she had earned a night of pigging out, damn it!
Her feet took her to the farthest aisle from the door and she grabbed a box of cereal her mother would have scoffed at – the ones with a cartoon bunny on the front, you know the one – and put it in the basket. Next, she meandered over to the frozen foods aisle and lugged a small tub of mint ice cream, her favorite, onto her hands.
“What else...?” she muttered to herself, looking around.
She snapped her fingers and rushed to the alcohol section, then grabbed a medium-tier white wine off the lowest rack because Ed had recommended that brand a few days ago – and not because she couldn’t reach the top shelf!
Satisfied with her findings, Amity made her way to the register, grabbing a dumb magazine on the way because why the hell not? She began placing her items on the belt, absently picking her nails when she looked up at the cashier.
She vaguely heard the store’s door ding as a new customer walked in but her brain had short-circuited the moment her eyes spotted none other than Luz Noceda, a fellow student at Hexside University Amity shared a Humanities class with, and who also happened to be Amity’s tiny-maybe-kinda-huge crush.
Her long, brown hair fell in two strands over each side of her face, complementing her tan complexion perfectly. She wore the same beat-up beanie she always did in class. Her uniform was a simple green shirt with a rather striking lavender-colored apron over it. She had a nametag on her left breast.
“Can I see your ID, ma’am?” Luz said, a lopsided grin clear on her face, and Amity realized she must have been staring.
She blinked a few times before sputtering some apology and digging into her purse for her license. After a few seconds of fumbling for it, she produced the small card and handed it to Luz. It’s okay, Amity told herself, maybe she won’t recognize me.
The cashier looked it over to corroborate she was over 21 and as if to prove Amity’s brain wrong, broke into another smile.
“Oh hey, I know you!” said Luz, holding up the ID to Amity’s eye level. “Amity Blight, right?”
Amity looked to the side, abashed. Her cheeks dusted with pink at the sound of Luz’s voice saying her name, but the girl had obviously expected a response, so she nodded.
“Ah, yeah, I know you too,” she said softly, glancing at Luz through her lashes. “Sorry I look like a mess.” She gestured to her outfit, which she now realized would have made her mother shriek in horror, and she was now beginning to realize why.
“Nah, it’s cool,” Luz said, waving a dismissive hand. “I’ve just never seen you dressed so comfortably.”
The auburn-haired girl blushed, suddenly remembering all the times she’d come into class in a primly tailored dress or suit, and how in awe of Luz she had been the first time she saw the latina come into class, her beanie lopsidedly hanging off her hair, and her eyes sparkling with something Amity had never been able to place.
“Yeah,” she chuckled, scratching the back of her head. “Rough week, I guess.”
“Tell me about it,” said Luz, snorting. “I’m honestly a little jealous.”
Amity raised an eyebrow at the cashier, for the first time able to look her in the eye, and Luz elaborated while she scanned the rest of her items.
“You’re like the smartest girl in our class,” she explained, which made Amity blush to the roots of her hair. “I, uh… tend to get really distracted in that subject, unfortunately.”
It was Luz’s turn to blush, her cheeks darkening just below her eyes, which Amity found kinda endearing.
“Honestly, I get it,” said Amity, choosing to brush past the fact that her crush had just called her the smartest girl in their class. “I would rather stay home reading Azura than to listen to another one of Mr. Bump’s lectu-”
“YOU READ ‘THE GOOD WITCH AZURA’ TOO,” Luz practically yelled as she leaned over the register, her eyes once more alight with that indescribable emotion, almost as if they glowed like orbs of light.
Before Amity could respond, they heard the other customer, an annoyed-looking woman, clear her throat. “Hey man,” she said, her voice raspy. “You’re the only lane open! Hurry up.”
“R – Right, sorry,” stuttered Amity, realizing that she’d been standing there for a few minutes and she hadn’t even paid.
While she took out her wallet and offered Luz a twenty, the other girl scratched the back of her head.
“Y’know, I’ve never met another Azura fan before,” she said, pointedly not looking at Amity. “And – and you seem really cool, so, uh, would it be weird if I asked for your number?”
Amity almost dropped the money and bolted out of the store, snacks be damned. Had she heard correctly? Was Luz Noceda, the most beautiful girl in her class… asking for her number? She had the sudden urge to pinch herself, but she couldn’t do that without raising suspicion, so she simply shut her eyes tight and opened them again.
Luz was still looking at her with that damn grin, and Amity did her very best not to turn into a puddle right then and there.
“Oh, not at all,” she said, her voice suddenly three octaves higher than before. “Let me get out a pen…”
She rummaged through her bag once more, thankful that she was the kind of person to keep pen and paper on her at all times. She liked being prepared, sue her!
Eventually, she found them near the bottom and she quickly scribbled her phone number on it. In a fit of boldness – or perhaps madness – she added a little heard beneath the last digit, and offered the piece of paper, along with the money, to Luz, who took it gratefully.
After the obnoxious woman huffed again, Amity grabbed her bag with her stuff and walked toward the door, offering Luz a little wave, which the latina reciprocated.
Amity exited the store and got to her car before her legs finally gave out and she all but collapsed on the driver’s seat. She hid her face in her hands and squealed as if she were a little girl again. Surely this had just been a stress-induced hallucination and Amity had not just given her number to Luz Noceda while looking like she needed about five weeks of sleep and at least ten showers.
She took a few minutes to compose herself, and just as she was about to pull out from the parking lot, her phone dinged with a notification. Fully expecting an insincere ‘Congratulations, dear,’ text from her mother, she groaned and took it out.
Instead of her mother’s name, or anyone in her family for that matter, it was a number she didn’t recognize. It was two messages, back to back, both ending with smiley faces.
Sorry, couldn’t wait the three day period
Would you like to go on a date tomorrow evening?
Amity’s heart swelled in her chest as she typed out a simple affirmative reply. Maybe this break wouldn’t be the lonesome affair she had envisioned it to be a few hours prior.
Maybe this year, she would actually enjoy her summer break. After all, she was going out with Luz Noceda, and everything was right in the world.