“Uh, yeah. It’s only one of the greatest rom-coms of the early two thousands. It put Anne Hathaway on the map as Amelia Mignonette Thermopolis Renaldi—Mia for short—princess of Genovia. It also has the goddess that is Julie Andrews playing Queen Clarisse Renaldi.”
I kept staring at her as if she’d just glitched out or something. “Oh gosh.”
“What?” Ellie asked.
“Nothing, I just realized you’re the cringy kind of millennial who has a hard time letting go of the past. I bet you have a ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ sign in your living room.”
“I don’t!” she argued before she picked up her steps again and started in the direction of my classroom. “It’s in my kitchen,” she murmured.
I quietly snickered.
What a nerd.
Ellie arched her eyebrow. “What was that?”
I grimaced. “What was what?”
“Did you just...” she pointed toward me. “You just laughed at me! Youlaughed.”
I shook my head. “I was clearing my throat.”
Ellie grinned ear to ear. “Oh my goodness, I made Karla East laugh. We must report this to the nearest authorities,” she teased.
I rolled my eyes. “Whatever, it was a fleeting thing. It won’t happen again.”
“No, no. Let it. Let those moments come.” She grinned again and gently placed a hand against my shoulder. “More of that, Karla.”
I narrowed my eyes. “More of what?”
She shook her head and waved it off. “Nothing. Nothing. Just have a good day.”
“Doubtful,” I mumbled as I walked into the classroom. I didn’t say goodbye to Ellie, but frankly, I’d given her more words than she probably even deserved. She was so weird.
As I walked into class, I looked up to see Ash sitting at his desk. He looked at me and waved with a goofy grin on his face.
He must not have held my hostile attitude against me.
I didn’t know if that made me happy or annoyed.
I didn’t wave back. Instead, I went to my desk in front of him. As I sat down, I saw a pack of M&Ms sitting on the corner of my desk. I glanced around the classroom to see if anyone elsehad candy on their desk. With haste, I turned to look at Ash, who was shoving a handful of candy into his mouth. With his mouth full, he grinned widely and did his goofy wave again.
“Morning, Karla.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Did you leave this candy on my desk?”
“Yeah.”
“Why?”
He shrugged. “You didn’t seem interested in Skittles. So I figured I’d try to give you M&Ms.”
I placed the candy on his desk. “I don’t like M&Ms, either.”
I turned back to face forward, not wanting to see his reaction. Within seconds, I heard Ash say, “That’s OK. I’ll try again tomorrow.”
My head lowered, and my hair fell over my face.
My heart skipped a few beats, and a tiny smile fell on my lips.
