Pretend

I rolled my eyes fondly at Seb and pushed myself away from him by his shoulders. Seb always had this particular smell about him. There wasn't any definition to it, other than clean. Like laundered linen, I guess. And Irish Spring soap.

Breaking our discussion, Rex blundered into my back and pushed me sideways. I laughed and grabbed his collar. Rex barked loudly once, his fluffy tail wagging and whipping Seb in the shoulder.

"Yes, Rex, I know, Sebastian is a bad boy for skipping school," I said playfully, ruffling my hands through Rex's soft black and white fur. Seb sighed loudly through his nose and stood up, stretching his long arms towards the bright blue sky. His lean, lanky body was clad in his usual ratty clothes - black jeans with holes in the knees, fraying grey t-shirt, and baggy navy blue hoodie - and his sandy hair was in desperate need of a trim. I needed a haircut too. I decided to bring it up later. But for now there were more important things to discuss.

"Seb," I said, my voice quiet. He turned and looked at me expectantly. "Why are we skipping school? What's going on?"

Seb shrugged despondently.

"I just hate school, Cora," he said, sitting down and scratching Rex behind the ears. "It doesn't teach us anything at all. It's just seven hours of condescending teachers and irritating jerks and useless information being stuffed into our heads. I don't care about what happened during the War of 1812, Cora! I don't care about the Pythagorean Theorem or Huckleberry Finn or hydrogen bonds!" His voice was rising in volume. His eyes were wild and his eyebrows were knit together in a stubborn expression. A tenderness for my best friend rose up inside me.

"Seb, I know. I get it. But the attendance office isn't going to accept 'I didn't want to go' as an answer," I told him. Seb sighed again.

"All they'll do is call and leave a message on the home phone, and no one ever listens to those," he told me. I frowned at him and crossed my arms tightly over my chest.

"Okay, so you'll be fine, but what about me? My mom and Michael are going to freak," I said, more than a little irritated. Seb bit his lip.

"Sorry," he muttered. "I just didn't want to be alone." He looked away from me, his long fingers knotted together and his back hunched. I sighed and unfolded my arms, then sat down next to him and put my hand on his shoulder.

"Seb, I'm sorry," I said, my voice quiet. "I know that school sucks and I know that everyone's an asshole and I know that you're happiest here. But we can't keep skipping, okay?" Seb shrugged glumly.

"Okay," he muttered. Then he looked up at me, his eyes big and pleading. "But I'm not going today."

"Fine," I sighed and lay back against a tree, watching clouds skid across the sky. It was an early October day, my favorite time of year, and it was the perfect temperature - cool, but not cold. The leaves were vibrant against the bright blue sky and the gray-blue water of Lake Superior. I was with my best friend and his goofy dog, and I wasn't missing anything important in school.

I heard Seb pull his sketchbook from out of his bag.

"Don't move, Cora," he commanded. I rolled my eyes at him.

"Do you have to draw me again, Seb?" I asked, feigning annoyance.

"Yes," he replied. I laughed. Seb loved drawing me. I wasn't sure why. I wasn't ugly, per se, but I definitely wasn't the most gorgeous person in Point Chase.

"Draw me like one of your French girls," I said breathily. Seb threw a pine cone at me. But he was smiling, a dimple appearing in his left cheek.

It was going to be a good day.