what’s next

she walks into the room like a sentence that forgot to whisper

light brown hair pulled back

clear glasses catching the light

tall enough to see past most people

loud enough not to care if they notice

he’s already talking

as always

saying something dumb and brilliant at the same time

arms moving like punctuation

grinning like the world is a joke he just made up

and we’re all lucky enough to hear the punchline

she rolls her eyes

again

he makes her want to scream

and sometimes she does

but then he looks at her

just for a second

not like she’s the loud girl with opinions

but like he hears something else in the way she says everything

and she hates that

hates how he can annoy her and make her laugh in the same breath

how he can say the wrong thing

but still show up

still remember her favorite pen got lost last week

and hand her one just like it

without saying a word

they argue over the best snacks

the worst songs

who should’ve won the talent show

they sit too close

or not close enough

everyone says they fight like siblings

but it doesn’t feel like that

not really

it feels like something waiting

something leaning forward

holding its breath

and maybe nothing will happen

or maybe everything will

maybe they’ll graduate

drift apart

forget

or maybe

just maybe

one day he’ll say something that isn’t a joke

and she won’t roll her eyes

she’ll smile

and say

so what’s next