Price of Friendship

Claudia bit out a smile before they walked inside the glass doors of the entrance, awkwardly setting their pace since Mr. Anthony was pinning a suspicious gaze on them while Alice bowed her head once last time as she and Claudia rounded the corner to go the magnificent restroom for the ladies that was located on the west wing of the first floor of the main building.

She didn't know what made Mr. Anthony so cranky, but all that she could hope for was that his day at least somewhat got better for him as the day went forward when he'd finally get to rest at night rather than be a primary babysitter rather than a janitor at the school.

They strode past the major staircase that led to the second floor of the main building, and Alice crossed her arms, being careful to not run into any teachers who were coming out of their rooms late since Alice and Claudia clearly had no business being here despite them likely being able to weasel their way out of the situation.

Alice didn't think that any teachers would care, but she wanted to at least since she got the sense that something was going to happen with their little antics not that it would be anything too crazy on their end.

"Did you really need to use the restroom that bad?" Alice laughed as they made the trek over to one of the nicest restrooms.

"Not really," Claudia winked. "I just wanted to use the nice ones here instead."

Alice shook her head with a hand to her temples. "You're such a headache sometimes."

"It was also closer, so in your mind, it was more efficient to come here, wasn't it? Rather than heading all the way back to the convenience store," Claudia pointed out. 

Alice rolled her eyes since Claudia was trying to put Alice's thought process against her. "Okay, girl. Just go on and freshen up while you're at it."

"Hey, as if you're not going to do the same," Claudia laughed. "I don't think that we'll get in trouble since we're little angels."

"Now that you're proclaiming out loud, it just sounds sleazy," Alice smirked. "Not that I'll let you off the hook for getting us in a dicey situation just yet."

They walked into the restroom that was practically a state-of-the-art condition with the wonderful white stalls and pristine marble countertops along with the impeccable lighting that surrounded all of the mirrors. Alice looked at her reflection in the mirror before fluffing her hair a bit more for definition.

She touched up her makeup with the little products that she had in her purse before striding out of the bathroom to sit on a bench that was outside to wait for Claudia to come out.

Alice pulled out her phone to see that Noah did in fact see the videos that she had sent him, and he gave some reaction words, but otherwise than that, that was it.

Alice leaned her head up on the wall as she gripped her phone in her hand to look up at the lights beaming down at her. She was going to see Noah soon since his first shift was coming up very soon which would either be very good or very bad.

In hindsight of things, it wasn't the best for him to be working overtime, so with him in her reach, she'd be able to push him to school if his condition worsened. She was surprised that he kept his word to apply, now finding it funny that he was serious about it.

Her mother didn't really think twice about it when she hired Noah since according to her mother, "it would be nice to have more young people around." Alice was curious about Noah's interview and asked about it only her mother gave her a coy smile before asking why she was so interested.

Alice walked back to her room after digging herself a hole to lie in, embarrassed because there was no way she was going to let her mother lecture her about the love life that was certainly not there.

It always went along the lines of 'Step by Step' and her mother quoted the saying which meant that Alice needed to look at all sides and aspects of the guy before true consideration of dating, often enough that it echoed in her brain chamber along with all words that Noah has used to tease her with. 

Claudia emerged from the restroom looking as though she just got a blowout with her hair cascading around her shoulders in luxurious curls, Alice laughed as she pointed the thought out to Claudia who helped her up to her feet so that they could continue their trek all the way back to the convenience store.

"I'll walk you back to the store," Claudia said. "So that my mind can be at rest."

"It's safe," Alice scoffed. "I walk that distance every day I can practically do it blindfolded."

"I'd like to see you try."

Alice lifted a brow. "I thought that you were looking out for my safety."

"A laugh first before I help you up," Claudia grinned.

She snorted. "Ah, yes. The precious price of friendship."