Friday

"Tulip."

When Tulip was 13 and Noah and their friends were 15, she would be picked up by Noah or Lincoln after school. Some days the others would all come too.

On this day sometime nearing the end of the school year before the start of exams, Lincoln was picking her up. Actually, this whole week it had been him. Tulip was curious, but didn't want to overthink it.

Tulip had adjusted to this world, including the school. That was easy, she liked how their schools work here. She got to go home after a few hours and two days off too. When she would do well in school, her grades above average, she would get praised by Noah too. Yes, she likes it. Though it's sad that she can't be with Noah because of their age difference and grades. When she first enrolled to a school it was a special school for kids who have difficulty in learning or are special. Then when she learnt their language understanding and speaking it fluently, also with her grades that couldn't be wasted at a normal school like Noah's, she was put in a prestigious school.

At first Tulip whined and threw a fit, she was finally 12 and could go to the same school 14 year old Noah goes to, but when Noah praised her if her intelligence and asked her to go to another another for him, or at least according to her memory it was for him with the way he looked at her so seriously yet warmly, Tulip gave in.

Plus, they go to school together, going their own way at some point, then he'd wait just for her to go home on most days.

This week was before exams, so that could be the reason as to why he couldn't pick her up.

Noah doesn't have grades like Tulip but in his school he's at a comfortable position, he has said that he plans to stay there instead of lowering or going higher. Tulip understands.

So she is now approaching Lincoln who is leaning against the school walls outside the gate. Holding a yellow jumper on one hand and the other a small book that looks to be some literature poems that he would read.

Except Tulip reached out to the back and fiddles with its cover, Lincoln ears flushed and stutter his words out.

"What..no wait-"

The covers rips apart with a flick of the wrist and there reveals the actual book he's reading, a book that talks about 100 origami ideas. Tulip stares at the cover and on her tippy toes she peers over to look at the page he's turned to. An onigiri shaped origami. The looks up to Lincoln who averts his gaze tight lipped.

"What's the point?"

"..what do you mean?"

"The effort to hide what you're reading. That's really unmanly you know?"

Lincoln flush at her words, his cheeks and ears turning red, a drastic shade contrast to his pale skin. Then he turns to her as if snapping his neck and glares at her, closing the book.

"What do you know about being manly?"

Lincoln retorts, shoving the book into his bag and starts their walk home. Tulip shrugs and folds the sleeves of her uniform.

"These muscles speak for themselves."

Lincoln gives her a judgemental look and doesn't say anything, but walks backwards to stare at Tulip who flex her muscles that doesn't show, her arms not even toned but feeble due to her lack of athleticism.

"Ah, you look stupid."

"Oh, here. I found it in the closet, my Mum must've mistaken it as my sister's clothes."

The yellow jumper he has been holding onto is thrown to Tulip who catches it against her chest. Her face lights up when she sees it's the jumper Noah gifted her on her birthday this year. How could she have forgotten it at Lincoln place?

The last time she wore it, must've been when she came over to help his study for last semester exams.

"Thank you."

Tulip says holding it tight to her chest and looking at it affectionately. Lincoln grunts in response and turns around to walk properly.

It was silent for some time. Neither of them spoke for whatever reason, they share silence like this all the time during their walks. It started because they didn't know how to converse at first, and then when the awkward atmosphere of one them is upset or grumpy after a day of school, then it would happen for no reason but to be silent.

Their relationship is kind of odd now that Tulip thinks about it, ironic to say when hers and Noah is even more unusual. However hers and Lincoln really did appear out of no where. Tulip has her reason to act like how she does with Noah but throughout these years she didn't have the intention to create the friendship they do now, behaving like how she would with Walter, Ronan or Piper. Yet their relationship is different to how hers is with those three. Not like how it is with Noah, but in a way like Noah with how it is disparate to Walter, Ronan and Piper.

With the skip of her feet Tulip catches up to be beside Lincoln who strolls ahead of her, Tulip decides to speak up, remembering the book he was reading behind the literature cover up.

"What are you trying to learn origami for?"