Vertex - Chapter II, Craig's List

		          Chapter II, Craig's List

The dreaded notebook was on the desk now. Craig usually kept it tucked in between the piles of game cases he had all over the place so as to decrease the likelihood of it being found. Also so he himself could keep it out of sight and thereby out of mind.
The dreaded notebook was now open. The very first page. He had bought it for himself as a Christmas present almost a year ago. It hadn't cost much.
The dreaded notebook was filled with squares. The first thing he had done after buying it had been to make proper margins in it, a habit he picked up in elementary school and had yet to kick. He had no reason to kick it, it was a good habit.
The dreaded notebook had some text on the inside of the cover page.
"New Year's Resolutions" it said, with the year and the date. There was more than a few things on that fucking list.

1.	Pick up jogging
2.	Start working out
3.	Study harder
4.	Read at least 30 new books
5.	Get a hobby
6.	Get a girlfriend

Those six things had some qualifiers on the first page. For number one, it said he should go jogging once a week. It hadn't really worked out like that, but he HAD gone jogging, dammit!
For number two... well, he had set it as his goal to do push-ups, sit-ups and squats, a hundred each every day. That hadn't really worked out either. There was almost always an excuse to reduce the number of reps... for example, he didn't do any at all during the weeks he had gone jogging. To let his body recover. Yeah.
Number three... he was doing alright, right? Maybe he could say he had kept that up.
Then there was number four. Hmm... well, he had read... he looked at the tally he'd been keeping at the page... fourteen. And there was still three months left in this year. If he read a book a week... nah. There was no crossing that one off.
Number five, get a hobby. Well, wasn't this a hobby? No, that's stupid, that didn't count. Reading doesn't count as a hobby, and neither do movies, video games, porn, any of the stuff he used to kill time didn't count. Neither did his exercising. Damn.
Then there was number six...

The dreaded notebook was closed. The dreaded notebook was no longer on the desk, it was safely tucked between the cases of Brood War and Frozen Throne... wait, why were those two on top of each other? This desk could use a clean-up... wait, wasn't he supposed to be doing his exercise routine? But there was time for that later. He needed to get to this now...
Rearranging the stuff on the desk took longer than he had anticipated. Craig had never realized just how many he owned for the PC alone. He didn't even like playing on the PC. Damn, is that the time? I need to actually finish my homework...

Craig finished his homework in a jiffy, especially the math, since he'd been tackling the stuff with Farai just a little while ago...
"Craigie! The baths done!"
"Okay Mom!"
Hmm, well, it was bath time. And he needed to put his clothes in the laundry for now. He couldn't really do his workout now, since he was expected to take a bath now, and he couldn't just do it afterwards, not when he was all clean and stuff... it couldn't be helped. Craig shrugged and went to take his bath. Another day without the routine. He'd definitely do it tomorrow...

The morning  came, and so did Craig. He had the instinctual habit of waking up about half an hour before his alarm went off, and he usually just wrapped his covers more tightly around himself and savoured that moment of triumphant bliss, of softness, warmth and safety... except when he had proper morning wood. This had been one of those mornings.
Craig always though that fapping first thing in the morning meant that the day would be good. Little did he know just HOW good it would be.
Setting off for school he had to stop in his tracks as if he'd hit a wall. Why was Farai at the bus stop now?
Craig had always had the habit of going a little early, while Farai had always been the opposite, showing up at school at the last possible minute. Considering how close to each other they lived, it was only natural they took the same bus, and Craig had kind of kept up his habit all the more so he didn't have to experience awkward, quiet moments near her during the morning.
And yet, there she was. Farai, dressed up in much warmer clothing than she had been yesterday, with fluffy, pink earmuffs covering her fragile ears. Fluffy, pink earmuffs? Seriously, how cute was that? Someone her age couldn't use those. No way. Oh no, she's turning around, she's going to see me, what the hell am I supposed to say, what do I do what do I do....

"Hiya!" she said, waving at him.
Oh. Of course. Greet her.
"H-hey" Craig replied. What was he so nervous about? They had gotten along just fine yesterday, it's not like she had changed into a different person all of a sudden.
"Let me guess, you're surprised to see me?" she asked, her right hand holding her backpack in place, as it was only thrown over her other shoulder, her left hand resting at her hip.
"Uhh, yeah, you don't, usually, uhh.... uhh..." Craig yawned, and Farai caught it as well. Good, his stuttering might be covered up by that. Yeah, he wasn't being nervous at all, just groggy. He wasn't a morning person at all!
"Ahahaha! What's up, Sleepyhead? You didn't stay up all night thinking about little old me, did you?"
Craig had somehow forgot how much he enjoyed that laugh of hers.
"As if..."
Whoah, that's like, the greatest comeback ever. Wait, wasn't this something that happened in Sunstone?
"Aww, and here I thought my beguiling sex appeal could be resisted by no man! Ahahaha! Aah, anyway, I actually got up early to catch you here!"
Huh?
"Huh?"
"Yeah, I wanted to thank you properly, and so here's your reward!"
Craig couldn't see it.
"What?"
She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
"Hmm? Did I misunderstand then?"
She wasn't making any sense.
"You're not making any sense"
She got a pouty look on her face.
"Hmph, you really aren't a morning person at all, you're still asleep! Lookie-lookie!"
Craig looked her up and down. Wait... she was wearing THOSE boots. Damn he loved those boots on her. The heels really pronounced her ass... No, wait, that's not right, she couldn't know how he felt...
"Did you get it yet, or do I need to give you the answer?"
He couldn't say he thought those boots were the reward...
"I give up" Craig shrugged, his eyes downcast as if defeated. She had to put in some effort to keep them shining like that...
"Tsk. A pretty girl is going to go to school with you, isn't it obvious?"
Oh. Oooh.
"OH!"
"Hmph, too late now! My feelings are hurt, and I demand satisfaction!"
Now she was just being melodramatic.
"You're just being melodramatic now"
Farai said nothing. She just kept smiling, and twirled her hair around a finger. She'd look pretty good with drills.
"You'd look pretty good with drill"
OH FUCK WHY DID I SAY THAT OUT LOUD!
"Hmm? Really?" she replied, seeming to be genuinely contemplating the possibility.
"Actually, I think you might be right... but I'd need to grow my hair a lot longer than this to wear it like that..."
Huh. She didn't seem to think anything of that comment. Good, good.

The bus showed up, they got on, and ended up sitting next to each other, since it was mostly empty and there was no real reason not to. Craig found that this made him extremely nervous. Their shoulders and arms were touching now. He'd never been this close to her. Whoa.
"Can you believe I actually saw STARS when I stepped outside today? Unbelievable... it's just twenty minutes earlier, and everything is so different..."
Craig mumbled something in response. He could feel her warmth through her clothes. How did this happen? Why was she suddenly going out of her way to change her schedule just for his sake?
Number six. The dreaded notebook. Why did those suddenly show up in his mind?
Craig wasn't harboring any illusions here. It's not like he had any reason to assume she was interested in her as anything more than a friend, and he couldn't exactly blame her. Yeah, forget number six.
Friendship was a different matter entirely though. And if he DID make good friends with her, the two of them could, like, bond over a hobby or something. Yeah, a hobby, that's something he could use. Number five on the list. None of his friends were of any use when it came to that, but Farai might have something neat up her sleeve. Yeah, yeah that's right! Craig hardly knew her, so it wouldn't be inconceivable to assume she had some hobby, something he might even get in on!
But... what could the two of them possibly have in common? Besides the math?
"Hey..."
He was talking before thinking again.
"Hmm?"
"D'yavenyobies?"
"Uhh, what?"
"Uhh, do you have any hobbies?"
"Oh. Like... collecting stamps or stuff?"
"Well, not really, I mean, yeah, I guess..."
"Not really..."
"Oh..."
So much for number five then.
"There is something I always wanted to try though..."
"Really?"
"Yeeaaaahh, buuuut I don't... think you'd be all that into it... nevermind that"
"Oh, okay..."
Dammit, I could have at least asked her what it was!
And now there was an awkward silence again.
"S-so, you uhh, still remember what we talked about yesterday?"
"Vertices?"
Good enough. Time for a review!