Elizabeth didn’t like the silence, not really. She was the one to speak the most in car rides, she was the one to ramble around when she was excited. Silence made her nervous. Overwhelmed, even.
But this particular noon, she couldn’t find anything else to do. Her friends were in the library, either doing homework or checking their notes for the next lesson. She was bored, and she clearly didn’t want to study when there was weeks to exams.
So she went to the courtyard to spend some time. Her bag slung over her shoulder as she walked past a friend group. She suddenly felt… Jealous? Envious? Even if it was for a moment.
She muttered something to herself and kept walking. She found an empty bench to sit, put her bag aside, and grabbed a cookie from her pocket that she saved from yesterday’s meal. She took a bite and put it on the bench next to her so she could take out her notebook.
In that small moment of distraction, something rushed to the bench. She jumped slightly in surprise. A squirrel. The small animal darted past her bag and snatched the cookie she left behind, then ran away into the trees.
“Hey!” Elizabeth called out as she gor up from the bench. Mouth open in shock, she crossed her arms defensively. “That was mine, you know…” Her voice got quieter, like she knew the squirrel wouldn’t come and return it if she asked.
She rolled her eyes with a quiet sigh, not hearing the footsteps approaching her.
