"What's up with you?"

Scoop - 287 words

Mary Ann Loo

“So… they’re fighting again,” Claire says, plunking herself in the steel chair beside me.

“Who?”

“Grant and Grace.”

“Yeah, nothing new there.” I close my book. “How are you? How was your week?”

“Same old,” she replies, an unlit cigarette between her teeth, as she rummages through her purse for a lighter. “Guess what they’re fighting about this time.”

“Don’t know. The weather?”

“Hey, where’s your lighter?”

I open my pack of Marlboro menthols and hand it to her. “Just make sure you don’t take it with you. You owe me like 6 lighters now.”

“So,” Claire says, while lighting up, “apparently Beth is like the middleman in the relationship, and Grace thinks Grant is cheating with Beth.”

“That’s absurd. Beth and John have been dating like forever. They’re practically married. Grace is just really insecure or something.”

“Oh, I think Beth enjoys the misunderstanding. She complains about becoming the mediator, but really, she loves it.” Claire takes a drag on her cigarette.

“Yeah, I don’t really want to get involved. Whatever it is, it’s between Grant and Grace to figure things out. If they can’t do it by themselves, they shouldn’t even be together.”

“What’s up with you?”

“Not much. Just trying to finish this book by next week.”

“No, I mean like, did you have a bad day or something?”

I sigh, retrieve my lighter from atop Claire’s cigarette case, and replace it in my menthol pack. “You know what, I just remembered I have to be somewhere. We’ll catch up another time, yeah?”

“But I just got here.”

“Yeah, but you were an hour late so…” I say, standing as I stuff my book and cigarettes into my purse. “I’ll see you soon. Bye.”