If you had asked Haley whether or not she and Dani had gone to the same school, Haley would have said... probably?
If you asked her if she knew that they had been in the same grade, and had been since Middle School, she would have looked at you funny and asked... are you sure?
But through the furrowed eyebrows and the narrowed eyelids, Haley was just happy to know that Dani had been trying to see if the girl that sat in the back of her Bio class really was who she had thought she was. It honestly had felt like she was itching for a fight—with Dani's all-black makeup and loud band tees, Haley easily could have believed that she was just some husky mall goth looking to square up. Which you know, she still could have been. But the important part is that Haley made a friend.
More importantly, a friend who had gone through most of her classes already.
"I thought you just, like, dropped off the face of the Earth after high school." Dani had said upon Haley's explanation for her three-year absence, "So you didn't, like... try to go to school out in Charleston or what?"
"No, it's way too expensive out there." Haley waved dismissively, "Plus, I was kind of... you know, I dated Freddy and he was in a band—"
"Holy shit you were groupie."
"No, we actually dated." Haley restated firmly, "But if I were a groupie, then maybe he would have been having sex with me too. You know?"
It hadn't been a laugh-out-loud joke, but Dani had chuckled darkly. What Haley did remember of Dani from back in high school helped support the fact that she had kind of a dark sense of humor—no wonder they hadn't hung out that much. But nevertheless, having a familiar face during this weird time of her life when she felt extra aimless was kind of nice. Especially if she was going to help her study.
"I come to Big Daddy's at least three times a week." Dani said from across the booth, "I sit in this little red booth in the corner, I eat bacon cheese fries... it's kind of my happy place."
"I believe it—we used to come here all the time after Youth Group."
"...you know that I didn't go to Youth Group with you guys, right?"
"Oh! Uh..." Haley took a swig of sweet tea, "Well either way, this is a really nice, quiet time to come at least."
Haley and Dani didn't have much in common. Outwardly, Haley was petitely built with short brown hair and a thin, pretty face. Her dark brown eyes were earthy, she wore cute little earrings with every outfit, and most importantly, she most certainly didn't dress like she was still in high school. Dani (as evidenced by them scrolling through their social feeds) hadn't changed all that much in the almost three years that had passed since Haley had left. She still wore band tees, she still wore leggings, she still had thigh-high combat boots, and her long black hair was still cut in that obnoxious anime style like that girl from Naruto. The only thing that Haley could say for certain is that she had at least lost a little weight—Doughy Dani had slimmed around the waist into a nice little curvy physique, and her lily white skin helped to make her look very much at odds with the warm and colorful atmosphere of Spartanburg's favorite burger joint.
Inwardly... Dani just seemed kind of snarky and sour. Haley was much more bright and friendly.
But then, Haley got to live at home with her mama and didn't have to share a dorm. Or, for that matter, pay for a dorm. She also didn't really like anime or video games or... something called Magic: the Gathering. All of which seemed to be Dani's biggest interests. They both did share a mutual interest in Pokemon though! Which came in handy... you know, sometimes. When Haley could remember the last time she played was.
All in all, it was kind of a wobbly start to their friendship. Truth be told, if Dani hadn't been two years further along in the same major as Haley was, they probably wouldn't have had much reason to hang out together. They weren't close in high school, they didn't share a lot of common interests...
Well, aside from a mutual appreciation of Big Daddy's bebop burgers.
"Oh man did I miss these things." Haley closed her eyes after a sinful, greasy bite, "Ugh. These are so good."
"Tell me about it—if I didn't have to keep my grades up, I'd get a job here." Dani reached for a handful of bacon cheese fries, "This place is the shit."
"Do they still make those milkshakes?"
"Do you have eyes and a menu? They're right there on the back."
"...do you want to try one with me?"
"I would absolutely love to try one with you."
As snarky as Haley's new college connection could be, they shared a mutual affection for the greasy cuisine that had been a hallmark of growing up in the same general area. Sure, Dani had grown up in a poorer area, but they all knew the ins and outs of must-eats around Spartanburg. Venus Pie, Big Daddy's, NuWay Burger, that shitty little sushi place that opened up the next county over... honestly, Haley bringing up milkshakes might have been the best way to get her classmate to open up!
"If I could, I'd have like, one of those food blogs. You know, the kind that like only rich people in the cities have." Dani slurped on a milkshake so thick it hardly fit in the straw, "I would pig out, eat until I couldn't move, and then give 'em a bad grade for the hell of it."
"That's horrible!"
"Yeah, well, they should have given me a mint. And complementary biscuits." Dani shrugged her ivory shoulders playfully, "You can't have a good restaurant in the south without biscuits."
"Dani just wants to get an English degree so she knows all the fancy words to describe food."
"Shhhh—"
It might have been a little rocky at the start, but Haley and Dani were beginning to get along better than either of them would have thought when they sat down for a study session. So much so that there hadn't been all that much studying done—but an awful lot of snacking. They'd gone through their burgers, sides, and the shared plate of cheese fries meant to tide them over! And now they were working on milkshakes!
"Ugh. I'm stuffed." Dani leaned back into the booth, "You want the rest of my milkshake?"
"Mm? Sure, if you're offering."
Haley grunted as she leaned forward, rock-hard belly weighing her down as she collapsed into the other side of the booth, slurping on the remains of her friend's drink. It was good and melted now, so it went down smooth.
"This is so good." Haley licked her lips after she put the emptied cup down, "I should try that next time."
"You wanna come back next time?"
"...do you want me to come back next time?"
"I mean, you'll probably fail if you don't. You're taking Comp 101 and English 300 in the same semester—they're really not supposed to let you do that."
"...should I not be taking those things?"
"No, it's fine, just... you're really gonna need some help is all." Dani's black-painted lips tugged to the side, "You sucked at English in school, why did you make that your major?"
"How do you know I sucked in English?"
"We had literally all of the same English classes in high school—how do you not remember this?!"
The two of them bickered a little more, settled up at the counter, and bid each other goodbye. At least until Wednesday, when they'd meet up again after classes for another day at Big Daddy's...
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