What's A Glass? [Old Work]

“Okay, quick question.”

Reggie was sitting on the ledge of a fence, their hands snug in their jean pockets. To their left was their friend, Ryan, who up until then was staring emptily at the clouds.

“Shoot!” He replied, clasping his hand on their back.

“Is the glass half full or half empty?”

Ryan gave his friend a look that said, “you’re kidding, right,” but when they didn’t say anything, Ryan groaned. Reggie jumped off the fence, and beckoned their friend to follow. Ryan complied, swinging his hips and legs before letting go of the fence, stumbling a bit as he landed. The two looked at each other, Reggie grinning and Ryan with pursed lips before he responded:

“You do realize that the question doesn’t actually measure up with your perception of life, right?”

Reggie rolled their eyes.

“Just answer the question, shorty.”

Ryan groaned, “I’m only like…five inches shorter than you.”

Reggie smirked and ruffled their friend’s hair. Ryan swatted their hand away, touching up his hair as they quipped:

“Five inches is a lot.”

They winked as Ryan grew flustered.

“That’s…not what I meant.” Ryan tried, and was only met with giggles from his friend.

Ryan got redder as he looked off to the side. Reggie stopped laughing, and they put a hand on his shoulder, surprising him.

“I’m just teasing,” they remarked, to which Ryan rolled his eyes, “but you still haven’t answered my question.”

Ryan’s brows furrowed, but a soft smile betrayed his features as he looked up to the sky. It was magnificent – streaks of black and purple painting it, speckled with bright white stars that in the blink of an eye seemed to fizzle out of existence. He stood entranced by it, his eyes softening as they filled with wonder and awe. His friend rubbed his shoulder moments later, bringing him back to reality.

“I’m…not so sure. Half-full?” He offered, and Reggie grinned.

“Not quite.”

Ryan’s eyes widened.

“There’s a correct answer?!”

His friend’s grin only widened.

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” They teased.

Ryan playfully punched them in the shoulder, and as they tensed the two burst out in laughter.

“Yeah, no shit!” He responded, hollering.

Reggie shrugged as their laughing subsided, along with the boy next to them. A soft smile played on their features as they explained:

“It depends on how it was before. If it was full before, and it had been emptied, you’d call it ‘half-empty’. If it was empty before, and you put some in it, you’d call it ‘half-full.’”

Ryan nodded, seemingly deep in thought. He lifted his pointer finger.

“What does that say about life, then?” He challenged.

Reggie shrugged. “Figure it out yourself.”

Ryan’s face morphed into shock as Reggie chuckled. When his mouth dropped open, Reggie offered:

“Hey, I can’t do all the work myself.”

Ryan played along.

“Yeah ya can! C’mon, I wouldn’t even know what a glass was if it wasn’t for you – “

Reggie smirked.

“Glass? What’s that? Who’s she?”

Ryan rolled his eyes.

“Unless you want me to guess~”

The teen stiffened. They hated when Ryan guessed. Or at least, that’s what he thought. And Reggie planned to keep it that way.

“Alright, alright, I’ll connect the dots!”

Ryan grinned as Reggie sighed dramatically.

“It’s basically like…your view of life is continuously changing, I think. Like it just depends on how you were before. Because half-full and half-empty are the same amount, but it hits different if you were the top one percent and now you’re mediocre versus if you were in crippling student debt and now you’re mediocre.”

Ryan nodded. He liked how his friend explained it.

“Could’ve put it in layman’s terms, though,” he quipped.

Reggie grinned, “Everyone’s a critic.”