Catching up to Noah would not be too difficult. While having different temperaments than Noah, they had the same brain and skills for game. Maroon was very proactive in homeroom. Noah and Cinnabar watched as he went over to a group of girls. It was surprising as he was so laid back. The move caught them off guard. The girls were also surprised. They were good friends and did most things together. Jessica, Mary, Jane and Greta were their names. In the brief amount of time before the teacher got the class's attention, Maroon had offered to pay for Jane's ice cream when Noah went with Danielle. Jane accepted. "What about the rest of us?" Jessica asked. "I'm sure that Cinnabar is willing to pay for one of you." Jessica sighed. "There's still three of us and one of him." she said. Maroon just shrugged. "You guys can come too. I just want to get to know Jane better. That's why I'm going to pay for her." Maroon explained calmly. Cinnabar took that as his cue to walk over. He said "If one of you want me to pay for you, I'll do it." Greta looked him up and down. "No thank you. I'm fine."
Right to Left: Mary, Jessica, Jane and Greta
It was Mary that smiled and said "I really wanted to try their strawberry cheesecake ice cream. Is that okay? Thank you." Cinnabar grimaced, but nodded. That was one of the more expensive flavors. "I will be there then." Mary told him. That was when they had to get back to their seats. It was time for first period. All of them had secured a date after school. The three made sure that they got all of their things together during class. Their overall allowance went down. Since there was now three of them in the house, their parents simply could not afford to triple the amount they gave Noah each week. They ended up doubling it and divided by three. Normally, Noah got $15 for the week. Now Noah, Maroon and Cinnabar each got $10. Noah had this planned so he had his full $10. The ice cream parlor gave up to 3 scoops in a cup for $1.50 each. In a cone it was $1.75. They had strawberry, vanilla, peach, blueberry, chocolate ice cream as well as three flavors of sherbet with no extra charge. Their specialty flavors had a 50 cent raise in the price. Strawberry cheesecake and banana split were two.
Maroon only had $5.25 left. He had bought himself some snacks the day before. If he bought himself a single cup of strawberry, that would leave him with $3.75 left. That was just enough for a double scoop cone of a standard flavor. He was fine with that. If Jane took 3 scoops, it would have to be in a cup. That was be all of his money if it was in a cone. Even if it was in a cup, it would not leave him enough left over to buy anything for himself. Maroon did not care about the ice cream. What he cared about was the chance to get a girlfriend for himself. Cinnabar was in a much worse position. He only had $2.50 on him. He had been getting snacks throughout the week. The money he had would only allow him to get one scoop of ice cream. This was something that he only realized at lunchtime. He did not want to tell anyone because that would ruin the triple date they had arranged. There was a way that he could get some quick money. While he kept his head down, his ears were perked up. He knew that there was a gloryhole in the boy's bathroom on the third floor. He went there all by himself.
