First day of school, don't be nervous. I've done this
before, pictured it in my head a thousand times last night. I didn't get any sleep, but my outfit is put together. I'm wearing these black ripped jeans, paired with my Blue Jays jersey and comfortable black and white Nike sneakers. My long black hair is gathered up to the side in a fishtail braid. I breathe in once more and exhale, placing my hands on the door press.
I push the heavy school doors and stride confidently in the packed hallway of the third floor. With a schedule in my hand I look around for my friends, but l am greeted only by seniors who are half asleep and freshMen trying to head to their classes twenty minutes early, although they look like frantic stray puppies.
I pull my phone out and open the messenger to our group chat.
Me : Hey guys where are you?
Ashlyn : We're here at Ivy's locker.
Ivy : Not Clara though, she's probably going to get detention on the first day for being late. Lol.
Me : Hahaha...OMG so true.
Clara : Wow guys! I'm literally 2 mins away!
Ashlyn : Sure.
Clara : It's true! Watch, I'll be there in less than 5 mins.
Ivy : Okay...
Me : I'm coming over there.
Ivy : Yup!
I turn left at the next hallway, I know the way to Ivy's locker as if it were my own. I know the location of all their lockers and their combinations by heart. I see Ashlyn blabbing on about something excitedly and Ivy rolling her eyes in boredom. Ashlyn can just talk about the most dull things sometimes.
Ivy looks the same. Her short brown hair still in a bob, her bangs clipped away from her face. She's wearing cropped jeans and a plain grey t-shirt.
Ashlyn, on the other hand looks a bit different. Her strawberry blonde hair is cut to her shoulders and
is curled. She's wearing a cute, purple t-shirt dress
and converse.
Instantly, I feel that rush of excitement while I run forward to them. I almost squeal, but I know how annoying that is so l hold it in. I haven't seen them for the entire summer! No, we're not those friends, the ones who only hang out at school. We usually spend so much time together during the summer, going to the lake, playing beach volleyball for fun, having movie nights and having the best sleepovers.
Not this summer though, I went to the Philippines for the entire summer. I came back two shades darker and with mosquito bitten legs but it was still one of the best vacations ever. It wasn't like a resort vacation, but a family reunion with relatives that l never even knew existed. If you've ever seen a complete filipino family, you know what I'm talking about. My family lives somewhere near...hmm, well I don't exactly know. All I know that I was in the middle of a forest in a small town with no internet and water that only runs during the early morning and late night. So no, I had no contact with my best friends for almost two whole months. Time to catch up.
"Ashlyn! Ivy!" I scream, not caring if the whole hallway thinks me as an idiot.
"Eleanor!" They yell out to me in unison. I am about to
do that movie running scene when l bump into a wall instead, sending me flat on my butt.
Luckily, not a real wall. A six foot person could be
described as a wall though. The thing is, he isn't just any six foot person. It's the one, the only, the idiotic, Austin Eldrick. I know, I know, Eleanor, why are you calling this guy idiotic? Well, I wouldn't really call this as being rude, considering l've known this idiot even before kindergarten.
I am sprawled on the floor as we make eye contact.
He looks to me and holds a hand out to help me up. I grab his hand as he pulls me towards himself.
Not a bad guy. huh?
Wrong. He instantly lets go of my wrist, sending me back to the ground even harder than last time. Thanks a lot. He receives a crowd of laughter and high-fives from the rest of the hockey team. I roll my eyes and get up, walking towards my friends as if nothing happened.
What a great way to start the first day of school.
"What a jerk." Ashlyn mutters from under her breath.
"He has the IQ of a rock. Oh wait, that would be insulting to rocks " Ivy adds. "You okay?"
I reply with anger towards Austin. "Yeah, I've been handling him for my whole life. He should just be thankful that I was feeling merciful today."
They laugh, lightening the mood. Everyone knows that I never back down from Austin. Sure he's the star hockey player and Mr. Popularity but I've been responsible for two thirds of his injuries. Well, it was way easier to fight him before he hit puberty. Or, before puberty hit him like a truck.
"Oh yeah, nice hair." I tell Ashlyn.
"Thanks." She replies.
"I'm here! I'm here!" Clara jogs towards us in her Adidas joggers, her bag almost falling off her shoulder and her bright blue cleats in her arms. "Ha! Told ya!" she says pointing a finger at us, "I was here in less than 3 minutes."
All three of us roll our eyes at her, chuckling.
"So did I miss anything?" Clara asks, her breath still heavy from running. Knowing her, she probably sprinted here at the challenge.
"Yup." Ivy states. "You just missed the public humiliationof Eleanor here." She tells her, motioning
to me.
l just shrug. "Almost exactly what the idiot did to me just before I jumped on plane two weeks ago. Guess maturity still hasn't kicked in."
Carol almost dies of laughter as she manages to
wheeze out, "I came too late! Bruh, what did you do to him?"
I stare at her blankly. "Nothing."
"No seriously! What did you do? Did you kick him in the ball? Did you twist his arm? Did you--"
I interrupt her. "I ignored him."
She stops chuckling immediately and glares at me. "What happened to you on vacation that you suddenly turned to the good side?"
Ivy and Ashlyn nod in agreement. Clara grips my shoulders and shakes me back and fourth until I feel like I'm about to vomit. "Get yourself together woman! I I did not raise you like this!"
I grab a hold of her, "Dude, calmez-vous. I just didn't want to start my day off with negative vibes."
She pretends to wipe a bead of sweat of her forehead.
"So what were you guys up to while I was gone?" I
question them at once.
At those words, I swear their eyes widen like criminals that have just been caught.
Ivy starts figetting with her fingers, Ashlyn starts biting her lip and Clara looks like she's about to bolt out of the scene any minute now.
"Is is about Eden?" l ask, looking at Clara. Eden was a guy from the soccer team, and he obviously liked her. They've been hanging out for a while now, but I was cool with it since Ashlyn, Ivy and I just hung out together when Clara was busy.
None of them reply. I get the feeling that they're not
telling me something..
"I'm not telling her!" Ivy sqeaks all at once.
"Not me!" Ashlyn exclaims right after.
They both look at Clara knowing that she always does the best at explaining situations. Well, other than me. I usually do it, but frankly I have no clue what the heck is going on.
Clara comes up to me and puts a hand on my shoulder, looking a little frightened. Not that I was a scary person, just a bit unpredictable. "Don't freak out on us but..." she trails off.
"But what?"
"Well..." she starts.
"You see..." Ashlyn goes along.
They are interrupted by no other than the booming voice of the captain of the hockey team-yet again. He yells at a bunch of people, greeting them wildly. These idiots around us look at him as if he were a celebrity. If they knew him like me, they wouldn't be in such awe. If I had three words to describe him they would be: rude, gross, and disrespectful. I didn't like him, but the feeling was mutual. Luckily, while l was away in the Philippines for the summer, he went off for a luxury cruise in the bahamas for fun. Needless to say, his family's rich. And I had the luxury of not seeing his annoying face until today.
As all popular jocks do, he strides around thinking he's a king with his three followers right behind him. Usually you would see the mean girl and her squad, but these gyys were a guy version of that. Except for the fact that his squad actually consisted of really nice people who were just unfortunate enough to be friends with the idiot.
I turn back to my friends when I hear the sound of one of his squad members.
"Babe!"
l turns around so fast that my head could've fallen off if it wasn't attached to me body. Eden?
I turn to Clara. She smiles at me shyly as he comes and wraps an arm around her shoulder. She sweeps his brown bangs away from his green eyes and they smile at each other. I think I might be sick.
It wasn't a secret that they liked each other. I guess
now they're official."Looks like we're going to be third wheels!" I chirp to both Ashlyn and Ivy. But they don't return the smile and instead they look nervous.
"Darling!" another guy shouts. I turn around to see Leo, racing towards us. Who is he goi-...
He wraps his arms around Ashlyn and kisses her forehead. She giggles in his arms. Oh my goodness, no.
I am just about to start firing questions at both the girls when I hear another shout.
"Honey!"
Whipping my head around once more, my eyes lay upon Gavin, who as you can probably predict, is sprinting to us. Pushing me out of the way, he attacks Ivy's face.
What the heck is going on?
Clara, fine. We all saw that coming. They've been close for almost five months. Ashlyn, kind of weird. She's not really the type to date. She usually makes fun of everyone in romantic movies. But Ivy!
That girl is a freaking saint! We all thought she was going to become a nun, or something! Can someone fetch me a glass of water! Yet here she is, making out with Gavin Ford, the biggest player in the school. Other than Austin, of course.
I stare at the three couples for a minute, thinking about all the ways that I could chase these boys with a sledgehammer.
Breaking away from the kiss, Ivy looks at me. "Eleanor don't freak out, we can expl--"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!" I shout at the top of my lungs, gesturing at the girls and the three members of Austin' squad that just attacked my best friends.
I look at Clara and Eden to Ashlyn and Leo to Ivy and Gavin to finally, Austin. Austin and I look at each other for a second, both of us confused at the situation.
"Boys?" He asks the guys.
Eden pipes up. "Sorry bro, we couldn't not reach you for the whole summer."
"Yeah Eleanor, you had no signal in the middle of the jungle so..." Ashlyn adds.
Both Austin and I are wearing the exact same expression at this very moment. I don't know if l'm going to go balistic or if l'm going to faint. I look at
Ivy. "You too! You told me that you wouldn't date until you graduated university!"
"I know, I know, but Gavin is too--"
"Perfect?" I interrupt. I've heard that line a thousand
times before. "Did your parents know?"
She shakes her head. She never lies to her parents!
She's little miss perfect! How is it that a guy can change her personality in a mere two months?! I facepalm.
"Guys you're actually committing to a relationship?" Austin asks.
I glare at him. Classic Austin, moving on from one girl to the next as if they're just objects. He sticks his hands up and quickly adds, "I'm just kidding Elanor, don't be such buzz-kill."
Oh, l could just kick him right now. Self-control Eleanor, self-control.
"Eleanor, we'll explain everything to you at lunch, promise." Ashlyn says.
"Yeah." Clara agrees. The warning bell rings and the three couples go hand in hand into the sunset.
Or, to their first period classes that is. Austin and I stand frozen in our places. We've never had anything in common, but today is the day we finally have the same experience.
How is it possible to have upgraded to a seventh
wheel?
— New chapter is coming soon — Write a review