Julianna Catching Fire

Chapter Thirty

Chapter Thirty

I spent the entire weekend with Braden. And I had to admit that it was the best time I'd had since Liam arrived. We hung out, just the two of us, and had fun. It was a great way to get my mind off of things, and to just relax and have fun without worrying about everything else that was going on. That doesn't mean I still didn't think about Alex. It just means that I thought about him less than usual.

"Feeling better?" Braden asked, wrapping him arms around me as I sat down.

"Much," I admitted, as I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Good. You're late; lunch is over any moment now."

"I know," I told him.

"Where's Chloe?" Mallory asked Abby. "She was in fourth period."

Chloe wasn't here, so Braden decided to take her spot next to me at the lunch table.

"She was in first and second period, too," Taylor said.

"She's here," Abby said. "She's just doing something."

"Something?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah. Something."

"Well alrighty then."

Braden played absentmindedly with the stack of silver bangles on my wrist. They were the new addition to my now standard long-sleeved tee and jacket, used to hide the scars on my wrist.

"Graduation's in nine weeks, prom is in six weeks, and the Senior Beach Trip is in four weeks," Chloe announced as she arrived at the table. "What are you doing in my seat?" she frowned at Braden.

"Sorry," he apologized. I lifted my head off his shoulder and he sat down in his seat.

"What's the Senior Beach Trip?" Abby and Mallory asked simultaneously.

"Well," Chloe said, "all of the seniors are going to spend four days and three nights at a hotel on the beach."

"Ooh," Mallory cooed.

"Last year, didn't the seniors do something different?" Mallory asked.

"Yes, they all spent a day at Disneyland," Chloe confirmed.

I snorted. "Are you serious?"

"What? Did your school do something different?"

"Of course! Every grade has an event or goes on a trip, usually for a week, somewhere. Last year, the Seniors went to Cancun for a week. Us juniors weren't so lucky. We had a five day vacation in Key West. It wasn't Cancun, but it was still fun. It was better than what the freshmen did - they went to the Mall of America and stayed in Minnesota for two days."

"That is so cool," Abby said in awe.

"I've always to go to the Mall of America," Chloe muttered.

"This year, because of me, of course, we were arranging to go to either Paris, France or Naples, Italy," I said.

"That's so unfair," Mallory whispered.

"Well, we are going to Newport Beach," Chloe jumped in so I wouldn't steal the spotlight.

"Fun!" Abby squealed. "I can't wait!"

"Where are we supposed to be staying?" I asked.

"Well, we found a nice hotel with cheap rates," Chloe explained.

"Okay, but where are we staying?"

"We found a nice Ramada Inn that's close to the beach that'll give us great discounts and - "