A Loaded Gun

Chapter 24

Brooke POV

A pounding on my door made me jerk in surprise, disrupting the mountain of blankets I piled on top of myself.

"Brooke! Come on, we gotta go to school." Michael sounded reluctant to disturb me, but I smiled at his wake-up call. 

It's so boring to sit at home; I'd rather be in school than just being here with Marcus. Talk about awkward.

I got ready, hesitating before pulling on a cute outfit. On one hand, I don't want to draw attention to myself, but on the other, I don't want to be made fun of for having crappy clothes. 

It was a delicate balance.

I opened my door to the smell of waffles and smiled. Chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream was my favorite breakfast, so hopefully they have the toppings I want.

I bounced down the stairs happily and stopped short in the kitchen, staring at the steaming pile of golden goodness on my plate. 

They had chocolate chips dotted in them and were covered in whipped cream. How did they know?

At my questioning gaze, Marcus spoke up. "Waffles with whipped cream and chocolate chips was your favorite breakfast when you were two. I was hoping you still liked it, and I guess I was right."

I beamed at him. "Yes you were! Best breakfast ever, thank you Marcus!"

After inhaling my sugar overload, I slung my backpack over my shoulder. This time I didn't wince, which was a new sensation. Michael spun his keys on his finger. "You ready, Brooke?"

I smiled wide; I was in a wonderful mood, shockingly. "Yup! Let's go!"

As we drove, Michael explained to me how the schedule worked. We had four blocks a day, each an hour and a half. 

We would switch between A days and B days for a total of eight classes. Not the same as my old school, but I guess I could get used to it.

We pulled into the parking lot and I saw a large group of students standing outside the double doors. 

My stomach flipped as I opened the car door. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and stepped out. Students swarmed Michael yelling his name, but he ignored them and guided me to the office.

He smiled politely at the secretary and said, "Brooke Amoretti's schedule, please."

She smiled back. "Of course, Michael! How are you? And how are you...Brooke?"

At least she's nice. "I'm doing well, thank you," I replied politely.

I scanned over my schedule. I was taking PreCalculus, Latin III, Physics, American Lit, US History, and a couple extracurriculars. 

I knew I would be taking precal and Latin, but the others were different from the sophomore classes I took at my old school. 

I raised my eyes to the secretary. "Ma'am? These are junior level classes."

"Oh yes, looking at your previous school records you are on track to graduate a year early! Your brother approved advanced classes for you. Good luck Brooke!"

Why the hell would Marcus do that without asking me?

I frowned uneasily. I could handle the workload, but it would have been nice to have some warning. It wasn't her fault though, so I smiled and thanked her politely.

Michael grinned at me. "You have fun with that! I'm off to my easy-peasy Chemistry class. Your first class is room 204. Take a left, then a right, then another lefting, leftaroo." 

He walked away, leaving me in shock at the amount of work I'd have to do this year.

I shook my head to clear it of negative thoughts and followed Michael's instructions to 204. I walked in hesitantly and ducked my head shyly from everyone's inquiring gazes. 

Spotting the teacher, I held my hand out. "Hi, my name is Brooke Amoretti. I'm new here. Where can I sit?"

She smiled and shook my hand. "Hi Brooke! You can sit right next to Annabeth, the girl with the braid in the corner. Welcome to PreCalculus! My name is Ms. Bayton." 

I nodded and headed to the corner, and a girl with a long French braid smiled at me. "Hey," she whispered. "I'm Annabeth. Your name is Brooke?"

I nodded cautiously. I didn't have great experience with the girls in my last school, so I was wary of fake friendliness. She didn't have any trace of deception on her face, however, so I smiled back carefully.

Throughout the class, I assessed her character critically. She was incredibly smart, but she didn't like to show it. 

She was humble and shy, but silly in a good way. I could see signs of social anxiety but she did her best to make me feel welcome despite her uneasiness. 

After class, she walked beside me. "If you need any notes, let me know. I can give you anything you need for this class. Can I see your schedule? I'd like to see if you have any more classes with me."

She scanned my schedule and smiled softly, which was a big deal for her. "You have a lot of the same classes as me, but I'm in Spanish, not Latin. Looks like we're going to graduate together! Come on, I'll show you where Physics is."

I spent the rest of the morning with her, smiling at her random comments and marveling at her brilliant answers to the questions the teacher threw at her.

At lunch she led me to a table with 7 other girls. They all greeted her happily and shot curious glances towards me. Annabeth quickly introduced me. 

"Guys, this is Brooke. Brooke, this is Emmy, Megan, Carlene, Molly, Gracie, and the two Savannah's."

As their names were spoken, they waved and smiled. I made a mental image of each one in my mind; I didn't want to forget any of them.

"Alright so Brooke if you're going to sit with us there's a few things you should know." Carlene, a redhead, spoke up.

I braced myself, uneasy at the connotations of that sentence. "First off, we are really weird. Second, Emmy and Megan make the most inappropriate jokes so feel free to throw something at them if they're being gross. 

"C, the chicken fingers are disgusting, don't get them. And last, what's your number? I need to add you to the group chat."

Not what I was expecting at all. I almost couldn't answer her question due to the shock I felt at the warm welcome they instantly gave me. 

I hesitantly recited my number and she smiled in satisfaction after punching it into her phone. I pulled out my phone at the sound of a ding and smiled at the text,

Welcome to the group chat Brooke! from a group called "The Dull Pencils"

I frowned. "Dull Pencils?"

Gracie spoke up, "Don't ask, can't explain. We named it that years ago and none of us remember the reason."

I laughed, feeling comfortable with this odd group of girls. Taking into consideration their advice about the chicken fingers, I skipped the line and grabbed an energy drink and some fruit. 

I didn't really eat lunch and my brothers weren't here to force me, so...what they don't know won't hurt them.

The rest of the day went well, and when I met Michael in the parking lot, he smiled at my happy attitude. Today was a good day.

A/N y'all these girls are based on my ridiculously weird friend group, and Annabeth* is based on my absolute best friend. Shoutout to Snail! You're the smartest, funniest, and absolute weirdest person ever and I love you

*No she is not based off Percy Jackson but her namesake should play her in the show :)