Maths was not something I looked forward to. In fact, I hated it. It sucked. English was much more my style. I had always been like that ever since I was little. Even back when I hung with older boys when I was just twelve. It was a bad time for me. Grade seven was harsh especially since all that I really remembered was that I tried too hard to be cool and 'fit in'. I was a stupid kid give me a break. I tried hanging out with my brother's friends but they didn't like me because of my brother. So I found other kids to hang out with. It was a mixture of older and the same aged kids. But it always led to trouble.
I shook my head trying to forget about those times as I heard the bell ring. Finally, Maths was over. I didn't even get a detention. That was always a plus. Most of the girls around me stared at the new kid while I shoved my books together to get out of that room as quickly as possible, away from the boy who brought back all the awful and cringe-worthy memories.
"I think he used to come here." I heard one girl whisper to another before I bolted out of the classroom. I was not going to stay to chat about his green eyes and how they sparkled in the light that seeped through the window or how he was tall enough to reach things. Lame.
My next class was...crap. What was it? I rummaged through my books I was holding to find my timetable. Great. I had BCT. At least I'd be on a computer the whole time. That might give me some time to do Tobias's homework.
"Everyone log on and I'll begin to call the roll." Mr Sloe said as he sat behind his desk at the front of the room. The computer room was old to say the very least. Half the computers didn't work. I didn't understand why they didn't do anything to fix them, though.
I grabbed a computer at the back and began logging on.
"You run quick, Blondie." Holy crap. I jumped in my seat and gave out a little squeal thanks to a specific jerk scaring me.
"Bloody hell." I exhaled deeply and ignored the people around me giving me strange looks.
"From what I remembered you didn't scare easy." He was beginning to make me mad. He just had to choose the seat next to me.
"From what I remembered you weren't such a douche bag. Wait, I take that back. You've always been a jerk." I didn't have time to be distracted by this boy. Lucas would surely get bored of me and move on to annoy someone else. Right?
"Snap, girl." He pulled out a high pitch voice and snapped his fingers. He was weird.
But I didn't care. I just wanted to do my work.
"Lucas?" The teacher called as he marked the roll.
"Here," Lucas replied and a few people turned around to see who the new boy was. A few girls took their time turning back around.
"Unfortunately," I mumbled. A smirk played on his lips as I stole a quick peek at him.
The rest of the class got their name marked off and we began. It was really easy stuff. First, we focused on Excel and getting used to it. Then we moved on and did some questions Mr Sloe had written on the board. It went rather slowly but Lucas didn't talk to me again so that was a win.
Finally, it was lunch. Now I could eat that chocolate muffin that was waiting for me in my locker. I couldn't wait just to sit down and eat. It was the little things that made me happy. Or maybe it was just food that actually made me happy.
"Hey," finally a conversation that didn't start off by someone scaring the crap out of me. It was Melissa. Her blonde hair was in a ponytail and she began playing with it.
"Sup?" I reached my locker and grabbed my muffin.
"Today has been so boring. I can't even." I laughed. She exaggerated at times.
"You can't even?" I raised an eyebrow and shook my head slightly. She just smiled at me. We made our way to our usual lunch spot, which was at a table underneath a tree towards the back of the school. It was a pretty spot away from most of the crowds closer to the tuckshop.
"So what did I miss last week?" Melissa asked before biting into her sandwich.
"Not much." I had to think for a moment. "I mean, everyone wanted new people but I don't think we got any. It was rather boring."
"What about that new guy today?" Crap. I had known Melissa since about grade nine so she missed my weird phase of hanging with a completely different crowd. I hadn't brought it up either.
"Oh, he isn't technically new." She raised an eyebrow and I sighed. "He left at the end of grade seven. Now he's back making him not new." I picked at my muffin and savoured every bite. It was amazing. The perfect balance of chocolate and more chocolate. Perfect.
"Ok, that makes sense. I saw him with Ian and all them just before." Of course, he was hanging out with those guys. A few of them were the same ones I hung out with along with Lucas back in the day. I hadn't spoken to them in years, though. But after our little adventure that one night, my parents banned me from hanging out with them.
"Yep." I sat quietly eating my muffin trying to forget about what I did when I was twelve.
"Hey guys," Jenny sat next to me. She smiled at us but I focused on my muffin.
"Hey," Melissa smiled back.
"How was your holiday?" Oh, crap. I had completely forgotten to ask her about it. I was such a dodgy friend at times.
"It was amazing. The beach was perfect of course. The sun was awesome, shining every day..." She continued but my mind wandered. I had to repress those memories that were about go come flooding back to me. I didn't want to remember any of it. That night had turned into a disaster, to say the least. My parents had been so angry when the police called them. I rubbed my eyes with my hands and looked up to my friends. They were in a deep conversation about what type of bathing suit they rather. Melissa was naturally a fan of the bikini while Jenny liked the one piece. It showed off Mel's curvy body. I didn't know which I liked because I avoided showing too much skin. It wasn't that I was shy as such but I... Ok, I was shy.
They began talking about makeup or clothes or something but my mind was somewhere else. I just wanted to forget about Lucas and that night and leave it all behind. I cleared my throat and started to focus on their conversation. Now they were discussing a new type of foundation Melissa had found.
"Blondie." I really hated that nickname.
"Perfect ending to a perfect day." I rolled my eyes and quickened my pace down the hall. Lucas matched my speed with ease. Damn his long legs. He was tall when we were younger but I didn't think he'd be this tall.
"You really hate me don't you?" For a second I thought I could hear pain in his voice as he spoke. I grabbed my ponytail out of frustration and looked at him. He was facing me but for the first time that day I properly saw him. His eyes were the same as they were all those years ago but there was something in them. I didn't know but I could see it. He was biting his bottom lip, a new trait that I hadn't seen him do before. He looked different to that fearless kid I knew. He had changed. I had changed. It was that easy.
"Well, it wasn't my idea to become a criminal at twelve." Ok, maybe that was a little dramatic but it was partly true.
"You do realise that no one forced you to join us, right?" Oh come on. He knew how desperate I was to be their friend.
