The Pumpkin Patch Of Love

3.

Dani
—————————

"Caleb!" I shout when I see him on the other end of the hall after he gets out of chemistry. I do an awkward walk/jog through a small crowd of students to get to him.

"Oh hey." He grins but I think it's only because the new girl steps up beside him. "You two haven't officially met. Dani, meet Claire Johnson."

Claire scans me from head to toe before giving me a fake smile. "Hello."

"Nice to meet you?" It comes out more like a question. The vibe this girl was giving me was stuck up and rude, the opposite of Caleb.

"Likewise." She replies, her head held high with confidence. She was prettier once you got up close to her and that just made me feel even worse.

Now all I wanted to do was bury myself in an oversized hoodie and hide in a janitors closet.

I turn all my attention on Caleb. "So um.. our conversation got cut off this morning." When I get nervous I pick at my fingernails so that's what I started doing, or I picked at what's left of them.

"And it's going to be cut off again." He runs his fingers through his hair and gives me an apologetic look.

"Why? You can always spare a few seconds for a best friend."

"Not now, Dani." He glances at Claire and then back at me.

"But the arca-"

"Not now, Dani." It was a push and shove with words. Like 'Get out of here cause I don't want you' type of tone.

"Fine." I back away slowly. "Nice to meet you, Claire. I um.. I hope you like Davidson High."

I'm sure Davidson High will like you.

===================================

"That's so unlike Caleb." Julie says as she takes a sip of her pumpkin spice latte. "You and him are inseparable."

"That's what I thought until Claire Johnson showed up." I tap my fingers against my steering wheel. "Did you meet her today?"

"Yes and no." She props her feet up on my dash.

"Can you answer with something more specific?"

"I only got four words in before Caleb told me to go away. He didn't actually tell me to go away but it was completely obvious." Her shoulders slump just a little.

"She wasn't the nicest thing in the world so it wouldn't have mattered if he wanted me to join them." I pull into the arcade parking lot and end up parking a little crooked in a parking space.

"At least we have each other, right? Girl power till the end of time?" She sounded like a lost puppy.

"Girl power till the end of time, little sis." I put my car in park and turn off the ignition. After that run in with Caleb and Claire I felt like I've been going about the day in slow motion.

I knew how Julie must be feeling because I was feeling the same way. The fake smile Julie tried to make believable, the sighs after almost every sentence, the slumped shoulders; that's exactly how I felt.