"Is it me or did year ten go by way too fast?" I ask as we're all seated in my garden.
"Too damn right. I feel old!" Alisha groaned.
Trust Alisha to moan about being fifteen. I rolled my eyes and took a lick of my almond Magnum ice-cream. I had other things on my mind right now.
"Alisha, you're fifteen," McKeyla moaned.
"Age is just a number, bebé," Bennett growled.
Alisha looked at him with a look of horror as we all burst of laughing. Well, they laughed and I hiccuped.
"Bye twerp!" Alisha screamed and he stalked back inside. Then she turned to me. "Keep your brother away from me."
I held my hands up in surrender as the glare she was giving me was intense. "No promises." Laughing, I went to lick my ice cream again when I noticed it wasn't there. My gaze rushed to Leeoni. She loved my ice creams and often stole them but, this time, she only had hers in her hand. I turned to Mason who was happily licking my ice creams. That bastard!
"Hey, give me that!" I screamed, lunging for me ice cream.
Mason tossed my ice cream to Mai who looked caught in the middle. I pinned him down on the hammock while hitting him.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" He apologised while using his hands to shield himself. "Please stop."
"Make me," I challenged, thinking that he couldn't do anything.
Then Mason grabbed my hands and flipped us over so that he was now pinning me down. I just lay there, astonished about how fast he was.
"Surrender?" He questioned.
"Never!" I shouted like a stubborn child.
He smirked at me and leaned down and kissed me softly before pulling away again.
"Surrender!" He repeated.
"Fine," I replied with a sigh. He smiled and kissed my cheek before kissing my lips. I heard the camera shutter of an iPhone and my eyes shot open along with Mason's.
"Shit," I heard Mai say.
My head turned towards our friends and I saw Mai cursing herself as everyone glared at her with their cameras out. Seriously? How come every single time I kissed Mason or Mason kissed me, they took a picture that would probably end up on Instagram the following day. My mum had seen these photos and I had always gotten interrogated.
"I got a perfect shot!" Leeoni screamed, waving her phone in the air.
"Post it!" They all screamed and Leeoni's fingers started to work overdrive. I would expect my mum to get me in an hour or so. Sighing, I wiggled out from underneath Mason.
"Thanks guys. No, really thanks," I said, sarcasm dripping from my words.
"You love us really," Jayleen smirked.
"I love him," I said, pointing to a smiling Mason next to me. "Not so sure about you guys."
They all laughed while I sat there with Mason's arms around me. This was my favourite place; his embrace. It was all quiet as everyone broke out their phones, scrolling left to right. Then...
"Awwww."
They sound was dragged out to its utmost highest pitch which was really annoying. I took out my phone and clicked the Instagram app. My notifications blew up and my eyes widened. I clicked on the first one that popped up to see the photo that Leeoni had just posted.
xjoannemckinleyxx and _.m.johnson are so cute together. Comment if you agree.
I let out a short laugh and leaned back in Mason's arms, holding my phone up to his face. He smiled and held me tighter.
"Looks like we're cute together," he mimicked.
"Seems like it," I said, playing along.
He laughed and kissed the space just above my forehead, rocking me back and forth. Just then, McKeyla's stomach growled.
"Joanne?" She called out.
Rolling my eyes, I sighed. "I'll call a pizza."
"You're the best," McKeyla said.
"I know I am."
***
We were in my room, binging out on pizza and watching White Chicks on Netflix. There was no better way to spend the afternoon of the the last day of school than how we were. But, instead of enjoying the one month of freedom, I had something on my mind that refused to go away.
"Penny for your thoughts," Mai asked me
"Nothing," I rushed.
"Okay," Mai trailed. She was going to leave this alone for now but she would burst about it later. This thought was really bothering me. Like, I'm trying to celebrate the end of another school year and having summer on my mind but this thought is taking up all the fucking space! Before I knew it, Mai had pounced on me and was holding me down with her feet as she looked at me.
"Going to tell me now?" She questioned, thinking she had won.
"Nope," I replied as I slid out of her loose grip and sat on my bed.
"If you're not going to tell me then do something about it! You look conflicted," Mai huffed. So I took her advice.
I walked out of my room and knocked on the door of the room next to me.
"Come in," my mum said.
I walked in to see my mum typing away on her laptop. She raised her gaze and smiled once it settled on me.
"I've been needing to talk to you," she said.
"You have?"
Because last time I checked, you've avoided all conversation with me and that hurts.
"Yeah, sit down," she said, patting the spot next to her as she put her laptop down.
I sat down with my ankles crossed and twiddled my thumbs around each other. Silence clouded the room for a good while until...
"At my wedding, did you really mean what you said in our speech?" She asked.
"Yeah."
"Even the part about you trusting me with your life?"
"Yeah. It took me long enough to realise it but I do," I mumbled.
"You trust me?" She asked in disbelief.
"Yeah, I trust you." I was squished in a hug and I laughed at her enthusiasm.
"Let me go now," I stated and she let go of me, beaming.
I was about to leave the room when she held my hand.
"They're eavesdropping."
Those sneaky bitches! I nodded my head and snuck towards the door where I was sure they were listening. Within seconds, I yanked the door open and a pile of fifteen year olds was formed in front of me.
"I told you," my mum said and I smiled.
"IT'S ABOUT FUCKING TIME!" Mai yelled.
"For fucks sale, how long has it been?" Jayleen sighed.
"Seven or eight years," Alisha trailed.
"SEVEN OR EIGHT YEARS!" McKeyla and Leeoni shouted.
"Yeah guys, keep on talking like I'm not here," I said sarcastically.
"Mission complete?" Mason asked as he wrapped his arms around me.
"Mission complete," I said with a smile. Finally, what started years ago was finally finished. And I was happy. And relieved. It felt like an enormous weight had been lifted off my shoulders. It was a good feeling.
Mason kissed my cheek and we proceeded to walk out but my mum speaking stopped us.
"You two are going to get married when you're older," she mumbled.
"What?"
"You're going to get married. Trust me on this one."
I nodded and smiled.
Because, this time, I was actually going to trust her judgement.
Like I should've all those years ago.