Project GoldCrest ✓

Chapter 5

Charlotte

The brown of Avery's eyes focused on me. It felt wierd to be under his gaze like that.

He swallowed. "What I'm going to tell you will sound crazy."

"Okay..."

He lightly scratched his neck. He was obviously nervous about what he was going to say. But the question was, what was he going to say?

He cleared his throat. I was going to get irritated right then if he didn't speak. "I feel like I know you sometimes. Like there is a connection between us."

A what?

I started coughing. I didn't mean to, but I was just too stunned. The poor guy's face fell. I cleared my throat and thought about what he said.

My first thoughts were, I feel like I know you too. But that had to be because I had once been his friend. Just like Blake, Henry, Mickey and Alec. Even Olivia and Lucy.

Like I'd mentioned, the eight of us had all been best friends in our childhood. We had even invited each other to each other's own birthdays then. We would only quarrel about stupid kid stuff like toys. But that friendship had ended then when we started fourth grade.

Olivia, Lucy and I had grown apart. Blake found some bad friends and inevitable bad habits. Henry never wanted to be alone, so he tried comedy as a way of connecting. Mickey became invisible. I'd forgotten he'd existed until a week ago. Alec moved to the neighbouring school in the sixth grade. Avery stuck to his books.

I remembered that I was in the presence of a person I had just potentially offended.

I cleared my throat again. "Of course you feel like you know me, we were friends once. But I don't get that last part about you feeling a connection. I have a b-" I quickly shut my mouth. I almost admitted to him that I had a boyfriend.

Cole.

There I was, being mean to people who didn't mean any harm, meanwhile Cole was stuck at home.

"You have a what?" Avery asked with a wary voice. I knew I'd offended him. But I had other pressing matters to take care of.

"I have a new best friend, Chrissy. I have a connection with her now. And you saying you feel a connection with me doesn't feel right. I mean, isn't a connection supposed to be present in two people? If what I have with Chrissy is a connection, then how can you have a connection with me? That's like a threesome, a crowd, right?" I idly pushed my textbook farther away from me as I was well aware that I was rambling. And that I had offended Avery big time.

But I couldn't sit there and babysit him. I needed to call Cole and check up on him. Why hadn't I done that sooner?

I breathed in and out. Avery was the one who broke the silence. "If that's how you feel, then okay. I did warn you that what I was going to say would sound crazy."

"Okay then, I think I should go." I stood up and walked slowly to the door. After I let myself out, I sprinted to my classroom. It was only when I had sat down, that I realised that I had left my textbook in the library. With Avery.

There was no chance that I would go fetch it then. The teacher could come in at any second. Maybe I'd fetch it later, or when I actually needed it. I shared with Chrissy. She didn't seem to mind.

Afterschool, I began my walk to the lot to wait for my mother. My friends, Chrissy and Sophia, had already left. My mother was late than usual that day.

Ten minutes went by. Once again, I saw Alec enter our school. He seemed lost when he flickered his eyes everywhere. They finally landed on me. Then he began walking up to me.