Callie and Lexi's Kiss List | ✓

5: Callie

"Is that her?" Sara gasped, looking over my shoulder at the purple-haired girl tailing a few steps behind me since we got out of mum's car. Long gone were the days that I'd walk to school, obviously.

She looked out of place amongst the masses of brown, black, and blonde hair. While a few other students did dye their hair, most didn't go for bold colours like Lexi. Moreover, the purple really clashed with the jade and navy uniform, almost making her look like Barney from that archaic kids show in the 90s. Or Buzz Lightyear... from those really old Pixar films Jojo subjected us to as kids.

Heaving a sigh, I said, "Yes." Then I came to a stop. "The admin office is that way," I begrudgingly told my sister.

"Thanks, Cal," Lexi quietly said, not meeting my eyes. We had been doing this the whole week since she got home. Back to the curt exchanges again.

"We will wait for you here, Lexi!" Sara called out to her as she retreated. 

Lexi came to a pause as she glanced over her shoulder at Sara in the wake of her call. She cocked an eyebrow at my best friend before facing forward once more, continuing her trek to the office.

"We are not seriously waiting for her?" I deadpanned at my bestie.

Sara blinked at me, before saying, "Of course we are. It's not like anyone else is going to show her around. She only ever went to the primary school across the road."

"She can find her own way around," I grumbled.

"My gosh. You really know how to hold a grudge, Cal. I've never seen this side of you."

I responded childishly by crossing my arms over my chest and looking away from Sara. 

If Sara had worn makeup like the rest of the girls and chose to forego her bulky glasses, she'd fit right in with the popular girls crowd—or she'd at least have a trail of boys behind her. She had long midnight hair, beautiful olive skin, large deep brown eyes, and a breath-taking smile. If I didn't know any better about her parents' expectations, a part of me would wonder if she never tried with her appearance for my sake. But her grades were way too important to care about what the boys thought.

Lexi rejoined us not much later, school timetable and diary now in hand. And while I refused to acknowledge both of them—my big moment of finally 'walking' to class now overshadowed by my stupid sister—they both started comparing timetables.

It seemed we all shared the same history class, though Lexi had a different English class to Sara and I, while Sara and Lexi had the same maths. But adding to that, Sara and Lexi were both in Film, TV together.

And so we trudged off to our first class of the day—homeroom. Which were all in. On the way, people stopped and turned, evidently looking at Lexi in all her newness, beauty, and purpleness, while I washed into the backdrop of the school grounds.

After homeroom, the three of us forwarded off to history and, to my dismay, Sara invited Lexi to sit with us in that class. When our teacher arrived and we all headed in, it didn't take long for our peers to crowd around us, gawking at Lexi, catching up with the cool girl they remembered from primary school—the shiny new toy.

Our teacher was the only one to notice I was now more mobile—probably because she had received an email from the school about it prior to class. As everyone poked and prodded Lexi—Sara's eyes wide that our table received more attention than ever—Miss Brooks came around to me to ask whether I would need any further provisions or assistance now that I had my prosthetic.

After saying I didn't and trying my best to get her to stop talking to me on the subject, she ordered everyone back to their seats and class began—going over assessment, expectations, and Lexi's embarrassing introduction.