So What?

Chapter 26: Puzzled.

Chapter 26: Puzzled.

I kiss Richard before I get out of the car. I close the car door and I walk up the pathway to the school's front door. I walk into school and as expected people are staring at me. I put on a brave face as I walk down the hallway to my locker. Putting in my locker combination, I open my locker and a note falls out. I bend down and pick it up, flipping it over to see what's written on it.

"You better be quiet." Is what the note says and I look around. Trying to see who might have put this here.

"Hey. It's so nice to have you back." Chanel says and I jump.

I didn't realize I was so out of it.

"Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to startle you." Chanel tells me.

"It's fine. I was just distracted." I tell her, getting books from my locker.

"You look better. I'm glad you decided to come." She says as I shove the note inside my purse.

"I couldn't hide in my room forever. Even if I wanted to." I tell her, closing my locker.

"As your BFF, I took it upon myself to make copies of all the notes you missed. Midterms is on the way and I can't have you failing." She says as we walk side by side to our first class.

"What was that word you just used?" I ask her, smiling.

"Midterm?" She asks, staring at me.

"No, no. The one at the beginning." I tell her.

"Which one? I can't even remember what I said." She says, chuckling.

"BFF." I quip.

"Well, it's more of an acronym than a word." Chanel points out.

"Oh, whatever. You just called yourself my best friend. My work here is done." I tell her.

"Pfft, that was a slip." She jokes.

"Sure. Bestie." I say, slinging my hand around her shoulder. Doing that hurts, as I'm putting pressure on my side. I ignore the stinging pain in my rib as we walk to class.

That class was literally hell. We had a pop quiz. I got a two out of fifteen. Don't ask, I don't wanna talk about it.

"I think we're at a crossroads," Chanel says as I take a bite out of my cheese sandwich.

"Why do you say that?" Christian asks her.

"Look around, our friend group has drastically reduced since the beginning of the school year." She complains.

"Yeah, because those people were only friends with you because you threw the best parties." Christian informs her.

"That's exactly why we're going to throw a party." She says and I almost choke on my Sprite.

"You can't do that. We have midterms in a week. And after that, it's exams then prom." I tell her.

"Yeah. Jasmine's right. You need to hold off on the parties. And besides, you guys have each other." He says, putting the lid on his Powerade.

"Maybe you're right." Chanel says, shrugging.

"Can I join you guys?" I hear Miles say and I turn around.

"Sure." I say immediately. "If you guys are cool with that?" I ask, staring at Chanel and Christian.

"Absolutely. Hi, I'm Christian." Christian says, nodding at Miles.

"Miles." Miles says, introducing himself as he sits down on the bench.

"How are you?" He asks turning to me.