Assigned Partners

Chapter 7

Trigger warning: Self harm mentions

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My parents had said yes to me staying over at Normani's house when I asked them after school. I was sort of excited, so obviously the rest of the week went slowly. On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, things at school went smoothly, no issues with Austin. I sat with the girls for lunch, and I managed to lay low the rest of the time. It was a bit of a relief.

I got to school this morning, and the first thing I noticed was the way my locker was vandalized. Worthless. Pathetic. Loser. Those words and more were scratched into the paint on the locker door. I rubbed my wet eyes, and saw people snickering as they walked by. A few of them read the words, and looked at me to nod. I took a shaky breath and got what I needed, trying to keep my tears under control by the time I got to music class.

I walked in, and the girls waved at me. They were sitting by the piano, and I was a little surprised since they usually sat on the other side of the room. I took my spot and gave them a fake smile. Normani put her hand on my arm and frowned.

"Have you been crying? Lauren, what's wrong?" she asked me.

"Your eyes are all red and puffy, Lo," Camila pointed out. It's not like I didn't know that.

"It's nothing, I'm fine," I told them.

Dinah reached over and swiped her thumb across my cheek, brushing away a tear that had fallen since I sat down.

"Are you sure?" Ally asked, wrapping her arms around me.

"I promise," I told her, leaning into her embrace.

"We have a substitute today, and she's that old lady who doesn't even bother to take attendance. She's been sitting there looking out the window for like.. ten minutes. I don't think we're doing anything today," Normani said, gesturing to the front of the classroom.

"We should talk about tonight. Everyone is still in, right?" Camila wondered.

I nodded my head, as did the other girls.

"My parents are going to be there for a bit but they're heading away to see my grandma this weekend so we'll have the place to ourselves," Normani explained. She got up and smiled. "I'll be back, I'm gonna run to the washroom."

Normani asked to be excused, and soon exited the classroom. I felt weird just sitting there by the piano. Nobody in the class was working, everyone was having a conversation with someone. Ally started pressing keys on the piano, and I cringed, giggling softly.

"That's certainly something, Ally," I told her.

"I'm a master, I know," she joked. "I don't know how you do it."

I shrugged, and started playing. I glanced over at her, and she smiled widely.

"Did you take lessons?" Camila asked, eyeing me.

"I did for a bit. But I learned a lot from the internet, and just natural ability I guess.."

A few moments later, Normani came back in. I was surprised when she nudged me out of my spot, and I was about to ask her why she did it when she pulled me into her lap. Alright then, I thought, I definitely don't mind this.

The rest of the class was spent discussing who was driving who to Normani's place, and what kind of food we were going to eat. We were going to set up sleeping bags in her basement, since it was rather large and we could form a circle with them. Talking with the girls was nice, I had felt pretty included the last few days. It was something I still had to get used to, but I didn't doubt that I would.