When Liberty moved to a new town, she had no idea she would run into three boys she had known since childhood. Now, ten years later, each of them is different from the person she knew. Each of them has secrets they can't reveal to the others.
Despi...
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"Libby!" I turned in the direction someone had called me. Realizing it was the girl who had talked to me in math class yesterday, I stopped on the stairs leading up to the main school building.
"Hey," she smiled as she caught up with me. I tensed up for a moment because I didn't really know what this girl was up to. "You weren't in the cafeteria yesterday," she said, gesturing for me to walk towards the school. It wasn't a bad idea, we blocked the entrances a bit and the students started to come in more and more.
"Ah yes!" I said, following her, "I had to run some errands for the first day." I replied calmly. Apparently we were walking to my locker, because the girl was still walking with me.
"I see. Do you think we could have lunch together today?" She asked. We just stopped at my locker, where I started to put books, leaving only the ones I needed for now. I thought for a moment as I looked inside my locker. Maybe my father was right and I should make friends with someone? Maybe I should at least try? It's not like I'm going to leave this place in a year and never come back. I really wanted to stay here, I didn't want to go back to my mother. To Noah.
"Actually I don't have a big group of friends," she added when she saw my hesitation, "there's also Milla, she's got a locker right next to you! She's really very nice, maybe a little sarcastic, but she's a great grandmother," she told me about her friend, and as I closed the door we walked towards (presumably) her locker. "By the way," she began, interrupting her story about Milla. She grabbed my shoulders and looked at me closely.
I narrowed my eyes, wondering if he was making fun of me. People used to criticize my clothes because I liked to wear second-hand clothes. Right now I was wearing an oversized red sweatshirt, white denim overalls, and sneakers of the same color.
"You look really great, those cherry earrings are gorgeous," she added, seeing my hesitation once again. I fixed my hair, which I had put up in a messy high ponytail today.
"Thanks, that's nice," I said smiling at the girl. Maybe Kaila isn't such a bad person after all?
"Let's go to class, the bell will ring soon. We have math together." She pulled my hand in the direction of the classroom. We were just passing the hallway where I had the misfortune of meeting the wonderful trio yesterday when Kaila stopped for a moment. "Don't go down that hallway. Okay?" She said, looking at me seriously.
"Why?" I asked, confused. Kaila looked at me and we walked back to the classroom.
"The three guys who have a gang in this town just hang out there. They turned off the cameras so they can do all kinds of shit." We sat down at our desks, the classroom almost empty except for a few boys sitting in the back. We still have some time before the end of the break.
"Do the teachers allow it?" I asked curiously, smiling in disbelief at her words. Kaila just nodded as she pulled the textbook out of her backpack.
"Nobody really pays attention to the kids here, except your dad," she said quietly. "Most of the teachers buy their own supplies from them. The boys sometimes do some shit for money, but mostly one of them is in the fights."
