Surviving the McLane Boys ('On Hold Still...')

Chapter 24 - Definitely Friends

Chapter 24

How do you know if you’ve made the right friends when you move to a new school? How do you know if they’re not backstabbing ‘bees with an itch’ that are only friends with you because you know some hot guys? How do you really know that they actually care about you? When they make you a self-defence guide, of course.

I look at the booklet sitting in front of my lunch tray, all rainbows, smiles and drunk little stick figures.  I feel like crying as I flip through pages with Maddy’s neat scroll and Mitch’s… imaginative stick girls and boys. I look up at my friends, sitting across the table, watching my reaction, “You guys…” I really am about to cry. From laughter and from how cute this is.

Mitch puts a hand up, “No need to thank us. We know it’s been hard and frankly, that bastard Trent is being a bit of a dick lately.” She says matter-of-factly in a random British accent.

I shake my head looking at the diagrams depicting situations I can run in to with a guy [the stick guy is labelled Trent so I’m guessing it’s mainly to do with him] and the different ways I can defend myself.

Apparently getting whacked in the face with long hair is fatal and the primal instinct of kicking/punching straight between the legs is still a number one escape mechanism.

I look up at Maddy in confusion as she picks at her salad, “How exactly does jewellery come into this, may I ask?”

She shrugs, popping a cherry tomato in her mouth, “Stabbing, whacking, blinding with, covering up a bit of cleavage, the usual.”

“What’s the usual?” Jake drops his tray next to mine, looking over my shoulder at my little book. His expression turns to a frown as he reads Trent’s name, “Is he still giving you trouble?” he asks me, scanning the room.

“It’s fine Jake. He’s not doing anything at all.” I tug at his arm, forcing him to sit, “Maddy and Mitch just made it for me because…. Why did you make it for me?”

I notice Mitch’s quick glance at Jake before saying, “Um, a little squirrel told us to watch out for you?”

“It’s supposed to be ‘a little birdy’, Mitch.” I say dryly. Despite her mistake I think I know who the squirrel in question is.

I see her standing with her lunch tray, looking around unsurely. I wave her over, ignoring Jake’s suspicious gaze. Emma sees me and starts to walk over cautiously.

Jake grabs me under the chin, forcing me to look at him, “Is Miller bothering you again?”

I shrug, detaching his hands from my face, ignoring Maddy and Mitch’s curious stares, “It’s nothing I can’t handle.” I see Jake’s face turn murderous out of the corner of my eye and I surprise myself by putting my hand gently on his knee under the table. It seems to surprise him enough too and he goes still.

“Hey Emma.” Mitch, Maddy and I say in unison.

She puts her lunch tray down quietly on my other side, “Hi guys…” She’s nervously. She still feels bad about the whole Linc fiasco and though I’m kind of over him [ok, that may be an overstatement…] I sort of feel that we probably won’t be BFF’s anytime soon either. It doesn’t hurt to be nice though.   

Jake nods his head at her too and she does the same back before ducking down slightly, not sure of what to do.

I hand the booklet to her, “This is all you fault.” I joke, trying to break the awkward dying bird atmosphere.

A smile starts to play on her lips as she flips through the book. To our surprise, and probably even her own, she bursts out laughing when she comes upon one of the pages. She turns it around to face me, “Seriously? If kicking, punching are whacking with a heavy piece of wood in the groin area is getting too boring squeezing is just as effective?”