A Silver Lining

Chapter Eight: Forgiven & Forgotten

Chapter 08: Forgiven and Forgotten

I would be lying if I say I hadn't played this new girl role before. When I was in middle school, my family moved to a new city. It was a few weeks after-, the point is I had transferred to the school in the past. But it was the beginning of middle school some being new went almost unnoticed.

I knew it wouldn't be the same for me this time. Of course they had noticed me. Whispered behind my back when they thought I wasn't aware. It's not everyday people transfer school in the middle of the school year. I took it as per usual.

But things went to a new level when my dear brother called my name. I felt the whole cafeteria went silent. But it took them only a few seconds to process it. Then the whispers started again. Who could blame them? They got a new topic to gossip about after all. Some were pointing at me as if others haven't noticed yet. I felt Tyler and Alison tense beside me.

On the other hand, my stupid brother, being a stupid he is, either didn't notice it or care what other's thought.

"Come on Stella, you'll love my friend," he said.

I sneaked a peek at his table. Let's see, seven cheerleaders, eleven jocks which I could tell from the jersey they wore.

As I assumed.

I looked up at my brother. Don't get me wrong, if it was any other time, I would've come up with some good comebacks, but with five hundred staring at you, it wasn't that easy.

So I ended up saying something stupid and worth of eye-rolling. I gave him a tight smile and shook my head, "Nope."

I turned to my new friends. "Shall we go?" They nodded and we left our brother standing dumbfounded. There were only five of us on the table. Aaron, Caleb, Tyler, Alison and me. The silence in the table remained until I settled down between Caleb and Alison. "Why didn't you tell us you're a Finch?" Caleb asked.

"Is it some kind of Royal or forbidden title?" I took a fry from my tray. None of them had spoken so I continued, "I didn't think telling my son was necessary to be friends with you guys. Or the fact that I have a stupid excuse of a brother." Then my eyes fall on my nonidentical twin afar. "Or two."

Caleb followed my gaze and noticed Scott in the corner table with Noah. Then he looked back at me. "You know you two have a lot in common."

"That's because they're twins, idiot," Aaron said. This time all of us stared at him. He shrugged. "He told me?"

And thus Aaron made the job easy for me by telling all about my background history, or what Scott told him.

"It's a miracle that Scott even brought me up," I commented when he was finished.

"Nonpolar compounds only react to nonpolar compounds," Tyler chirped, making it hard for me to suppress the laugh.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think it would be such a big deal," I told them honestly.

Alison hugged me. "Nah, it's all cool," she said. "Not a big deal."

"Only to us," Tyler completed. When I looked at him, he gestured to the whole cafeteria. There were many staring at our table, or specifically at me.

I groaned and banged my head on the table. "Why is that guy so stupid?"

"I would prefer the term drama king," Aaron said. I followed his eyes which landed on my brother's table.

Without any doubt, I could say he is the main man of his crew. And the girl, almost sitting in his lap, was the girl from the other night and undoubtedly the main bitch of the cheerleading squad.