Against the Wall

Learning

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THANK YOU SO MUCH TO BAYGIRL64 FOR THE FANTASTIC NEW COVER!!!! ISN'T IT DAMN AMAZING?!?!?!?!?

Sorry bout the all caps. I'm just excited. Now, on to the chapter!

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"Hey Sawyer!"

I looked up to find Norah sitting down in the desk next to me, and I blinked. I still hadn't gotten used to her new, more fashionable clothes. Today, it was a powder blue dress with a white cardigan. "Hey," I replied, closing my German notebook.

Norah placed her backpack on the ground and then turned to me. "How did your second first date with Griffin go?"

I smiled, remembering the way his lips had felt on mine. "It was fun," I said, leaning back against the hard plastic chair. "He brought me out to this deserted farm, and then we had a sort of paint-water balloon fight. After that..." I let my voice trail off, and I reopened my textbook.

"What?" Norah asked with a mixture of curiosity and annoyance. "What happened after that?"

"We kissed," I said simply, without looking up, and I heard Norah gasp.

"You and Griffin kissed?" she cried excitedly, and my head whipped up at her sudden increase in volume. Norah covered her mouth in embarrassment just as we both heard something slam. I looked to the side to find Kaia standing in the door way, an expression of pure anger and hatred on her face.

Without a word, Kaia turned and stormed back out of the room, leaving her clones to look like lost toddlers looking for their mom. Norah and I shared a look, and then she shrugged and asked all about how the kiss went. When I described the part about how we both had paint on our lips, Norah and I dissolved into giggles.

The bell signaling the end of homeroom sounded, and Norah and I filed out of the room as I listened to her telling me about this book she was reading. When we were about to turn a corner, the sound of Griffin's voice made me freeze.

I grabbed Norah and stopped her from walking. She looked confused for a moment, but then she also heard Griffin and understood. We slipped closer and peeked around the corner to find Kaia and Griffin talking, the hallway now vacant save for a few girls walking out of the bathroom.

"Kaia, what happened between us was fun, what you did was awful. I can't forgive you," I heard Griffin say, and I noticed how strained his voice was.

"How can you say that?" Kaia hissed, taking a step towards him. "I thought what we had was special! Sure, I made a mistake, but that was so long ago. I thought you loved me!"

"I don't," Griffin replied, and he started to walk away from Kaia, down the opposite end of the hallway from Norah and I. "Not anymore, at least." Not anymore? I thought to myself, frowning.

Griffin disappeared, leaving Kaia alone in the hallway. She kicked one of the lockers on the wall, and then stormed down the hallway, towards where Norah and I were standing. Before we could hurry away, Kaia turned the corner to find us there.

She stopped in her tracks, and I couldn't help but notice the hint of a tear slipping from the corner of her eye. Just as I started feeling bad for her, Kaia had to open her mouth. "He'll come back to me," she said, her eyes narrowing. "Once Griffin realizes that you're nothing but a loser, he'll be begging to have me back."

Then, she pushed through Norah and me and stomped down the hallway. I turned and watched her go, and then Norah tapped me on the shoulder. "Did you hear what she said to him?"

"You mean that he loved her," I replied, turning to look at her. She nodded and readjusted the strap of her backpack.

"Aren't you jealous?" she asked, "Or at least bit a concerned? Apparently they have a past."