𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙩𝙝 𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙖𝙧𝙚 | ✓

xxii

DAY 6:

Rachela hoped it was all a nightmare. She hoped the previous day didn't happen. She prayed that everything was a joke or a prank or a misinterpretation of some sort, but when she got out of bed the next morning, she knew it was not.

Looking in the mirror of the bedroom, she can see her tired eyes and dried tear streaks. Her face is a little blotchy, but it's not because of sleep.

Breakfast is worse. She walks down to the cafeteria and sees the mess it's become. Cash is sitting at a table on his own, poking at his breakfast with a solemn expression. Daniel is at their usual booth, but he's alone. He's cheeks are flushed and the rings around his eyes suggest that she isn't the only one who didn't sleep well.

Sean is with his friends at their own table. She can see his dark hair from where she stands, but the rest of him is blocked by Sara, who sits next to him. The rest of her friends are crowded around a table at the other side of the cafeteria. She walks over to them and can feel the stares of Sean's friends behind her, but won't give them the satisfaction of turning around. She knows they're probably talking about her, but refuses to acknowledge it.

"So, did any of you tell the boys yet?" Is the first thing she says as she pulls up a chair and sits with the others. They look up without greeting and she can tell that they're in worse shape than she is.

Akanke's eyes have a tired droop to them and she's got her arm around Lila, as if to protect her from something. Lila also looks half-asleep and has her head resting on the table. Lavender looks okay, but Jess seems a bit off. Rachela sits and the others shake their heads at her.

"Why haven't you?"

"We thought you were going to," Jess says, "but I can if you don't want to." Her expression doesn't match what she's saying and Rachela knows she should be the one to do it.

"Oh, I can do it." She stands back up, but notices Daniel crossing the cafeteria toward them. Rachela lets him arrive at the table and stand over them.

Without greeting, he speaks. "Can I speak to Akanke? Alone?" She looks up at him with a confused expression and narrowed eyes before standing and following him back to his booth. The two sit down across from each other and Daniel pulls something out of his pocket.

"Care to explain this?"

He slides a folded piece of paper across the table and she gazes at it, hesitant to unfold it. When Daniel looks at her with disapproval, Akanke finally takes it and unfolds carefully. Across it in messy handwriting are a few words that she reads aloud.

"I dare you to kiss me at breakfast tomorrow! -Akanke". She looks up at him with wide eyes. "I didn't write this. My handwriting looks nothing like this. Who did this?" The questions come flowing out and she answers them before he can say anything. "Actually. I know who did this."

"Who?" Daniel looks at her with concern. He was secretly hoping it really was her, but knew there was no way. The story wouldn't match up and the characters would be contradicting. He's already at the low point in the teen movie that plays in his head and he knows there's no way he'd be able to get the girl that quickly.

"Okay. I was planning to have Rachela explain this so I'm going to go get her, can you go get Cash? He needs to hear this." Akanke stands, pocketing the note and turning to go back.

"I actually can't. We aren't really on speaking terms right now and I'm not planning on forgiving him anytime soon," He stops. " Wait, that sounds really immature. Lemme rephrase that-"

Akanke cuts him off. "No, I get it. I can go get him for you. Just promise you want say anything to him when he comes over here. I need both you of you together, okay?"

Daniel nods but won't meet her eyes. She smiles at him before hurrying back across the lunch room and grabbing her friends. They all return to sit with Daniel, Rachela grabbing Cash on the way.

"What's going on?" He asks as he sits between Akanke and Lavender, "Where's Sean?"

The table looks surprisingly different with even just one person absent. The teens look around at each other and there's no conversation. Everything is suddenly weird. It's hard for them to imagine that 24 hours ago, they were laughing and talking like old friends.

"Okay," Rachela begins. "I need to explain something."

It takes quite a while for Rachela as she starts from the beginning and tells the full story in detail. She tells them how she snuck off to see Sean, saw more things than she would've liked too, the things she heard, the way she ran, and how she eventually ended up with Lavender outside the boys' room with a grumpy chaperone at two in the morning. The others listen without a word and eventually are lead to the present.

"So, what you're saying is that Sean turned on us?" Something isn't adding up for Daniel. He heard the whole story, and it all made sense, but it's like his brain refused to accept it as fact. "He told the one thing I told him to never tell anyone." His words slowly sink in. "What the hell?"

"Daniel," Cash starts from across the table and he meets his friend's eyes for what feels like the first time in forever. The two have so much they need to say, but they don't want to say it right here.

"Let's let them talk," Jess says, standing and returning to her old table. The other girls follow her, except for Akanke. She has something to say to the two boys.

"I don't blame either of you for anything that happened. I just want you to know that I'm really hoping we can go back to being like normal. Life's gonna be a living hell for a while and I think we could all use some friends to lean back on." And then she's gone.

Cash moves over so that he's sitting directly across from Daniel.

"What I did was really fucked up."

"Yeah."

"But, I want you to know that it was done with nothing but the best intentions in mind. I thought I was helping and I guess," He pauses, "I wasn't. I'm so sorry."

Daniel looks sorrowful, but he knows he won't be able to stay mad at Cash for long, and Akanke was totally correct. It starts with a note slipped under his door, but it'll get a lot worse. The only thing that can really happen is someone in the group can confront Sara and her gang and tell them to back off, or they can take it. No one really wants to do either, but they'll survive.

"Thanks man."