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One | Maci

I slammed my locker closed with a sigh and headed towards my next class. I'd only been in school for an hour and death was seeming more and more appealing by the minute.

Why the fuck do I need to know how to find the inverse of a function? How is that going to help me anywhere in life?

My next class was English. I don't mind it, I just hate the essays. Especially when they're persuasive or informative. If I could just write stories, I would pass no problem.

When I got to class, I took my usual seat next to Ingrid, my best friend. She glanced up at me and smirked.

"Who are you trying to impress today?" she asked. Her brown eyes had a glint of curiosity.

"Nobody," I said, knowing she was referring to the style change. I'd swapped out my usual basketball shorts for some black joggers (I'd spilled milk on the shorts trying to shove cereal down my face), and I had a navy blue hoodie on. I had also gotten a haircut; my dirty-blonde hair was now shaved on the sides and longer on the top. I brushed my new bangs out of my eyes.

"You look nicer," she told me. "You should take a break from the shorts more often."

"Nah, I like them. They're comfortable." I ran my fingers through my short hair.

"Winter is almost here, anyways. You can't wear shorts all season."

"Ingrid," I said seriously. "You've known me since we were nine. When have I ever work anything but basketball shorts in the winter?"

She rolled her eyes at me. "Whatever," she said. "Did you get laid last night?"

"Yeah," I said, smirking at the memory.

"Who was it this time?"

"Claire."

"Oh god," she practically snarled. "Are you two back together again?"

I rolled my eyes. "Cut it out," I told her. But she is right.

Claire and I had been that on-again, off-again couple for over a year. We'd met in our chemistry class and kind of hit it off. She wasn't out at the time, so the first few weeks of talking to her were kind of awkward. She warmed up and eventually came out as bisexual.

But, we clashed a lot. And I mean, a lot. Over everything. I'd like to think of myself as laid back, but Claire is the exact opposite. She will find anything to make a scene out of. One time, I high-fived my friend but accidentally elbowed Claire. She took that and said I was trying to push her out of the way because I was embarrassed of her.

Honestly, I have no clue why we're still together.

Oh wait, yes I do. Because both of us are too emotionally invested in one another to even think about being alone or with someone else, even if we hate each other half the time.

Sigh.

"Girl, you need to get laid by someone other than a toxic ho," Ingrid said.

"Hey, maybe we don't always get along, but she's still my girl," I countered.

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean? She can be your girl and still be toxic." Ingrid rolled her eyes at me and went back to writing whatever it was we were supposed to be writing.

"Class," my teacher interrupted. "We have a new student today." She glanced to the right of the room. "Would you like to stand up and introduce yourself?"

A girl stood up awkwardly. "Um, hi, I'm Mia," she said, her skin tinted pink with embarrassment. She glanced around, and as she did, she locked her blue eyes with mine. We looked at each other for a moment and I felt my heart beat faster for just a split second. She quickly averted her gaze and sat back down, nervously twirling her black hair with her fingers.

What was that? I thought. Confused, I shook my head and looked back down at my work.

"Okay, now that we've done that, I'm going to assign a partner project," the teacher continued.

A girl raised her hand. "Do we get to pick our partners?"

"No," our teacher said. The class erupted in groans. "I will assign you a partner."

Ingrid and I immediately turned to each other with faux despair and grabbed each other.

"I love you," Ingrid whispered.

"I love you too," I whispered back, pretending to cry.

After a second, we both made our faces blank. We stared at each other for a moment before bursting out in laughter, earning us a dirty glare from our teacher.

"Joanna, with Kayla. Paul with Inaya..." She droned on down her list of names until she got to Ingrid and I.

"Ingrid, with Amber, and Maci, with Mia."

I turned to look at Mia and we made eye contact. One again, my heart sped up.

Well, I thought, this will be fucking fun.