You're My Sol

Chapter 8

Marisol

hey, i'm sorry i shouldn't have said what I said to you yesterday.

8:30 pm, sunday

Penny

Maybe. But I needed to hear it.

8:31 pm, sunday

Monday morning, Marisol called me.

"Hey... wanna walk to school together? So we can talk?"

I paused. My brother usually drove me to school. Then again, he hadn't been in much of a talking mood. He was angry with my parents. And with me. I figured a car ride would be needlessly awkward.

"Sure," I said.

I stopped by her house. She rushed out the door and locked it behind her, bounding down the steps.

"So, uh, I'm a little confused. First off, I just wanna check, are you still mad at me?" Marisol asked.

I shook my head. "At first I was, but I had all weekend to think about it, and I realized how much of a bitch I was being. It wasn't fair to you or Sarah or Jessica or Ashlynn or Kate."

Marisol let out a breath. "I was worried you'd still be mad at me. And as sorry as I am, I kinda meant what I said. I wanted to be your friend, but I heard some nasty things about you. As we became closer I realized you were a nice person... but sometimes you were cold."

I hung my head. "Yeah. I'm sorry I was mean to you all those times. I just... I can't explain myself. I'm sorry."

Marisol smiled. "It's okay, you're forgiven. So... I was wondering..." She quirked a smile. "Do you want to sit with us at lunch?"

I went pale. "They hate me! I understand why now... but still. I wouldn't want to be friends with me either. I'd make a fool of myself."

Marisol stopped and gripped my shoulders. "You're being too hard on yourself. It's okay to make mistakes. Maybe you were mean in the past. Maybe blowing up at them was a big mistake. But now's the time to make up for that. At the very least, you could apologise."

I nodded, thinking of Ashlynn. I really hurt her. She was probably over it by now, but she was my closest friend out of the group. I wanted her to know that I didn't mean it.

We continued walking to school, talking and laughing like we normally did. It was nice, and I could finally admit it. I did need Marsiol. I needed friends. I couldn't be alone anymore. And I wasn't going to.

With that thought in my mind, I walked into school, beaming.

My smile dropped third period when I walked into my precalc test. Shit, I had spent so much time thinking about my old friends that I didn't even study. And I really needed to study.

I dropped into my seat beside Marisol and smiled over at her. She gave me a smile back and whispered "good luck."

Mr. Lenn handed out the papers, leaving one face down on my desk. I flipped it over and started in with the first question.

I got my pencil out and scribbled equations in the margins. I vaguely remembered this stuff, but I didn't really get it. As I turned the pages, it got harder and harder. The words swam before my eyes. I couldn't focus, I was too busy thinking about how lunch next period would go. I was going to apologise. I was going to actually talk to my old friend group. The thought of it made my palms sweat.