Chapter 3

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The hallways roam with dozens of students, all walking to class or to their little group of friends. I pull out my headphones from my pocket and plug them into my phone. Music floods my ears as I walk through the glass library door.

"Oh, hello Josh, how are you?" Mrs. Gloria asks as I walk towards the librarians desk. She sticks her head up from the cart of books behind the desk.

"Good Morning," I say, while she pushes the cart aside and sits down at the desk.

"Good Morning. So how is the book report going for Mr. James?"

I grab my bag and place it on the counter, removing Macbeth and placing it on the counter. "I'm here to return this." I say. Mrs. Gloria grabs the book, and scans it before placing it on the cart behind her. She looks up at me and smiles.

"Going to get another book Josh?" she asks. I smile and nod. I wave and start towards the bookshelves.

The library at Maple Hills is rather large and elegant. It opens up in a V shape, with a large glass wall at the end of it. On the first floor is all the non fiction books, such as memoirs, biographies, and extra textbooks for class. On the second floor is the fiction books, along with some card and board games. Half the library is filled with books while the other half is filled with chairs and tables. Though in the second floor, there are bean bag chairs and large carpets for the students to do as they wish.

I walk past a large group of students talking about physics as I make my way up the large white stairs. The low taps of my shoes echo as I make my way up before I turn left and down one of the aisles. I slowly walk down the aisle, looking at all the names of the books. I see a red book, that is obviously missing its plastic cover. I pull it out and look at the blank from cover, forcing me to open it. Though just as I am about to open it, a hand comes down and slaps it out of my hand. Furious I look up and see the harsh green eyes of Kobie Hartman. He smirks and turns back towards TJ and Jimmy who start laughing.

"Hey, what the hell is your problem," I yell, causing Kobie to turn towards me with anger raging in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." He pauses and walks up closer to me, causing me to back up into the bookshelf. "What the hell did you just say to me." His warm breathes run down my cheeks as he towers over me.

"Just leave me alone!" I yell and shove him back, causing him to hit the bookshelf behind him. A few books fall and he looks at me, rage boiling in his eyes as Jimmy and TJ look at me in surprise. Kobie rushes forward and firmly grabs my shoulders, and throws me to the side. I fall hard and hit my arms, causing them to sting as they scrap the gray carpet. I look up just as Kobie leans over.

"You ever pull that shit again, I will kill you. I swear to God Evans."

I look at him furiously just as he pulls his leg back and kicks me in the stomach. Pain rips through my stomach as they laugh about it, and walk out of the aisle. I get up with a grunt after a few seconds, and slowly pick up the books, putting them back on the shelves and grabbing the red book from the floor.

I rub my stomach as I walk out and Allison walks up the stairs. We look at each other for a little bit before she raises an eyebrow and mouths "Are you okay?" I nod and walk up towards her and hug her.

"Seriously are you okay?" she asks concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just Kobie and his stupid friends."

She looks at me in a way that makes me know that she understands what I, and many other people in this school are going through.

"So do you want to go see that new movie today after school." She says, excitement suddenly filling her words.

"Sure," I say, looking at her as we start to walk towards Mrs. Gloria's desk. Allison has long black hair that comes down a little past her shoulders. I glace up and see her brown eyes, with her small narrow nose. She smiles and brushes a few strands of hair behind her ear.

"Awesome! Whats that movie called again," she asks narrowing her eyes at me, assuming that I know. "I think it's called 'The killer' or something stupid like that." She laughs a little just as we walk up to the counter.

Mrs. Gloria, sitting on her chair on the other side of the desk, turns and looks at us with a smile before she rolls her chair towards us. She grabs the book and scans it, then hands it to me and tells me the due date. I thank her with a smile and put it into my bag.

Allison and I leave the library but stop right outside the doors, where she will go left towards Geometry, and I will head right towards gym.

"Hey, I was thinking, maybe after the movie we could go to that new restaurant." She pauses, placing her hand on her head and tapping it with her fingers as she tries to recall the name. "The one next to that amazing bakery that my mother goes to a lot."

I think for a little bit before the name comes rushing back to me. "You mean SteamBoat?" I ask. I remember seeing it on the route to the grocery store with my mother. It is a decent sized brick building with large bushes outside, and two little fountains on both sides of the front entrance.

"Isn't that place expensive?" I ask, instantly regretting the question because I know exactly what Allison is going to say.

"Seriously Josh. We go to Maple Hills, a really expensive private school, and you're scared of a restaurant?" Unlike I, Allison does not mind spending her family fortune, and everytime I bring it up, she reminds us that we go to an expensive private school, thinking that I won't remember that everyone in this school is rich. But spending my mothers hard earned money has always been a challenge for me. Not that I can't get to it. My mother would give me her credit card if I asked for it, but it always felt wrong. Allison was quite the contrary. She always spent by the thousands, granted both her mother and father bring in a lot of money, while my mother is the only one. Her father owns twenty-four different apartments in Maple Hills, while her mother is a real-estate agent, which I always found a bit funny that their married.

"Come on Josh! What's the point of being rich if we can't spend any of the money. I mean seriously. Your mother is the top designer at a high name brand company. She probably has millions to spend," she says.

My mother is rich, and we are comfortable, but it took her a long time to get where she is. She spent fifteen years getting to where she is now, though I am sure she has some money I can spend at a stupid fancy restaurant.

"Okay. Fine, but we are not going all out." I say, pointing at her.

"Great!" she shreks. "So will William come too?"

"Of course he can come," I say. William, Allison and I have been friends since 3rd grade. We met in the playground and never left each other's side since. But between the three of us, William Benton is the richest. His father owns thirty-seven hotels, and a flying company and his mother is the CEO of a famous makeup company. So he gets anything, and everything he has ever wanted in life. For his birthday, his parents got him a burgundy Lincoln MKZ. He drives it around everywhere like a trophy, and he wants everyone to know it. But I can't blame him for doing it, I would do the same if I was that rich too. I smile and wave at Allison before I turn away and walk towards my class. 

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