Chapter One
Present
Am... am I in heaven?
I crack open my eyes slightly, and I immediately regret it.
"What the..." I mumble to myself. As I adjust to the lighting, I notice my curtains have been swung open. Dad. I look to my right, where my beside clock is, and notice it's only 7.40am.
What kind of dad wakes up his daughter an hour before school? Might as well get up anyways, I can never go back to sleep once I've woken up.
Throwing my blanket off my body, I rush into my bathroom to brush my teeth. After all of the important stuff are done, I head to my closet and try to figure out what to where for my first day of school, and my first day back at Berkeley in over two years.
Eh, just settle with black sweats and a black t-shirt. It's like a black kinda day, you know what I mean?
After putting on my deodorant, and lining my lips with lip balm, I head downstairs. Right when I step foot into the kitchen, I open the fridge to get the orange juice.
"Emma, I already poured you a glass," Someone says behind me. A startled gasp leaves my mouth, not even realizing my dad was sitting at the table sipping black coffee while scrolling on his phone. His eyes still not meeting mine.
"Oh, thanks dad," I reply quietly. Our relationship is still on the rocks since I got back. It's not one of us, it's both of us. What happened back in Vancouver took a toll on him too. Which isn't surprising of course, it was his daughter. My sister.
Suppressing a tear that dreadfully wants to escape my dry eyes that haven't cried since the day I left, I quickly take a sip... or five of my pulp free orange juice.
Checking the time on my phone, I note how it's only 8.10am. I could leave now and get to school a little earlier.
Agreeing with my inner thought, I grab a banana from the stand, and walk to the front foyer. Grabbing my Nike Free black shoes, I quickly slide it on my feet, and grab my grey Jansport bag from the corner. I open the door a crap and look back at my only parent, "Bye dad."
The door slamming shut behind me cuts off his response.
As I walk down the two steps in front of my house, I take a quick peak at the house on my right. I wonder if he still lives there...
No! Nope. No thoughts of that ass.
I take a left and start walking to school, trying to forget about the boy next door who broke my heart.
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Less than 20 minutes later, I'm right in front of Berkley High School. In grade 8, my graduating class visited the high schools we could visit close to where we live, so we first stopped at Berkley High School. I always knew I was gonna go to this school before I moved so I tried to memorize the halls, which in a way I did, but not fully.
I quickly head to the main office, checking my phone to make sure I have enough time to stop by my locker. its only 8.30am so I have 10 minutes before the first bell rings.
As I'm walking, I pull out my phone and text Anna, and Lauren to let them know I'm at school in our group chat. We honestly don't chat often, just send really funny memes. Just last night, Lauren sent us a video of a bunch of people failing at skating...
She really likes watching videos when people are in pain.
Looking back up, I see the office entrance on my left and walk in.
I look at the women at the front desk and give her a friendly smile, "Hi, I'm new here and I was wondering if I could get my schedule."
She responds by giving me an equally friendly smile, and points behind her, "Just go down that hall, second door on your left. Mr. McAbee should be inside.
I smile, and give my thanks before walking down the hall. The door is shut, but has the name Mr. McAbee printed on the door.
Knocking twice, I hear a voice behind the door reply, "Enter."
Opening it, I see a dark skinned male in a suit and tie sitting behind the desk. He gives me a warm smile and offers me a seat.
"I take it you're new?" He says while opening a file cabinet.
I nod my head but realize he's not looking at me, "Yes, my name's Emma Sullivan."
He mumbles something under his breath, and pulls out a file.
"Aha! I'm getting better at this," He smiles proudly.
I give him a confused look and he gives me a sheepish grin, "I was the vice principal for a couple of years, but got promoted to principal before the school year ended in June. Today's my first day, and you're possibly my 20th student coming in today."
I hide my shock behind my smile, "Well you're doing great don't worry."
He nods, and pulls out a sheet from the file, "So you have Calculus first period, and English right after. Lunch, fitness, then to finish off the day, Chemistry. The rooms for each class is on this sheet as well as the teachers name."
He pulls out another sheet and and passes both of the sheets to me, "This has your locker information. Since it starts with a 2, it's going to be on the second floor, okay?"
I nod my head and read over the sheets.
He looks at his watch, and looks back at me, "The first bell is going to ring in a minute or two, so try to see if you can find your locker in the meantime."
I nod again, and realize I'm nodding too much so I respond with a simple yeah. He smiles, "I hope you'll enjoy learning at this school, and please don't hesitate to come to my office to discuss any extra curricular activities you'd like to participate in. If you'd like to change your courses simply go to the guidance office. Alright?"
"Yes, thank you Mr. McAbee," I say as I'm getting up from the seat.
He sits back down and waves, "Enjoy your first day."
I'll try.
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The goal was to meet up with the girls before school started but clearly that couldn't happen. I had just the right amount of time to run upstairs and look for my locker. Not gonna lie, took about 2 minutes before I found it.
I open the chat and see a lot of angry texts from both of my friends, and try to console them by saying I'll still see them at lunch. Which Lauren replies by saying how school system is being a bitch for starting too early.
After reading that text I look at the time and see I have a minute before the second bell rings. I pull out the sheet as fast as I can and read that my first period is in room 231. I look around and spot the hall that has a sign saying rooms 230-240. Running there, I spot my class on the first door on the right.
Entering, I realize that the class only has 3 people inside, myself included.
Choosing a spot on the second row, right in the middle, I place my bag on the right side of the 2-seat desk.
Sitting down, I breathe a sign of relief.
I look at the teachers desk and see they're not here too. I'll just read while I'm waiting.
Just as I'm about to pull out my kindle from my bag, I hear two familiar voices in front of the class.
No... No way.
I look up and spot them.
My best friends.
I didn't even realize I was smiling so big until I realized my cheeks started to hurt.
"This is all your fault Anna! She was here 10 minutes before the bell and we could have met her here but nooooo! You needed to straighten your hair because it wasn't straight enough from the previous time you did it an hour before!"
"I just wanted to look good for our reunion!" Anna yells back, looking frustrated as ever.
Those two are complete opposites, and how they got along half the time is still unknown to me. Anna, is gorgeous, with her strawberry blonde hair, and green eyes, giving her an innocent vibe, but Lauren? She has blonde hair, with blue eyes and doesn't even realize how beautiful she is.
Personality wise though, Lauren's the most edgy out of all of us. Her closet contains band shirts, or just plain black shirts. Maybe a baby pink shirt too. I don't know if she kept it when I sent it to her last year as a joke.
Anna tends to wear light jeans, skirts, and dresses. She's full on girly girl. And me? I guess in the middle. But I haven't really worn a dress since my 8th grade graduation party.
Getting out of my thoughts, I get up and walk up towards them until we have 2 feet apart from us. They're still arguing so I cough really loudly, ending up with Lauren shooting me a glare, before she realizes it's me.
Anna's the first person to take action, by tackling me on the floor, "Oh my God! Emmy you're in this class?" Anna says as she's on me.
"Anna get off of her! You'll kill her before I can say hi!"
Anna jumps off me so elegantly, and smirks at Lauren, "Or... Do you want to hug her?"
"Pshh no," She looks back down at me and gives me her hand. Once I'm standing Lauren looks at me for a couple of seconds before she hugs me.
She lies her head on my shoulder, "I missed you a lot Em," she mumbles quietly so no one could hear. I smile, and wrap my arms around her, "I miss you too Laur."
Just then, the teacher enters and looks at the scene in front of her, "Girls! Get to your seats!"
We all rush to where I chose to sit, and Lauren fights for the seat beside me, and obviously wins. Resorting with Anna choosing a seat directly behind Lauren.
"Do you know where the other half of the class is?" My teacher says, rubbing her temple.
I look around the room and it seems to be half empty.
A second later the class starts being poured in with people, and the desks fill up in a matter of seconds.
My teacher, who introduced herself as Mrs. Carlton looks annoyed, but doesn't say anything to her students.
Once everyone is seated, and has their utensils out, Mrs. Carlton claps her hands, "Okay everyone! Welcome to AP Calculus."
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10 minutes later, Mrs. Carlton assigned us our textbooks, and told us to review last years notes.
Which being Lauren and Anna, meant talk about things completely unrelated to math.
"Okay! But I'm not lying! I saw a UFO last week," Anna whisper yells.
"Oh God - Anna you gotta stop this. Aliens. Do. Not. Exist." Lauren groans.
Me? Well, I actually read through part of the chapter, but gave up so I pulled out my kindle to read.
But I don't know about you, but I can't really focus when my best friends are discussing the possibly of aliens existing or not.
Just as I'm about to tell them to be quiet, a loud slam from the front of the classroom erupts.
I pay no attention to it, but my breath gets caught in my throat when I hear the teacher speak next, "Mr. Valentine, thank you so much for gracing us with your presence!"
Jason.
I turn around and spot him giving Mrs. Carlton a smirk, "Miss don't lie, I've been your favorite student for two years running, and me coming to your class just brightens up your day."
Mrs. Carlton rolls her eyes, and is about to respond until a guy in the last row speak, "Yo Jase! We're all back here."
Finally, Jason turns towards the class, and waves at the guy, and looks around the class. Right when his eyes meet my wide ones, I want to curl up into a ball and hide.
But I can't let him know that, obviously. To hide my nervousness, I glare at him, and he coughs and looks away.
Mrs. Carlton, oblivious to the newfound tension, shakes her head, "Oh no, you both are not sitting beside each other. Not with what I had to deal with last year," she looks around the room, and spots the empty desk beside Anna, "Jason, sit beside Anna."
Nobody would notice, but Jason was seemed to blush at the thought of sitting beside Anna, or being near the one girl who actually despises him. His ears changed to the lightest shade of red, and took slow, but big steps to the desk behind me.
Once he sits down, Mrs. Carlton nods in approval, "Okay, girls please bring Mr. Valentine on track with what we're doing right now."
Lauren and Anna looks at me, clearly seeing the fight in me whether or not to jump on top of the desk to murder Jason Valentine, or cuss out Mrs. Carlton for placing him here.
Anna, being the best friend, removes the tension by giving Jason a fake smile, "Okay, lets make this short."
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After Anna debriefs Jason, Anna and Lauren both continue their conversation about another planet arising. I took about another 20 minutes before Mrs. Carlton had enough.
"Girls! I have told you more than once to talk about math, not if- if a penis can have a boner if they have no balls!"
She looks between both of them before settling her eyes on Lauren.
She squints her eyes, and points to an empty seat beside the guy who called out for Jason from before, "Lauren. Go sit beside Dylan."
I stare at her wide eyed, knowing she hates it when she has to socialize with the male species.
She clenches her jaw, and takes her stuff. When she gets up, Dylan gives her a flirtatious smirk, "Hey, I'm Dylan."
She smiles back forcefully, "And I'm your worst nightmare." She slams her stuff on the right side of the desk and sits down.
She looks back at me, and the empty desk beside me. Looking up, she makes eye contact with another girl on the left side of the room, "Carly, you're quite talkative as well, aren't you? Come move here."
As she's groaning, I take a little peak at Jason and realize he's already staring at me. We both look away at the same time, glad he's not seeing me blush in embarrassment.
A loud slam is heard, coming from right beside me. Carly sits down and I give her a friendly smile, "Hi, I'm Emma."
She nods, and gives me a tight smile, "Carly."
Just the the bell rings, and Mrs. Carlton speaks, "Okay, tomorrow is our first lesson. For now, these will be your new seating plan, unless I change it around. Have a good first day!"
Lauren rushes up to Anna, and I as we're packing up, "Thank fucking God class is done. That pervert can't keep his clammy hands to himself. Apparently, me telling him to fuck off is code for, 'please fuck me daddy.'"
Anna, and I both try to hide our laughs, but I end up snorting a little. Lauren turns towards me and glares, "Shut up."
I laugh, and look up from my bag, causing me to make eye contact with Jason. Jason looks like he's about to say something, until someone starts shaking my arm, "Hey you okay?" Anna asks.
I look back at her, and nod my head, "Yeah sorry, what were you saying?"
We all start walking to the door when she asks, "What do you have next?"
I pull out my sheet that the principal gave me, and look at the second row, " English... With Mr. Becker."
Lauren nods, "Me too. Let's go before we're late," she says as she pushes my back softly, "See you at lunch Anna," She says as she's dragging me off. I quickly wave goodbye and jog with her.
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Why does the world hate me?
Of course Jason had to be in my second period as well, why wouldn't he? The world is clearly against me.
Thankfully Lauren, and I sat in the front row on the fair right side, and he sat in the very back.
Once the bell rang, we both ran out and waited outside of the cafeteria for Anna.
A couple minutes later, Anna shows up and Lauren grabs each of our hands, "I'm hungry, lets go before I resort to actually eating my hair."
Once it was our turn in line, we all agree on getting pasta, and when it was time to pay, Lauren shakes her head, "Nope, it's your first day back, my treat."
I'm about to protest, but shrug my shoulders, I couldn't pass up free food.
Once we're seated near the windows, the questions are pooling in.
"So... Can you tell us how it happened?"
"How did you move out, and sell the house so fast?"
"Are you talking to your moms sister?"
"Guys! Please, stop. I- I know you have your question but, not now, okay?" I know I should tell them the whole story, but I don't want to relive it. Not now.
As they're talking, my mind drifts off, and I realize I'm staring at Jason. He's with Dylan, and some other guy. Holy shit, he's hot.
Once Lauren and Anna finish talking about another topic, I quickly say, "Who's that with Jason?"
Lauren glaces behind her, and quickly looks back at Anna, "You tell her," she whispers.
Anna looks wide eyed at Lauren, "Why?"
Lauren slaps her arm, and Anna looks at me, "It's Lucas Scott."
I stare look up at them wide eyes, then look back up at the group of three. Lucas Scott?
I mean he was cute- I mean ugly before, but now? Why are the hot ones always a dick? It's not fair.
He must have sensed my eyes on him because he slowly turns to face me, and for a split second he looks shocked before his face returns to its natural state.
We continue to look at each other, and I glare at him. His response to that however, is his infamous smirks.
I quickly itch my nose with my middle finger, and look back at Anna as she explains how she's planning on opening her own clothing store when she's older.
Less than an hour later, the warning bell rings, and we all get ready to leave, "What do you guys have now?" Lauren asks. Anna, and I both say fitness, before we look at each other and high-five each other.
Lauren groans, "Lucky, I have Physics right now. With Mr. A. Lord help me," Lauren says, pretending to prey as Anna and I laugh before saying goodbye.
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It's only the first day of school and Coach Marcy is already a pain in the ass.
"I can not believe her! Like if I tell you I am not physically capable of doing pushups, you don't make me do 50 more. Ugh!" Anna yells. I laugh, and agree with her before she continues to rant about her hatred for her.
Right as we reach an intersection, Anna faces me, "Which way is your class?" I point to my right, "Okay, I'll see you after school!" She side hugs me before running down the hall.
As I'm turning the corner, I bump into someones hard chest. Oh lord Jesus.
Both of my hand are on the strange guys chest, as I look up to make eye contact.
Of course.
I push him away, and he glares at me wrinkling his nose, "Oh it's you."
I look at him and flutter my lashes, "Don't lie, I know you've missed me."
"How could I deny my princess the truth," He says as he throws his arm around me.
I groan and push it away, walking to my last period.
He jogs up beside me, "What class do you have now?"
"Why do you care?" I quickly retort.
I spot my class, and walk a little faster. Almost there.
Once I'm about to enter I hear him and his smug smirk, "Why won't you look at that. We have chemistry together," He runs his hand down my arm, and walks to the back of the class.
I take a seat in the front row, and look at Lucas. People around him are talking to him, but all of his focus is towards me.
I stick out my tongue, and put it back in before anyone notices. He raises his eyebrows, and puffs out his cheeks, and widens his eyes.
I choke back on a laugh. He's trying to make me laugh. You're not gonna win this time, Scott.
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Lucas and I went back and forth, until I took my cheek fat and pinched it, which ended up with Lucas laughing loudly. I won.
As I'm packing up, Lucas walks up to me while strapping up his bag, "So Sullivan, what brings this unwanted surprise?"
I grab my bag and turn towards him, making sure it hits him, "So Scott, how does it feel knowing you finally have HIV? Speaking about unwanted surprises, am I right?" I smile, and walk away.
I check my phone, and Anna says to meet her at her car.
Once I reach outside, I look for her and Lauren, and spot her beside her Mazda 3 2010 Sedan.
Once we all get inside, we decide to all go to Lauren's house to do some math review. As they're driving, I can't help but think about the two boys who used to once upon a time, be there for me.
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Finally done chapter 1! This is one of the longest chapters I've ever written, (3726 words).
Please let me know how you think about it so far. Also, it's going to be kind of slow in the beginning but it will start having more drama soon!
Thank you for reading! Xx