I frantically rummage through everything in my room. I lost mom's necklace and I don't know where else to look for it.
That was the last thing she gave me before she died.
My nose started to tingle as I thought about mom.
I miss her more and more every day. She died the summer before sophomore year and it changed everything for my dad and I. It was peculiar to us that one day she was still there and then the next, she was gone.
That necklace was like the last piece I have of her.
Ignoring the pile of homework I needed to finish, I headed downstairs to go look there. While I was in the middle of doing my thing, dad walked in and looked around the room confused why the living room was such a mess.
"Sweetie, what are you doing?" He asked, walking further into the room.
Dad is a Research Biologist and teaches part time in Biology at a nearby university. My dad and I have always had a close relationship, but we've gotten closer ever since mom's passing. We were each other's rock during those hard times and I'm grateful for him every single day.
"I lost my necklace." I answered, throwing a pillow back on the couch in exasperation. "You know, the locket that mom gave me."
He gave me a sad smile and sighed. "I'm sure that it's around somewhere. Come on, dinner is almost ready. You can set up the table."
I nodded and followed him to the kitchen where it was directly connected to the dining area. My mouth begins to salivate as soon as the smell of food hits my nose.
"What did you cook?" I asked, looking over his shoulder.
"Your favorite: Lomo Saltado."
Mom was originally from Peru, so growing up I had a lot of experience eating Peruvian food and helping mom with making it.
"It smells so good."
"I think I'm getting better at cooking." He chuckled.
I bit my knuckles to stifle a laugh. Dad was not the greatest cook before. He once burned the grilled cheese. I can't say that I'm a better cook, but I can survive with my cooking. Deciding that we canât live like this for the rest of our lives, I signed us up for cooking classes during long breaks and we're both not so busy.
After dinner, I cleaned the table while dad loads up the dishwasher and then I went back to my room and tried to ease my mind about the necklace.
It's probably just somewhere in the room.
° ° °
I bid my dad goodbye as he drove away after dropping me off at a restaurant near the school where I'm meeting my friends for breakfast.
The bell rang above the door when I stepped inside, my gaze scanning for the table where my friends were until I found them sitting in a booth by the window.
"Hey, guys." I greeted my best friends, Ivy and Farah, as I put my bag down and slid into the empty space beside Farrah. "Where's Jordan?"
"Where else would she be?" Ivy gave me a knowing look and I immediately understood what she meant.
She's with her girlfriend, Skye. Funny story was before they got together, they were dating the same guy who was two timing them, so they cooked up a plan to get their revenge on him whilst liking each other in the process.
"Jordan just texted that's she's on her way." Farrah said while looking down at her phone. "She's bringing Skye with her."
I shook my head, smiling. The both of them were practically two peas in a pod.
A waiter approached our table and took down our orders. I ordered a breakfast sandwich, an iced coffee and Shakshuka to share. I was pretty hungry this morning.
Once the waiter was gone, Ivy quickly piped out. "He was really cute, like don't lie."
Honestly, I wasn't paying attention to his face because I was busy choosing what I want to eat. Food over boys anytime. Speaking of boys, I remembered that boy from last night.
I cringed at the memory. I was sprinting my way out of there. I guess that's normal reaction when you haven't spent a decent amount of time with the opposite sex.
"Oh my God, I almost forgot to tell you, but while I was getting out of that horrendous costume there was a guy behind me." I said.
Ivy's face wrinkled into an angry expression. "What?! Did you see who it was? Because I will find him and beat him up."
"Did he do anything wrong to you?" Farrah was suddenly pulling me into hug. "You can tell us, don't be scared."
My heart swelled with their reactions.
"No. No, it's okay. Nothing untoward happened." I assured them. "I was just very grumpy last night after the game and I was also struggling to get out of that costume, so I was muttering a lot of curse words and he just came in to check what was going on."
Ivy chuckled. "Very funny, sweetie. You never curse. The closest thing you get to cursing is crap, that's it."
I frowned knowing that was kind of true.
"Shut up!" I sneered at her before continuing. "Back to my story, he said that he didn't kniw the school's mascot was a girl and, uhm, p-pretty."
My friends started squealing in their seats.
"Do you know the guy?!"
"No, but it was one of the basketball players."
"Tell me the number on his jersey." Farrah clapped excitedly. She's part of the journalism club in school and the sports section is her forte, plus she has a huge crush on one of the guys in the baseball team.
"Fourteen."
"Holy shit, that's Devaun Dyer-Rubes!" She screamed into my face. "Oh my God, he called you cute! You've hit the jackpot with him, I'm so proud." She pulled into a tight hug like I just won some sort of award.
So his name is Devaun. Never heard of that name before, but it's unique and cool I guess. I think this is the first time I've known about him. Our school is quite big and there's just too much people to keep up with, and I also usually stay within my circle of friends.
"Fare, I seriously don't know that guy." I told her honestly.
"You know she doesn't keep up with everything happening in the school." Ivy chirped. "From what Iâve heard, Devaun âor Dev as what people call himâ is like one of the only walking green flag in Stonewall High."
"She's right. He moved here last year and is part of the official basketball team and the Hospital Volunteer Club and president of the Anti-Bullying Club. Chatted with him a few times. He's very nice and an approachable guy, it's almost like if he was sunshine." Farrah went on.
My eyebrows raised.
Part of me was suddenly getting intrigued the more I listened to Farrah talking about this guy. Not that I was starting to like him or anything. I will probably never encounter him any time soon.
° ° °
"I'll meet you at the student lounge at dismissal, okay?" Jordan uttered as she walked me to my next class.
"Yes, mom." I replied, playfully rolling my eyes at her.
She then nudged me by the shoulder. "Donât project your mommy issues onto me."
My jaw dropped. It was a friendly jab, so I wasn't really offended by what she said. I guess sometimes we have the tendency to have dark humor.
"Bye. I hate you, so much." I lied while laughing and pushing her gently.
"No, you don't." She ruffled my hair in payback before walking inside the room next to mine.
I have AP Chemistry right now. I can say that it was one of the okay subjects I take. If I just pay attention to class and not get distracted, the lessons are easy to understand. The only problem is that I have an attention span of a fly, but Ms. Riley keeps it interesting in class and I really like the way she teaches.
I took my usually seat near the window and teacher's table. When I was properly seated, I did some last minute homework assignments because life is all about the hustle. Well I wouldn't be hustling right now if I just finished it last night, but I chose sleep. I sighed in relief as I wrote my answer on the final item.
"You just finished it?" A voice beside me piped up.
Raising my head, my eyes went round when I saw who it was.
"It's you." I blurted, stating the obvious.
Why did I just say that?!
Devaun's mouth curved into a smile, revealing a cute dimple on his left cheek. "It's me, hi."
_____
(Not edited.)