The boys and I had a bit of a routine. Every morning before classes began, we'd meet up at my locker and have a quick chat. I'd usually be grabbing my books from my locker, then Malcolm would creep up from behind, cover my eyes, and make me guess whoâunsurprisingly, I always got it correct. Elias would roll his eyes at the pair of us, though have a bit of a smirk on his face. And Andre would hand me the coffee that he picked up for me at the shop every single morning, no matter how much I insisted for him not to.
And so, on that very next Monday, I was surprised when the guys did not show up to my locker in the morning. Anxiously tapping my foot, I glanced down at my phone to look at the time.
"Where are they? Classes are gonna start any second now," I muttered to myself.
As if on cue, the bell rang. Chattering students began to walk through the halls and head over to their first period class. I lingered around until the halls were completely empty. Sighing to myself, I figured they simply must've been running late today. With that, I clutched onto my backpack and began to head to class.
Just as I rounded the corner of the hallway, I saw Elias, Andre, and Malcolm enter the school through the huge double doors. There was a fourth person accompanying them, and I did a double take, utterly flabbergasted to see that they were with Heather.
They were each laughing their heads offâwell, minus Elias. What could possibly be so funny?
"Oh, hey Daisy!" Malcolm beamed when his blue eyes caught sight of my short figure. "Were you waiting for us?"
"Yeah, Iâ"
"Anyways," Heather cut me off with a sweet smile at the boys. "Once again, thank you for the ride, Elias."
Elias simply nodded, his face blank and emotionless.
"And, thanks for the coffee, Andre," Heather winked at Andre. "You're a lifesaver."
I frowned once I saw a cup of coffee in her hands. I looked at the name inscribed on the cup. It clearly read Daisy. Why was she drinking the coffee that Andre got for me? Before I could ask, Malcolm spoke.
"Hey, what about me?" Malcolm pouted.
"Oh, you know you're my favorite, Malcolm. Bring it in," Heather grinned.
She and Malcolm then performed a secret handshake, before each erupting into a fit of giggles.
"Anyways, I'll catch you boys later," Heather waved, before directing her eyes onto me with an unpleasant smirk. "Goodbye, Daisy."
I didn't reply, merely crossing my arms as she sashayed off. With that, I rounded on the boys.
"You gave her a ride to school?" I demanded.
"Yeah, we kinda had to. Her car broke down this morning," Andre said.
"Why couldn't she just walk? Or even take the bus? Actually, scratch that, her spoiled ass would never dare step foot on a bus," I muttered the last part to myself. "Anyways, how did you even know her car broke down?"
"She called me," Malcolm replied.
"Called?" I repeated in disbelief. "As in, she has your phone number?"
"Well, yeah. After you left during lunch last week, we all exchanged numbers." Malcolm replied.
"Careful with all the questions, D. One might think you're jealous," Elias smoothly spoke. I jumped, for I'd almost forgotten he was behind me with how unusually quiet he was being.
"Screw you, I'm not jealous," I stuck my tongue out.
"Yeah, screw you, she's not jealous," Malcolm stuck his tongue out.
"Yeah, and besides, that'd be ridiculous. No one could possibly replace Daisy. She's our flower," Andre smiled.
My heart warmed, and I begrudgingly smiled back. "Thank you. I guess I'm being a bit dramatic, but it's just because I know how Heather is. She can't be trusted."
"Oh, come on, just give her a chance," Malcolm said. "She's actually really nice once you get to know her."
Nice and Heather did not belong in the same sentence. That girl had ruthlessly bullied me for years.
Of course, once the boys had moved to Oakland High and became friends with me, the bullying had drastically died down, as no one was stupid enough to cross themâespecially Elias, who had muscles for days and could make a person wet themself with a simple glare.
And so, I didn't exactly blame the boys for being so naïve. They'd never been there to witness how bad my school life was before they all came along. For all they knew, Heather was actually the kind, innocent cheerleader she pledged to be.
"Whatever, I'd rather not talk about FeatherâI mean Heather anymore," I said. "Let's just get to English class. We've got some Shakespeare to read."
"To Macbeth," Malcolm pretended to hold a sword with one arm, and then linked his other arm with mine.
"Nerds," Elias sneered before pushing himself off the lockers and storming to class.
"Hope you have a good day as well, Ellie," I sarcastically waved at his departing figure. He flipped me off.
I wasn't all too surprised by Elias' attitudeâit was normal for him, after all. It was Andre's behavior that really confused me. He gave Malcolm and I a bit of a pained look before walking away without so much as a goodbye.
I was distracted when Malcom began to pull me along in the direction of our English class, preventing me from dwelling upon it any further.
*****
Shock overtook my features when I strolled into the cafeteria and saw Heather, Chelsea, and Ruby sitting at our table.
"Oh, so this is a regular occurrence now?" I asked through a strained smile.
"Guess so," Malcolm shrugged while glancing at me, his blue eyes twinkling.
Dissatisfaction settled over me once I saw the false smile on Heather's face. I had to remind myself to play nice and give her the benefit of the doubt. Who knewâperhaps she'd changed, and was no longer the evil soul I thought she was.
Elias case me a look. "Your shadow's bothering me, won't you sit down, D?"
"Yeah, won't you sit down, D?" Heather repeated, gazing at me with a look of fake concern.
"Only I'm allowed to call her that," Elias stiffly said, narrowing his eyes.
Heather pretended not to notice that Elias was glaring daggers at her, and instead began to giggle. She slowly placed her tanned, manicured hand on top of Elias' rough, large hand. "You're so funny, Elias! Isn't he so funny, girls?"
Chelsea remained silent, although Ruby began to emit forced laughter. While Heather had clearly been trying to flatter Elias, he seemed grossed out by the whole thing and snatched his hand away from Heather.
Holding back a snicker, I took a seat on the other side of Elias, who seemed quite pleased that I had sat next to him.
"Here," Elias tore his bologna sandwich in half and gave the larger half to me.
I felt my cheeks heat up as the rest of the table looked at us in curiosity.
"Thank you," I whispered, peering up at him above my lashes.
His stoic face was seemingly blank, though when I looked close enough, I was able to see how his dark eyes softened at my words. There was a moment of silence as we locked gazes.
I suddenly gasped as a cold liquid was poured onto my white yoga pants. It was red fruit juice, and it was bound to leave a nasty stain.
"Darn it, I'm so clumsy," Heather nonchalantly sighed.
Chelsea opened her mouth to say something, but a sharp look from Heather caused her to retreat.
"Goodness, that's really cold," I quickly stood up with a pained smile on my face.
"I'm so sorry, Daisy. I feel horrible," Heather dramatically pouted.
"It's alright, Heather, it was just an accident," I said with kindness. "Anyways, I better head over to the washroom and clean myself up."
"I can help you," Malcolm offered, his voice laced in genuine concern for me.
"No," Andre yelped. We all looked at him. "I-I mean, I can help too. Y'know, only if you need me to."
"I'm sure she'll manage just fine without the help of you two morons," Elias murmured, appearing slightly annoyed by the whole situation.
"Hey, who are you calling a moron?" Malcolm scowled.
"Yeah, I'll have you know, I got accepted into Yale," Andre boasted.
"Not so impressive when your parents are alumni," Elias rolled his eyes. "If you ask me..."
"Are you suggesting they bribed the admissions team?"
"Hey, you said it, not me."
"Man, you've got some nerveâ"
"At least I actuallyâ"
"Would you two shut upâ"
I slowly crept away from the table as the three boys began to argue over one another. Meanwhile, the three cheerleaders watched the situation unfold in shock. I slightly giggled. To anyone else, they must've seemed like madmen, though to me, this was perfectly normal.
*****
QOTD: how many siblings do u have?
AOTD: three (two sisters, one brother)
What did you guys think about this chapter?
Today was supposed to be my first day of the second semester, but I stayed home because I have a cold. My friends are sick as well, I think we all caught a bug at our school's semi-formal dance, which was three days ago. On the bright side, that gives me lots of time to write!
The next chapter will be out in two days. Make sure to leave a vote or comment, it's much appreciated!
Love, Emmanuela
02/06/2023