8

Chapter 8: Se Faire de Nouveaux Amis

There was something special about reading that was like a drug to Avery. It was way more than just following a story. If that's what she wanted to do, she could just watch Netflix. But, reading books was something different. She didn't know if it was the intimacy felt between the reader and the characters, the smell and feel of the pages, the message or moral it conveys, the unique way different authors seem to make you feel like you're being dragged into the storyline or all of the above. Whether it was in French or English, Avery loved to read it.

This time it was a French novel that her mother had bought her named 'Pays Mêlé'. It was quite a solemn book and spoke about the struggles encountered by women and black people in the Caribbean 20th century.

Avery had reached the midway point of the book and decided to take a break there, her heart feeling too heavy to continue just yet. She placed her bookmark on the page where she stopped and closed the book, placing it beside her. She was sat on the steps of one of the side entrances to the school's main building since her teacher was absent. It was the first period of the day and everyone was in their classes, leaving the entire campus peaceful and quiet. The beautiful, well-trimmed grass was as green as ever and seemed to stretch on for miles now that there wasn't a crowd of students standing on it and blocking the view.

"Penny for your thoughts?" a voice sounded as Avery spotted a shadow in her peripheral. When she looked up, her eyes landed on Carson and she gave a small smile. Behind him though, Avery could decipher a figure if she squinted her eyes. Her smile seemed to falter.

"Who's that?" Avery asked, dismissing Carson's greeting. The person in question stepped out from behind her best friend and gave her a smile. She felt an unpleasant twinge in her stomach to see that Carson seemed to be hanging out with this random girl she didn't even know when he was supposed to be in class.

"Avery, this is Marigold," Carson used his hand to gesture to the red-head as he introduced her, "Marigold, this is my best friend Avery."

Marigold waved at Avery and held her hand out for a handshake. Her smile was almost blinding as Avery hesitantly met her halfway. "Hey!" said the random girl. Her voice sounded chirpy causing Avery to narrow her eyes in suspicion. Both her possessiveness and protectiveness for Carson kicked in and Avery analysed the girl from head to toe. There was no doubt that she was beautiful and Avery couldn't help but admire how the name 'Marigold' seemed to suit her so perfectly. Marigold's light hazel eyes almost seemed golden in the sunlight and the way it complemented her orange-red hair would make anyone think of the flower.

"Hello," Avery replied, letting go of her hand and turning her head to Carson, "What are you doing out here? It's not your free period yet."

"Marigold just transferred and Administration wanted me to show her around. So, that's what we're doing. What are you doing out here, Aves?"

Avery's eyes flicked back to the girl who she noticed was watching her just as carefully as she had been watching her before. "Seems a little inconvenient to be transferring in the middle of the semester during the last year of high school."

Carson furrowed his eyebrows at his best friend's icy tone.

Carson had only had one girlfriend during the period that he and Avery were friends. It's safe to say that it did not end well. She was a cheerleader and had only used his status for bragging rights and to ascend on the school's social ladder. Carson was a patient, passionate and kind person but he had to draw the line when said cheerleader started talking about their sex life. They parted ways, leaving Carson heartbroken.

He had dated more girls since then but they were brief as he kept finding out that they only wanted to be with him for similar reasons or to find out if he was as 'amazing in bed' as what his ex-girlfriend had said. Carson then decided to put dating on hiatus and so Avery couldn't be blamed for the way she reacted to Marigold.

Avery wasn't one to stereotype but Marigold's cheery attitude, somewhat tan skin, bright smile and toned calves led her to believe that she was another chienne of a cheerleader who would attempt to use her best friend. There was a price to being popular and well-liked and Avery would rather die than let Carson reap its consequences again. { bitch}

"Oh, I'm a junior," Marigold interjected.

Dying to get rid of the tense silence that settled among them, Carson spoke up. "Well, since you're new here why don't you sit with us at lunch."

Avery couldn't help but think that it was bold of Carson to assume that they'd be sitting together, especially now that she knew the redhead would be joining them. It was like Carson could read his friend's mind when he continued after a pause, "Right, Avery?"

Sometimes Avery felt that Carson was too nice for his own good. Not that she was mean, Avery was far from being a mean-spirited person. But, she wasn't too fond of people in general and kept to herself so that she wouldn't have to encounter situations like these. To her, that was one of the many perks of being a wallflower.

"Right, Carson," she sent her best friend a sickeningly sweet smile in response.

Carson leaned down to give his best friend a hug before saying quietly to her, "À bientôt et sois gentille, s'il te plait." With that, he and Marigold walked away to continue their tour, leaving Avery to her book once more. {See you soon and be nice, please}

****

Avery firmly believed that if she was a bit more rebellious, she would've just skipped school. Her mind was reeling from her Calculus and AP Physics classes and now that the bell had rung for lunch she had another thing to worry about. For a fleeting moment, her mind went to Alex and she was astonished at her thoughts when she found herself wondering what the tall girl would've done in a situation like this.

"Stab them." Think of the devil and she shall appear. Avery looked up at the girl with a confused look.

"You said 'what would Alex do?' out loud and I just happened to walk up to you at that moment," Alex clarified. "I don't know what you're stressing about but stabbing can be the solution to any problem. Forgot your homework? Stab the teacher. Got arrested for stabbing the teacher? Stab the police officer."

Oddly, Alex's words brought a smile to Avery's face as she exhaled a chuckle through her nose. The odd pair talking to each other in the middle of the hallway was starting to attract attention and Avery could feel the eyes on her. Alex noticed when the freckled girl started looking to the floor and her breath seemed to hitch and she understood the situation.

"Well, good luck with whatever it is," Alex said nonchalantly, fixing her ponytail before walking off. She figured it would save Avery's anxiety some trouble if people saw that their encounter was brief so that they wouldn't assume anything. The last thing Avery needed was to have people poking fun at her again for sneezing on Alex.

Avery took a deep breath in and walked outside. She was exhausted and definitely not in the mood to play nice with the Marigold girl. When she spotted her best friend, he was sitting on a bench with the redhead sitting across from him. They were chatting animatedly. The sight caused Avery to scoff. Was Marigold too good to sit on the grass like she and Carson normally did? She hoped Marigold would get her own new cheerleader friends and leave both her and Carson alone. Specifically Carson.

Avery took a seat next to Carson and took out her lunch. She had ravioli today, something she couldn't have eaten when she was on her diet which had ended ever since Carson persuaded her to have that pizza slice. She was excited for the chocolate chip cookies that she had packed and figured she would need the pick-me-upper for the next hour she was forced to face. In fact, who came up with the rule that dessert had to come before the plat principal. Yes, it was the French but since she was French she should be entitled to break that rule. {main dish}

Almost forgetting her manners, she mumbled a greeting to the two other people she was sat with before munching into her cookie. Carson replied by slinging his arm over her shoulder like he normally did, pulling her in for a side hug, and Marigold only sent her a small wave. Avery could tell from how much more silent Marigold got and the way she played with her food since Avery arrived, that she knew Avery was giving her the cold shoulder.

Feeling guilty, Avery joined the conversation, "So Marigold, what brings you to this fine establishment?" She did her best attempt at a reassuring smile which made Marigold relax her shoulders as she smiled back.

"My parents and I were moving to this town, but I chose this school in particular because of the excellence of its soccer teams," Marigold spoke up, finally getting animated again.

At the mention of the word 'soccer', Carson's eyes lit up, "You play?"

Marigold scoffed playfully, "Do I?" Unzipping her bag, she flashed the two her shin guards, "I'm trying out for the girls' team this afternoon. I know all about you Carson 'Number Five' Armani and I hope I'll get to see you train one of these days."

Avery resisted the urge to roll her eyes. Just as she was trying to warm up to Marigold, she mentioned that she 'knew all about' Carson. For Avery, it was a complete red flag but at least she wasn't a cheerleader. Carson, on the other hand, just flicked his wrist like it was nothing, but Avery could see the slight shade of pink on his cheeks. She folded her arms.

"The girls' team trains on the field across from ours so we'd definitely see each other. In fact, the two teams even train together sometimes," Carson sent a smile to Marigold.

"That's so great! Where I'm from, the teams are totally separated because the boys don't want to train with us. They treated our team like we were inferior to them. They were such pigs," Marigold huffed.

"Are you kidding me?" Carson furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance, "Girls are just as good as guys at soccer. Some of my favourite professionals are women. Marta, Rapinoe and Cristiane are my idols." Carson brought the tips of his fingers together on one hand and kissed them like an Italian chef.

"You just have to be a stereotype, don't you?" Avery teased her best friend.

"I'm an Armani. It's what we do," Carson joked back, imitating an Italian accent.

"Wow, you're Italian?" Marigold asked, her eyes sparkling with interest.

"Of Italian descent," Carson corrected. "I was born here."

"Have you ever been to Italy?"

"Yes, I have. I have aunts, uncles, cousins and my grandparents there."

Avery zoned out of the conversation, continuing to eat her lunch. She hoped Carson would turn Marigold down so that she wouldn't have to stick around for long or that maybe she could at least make her own friends. She was used to having to share him, but it wasn't usually when she was there with him. She knew she was getting his divided attention, but it felt like she was being ignored as the two chatted happily, not noticing how silent she was being.

A shout snapped her out of her thoughts and her head turned to the direction of the sound. Her eyes landed on a table to her far right and she saw where the shout had come from a blonde boy which she later made out to be Kaden Aldridge. Sitting at the table with him was Alex and two other people.

As if the brunette could feel someone's eyes on her, her gaze shifted from her friends and landed on Avery though they were some distance away. She smirked at the freckled girl, causing her heart to skip a beat as she looked away as quickly as possible, trying to bite down a smile.

Carson who had a smile on his lips and a bit of concern in his eyes, looked down at his best friend, "Hey Aves are you okay?" Avery nodded rapidly.

She was totally fine.