Excerpt--
Take a breath, Lana.
Everything will be okay.
My stomach churned when I noticed his perfectly combed chestnut hair walking through the corridor by himself, just like any other day. I basically jumped out of the bush, nearly tripping in the...
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Joining the Soccer club was one of the worst ideas I ever had since writing that pathetic love letter. It's literally torture. I've never wanted to quit something so bad. Even though I've only suffered through tryouts, I obtained a bruised nose, scraped knee, and an enormous pile of embarrassment.
"Owww," I whined, rubbing my nose.
Catalina, Meadow, and I were finishing up our lunch before our next classes began. Catalina and I ordered buffalo chicken sandwiches, while Meadow opted for spaghetti and meatballs. The cafeteria was quite empty today — by desert; I meant the one other person I cared about wasn't here. Spending time with my two best friends was everything I needed and could hope for.
"Lana, is your nose okay?" Meadow asked, tapping my throbbing nose.
"If you stop touching it, maybe it would be." I poked my tongue out.
"I heard Silverlake Soccer club is very intense and because it's so hard the dropout rate is over seventy-five percent," Meadow explained, slurping her linguine. "Every year only a few would stay till the end."
"Really?" Cata gasped. "Are you sure about continuing?"
"I'll do anything if it gets me closer to Declan," I admitted, reaching over for my grape juice box.
Soccer club might be horrible but in the end, it's worth every single second if I could spend it with him. Also, I was so loving the new wardrobe and couldn't wait to wear my lavender-colored tracksuit.
"Just quit." The familiar raspy voice of Ambrose appeared.
"Ambrose, what are you doing here?" I asked, looking up at him.
"I had to bring you this," he said, placing down a tray with a gigantic crimson red frosting cake with 'Lana, my love' written on it.
"Why does only Lana get one? It's not fair," Meadow whined, a pout slithering on her lips.
"Be quiet or I'll fart on you," Ambrose teased, placing his butt in her face, causing a gagging sound to depart from her lips, and Meadow jolted into the other chair.
"You do that, and I'll chop your shriveled tiny balls off," Meadow countered, holding up her plastic knife. Somehow I knew she could make it happen even without a metal knife; her strength is something out of this world.
"It's my special cake for you. I made it with lots of love," Ambrose explained.
My spoon slipped into the cake so effortlessly, when broken apart, I noticed it was one of my top five favorite flavors-- red velvet with cream cheese icing. Ambrose stole the utensil from my grasp and pretended the spoon was an airplane-- Gee, am I, baby?! Still, I accepted the mouthful piece and rolled my eyes back in satisfaction.
"10/10," I declared, watching as Ambrose dug the spoon back into the moist, delicious cake.
"Hey, Lana, you should consider quitting soccer," Ambrose suggested, concern, shining in his eyes. "There is no need for you to injure your pretty face and keep playing." He smiled shyly, placing a small peck on my bruised nose.
