New York State of Mind *Grand Army*

6

Boarders aren't secure, markets aren't secure, democracy's not safe...
~

Joey walked through the hallways of Grand Army in a daze. Last nights events in the taxi had left her numb, yet she didn't have the courage to speak up.

"Joey." Ryan called out. She came up behind Joey and linked her arm with Joey's as they headed to their lockers, in which were neighbors. Ryan noticed how uncomfortable Joey got under her touch, so she let go.

"Hey you totally ran off at the party, you never told me what you wanted to say." Ryan said putting in her locker combination, and Joey just shook her head.

"Oh it's fine. Not important." Joey brushed off, before she started to walk away with her arms crossed but Ryan followed.

"Okay how hungover are you from a scale of 1-10?" George asked as he approached the girls.

"Oh definitely a 10." Joey said with a fake smile on her face. Joey avoided eye contact with everyone around her as her shoes became quite interesting.

"I got you a lemon poppy seed bagel. You need mad grease after being that rocked." Luke said, handing Joey a bag. Joey smiled, and took a bite out of the bagel. Ryan watched her slightly gag at the taste of her favorite bagel and she grew confused. Joey spit the bagel out in her locker, before she shoved her head inside.

"Did you finish Gatsby?" Tim asked Joey.

"Yeah like a week ago." Joey said, rummaging through a few things.

"Fuck you." Tim said with a groan.

"I can't get through it. Can you give me some insights?" Tim asked.

"You should just look up spark notes online. They have all the main points." Ryan said, leaning against the lockers scrolling through her phone.

"Yo, Jo for real... Look I really wanna ask you about something really important." Luke spoke, leaning in and whispering in Joey's ear. Ryan angrily watched the scene unfold, before she quietly turned and walked off. Ryan turned a corner, before she slammed into a strong body. She tumbled to the ground onto her butt, and she sighed.

"Oh I'm sorry, are you okay?" A brunette boy asked. He reached down, and pulled Ryan off the ground by her waist.

"I'm fine, thank you." Ryan said, brushing herself off. She finally took a good look at the guy, and realized how cute he was. His hair was a little bit longer, his eyes were a bright shade of blue, and he had a mesmerizing smile.

"I'm Grayson." He said, holding out his hand. Ryan took his hand in hers and shook it flashing him a smile.

"I'm Ryan." She said, her hand lingering in his. He flashed a bright smile at her, before someone had bumped into her in the hallway. Ryan had fallen forward into Grayson's chest, and he caught her.

"I'm sorry." Ryan giggled, before backing off of Grayson.

"Are you new? I've never seen you here before." Ryan asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah I moved here from California." Grayson said.

"Oh wow, I've always wanted to go there." Ryan said, she always did want to go to California. The beach, the warm weather, and the type of vibe it gave off. It just made her feel good inside.