Bionic Chaos [Leo Dooley]

Chapter Fourteen

Right when I walk through the front doors of the school, I know it's a bad idea. Directly in front of me are Bree, Leo, Chase, and Adam, all chatting about something near one of their lockers. Even before I can run upstairs to get to my own locker, Bree locks eyes with me through the crowd of people between me and her. She's seen me. She's beckoning at me. I can't leave now. I haven't spoken to them since my revelation, and I am definitely not ready to talk to them right now, especially Leo. But I have to.

I take my time walking over to them, trying to figure out what to say to them, if I even can speak. It would be great if my voice just decided to quit on me right here, right now, but I doubt that would happen to me. My luck isn't like that, unfortunately. 

"Hey, Maggie!" Leo says once I make it over to them. However, I manage to stay closer to Bree than him because I have no idea what I will do if I'm closer to him. "Where have you been lately? I've missed you."

A blush spreads across my face at his words. I can feel all of the Davenport's and Leo's eyes on me, but I freeze in my place. Normally, I don't have stage fright in front of this small amount of people, but there is something wiring my mouth tightly shut. My eyes focus on the floor in the middle of our small circle, and the tips of my ears and my cheeks continue to burn when the silence draws on. 

"She's been busy." Bree's voice shatters the awkward silence, and my head snaps up, turning to face her. A delicate grin decorates her face as she slings an arm around my shoulders. "You see, her older brother has been home for a while now, and she's been spending time with him." Her smile brightens slightly. "She's a good sibling, unlike you three."

"Hey!" Chase says, his voice rising an octave. "Just because the three of us decided to prank you and Emmie doesn't mean we're bad siblings!"

Adam holds his hands up, a frown on his handsome face. "Actually, I didn't want to prank you two, but Leo and Chase made me do it. All I wanted to do was wear the facemask that Emmie brought me." He leans forward, looking at me with his bright brown eyes. "Did you know that facemasks clean the pores on your face?"

"Um, yes."

"My friend, Emmie, told me that fun fact."

"Anyway," Bree says, rolling her eyes, "did you guys know that we have a study abroad program?"

A gasp leaves my lips at her words. I totally forgot that our school has a study abroad program. A smile grows on my face when I think about applying. That way, I could go to wherever the next place is just so I could get away from these people and my family. That way, I could finally be free.

Adam scoffs, though. "Why would I go to another country to do something I don't do here?"

Bree's whole demeaner changes. She perks up, a bright smile appearing on her face. Before she can say anything, though, a person squeezes past our little group, saying a quick sorry. Don't people understand that they can go around us? Sure, we may be taking up space in the commons area, but we don't have to be to class for another twenty minutes. 

"Look, it says you get to spend a whole semester at a high school in Australia."

"Ooh, a place with amazing accents," I say, grinning over at Bree. Her own smile widens, and we let out laughs as the boys' stare at us. For some reason, I feel so much better now that we're talking about Australia. It's probably because I don't have to focus on what is weighing on my heart. "What? It's the truth."

"And guess what?" Bree rocks forward on her feet, pulling me with her slightly because her arm is still wrapped around my shoulders. "I applied!"

My eyes flicker over to Leo to see him staring at Bree and me. He has an adorable smile on his face, and he says, "Cool! Kelly Porter went last year. She got sucker punched by a kangaroo."