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Chapter 11: Invitations

I stood there patiently as Ivory explained her mom's condition to me. I knew something was going on. Ivory might act all tough, but I knew she wouldn't just leave school without a reason. And her mom was the reason.

"Why didn't you tell me?" I asked when she was finished and a stray tear was rolling down her cheek. "I would have understood."

She shrugged. "There was never a good time. Besides, you had your own issues to deal with."

"Oh yeah, like Aubrey and Sacha? As if that even remotely compares to what you're dealing with!"

"Look, it doesn't matter." She glanced behind her, clearly anxious to get back to her mom with the water bottle she had retrieved from the vending machine. "You should go back to school."

I hesitated. Part of me wanted to wave Ivory's request off and stay with her and her mom, but at the same time I knew I was probably missing a lot in my English class. And missing class - even though it was something I did often with my old friends - was not something I enjoyed.

"Go," Ivory insisted, and I made my decision.

"Okay, I will," I sighed. "Should I still come over tonight?"

"If you want to. The house is kinda lonely."

I smiled. "Alright, see ya at seven, Ivory!"

For a second I thought I saw a hint of a smile appear on her face, but just as soon as it was there it vanished. Ivory turned and walked down the hallway, and I went in the opposite direction towards the elevators.

As soon as I was out of the hospital doors I sucked in a deep breath. I couldn't stand the sterilized smell inside hospitals. It made me anxious.

The cold tinge on the wind was a reminder that Halloween was coming and winter would be soon to follow. I regretted walking all the way to the hospital without a coat. It hadn't seemed that cold when the thrill of chasing Ivory was keeping me warm, but now I had to keep my arms wrapped around me to chase away the goosebumps.

To say I was grateful when the school building came into view was an understatement. I pulled out my iPhone to quickly check the time. 1:45, class would be almost halfway over. Was it even worth attending?

I knew what Sacha, Aubrey and Hailee would say. They wouldn't be caught dead in that English class. And for some reason, that made my choice crystal clear. To prove to myself that I was finally out of my past friend's clutches, I was going to do everything they wouldn't let me do.

..................................

After a quick stop at my locker I was sprinting towards my classroom when it happened. It was the absolute worst thing that could have happened in that moment.

Aubrey, Sacha and Hailee appeared ahead of me.

I turned to go the other way, and saw Ricky and his football buddies entering the hallway from the stairwell and goofing off. What is he doing out of class? I wondered. He didn't seem like the type to skip class. Then again, I barely knew him.

I turned back to face my ex-friends, expecting a confrontation. I was shocked when they brushed by me without a second glance, their heels clicking on the tile floor. Since I had left their clique, I had also ditched wearing heels to school. That was one part of popular life that I definitely did not miss.

Thinking I was in the clear, I continued down the hall towards my class.

But I was wrong. This was far from over.

"Ohhh Patrick," Aubrey called in her flirty voice. "Can you come here for a second?"

Instantly, I felt my cheeks flush red. What was she doing? I had to see.

Slowly, I turned around to witness Patrick break apart from his football gang and saunter over to the girls. Hailee and Sacha giggled while Aubrey gestured for Ricky to lean over and then whispered something in his ear.

I couldn't make out what she was saying from this distance, but that didn't keep my hands from curling into fists. Sacha was such a rat! She must have told Aubrey I was staring at Ricky earlier.

When Aubrey was finally done saying whatever it was she was saying (which took an awful long time for a girl who usually speaks at the speed of light) Ricky pulled away from her a bit and nodded his head. At that, Aubrey snapped her fingers in Sacha's face without her gaze ever leaving Ricky's face. Sacha scrambled to pull some envelopes out of her purse and hand them to Aubrey.

My nails drove into the flesh of my hands. Clearly, Sacha had taken over as Aubrey's right-hand girl, a position that was formerly held by me. Sure, I had Ivory now, but being replaced still hurt.

With a flourish, Aubrey offered the stack of envelopes to Ricky. He accepted them, said some form of thanks, and was about to step back when Aubrey stood up on her tip toes and kissed the corner of his mouth.

She kissed him.

My eyes darkened in anger. She could have any boy she wants in this school, but of course she goes after the one I had my eye on.

Why are you so angry, Kennedy? I asked myself. You just bumped into him in the hall, it's not like he proposed to you.

But it had seemed like so much more than that.

Ricky seemed to be somewhat shocked by Aubrey's action, but he didn't say anything. He smirked at her, and then turned back to highfive his football buddies who were 'ooo'ing and cheering him on. Aubrey smiled coyly, then turned back in my direction.

I had stood frozen in place during the entire scene that had taken place in front of me, and I remained frozen as Hailee waved flirtatiously at Sean before being shoved by Sacha. Sacha then proceeded to wave at Jack and then they both followed Aubrey down the hall toward me.

"Why the frown, Brown?" Aubrey smirked, adressing me by my last name. "Something wrong?"

"I can think of a few things." I swallowed.

Sacha was smirking at me too, but I refused to meet her eyes. I knew I couldn't trust her.

"You didn't seriously think we would call off the whole party just because of you, did you? Because this Halloween party is happening, and it's going to be even better than the one you would have planned," Sacha snapped.

I looked away, not wanting to see any of their faces. I just wanted them to leave me alone.

"You know," Aubrey sighed, and her hand movements brought my eyes back towards her. She was twirling an envelope in her hand. "I wish it didn't have to be like this, but in this world you are either for us or against us." She slapped the envelope on top of my English textbook. "I'm giving you the opportunity to make your choice."

With a collective giggle, Aubrey, Sacha and Hailee were on the move once again down the hallway. When I could no longer hear the click of their heels, I flipped the envelope over to read the message written on the front.

Kennedy, You're Invited!

I was just processing the letters when the bell rang, splitting the silence of the hallway. I never even made it to my English class.