Apricity [a-PRIS-i-tee]: The warmth of the sun in winter
Briar Elizabeth Maddox
Became a social outcast over the summer and now her used-to-be friends treat her no better than the dirt under their shoes. But no matter what she's been through, she'...
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"Valentina!" I call down the hall. She's talking to some of the girls that she met on the squad last year, but when she turns around and sees me, she's heading toward me with no hesitation.
That's what I loved about her. She wasn't embarrassed to be my friend after everything that happened over the summer. She stuck by my side even through what people were saying about me.
She wraps her arms around me and nearly knocks me to the floor with the force of her hug. "Hi, Bee. You ready for lunch?"
"Not really," I admit my thoughts. There would be lots of people in that cafeteria, including Naomi Clermont who hated me, and Axel Monroe who I wish hated me.
Val continues to walk with her arm slung around my shoulder. "You know I'll stick by your side the whole time right? How were your classes so far? Anyone bother you?"
"Not really," I say again. I had been expecting a lot worse for the first day. "Maybe I've just been overthinking the whole thing. Maybe people just don't care about what I did this summer."
"What they think you did," She corrects me and suddenly Valentina looks like she wants to punch someone.
"Yeah, I know." When you spent the rest of summer break with practically everyone falsely accusing you, it was easy to lose some self-confidence.
That was my reminder to put on a smile. Being upset about anything for too long wasn't something I enjoyed. "So... I met your cousin, Roman."
"Mierda," she let out aggressively. "Should I be worried? What did he say to you?"
"We were partners for an icebreaker activity, " I shrug. "He has a super hostile aroma. Is he always like that?"
"I'm convinced he was born like that." Val shakes her head.
I laugh. "He can't have been born like that. Surely as a kid, he was-"
"As a kid, he fought with me all the time. He nearly ripped my hair out one time we got in a tussle and so I melted all of his G.I Joes."
"What were you guys fighting about anyway?"
"I don't know. It was likely his fault anyway," She said, and then her eyes widened with a sudden thought. "Unless that was the time I ate from his birthday cake a day early."
"Valentina!"
"Well nobody told me it was his cake. I was seven with a very simple mind. I see a cake, I eat it."
I just shake my head at her as she goes on. "Anyway, he was the one who went after my hair. Even at that age, my hair was of extreme value to me."
She did have beautiful hair. It was thick and dark and wavy and it shined so silky. Valentina was stunningly gorgeous. With full lips, dark brown eyes, and smooth olive skin, it was no wonder-
