Salty Licorice

Chapter 1

Avery's POV

I get a text on my phone from Emily, the bane of my existence but still one of my closest friends. Mostly because I can't seem to shake her off, not that I'm trying too hard. She's sitting in my driveway waiting for me.

I slip on my clean white sneakers and grab my backpack before slipping out the front door and getting into her passenger seat.

"Good Morning Aves," Emily says with her perky southern accent.

"Yeah, sure," I grumble, wishing I could go back to sleep.

"So not gonna dress up from the first day of school?" Emily remarks while pulling out of my driveway and heading to school.

"Already starting with this shit, it's too damn early." I play with the radio trying to find a station that's anything better than country music.

"Stop messin' around with that," Emily smacks my hand away, earning a glare from me. "I was listening to that."

"I'm not willingly subjecting my ear to bleeding for the next 10 minutes," I groan.

"You always do that, mess with my stations and then I have to spend like 20 minutes trying to set it all back."

"Well if you'd just ride in my pickup you wouldn't have that problem."

"I'd never be caught in that fiery heap of trash you call a truck, especially with your reckless driving."

I roll my eyes, "I think I'm gonna start riding with Marisa to school. At least she knows good music and doesn't piss me off this early in the goddamn morning."

"Sure go for it as long as you can handle being hot boxed every morning before class, second hand smoke can be a real bitch," Emily retorts, not missing a beat. "Not to mention you'll reek of pot all day. I'm sure your coach would just love that."

I slump in my seat knowing she isn't wrong. I'm not against pot smokers, like you can do what you want or whatever. I just can't afford to put anything like that in my body that might affect my volleyball game, that's my only ticket to getting into college if I can't get my parents to agree on a nonChristian based school. I look out the window watching the trees and store fronts pass, they're all the same as last year and the year before that and the year before that. Sometimes I feel nothing ever changes around here. I try to drown out the annoying voice of Taylor Swift playing softly through the vehicle as I aimlessly watch cars drive past interrupting my view of the trees. I hope this last year of high school isn't gonna be boring. Not that my previous years haven't been eventful enough but, I hope to make lasting memories with my friends that I might not see again after graduation.

Finally pulling up into the school parking lot that had my classmates scattered around with cars and friends. I jump out of the car freeing myself from the audio torcher, hearing the crumbling pavement crinkle under my weight.

"You always act like my music is the worst thing in the world," Emily's voice carries around her sedan as she walks up behind me as we approach the front of the school.

I can hear the clicking of her cowgirl boats on the pavement with every step. She tosses her loosely curled light brown hair with freshly dyed blonde highlights out of her eyes over her shoulder. I get a whiff of her perfume as she does that, same overly sweet scent as always.

"Oh girl did you get your highlights re done, oh em gee it looks fabulous. Is that the new Michael Kors bag?" I mock in a high pitched girly tone with the utmost sarcasm.

"You don't always have to be such an ass, you know." Emily huffs using her dramatics to try and prove her point. "But yes this is from the new MK collection."