Initials in the Dirt

chapter 1

Arianna's POV:

As the school bells ring, everyone rushes out the door. I'm the last one out of the classroom, as usual, and I head to the front of the room.

Everyone tends to walk out of the class without saying 'goodbye!' or 'have a great summer!' They just leave.

When I'm at Mrs. Turner's desk, I hand her a little note I made for her as a thank you. She was my favorite teacher and I want her to know that I appreciate her.

Once I hand her the note and say goodbye, I go through the halls to find my best friend, Leah. She's been my best friend since 3rd grade. People always ask us how we've stayed friends for this long. I guess it helps that we are next door neighbors and our parents are close. She moved into the house next door in 4th grade right after her abusive dad left. When she was upset, we would hang out in the greenhouse our parents shared. Overtime, we took over the gardening job because it is such a big part in the bond that we share. It is our safe space.

After looking throughout the school, I go outside. I find her hiding behind the bleachers watching Carter play football with his friends. Leah had been crushing on Carter since the 6th grade. She never stops talking about him. 

I skip over to her. "Well, well, well, Ms. Smith. Are you stalking the quarterback?" I say in a fake British accent.

Leah is stunning. She has hazel eyes that go great with her dirty-blonde hair. She wears limited make-up, just mascara and highlighter, so it doesn't cover up her freckles. Her skin is tan and natural, not fake. I've never been one to tan easily.

She turns around with an embarrassed look on her face. "Was it that obvious?"

"You're kidding me, right?" I laugh.

"I can't help it. Anyways ... there's an end of school party tonight. Wanna go?" she says, wiggling her eyebrows. I'm not not getting out of this one.

"Sure. Why not? It is summer, after all!" I reply. "I just have to ask my mom."

"Sounds good."

I pull my phone out of my back pocket and dial my mom's number.

"Hey," she says when she answers.

"Hey, mom. There's a party tonight that Leah invited me to. Is it alright if I go?"

"What time, sweetie?"

"Umm, one sec." I pull the phone away from my ear and turn to Leah. "What time is the party?"

"Seven," she replies.

I put the phone back up to my ear. "It starts at seven."

"That's fine with me. I'm assuming that you're going to get ready with Leah?" my mom asks.

"Yeah. Is that ok?"

"Yup. I just want you to stop by the house before you get ready so we can talk. Nothing bad."

Now I'm nervous. "Ok. I'll be there in fifteen."

We exchange our goodbyes and hang up. I turn back to Leah who has gone back to watching Carter.

"Alrighty. I can go!" Every party we've gone to, we've gotten ready together at her house. We are neighbors, but it's tradition.

"Yay!" she replies.

We get into her car and she pulls out of the parking space. I grab my phone and open Luke's texts to see if he's coming tonight. Luke and I have been dating since the end of Freshman year. He's on the football team and is best friends with Carter. He responds with 'I'll be there' and I can't help the smile that grows on my face.