Life's A Pain

Chapter 6

The worst part about every day, Kaitlyn decided, was waking up.

"It should be illegal to be up before the sun," Kaitlyn grumbled to her mom as they pulled out of the driveway.

"At least today is Friday! That means you can sleep in tomorrow!"

How can anyone be this chipper this early in the morning ran through Kaitlyn's head.

"Your friends are still coming over today after school for your weekly movie-night right?" Kaitlyn's mom asked.

Ever since middle school, Lacey, Blaire, and Kaitlyn had a movie night at one of their houses. When Ellie joined the friend group, she also joined in the tradition.

"Yeah, they are! It is a shame that we couldn't get tickets to Taylor Swift, but it will still be fun,". The conversation about what would be going on that night continued until they pulled up to the school.

"Oh, and mom, Lacey is going to drive us all to our house, so don't worry about picking me up. Love you!"

Kaitlyn heard a "love you too" from her mom as she walked towards her friends who were waiting just inside the school's front doors.

Kaitlyn felt a faint sense of dread as she walked towards the door. That dread had nothing to do with her upcoming test, or even about school at all. Kaitlyn was scared about how her friends would react to what she did yesterday. It was inevitable that either Lacey and Blaire would bring up the support group and she did not think that the conversation would go well.

Kaitlyn put a smile on her face, pulled her shoulders back, and walked through the front doors of the school, and right to her friends.

"Hi guys! My mom is excited for you to come over. She mentioned buying pizza kits for us to make later."

Ellie smiled really wide and commented about how much fun that would be.

While Kaitlyn's attention was on Ellie, she did not notice the look shared between Lacey and Blaire.

"Enough about that, I'm interested in hearing about how Kaitlyn's 'support group' went. I am sure it was filled with a bunch of losers and Kaitlyn realizes how much better we are than them. Isn't that right?" Lacey asked Kaitlyn with a condescending, know it all, tone.

Kaitlyn panicked at that question. She hoped that they wouldn't have this conversation until lunch. That was why she specifically talked about tonight.

"They were actually pretty nice. Some of the people even have some of the same problems I do. I think it may be nice to learn how they live life with what they have. Don't worry guys, you will always be the most important people in my life. You have absolutely nothing to worry about," Kaitlyn said with a slight pleading tone.

Unbeknownst to the group of girls, Ashton was walking nearby and stopped in his tracks when he heard Kaitlyn's friend ask about the support group. Kaitlyn didn't immediately say that he was there, but he still held his breath.

What Kaitlyn said to him the other day really got to him, and he had been thinking over her words all night. What he did not think about was the fact that Kaitlyn had the ability to share his problems and thoughts with the school. When he heard Kaitlyn being asked about the group, his breath caught in his throat. This was not how he wanted his issues to come out, Ashton panicked.

He tried to quiet his thoughts when he heard another of Kaitlyn's friends ask if they knew any of the people there, and if there any "good juicy details" they should know.

This was it, Ashton thought. Everything was going to come out and he was helpless to stop it. He turned away, ready to find a hiding spot when Kaitlyn's voice stopped him in his tracks.