Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
IV. 1.04 'EYE OF THE BEHOLDER' 🏍️🫀
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
The catchy symphonic melody of He Loves You Not by underground girl group Dream flowed through the busted Walkman cassette that currently lined Arlee's inner pocket.
Unlike the days before, she'd been left to walk to school by herself due to her not being able to read the time on her alarm clock and not wanting to move fast enough when she had learnt of her severe lateness. Not for school, but for Toby's calculated route that couldn't be distributed in any means. If she didn't meet him and JT by the sidewalk of her home by 9 AM sharp, then they were going to leave her regardless of how annoyed she was going to get at them once they eventually crossed paths during homeroom.
Which is exactly what they did.
It didn't help that the flushed crisp-cold of Toronto's ever changing weather was attacking her head on at each step. A convulsion of wind mixed with what looked to be early signs of rainfall even though they were still at the tail end of August. An assortment of kids were bundled in light coats to suit the flagrant weather as Arlee finally made her way onto the footpath towards Degrassi's entryway, all except for one. Spinner freaking Mason.
He was at the top of the stairs chatting away to a girl who Arlee recognised, but couldn't really put a name to in an instant. Tessie something? It was going to come to her eventually. All she knew was that she was friends with Fede, and a somewhat confidant to Paige Michealchck. So, that most likely put her line with one of the close knit 'popular kids' who had an unspoken hierarchy over a mass of people in their grade, and arguably, people in her's too. He'd stopped mid taunting of some poor smaller Grade 7 kid to grab her attention, posture straightening and demeanour taking a drastic edge.
Arlee plucked off her buds one after the other once she started to descend up the school steps, and distilled chatter remerged back into her foreground instead of the repeated lyrics of Dream's harmonies ringing in her ear.
Doesn't matter what you do, he's not going to be into you.
