Grace.

Chapter 22.

You can bet I was up bright and early the following day. I couldn't wait to show them my brand new car! Arriving at school, kids turned their heads as I drove in. I could hear hooting and loud whistles. "Nice ride!" One student shouted. My friends were standing by Donny's car which was parked out front.
Their jaws dropped right to the ground. Bebe was the first to scream. Naomi followed as she ran up to me. All of them except for Lucy ran behind the moving vehicle screaming like lunatics. I parked the car and got out to join them. For a few good minutes, we screamed in excitement. Bebe opening both doors. Going in from the right and out on the left. Donna jumped on the back, sitting right on top and spinning around to slide down the boot. Naomi came over to hug and congratulated me on my new car.
"Sweet ride, huh?" I beamed.
"It's Amazing!!!" Bebe exclaimed.
"Can we swop?" Donna joked.
We all laughed. I stopped and looked over to Lucy who was standing at a distance. We stood quietly waiting to see what would unfold next. Despite everything, I wanted to talk to her and apologize for what I said to her. She deserved that much because, I wasn't innocent in this whole thing either. As I stepped towards her, Lucy, with both arms folded across her chest, rolled her eyes and walked away.
"She's stung because you got a new ride," said Donna
"It's about more than just the car," I mouthed.
Naomi looked at me knowing exactly what I'm talking about. Bebe and Donna headed over to the boot to get their bags.
"This whole Edgar thing is getting out of hand,"Naomi admitted.
"If he didn't show up, she wouldn't have slapped me."
"Right?! Like you've insulted her many times before and she's never behaved the way she did yesterday."
"I need to talk to her. I think she hates me."
"Screw her. She's our friend yeah but, she's crossing the line."
"Mom and dad said I should forgive her."
"And you will?"
I looked at her. It was sweet that she was rooting for her brother and me, but it was wrong to treat Lucy badly because of that. Lucy was our friend. After getting her bag, she rushed to Norman's office in the gym. That's where her and Austin secretly met. I don't want to go into details about what they'd do there. I started off at my locker. It took me a while to get there because the other kids had been stopping me to congratulate me on my car. It felt good. My parents really did something nice for me.
"Hey. Nice ride." I heard.
Closing my locker door, I was met by Ethan's striking face. He was standing right next to me, smelling and looking so good. The chain on his neck made me lose it.
"Hey. Thank you!" I grinned.
"When will we be going for a ride?" He smiled.
"You'll tell me when," I smiled back.
"Cool. Hey, listen. I wanted to check how you're doing," he cooed, moving closer to me.
"I'm doing okay, thanks."
"That's good. I...didn't like seeing you that way."
"It's no big deal." I honestly didn't know how to respond to that.
"Mmh. I'm glad to see you're okay. That means I don't have to give you these then." He teased, waving a box of my favorite chocolates in the air!
"Uhm, I'm actually lying. I'm not okay. Not at all!"
He laughed and it sounded so hearty and cute. Lowering his hand he gave me the box of chocolates and I took them.
"For you."
"Thank you," I blushed.
"You're welcome," he purred.
I could tell that there was something else that he wanted to say, but he didn't. He must've been afraid to. I don't blame him. I was really mean to him.
"Okay, uh, see you in class," he said, instead, walking away.
I leaned against my locker looking at the box of my favorite chocolates. How did he know?! Ethan had managed to make it on to my list.
6) First gift from a guy: Ethan.
Thinking about it made me smile a little. He was so...cool. A thought crossed my mind and it scared me, so I quickly dismissed it.

On the other hand, Homecoming was around the corner. Lucy, being part of the events committee, had an excuse to dodge us. Everyone was expecting nothing but the best for Homecoming, so they were running around, trying to make sure they deliver.
"Do you think my red floral dress would be okay?" I asked Mimi.
It was lunchtime and we were sitting in the cafeteria. Donna and Bebe were busy shopping for dresses online. I was sitting next to Naomi trying to find a dress for dinner with Nayeli and her family. Mimi's head was in the clouds.
"Naomi? Do you think I could wear that red dress I have on Saturday for dinner at Nayeli's?" I asked again.
"Huh? Oh! Yeah, sure. That'll look good on you," she replied.
"You okay? You seem very distracted."
"I'm okay. You should tie your hair up though. Like in a cute bun. It'll look really neat and beautiful in the dress."
"That's not such a bad idea! I'm actually really nervous. Then there's the whole meeting tomorrow."
I went on and on but she wasn't even listening. Something was bothering her and I wondered what it could be. I didn't want to bother her with my problems because it was so obvious that she had a lot on her mind. I had a lot on my mind. Besides Bebe and Lucy, Homecoming had made its way into my mind. I didn't care much about it. In my head, it was going to be a fun night with my friends in our best dresses.
Maybe after that we'd go get milkshakes and fries and then call it a night. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized that Homecoming was actually a big deal! You get to put on your best dress, get your hair and makeup done, take tons of pictures and...get a date to go with.