Stepping Out of Me

15

KIERA

They soon arrived at a fast food place that was a lot larger than the juice bar or the cafe that Kiera had been to previously. They found parking and walked to the two-story building labeled Jack Shack. The inside was as large as expected. There were round tables placed in the open space with three chairs around each. It didn't seem like they could all fit in there.

Everybody made their way to the counter where a guy stood in a cream shirt and hat.

"Here," Lance said as he handed a menu to Kiera. "Tell me what you're getting, and I'll order."

She looked it over as she tried to decide on what to eat. After coming to a conclusion she relayed it to Lance.

Kiera stood at the side and glanced around the place as the rest of them ordered. Soon Lance tapped her shoulder and said "Come on, we're sitting upstairs."

She followed him as the rest of the group walked behind them. Upstairs the seatings were different. They were much larger and looked like booths. They found one by a window and got seated. Kiera sat on the same side as Halle meanwhile Lance sat opposite her. She rested her hands on the table as some of them chatted amongst themselves.

"Halle, hi." A voice said from behind them.

Halle looked around and said, "Hi, Jack." She smiled but it wasn't a genuine one. Kiera glanced at the boy and then back at her. 

"I'm just here with one of my friends and I saw you," Jack told her.

"Hi Jack," Josie said in a not-so-nice tone. 

Jack's expression changed to a more nervous one. With furrowed eyebrows, he quickly said, "I'll see you around, Halle."

Josie chuckled after he left which caused Halle to follow suit. They didn't realize that Kiera was watching them. 

After a while, Lance and his friends went back to collect everyone's food. then they all dug in.

When Kyle announced that they had to head back, Kiera hadn't finished her food yet. Lance got it wrapped to go for her. When they got back to school Kiera said bye to Lance and quickly approached Halle.

"Do you want to hang out after school?" she asked the girl.

Halle's face filled with a look of surprise for a while. "Really? Yes," she replied quickly. "We could go to my house? If you're fine with that. My mom isn't home, she started working again."

Kiera hesitated for a while then nodded. She hadn't been back to Halle's house since that first time. Kiera tried to push away the feelings of embarrassment that she had from when she stormed out. She had to admit that even though Halle's mom's comment was unwarranted, she still overreacted. Not that she would ever acknowledge it again though.

Kiera said bye to Halle and agreed to meet in the parking lot after school. The few classes seemed like they droned on forever. All thought she was forced to pay attention since she couldn't deal with her dad lecturing her about grades anymore. She already had that Biology test coming up where she had to prove that she had learned something and that Lance's tutoring helped. More importantly, she had to pass with a good score to keep her car. She wasn't going to let the one feeling that provided her a sense of familiarity slip through her fingers.

As soon as classes ended, Halle and Kiera headed out. When they entered the house Kiera glanced around. It was pretty much the same homey vibe as last time, except somewhat messier. Halle quickly ran to the couch and picked up a couple of blankets and pillows that were thrown about.

"Do you want something to drink?"

Kiera shook her head and held up a bottle of water in her hand.

"Oh, right," Halle replied then went into the kitchen.