Fragile Pathways

Chapter Three

Click. No. Click. No. Click. No. Click. No. Click. No.

“Is this thing broken?” Ari muttered, flipping through the television channels. Regulus looked up from his bone, looking at the first noise out of his owner in two hours. She clicked back to the original channel, staring at the screen infested with desserts. It wasn’t her fault food was the only good program running anymore!

Pushing herself to her feet, Ari trudged to the desk at the back of the room, logging on to her email account. Her teachers had all sent what she had missed, and how she could make it up. It was only late October, so she really hadn’t missed too much work, but she was still going to need to learn the materials. Quite possibly the best benefit out of Hunter and Nick in each class of mine, she consented to herself. She pulled up her online profile next, laughing when she saw the many notifications from Hunter and Nick, each leaving a comment on nearly every picture of her. She shook her head at their ridiculous compliments, and laughing at the comments her London friends had already replied to. Growing bored quickly, she logged off and wandered to her room, pulling off her sweats and pulling on a pair of dark-wash jeans, along with a tight fitting black graphic shirt. Her, Erin, and Erin’s two closest friends were going out at four today, and it was already nearing that time.

“Ari!” She heard Erich call. She rushed out of her room and to the living room, where he was sitting, holding the telephone.

“Yes?”

“Erin called and said she was on her way.”

“Thank you,” she smiled, turning to her room. She pulled out her make-up and set to work on her face, coating her eye lashes in a purple mascara. She lined her eyes with a silver eye-liner, and then added a dark-gray eye shadow, blending it properly, finally spreading a foundation across her cheeks and forehead.  She was finished just as the chime of the door bell came.

Regulus began barking, and she heard the door open, the hinges squeaking. “She’ll be here in a minute,” Erich told Erin.

“Okay.”

Hurrying, Ari shoved her feet in to her high top converse, and ran towards the door, trying her hardest not to trip over her untied laces. “Sorry!” She apologized once she made it to the door. Erin laughed along with the two girls to her left and right. Ari immediately recognized the one to her left as Hannah, the Chinese girl from the concert. “’Ello, Erin, Hannah. I’m terribly sorry I don’t know your name,” she frowned, turning to the last girl.

The tall girl laughed, shaking her head. “That’s alright. I’m Kristin.”

“Nice to meet you,” Ari smiled. “Bye, Erich!”

After he called back, and Ari managed to get past Regulus and out the door, the four girls wandered to the car. “So, Ari, are you starting school soon?” Kristin wondered, getting in to the back seat. Erin and Hannah both got into the front, so Ari climbed back with the new girl.

“Monday, actually,” she grinned. “The twins got me practically all of my supplies. And I share all of my classes with at least one of them.”

Kristin and Hannah both started laughing loudly, and Erin smirked at Ari through the rear-view mirror. “I almost feel sorry for you, but you’ll never be bored,” Hannah grinned, turning in her seat to smile at the English-girl.

“They seem to be good friends,” Ari defended. Sure, they were loud and obnoxious, but that was one of their charm points.

“Oh, we know that,” Kristin laughed. “We’ve had to deal with them because they’re so close with Erin. And Riley, too. She’s dating Nick. Although, I’m better friends with her than those Erin or Hannah. The boys are just over whelming in too large of doses.”