Reputation Is Everything (On Hold)

Chapter 7

The next day was awful. The whole school was buzzing about the fight that had occurred, and who the girlfriend was. And even though Willow tried her best to ignore what they were saying and not let it get to her, the truth was that it was getting to her, and she just wanted to disappear. She just felt miserable. It was times like these that she wished she had a mom. One that could give her great boy advise so she wouldn’t be so confused and hurt. But life didn’t work like that, and she was running low on optimism.

“Hey.” Sarah said, sitting across Willow at their lunch table. She didn’t respond.

“You okay?”

No, I am not OKAY. I feel like I’ve been ripped in two, so NO.

But all Willow did was shake her head.

“This is about Finn isn’t it.”

Nod.

“I figured. Maybe you should just talk to him.”

“No way!” She shouted. Sarah looked taken aback.

“Okay, okay… jeez.” They ate in silence for a few minutes, before Sarah slammed her hands down on the table.

“I forgot!”

“Forgot what?” Willow asked slowly.

“Well I was going to tell you yesterday but you ditched me, so I couldn’t. And then I was going to tell you this morning but I couldn’t find you! I can’t believe I almost forgot!”

“What!?” She was getting frustrated.

“Okay, so I asked my boss about the job, and he said yes! Of course I’ll have to train you in a few areas, but that should only take about a week, and then your set!” And for a second, just a second, Willow forgot all about Finn and school and everything else. She couldn’t believe her luck.

“Really!?” Sarah nodded.

“Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I’ll love you forever!”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know I’m amazing.” But even as she said this, she had one of the biggest smiles on. She was happy that something good was finally happening to her best friend.

“When do I start the training?” She was practically bouncing off her seat.

“Saturday. You’ll be working with me on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays. But until were done with your training you’ll be showing up on Saturdays too. You’ll earn seven dollars an hour, and you’ll be working from the time you get off of school to eight.”

“I will never be able to thank you enough. You really are the best in the world.” She was so happy she could cry.

“Stop getting all sentimental on me woman.” They both laughed as the bell rang and signaled them to get moving to their next class.

And even though things were still bad with Finn, she felt like there was still hope for happiness.

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When the final bell rang, she was actually a little happy. Last week she had scheduled to stay after school to play the piano in the band room, and the time had finally come. No more worrying about everything around her. All she had to do was place her fingers on the keys, and let her emotions flow out of her. Just thinking about it drove her insane, and she practically ran out the door as soon as the teacher dismissed them. Of course she stopped by her locker first, and then waited a bit until the halls were cleared out, but the second the school became empty, she headed straight towards the room that held the beautiful grand piano.