It was three days after New Years Day and I'd be going back to school today. Of course I was grounded for my drinking shenanigans. Though I managed to pull myself together after my unfortunate moment of weakness in the bathroom, Linda smelled the alcohol on me from a mile away. Despite only being grounded for a week, the hangover headache afterwards was enough to make me never want to drink again.
I pulled on a comfy black sweater and a pair of dark wash jeans before brushing my hair, my teeth and heading downstairs and into the kitchen.
"Are you ready for school?" Linda asked. She was finally not mad at me anymore for drinking and I was glad. I wondered why she seemed to let it go as she was very upset from what I remembered of that night.
"Ah yes, the smell of textbooks and the looks of quiet desperation on everyone's faces. How could I not be?" I replied teasingly. Linda laughed and set a bowl down at my seat at the table. I grabbed some Corn Puffs and poured them into the bowl.
"I'll take you this morning, Lorraine doesn't have class and wants to sleep," Linda explained. I nodded in response.
It made sense. If I weren't in high school I'd do the same. I wished I weren't in high school anymore so that I could escape from the childish behaviour that many people exhibited on a regular basis.
I poured some milk into my bowl and glanced up at the time. Realizing I was running behind, I began shovelling food into my mouth. Linda watched me in amusement.
"I can't keep on being late!" I exclaimed between bites.
"Mhm," she agreed with a laugh.
When we got into the car, Linda looked as if she had something on her mind. I sighed, knowing exactly what she wanted to talk about. Lorraine probably told her, which was most likely why I got off so easy with my punishment. I certainly was not ready to talk about it, so I turned on the music before buckling up my seatbelt.
"This song is awesome!" I said referring to a song on the latest Marianas Trench album. Linda seemed to take the hint because she agreed and hummed along to the CD for the rest of the ride.
***
"Charlie! Finally!" Emery exclaimed. She and Mason were waiting for me at my locker. "I've been calling you for three days! What is the deal?"
"I got grounded!" I said sheepishly.
Mason already knew because I had called him to wish him a 'Happy New Year' before my grounding was instituted. But Emery was absolutely floored by this news. I usually never did anything wrong because I always had this overwhelming fear of being kicked out or pushed away because of it. This time, I had no idea what I was thinking.
"WHAT?" Emery yelled. My face felt like it had turned crimson red and I wrinkled my nose in response. "You got grounded and I had nothing to do with it? I'm so sad!"
"Shut up!" I teased. Emery was not a bad influence, but I did tease her a lot for making me do things I normally wouldn't.
"What did you do?" she asked. Her eyes were lit with curiosity as she bounced on her toes. Mason on the other hand was laughing at her silliness.
"A lot of shots," I replied, shaking my head. Mason laughed and Emery gaped at me open mouthed.
"Are you kidding?!" She exclaims.
"The hangover I suffered wishes I was. It all started with a friendly card game and ended up at DEFCON 1," I explained with a smile. The pair laughed at my expense as we began walking down the hallway.
As we rounded a corner, we nearly crashed into Tiffany and her friends. I noticed Kayla's eyes meet Mason's and quickly she glanced away. Despite my curiosity, I didn't comment, as my attention was dragged away by Tiffany.
"Hi Mason," she said while batting her eyelashes. Mason's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.
"Hi?" he mumbled. I noticed how Kayla watched the exchange with a slight frown on her face.
"How was your break?" she asked, batting her eyelashes harder. "Did you miss me?"
"Is she kidding?!" Emery asked me, feigning a whisper. "Why would anyone miss her?" she asked incredulously. I could tell Emery was almost as annoyed as I was, but I was busily focusing on Kayla's expressions. She seemed more visibly upset when Tiffany hit on Mason and I wondered if she still had feelings for him.
"Oh Emery! Charlie! I didn't see you there... I was hoping you two wouldn't come back after the break!" Tiffany smirked.
"Oh! Good one Tiffany!" Holly piped up from behind Tiffany. She really felt like an irrelevant person in the grand scheme of things. I gave her a sideway glance before responding to Tiffany.
"Aw, I was hoping you would grow up over the break but I guess we're both at a loss!" I responded with the same amount of fake enthusiasm. "Go to class," I added.
Tiffany glared as Emery laughed. Holly mimicked Tiffany's scowl but Kayla's face remained neutral. As I linked my hands with Mason's, the murderous stare that passed over Tiffany's face was priceless, and we brushed past the three girls.
After we passed them, Mason suddenly turned to Charlie and I. "Was there something wrong with Tiffany's eyes? She kept blinking them weirdly..."
Before either of us could answer, a loud angry 'ugh!' echoed from where we were walking from. I glanced over my shoulder to see Tiffany storming away in the opposite direction. Mason, Emery and I burst out laughing before stopping at where the hallway split into two directions.
Emery and I had English in the opposite direction that Mason's class was in, so we were parting ways here. I hugged Mason good-bye and he kissed my forehead.
"See you in math!" Emery waved to him. After pulling away, I flashed him a smile before heading off with her.
_______________________
Author's Note: Happy Tuesday! Tiffany getting burned? Ouch! Haha
Let me know what you thought of this chapter in the comments!
Another chapter is coming next week, so look out for it! Thanks for reading xo <3
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Nothing's Fine
Teen FictionCharlie Ross was a teenage runaway before she was rescued by a compassionate Linda Wilson. Three years later and currently in high school, life is only slightly less difficult as it was before. No longer running away from dangers outside, but she h...
