Amy Flemming | After the Flames

14

The birds chirping is what woke me up, 30 minutes before my alarm clock did. I get out of bed and get dressed for the day. I make to braided buns in my hair before applying some deodorant and perfume before heading down the stairs for breakfast. As per usual, I am one of the first to sit down before Brooke and Lucy join me. "What happened to you?" Brooke asks Elijah who has bags under his eyes and looks like he hasn't had a good sleep. "I was awake the whole night due to Mason's snoring." He sits down in the seat beside me. "Good morning!" Mason walks inside with a bright smile on his face. "You look bright." Kate mentions to Mason as she walks in with a small basket of croissants. I take one of the croissants and put some jam on top of it before taking a bite. The sun comes through the clouds which makes me feel happy.

I wait for Chester by the door before we enter the school. The economy class was pretty easy which was surprising to me. Maybe the explanation from Ethan and Kate did help me.

After the first two classes, the break is spent in the lounge like usual. I eat the banana I brought and drink the water from the bottle in my bag. "I gave the list of groceries and the things we need for the party to Kate this morning." Valerie tells me before Chester and Ethan walk inside which makes her stop talking and pack away the notepad. I laugh as she holds her mouth tightly shut only opening it to take a bite from her apple once in a while.

The bell rings announcing the next class which Valerie is pretty happy about since Mr. Carter is the teacher. I sit down next to Chester. "Discussions." Mr. Carter days just that before taking a seat on his famous stool in the Middleton of the stage. "Ever had one?" He asks Elijah. "Every day with Kate about the mess in our bedroom or with Heather when she is annoying or with Mr. Rutherford. Oh, I have had enough discussions. Which one do you want to hear about?" Elijah answers him which makes Mr. Carter sniffle before turning to his serious face. "You?" He asks Brooke. "Well, with my brother like siblings do, I guess." Brooke answers. "Great, you two get up here." Mr. Carter reacts and places another stool next o the other one. "This class we will have discussions. On the cards the issue is written." He says holding up the pack of cards in his hands. "First one for you guys." He hands them the first one and they think for a while before beginning their discussion. Their discussion is about a brother and a sister, who have issues about who is the better daughter or son. You can tell that they both have experiences with sibling arguments as far as I can tell from the discussions my friends used to have. The discussion get finished by Mr. Carter before he chooses a next pair to get up. Ethan and Valerie get into a discussion as a couple who get into an argument. Valerie gets up into the argument, being the actress that she is and they get through it. The last pair is Anna and Mason being a father and daughter having an argument about the end time of her night out before Mr. Carter's class comes to an end.

We head to the next class which is Latin. Mr. Steward teaches us different topics about the Latin history which we will be covering for the test end semester. I note the different items in the notebook so I can learn those for the upcoming weeks. The bell goes off just as he was about to teach us about the specifics of the different Latin traditions. "I will see you all next week." He tells me as he closes his books which he was teaching out of us.

_

The school day felt like it went by quickly which gave Valerie, Brooke and I had time to decorate for the party. Ethan and Chester weren't around. They had some meeting and rehearsals with their band which would be until 19:30 which gave us enough time to decorate the room. Chad, Gabby and Leon , the other members of the band are invited too. After our dinner, Fries and homemade cheeseburgers, we made the snacks. Bowls of crisps, mini donuts, cookies and mini chocolate bars before changing into our other clothes for the party.

I am standing in front of my wardrobe really not knowing what to wear. A pair of jeans with a jumper or a dress? My eyes scan the clothing and then they land on the pink long sleeved top with the floral pleated skirt. I put it on and pair it with some boots. I take my hair out of the bun and comb it through. I clip my side bangs back and leave the rest of my hair hanging down. A little bit of lip gloss and mascara for my makeup.

Valerie is still in front of her mirror figuring out which hairstyle to do. She is practicing her Dutch braiding. After the fourth failed attempt she looks over at me knowing I can do it for her. I take the brush dividing her hair. "Can you please do those braids?" Valerie asks me. "Of course." As I do the hairstyle I explain the steps as I braid along. "Super! I love it." Valerie says as she looks in the mirror showing the back of her head. I give her a smile as I pack away the hair tools before we head downstairs.

Lucy, Heather and Brooke are already downstairs as Elijah and Mason make their way down. "That looks amazing!" Mason says looking at all the snacks. It fascinates me how much he eats compared to his figure. He doesn't seem to gain any weight. "Wait!" Valerie says a his arm to get something from the snack table. "Babe, just wait until Ethan and Chester are here." Lucy says before he can take something from the bowl. "Yeah, fine." Mason says pouting but smiles when he hears the door of the living area opens revealing Ethan, Leon, Chad, Gabby and Chester who look a bit confused to us all being in a decorated room. "Surprise!" Brooke says. "We hosted a party for you since you got the amazing opportunity for the school news channel." Valerie tells them with a happy tone and smile on her face. "We wanted you to know how proud we are!" Valerie says while giving them a all a hug.

"We have snacks, drinks and punch." I say as I show them the table. Lucy makes sure the music is on which includes the new song. "It is amazing." Mason says. "Awesome job guys." He says listening to the song while taking another hand full of crisps from the bowls. Some people are seated at the dinner table talking and snacking. Others are dancing along to the songs with a drink in their hand. Valerie and I belong to the last one. We sway along with the music as we talk with Heather somehow it came to the latest fashion trends and her opinion on it. Somehow it does turn interesting as she speaks about the psychological terms about the fashion industry.

Kate walks inside of the living area and smiles as she looks around the room. She walks through the room before disappearing into the kitchen. About half an hour later, she walks inside the room with a platter of small hot dogs and small mozzarella pizza's. Kate smiles at the compliments that she is getting from everybody as they try the snacks. The platter is surprisingly empty so she fills the platter again and then sets it down on the table before leaving us again.

The evening carries on and suddenly I feel a little dizzy. Maybe it is the music, the amount of people singing along and the food which is a bit much. I decide to take a minute and go to the bathroom. I splash a bit of water in to my face and drink a big cup of water before going back to the corridor. "Enjoying the party?" Kate asks me as she sees me walking down the stairs. "Yes." She looks at me. "It is lovely that you and Valerie organized this." She says with a big smile. "Yes, it is a lot of fun." I say as I take hold of the railing from the stairs. "It is busy right?" Kate asks me as I look down to the steps of the stairs. I give her a small nod. "Is that the reason you went upstairs?" Kate puts her hand on my hand as she looks at me. "Yes. I just felt a little bit.." I look at the ceiling as I try to search for words. "Suffocated?" She fills it in. "It feels a bit bad to feel like that but yes. I think it is the correct word." I say with a small smile trying to laugh it away a bit. "If there is anything you want to talk about, I am here for you." Kate says as she looks at me with a smile that gives a comforting feeling. "Thank you." I tell her. "Always, Amy." Kate says as I walk down the rest of the stairs.

I make my way back to the living room and meet with Chester, who greets me with a big hug and a kiss. "Thank you! This is amazing." He tells me with a very big smile on his face as he takes my hand. "Are you okay?" He asks me as he rubs his thumb over the top of my hand. "Yes. I was just a little hot." I tell him. "Well, that isn't that hard because you are." Chester asks me with a smirk on his face which makes me laugh. "Ew, don't be so corny." Valerie says as she makes a fake gagging noise before taking both of us with her to dance.

The night carries on and at around 23:00 Gabby, Leon and Chad make their way out as it was their curfew. They say their goodbyes to us and their band members before leaving the house. We are all still in the mood to continue the party for a bit. We play some games until almost twelve before we decide to tidy up all the decor, the snacks and the things on the tables or floor. One by one, we use the bathrooms before we get into bed. At this point my social and energy level is quite low so it doesn't take long for me to go to sleep.