𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑡 𝑓𝑜𝑟𝑔𝑒𝑡 𝑚𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑖𝑑

𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑜𝑢𝑟: 16

16 years old
———————
"Ramona!" I hear my name shouted from a little way down the crowded halls and immediately know who it is.

She catches up to me fast, which I'm not sure how due to the tons of people, and nudges me a little to signal she is now beside me.

"Morning Lina. Where were you for first period? I had to be in some random ass group with girls who care too much about if their lips are perfectly glossed."

"Sorry girl, turns out my dog had some stomach troubles this morning and I had to help clean up the vomit since my mom is too squeamish around it and my dad was already at work."

"Sounds.....delightful..."

We both let out a small giggle as we make it into art class and take a seat towards the back near the windows. Something about the cascading natural light on us makes us feel more lively.

Attendance is taken, which was awkward since it's only the second week of junior year and there's new faces. Then we retrieve our sketchbooks and get to working on a concept for what is to be our first big project of the year. We are using acrylic paint and we are to create a painting about something memorable from our childhood. All and all, that's an interesting prompt but, my childhood consisted of Austin.

How am I supposed to display my childhood on paper if I don't have something that's attached to him on it?

As painful as it is to dig up memories, if this project is going to get me a fabulous first grade for this class, I'll do what I must.

"So, what are you doing for yours? I'm doing something Tangled related since that movie practically raised me."

I wish I could do something as painless as a movie.

"That sounds like it'll look beautiful in the end." I look over at her quickly with a small smile before staring back at my paper as my hand barely draws an outline of  the swing set Austin and I would spend hours on pretending it was anything we imagined. Sometimes a house, sometimes a castle, and sometimes a restaurant. Whatever we conjured up in our heads was what it would be to us.

"Ramona? You didn't answer my question and you're barely drawing....is everything alright?"

I turn to face her and sigh, "Yeah, I'm alright. Just got lost in thought. Oh, and uh I'm making a swing set."

"Okay...well as long as your alright then-

"Ramona! Lina!"

Here comes Jasper.

He rushes toward us as fast as he can walk and pulls up a chair to the table that's only supposed to house two people. He then grabs a blue mechanical pencil from his bag along with his sketchbook that he has already decorated with stickers of his favorite music artists and movies.

"Sorry I'm late. My dad's car broke down on the way to school and of course the auto guys took forever to arrive."

"You're not the only one don't worry. Lina was late since she had to clean dog vomit."

"Ew stop right now. You know how I feel about bodily fluids." Jasper makes a gagging sound as he flips to a blank sheet.

"Yeah, try cleaning it up!" I let out a snort at Lina's quick response and then a peaceful silence falls over us as we get grappled into our work.

After knowing Austin was not coming back to me, I know I had to put myself out there or else I would have no one. It was always hard for me to be super talkative and out there at school but through my minor efforts I managed to find Lina and Jasper.

It was freshman year and I was taking home ec when the teacher decided to put us into groups and make each group compete in a cooking contest. We had the whole class period to make homemade mac and cheese and at the end, three teachers would vote on who had the best and the winner would get to pick whatever food they wanted for lunch next class and the teacher would get it for them. You can see where this is going.

I got paired up with Lina and Jasper. They already knew each other due to being in the same dance class together but they happily turned their duo into a trio as we got to know each other over the competition.

Also I'd like to mention we were practically the dream team winning first place and all....not to brag.

They've helped me through tough moments and have been honestly incredible but they'll never be Austin.

This emptiness I feel I don't think will ever go away until I'm magically in his arms again.

I wonder if things would have been different if I would've said that I loved him? Would they be better? Or would they be utterly worse?

I'll never get to find that out.

———————
2 weeks later
—————
I leave chemistry feeling drained and ready to be refueled by the only truly blissful part of school it seems, lunch.

My dark blue locker unlocks at the power of my four digit code and I place my things inside before grabbing my lunchbox and making my way to our usual spot. Jasper and Lina usually get there before me so I don't worry about wasting breath on trying to claim the table before others.

The halls always feel extra crammed when it's lunchtime since everyone who has lunch at this time seems to have no respect for each other. Carelessness of where they're walking and hollering are the least of your worries as you got students pulling back packs harshly and shoving others down occasionally.

I successfully survive though and take a seat across from Lina as I start to unpack what's in my lunchbox.

"Oh wait till you hear what I have to tell you!"

Jasper and I look over at Lina as we start to chow down on whatever we have.

"Y'know Alisha?" She waits for us to nod our heads in response even though she knows we know her.

"Yeah so basically since she has this superiority complex being all popular and shit, she thinks she can just say whatever she wants! I kid you not, she made fun of a student who everyone is aware has less and even went as far as to use that student as her own charity case by leaving her 500 dollar stomach churning perfume on their desk and telling them they need it."

We stare in shock at Lina's words. Alisha is just an awful human being who all she is ever going to be in her life is someone who peaked in high school for having her daddy's money to spend.

We've all been targeted at some point by her. For me it was my appearance and for Jasper and Lina it was just insults about how they aren't as rich as her since they accidentally made her trip in PE and she fell, getting her white Versace summer dress all stained.

I would like to say the insults went away for all of us but she still seems to have a target directly on my back.

When things like this would happen when I was younger, I would go to Austin and he would reassure me how much I'm worth and how pretty I am.

I don't have that now of course and even though Lina and Jasper are always there as my hype men in times of need, their reassurance does not give me that feeling I crave from his reassurance.

I manage to get through though.

"Aw look, the meatheads added another one to their posse. Never thought I'd see the day."

I slightly chuckle at Jasper's words as our attention all shifts to the group of populars entering the lunchroom.

Lina scoffs, "He looks like he fits right in."

I feel my heart drop. Lina and Jasper are talking about a face who was all too familiar to me.Yes, more mature but, that's him. He's really here.

Austin.