IN WHICH , Jane Hopper accidentally hits Maxine Mayfield, the popular captain of the lacrosse team, with her car. Jane thinks she's off the hook when Maxine doesn't press charges, but she's wrong. After Maxine's girlfriend breaks up with her for a c...
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Maxine had made sure to wake me up this morning, three hours before we even had to be at the airport. She didn't want to be late. My dad was sprawled out on the couch, half-asleep, when I pecked him on the cheek and wished him goodbye. "I don't understand why you woke me up so early," I grumbled, climbing into the passenger seat of Max's red truck.
"Because the early bird gets the worm, and I have one more person to pick up," she retorted, her tone matter-of-fact. I smiled, shaking my head. "What are you, an Uber?" She rolled her eyes. "Something like that."
We drove for at least ten more minutes. Having lived here for a long time, I knew these roads very well. But I wasn't expecting to end up at Lucas's house. "Your friend asked me to pick him and his lady friend up," she said with a smile.
Lucas was coming on the trip? "Lucas doesn't play lacrosse," I pointed out, stating the obvious. Basketball ran through his veins, not lacrosse. "I know, his girlfriend does," she chuckled. That's when I realized that Lucas had a romantic life. I had been so caught up with myself that I forgot about the people around me.
"Yo!" Lucas shouted, walking out of the house with a girl following behind him. She had dark skin that was a bit lighter than his, long curly hair, and sparkling green eyes. "Hi," I greeted them with a smile as they slid into the back seat. Once they were buckled in, Max pulled away from the curb. "I didn't know you were coming," I said, turning to look at Lucas.
"Surprise," he shrugged, wrapping his arms around the girl next to him. "This is Macy," he introduced her. "Hi," she said shyly. "Nice to meet you, Macy. I'm Jane," I introduced myself.
She gave a warm smile. I turned to Max, whose blue eyes were focused intently on the road. She took driving pretty seriously from the looks of it, her lips slightly parted as she concentrated.
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I guess Maxine was smart about coming a little earlier than most people. The airport was crowded, and it was hard to keep up with each other amidst the bustling travelers. Security took longer than I thought it would, with long lines and thorough checks. Can you tell that I've never traveled before?
After finally getting through security, we had to grab something to eat and drink. The food court was packed, and it took a while to find a place to sit. Once we had our snacks, we made our way to the second passenger lounge. It was a bit of a maze, but we eventually found it. The lounge was spacious, with plenty of couches and chairs. Their coach would end up taking attendance, and we were all supposed to be there by seven-thirty. He wasn't waiting for anyone because once we were on that flight, we weren't stopping.
"I'm nervous," I admitted, crossing my feet and fidgeting with my hands.
Maxine turned to me, her expression curious. "Of what?" I bit my bottom lip, feeling a bit embarrassed. "The sky," I replied softly. "Oh, shit, you've never flown before?" she asked, her eyes widening in surprise.
"No, is that a bad thing?" I asked, my brows furrowing with worry. She smiled reassuringly. "No, it's not. You're just getting the first flight jitters. You'll be fine. " I gave her a wide smile, feeling a bit more at ease.
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Soon enough, the teens that were boarding our plane had all arrived, filling up half the lounge. The room buzzed with chatter and excitement. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Heather glaring at me, with Angela by her side. I knew they were both going on this trip, of course. Heather had even abandoned the college boy she cheated on Maxine with, just to find someone new to go on this week-long trip.
"Alright, looks like everyone is here," Coach shouted as he finished marking off names on his clipboard. His voice cut through the noise, grabbing everyone's attention.
Just then, a lady's voice came over the speakers, announcing that our flight would be leaving in about six minutes. The announcement sent a ripple of urgency through the group. "Haul your asses and follow me!" Coach shouted, his voice booming. We all scrambled to gather our things and follow him, the excitement and nerves building as we headed towards the gate.
The flight attendant greeted us with a warm smile as we boarded the plane, guiding us to our seats and providing important information and rules to follow. As I settled into my seat, I could feel my hands starting to sweat. I wiped them on my jeans and took a deep breath, trying to calm my nerves.
"Please turn off all personal electronic devices, including laptops and cell phones, or switch them to airplane mode," the flight attendant announced over the intercom.
Maxine noticed my anxiety and took my shaky hand into her warm one. "You're okay," she whispered, rubbing her thumb gently over my knuckles. Her soothing touch helped me feel more at ease, and I felt my body begin to relax. I gave her a wobbly smile, grateful for her support.
"Cabin crew, please prepare for takeoff."
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We were an hour into the flight when I finally relaxed. Maxine was quiet, her headphones in, watching a movie on the screen in front of her. I felt a buzz in my pocket; my phone must have automatically connected to the plane's Wi-Fi. I pulled it out and opened my messages. I had been added to a group chat with Will and Mike. I read through each message.
"We wanted to tell you this in person, but Mike is too afraid to, so we're doing it now," was the first message from Will.
Then Mike chimed in: "The reason why I ignored you for a little while is because I did something. I don't regret it because I found myself, but a part of me feels bad for hurting you the way I did. A few weeks ago, Will and I kissed, and it turned into make out sessions and secret dates. I just didn't know how to tell you, so I ignored you. I'm sorry, Jane. Please forgive me."
I clutched my phone in my hand as my eyes began to sting. "We don't want things to be awkward between us now, and we still love you just as much. And hey, at least you have Maxine now," was the last message I got from Will.
I bit my bottom lip, my leg bouncing rapidly. My ex-boyfriend cheated on me with my best friend. Why were they telling me this now? Were they trying to ruin my mood? Were they ever going to tell me if I hadn't "got" with Maxine? And how dare Will, how dare he. He agreed with me about everything, about how Mike treated me, when he was the reason behind it all. How dare they lie to me, straight to my face. Thinking back on that day in the basement last week, there was no push-up competition. They were probably breathing so heavily because they were shoving their tongues down each other's fucking throats.
