I Learned To Trust | The Joanne McKinley Diaries 2

19. Take A Trip Down Memory Lane With Me

After last weeks wedding, it had come to the time of back to school. Four weeks sure went by fast. I straightened my collar and put in my navy blue headband. Same blue and white striped shirt, same navy blazer, skirt and socks but different shoes. Different on the outside, same on the inside. A knock at my room door snapped my attention from my appearance to the people in my doorway. McKeyla walked in with Leeoni and they plopped themselves on the bed, Leeoni grabbing my laptop and McKeyla channel surfing on my TV. I was used to it, my room was like their second.

"You ready?" McKeyla said from her position on the floor. I nodded.

"Me too. Physically and mentally."

Leeoni scoffed and McKeyla threw a glare her way. McKeyla never did anything with her hair apart from wack it in a bun. But it suited her. As for Leeoni, it was a new style every day. Today, it was a half up half down top knot. Same uniform, same faces.

"Summer holidays go by too fast," McKeyla moaned.

"I know!" Leeoni said. "Cute bag by the way."

I looked over at my bag. It was nothing cute. Just black with a bunch of blunt studs in certain places.

"I'm hungry! Down to food we go!" I chanted, ushering them all out of my room into the way of the kitchen.

"When are you ever not hungry?" McKeyla asked.

"When I'm asleep." We laughed and my phone buzzed.

Mai
>> Open your door. We're outside.

I got out my keys and opened the door. Before me stood a girl with ombré hair, another girl with newly blonde hair, another girl with silky black hair reaching her middle back and Mason. He was the only one I fully recognised in his new haircut.

"Mai, nice ombré. Blonde looks good on you Jayleen and I'm happy to see that your hair has grown out Alisha," I said to them.

Then I turned to Mason and smiled up at him while he smiled goofily back.

"What? No hello kiss?" He asked, pouting.

I rolled my eyes stood on the balls of my feet to kiss him. He kisses back, slipping his arm around my waist. I pulled away and he kissed my nose before letting me go.

"Now food!" I shouted before we all marched to the kitchen to raid the fridge.

"It would be you to say that," Mason teased.

Everyone laughed while I playfully glared at Mason. Do not tease me about my love for food. Life does that to you.

***

"Frozen pancakes have never tasted so good," Alisha swooned as we took our seats on the bus.

"Thank you, thank you. I try," I shot back while doing a curtesy in my seat.

Mason laughed while tightening his grip on my hand. I smiled at him and looked on.

"I can't believe we're ten! It feels like I just met Joanne yesterday and she was shooting me questions about my point of origin," Mai sighed, a sense of nostalgia in her voice.

Jayleen raised an eyebrow. "Explain."

I smiled while remembering the whole incident.

But then I met Mai DiGenerio. We first met on the first day when I just realised she was in my form (7D). I felt kind of embarrassed when she first talked to me and I said:

"Who are you and why are you wearing my house badge?"

I felt guilty afterwards because she looked absolutely crushed. She also looked like she had gone through exactly what I had been through (school wise anyway) and I didn't want to crush her dreams in this school because I knew how that felt. So I rephrased that.