The Popularity Alliance

-05- On Ditching Class and Mall Cops

On Ditching Class and Mall Cops

  Florence hopped into the minivan. "Are you sure we won't get in trouble for this?"

  "As long as they don't notify our parents, we'll be okay," I said with a shrug, quoting what Jordan had said the first time he took me ditching with his football buddies.

  Her eyes went wide. "They could do that?"

  "Most teachers don't."

  She let herself fall backwards on the seat, rubbing her eyes. "If they find out, I'm so dead."

  "Are your parents that strict?" My parents loved me and all, and they didn't like it when I ditched, but they wouldn't lecture me or anything, they were busy with my little sister, Clara.

  "Yes." She nodded immediately.

  I smirked at her. "Then we better pray they don't find out." And with that we drove out of the school's parking lot.

  Florence's fingers were tapping on her knee the whole ride, which was pretty annoying. The only sound I liked to listen to when I drove was Ed Sheeran's voice. I turned the music player on, just to get my mind off things.

  "You like Ed Sheeran?" Florence suddenly asked.

  "Yeah," I said, keeping my eyes on the road.

  "I do too! What's your favorite song?" she beamed.

  I shrugged. "Photograph, probably."

  Out of the corner of my eye, I saw her big smile, and I smiled too. Who would have thought that I would have something in common with this girl?

  We drove in silence for the rest of the ride, except for the occasional singing on our favorite parts.

  Florence looked at her phone. "Lunchtime's over."

  "Yup."

  "We should be in class right now." She started bouncing on the seat.

  I allowed my eyes to leave the road for a second and smirked. "What are you doing?"

  "I'm just nervous," she said with a laugh. "It's only my second week in high school and I'm already skipping class."

  I remembered that she had been homeschooled and said, "I did that too during freshman year. I had a class with a teacher that I didn't like and I left during lunchtime."

  "Alone?"

  "Yes," I said. And with a laugh, I added, "But I came back ten minutes later feeling guilty."

  The mall's parking lot came into view, and I parked my car. I got off, slammed the door behind me and opened Florence's. "Let's go!"

  There were mixed emotions on her face as she got off. "Do you think anyone will recognize us or something?"

  "Nah," I said with a shrug. "We'll be fine. Plus, just by looking at us they won't know if we're in high school or not."

  "What's the plan if someone asks? Or checks our I.D.s?" she insisted.

  I sighed and thought for a while. "Um... We say we're homeschooled."

  She nodded. "Fair enough."

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  "Which one's better?" I asked, holding out two tank tops with different patterns.

  Florence's eyes wandered around the store like a scared little kitten's. "I have no idea. What I do know is that cop is looking at us."

  "Yeah, because you're making it seem like we're going to steal something." I stared at her with an annoyed look. "You're nice, Florence, but you have to wipe that look off your face before we get arrested."

  She sighed. "Okay. I like that one," she pointed to the white and blue tank top I held in my right hand.

  Throwing it to her, I said, "Then go! Try it on!"

  With a quick nod, she turned around and literally pranced to the fitting rooms. Florence seemed to have the social experience of a five-year-old. 

  I knew not all homeschooled people were like that, but Florence just seemed so fragile, so innocent. It was up to me to help her start her high school experience. And I was adamant to make it right.

  She came back with a grin from ear to ear, wearing the tank top. "So? Do you like it?"

  "Too loose."

  "But it's making it hard to breathe," she complained.

  I pursed my lips. "Do you want to look good or not?"

  She looked at the floor and turned towards the fitting rooms, snatching a smaller size from the pile. I heard her mutter a low "I doubt I'm going to look good after suffocating to death."

  I laughed under my breath and dug out my phone from my purse. There was one new message from Jenna, who said to be my best friend.

  Let me explain that; Jenna was a nice girl and all, but if there was something I lacked, it was close friends. Jenna wasn't the girl who approached me the first day I entered the school looking lost, she was the girl that slung her arm in the crook of my elbow the night I won homecoming queen.

  Whenever my parents or anyone else for that matter asked for my best friend, the answer was always Jenna, because that was what everybody in the school had decided for me. The nerds knew of my model, legendary friendship even before I did.

  I clicked on the message, right after swiping to the right all the conversations with the asshole that had a name (Jordan, if my subtlety was too much) to delete them.

  Did you go home? I would totes understand if you did, jordan was soo mean to you

  The message wasn't exactly wrote like that, Jenna and her autocorrect, though in their senior year of high school, still had much to learn of the English language, I just chose to read it in a way that didn't make my eyes leave my head in disgust.

  My fingers tapped the small keyboard that appeared on the screen. Yeah, I went home. Hope all is good. Have fun in class.

  Few seconds later, I felt the phone buzz with another text message that was more than probably from Jenna, but I ignored it. Just then, Florence came out of the fitting rooms again.

  "I think I'm going to go with the other size." She was pulling in her stomach, so the fabric wouldn't explode.

  I rolled my eyes. "Please. Just buy that one and eat a bit less for a week."

  Her eyes went wide. "You're trying to make me anorexic?"

  "What?" I shook my head. "No! It's just a couple pounds."

  She shrugged, but ended up taking the larger size instead of the one I had told her to get.

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So, plot is starting to thicken, I have big things in mind for this novel, and it's starting to take shape in my mind! When I came up with it, it was just going to be a way to practice, but I have some ideas I think you'll like!

(I have no idea of who I'm talking to lol)

Serenity C. Williams