The Surfer's Heart

Chapter 4

I walked into sociology as Mrs. Pope was scribbling stuff onto the whiteboard. Most of the students were already in their seats jotting notes as I snuck in and slid into my seat, essentially unnoticed. The only one who did perk their head up at my stealth entrance was Amy.

"Where have you been?" Amy mouthed, her eyes widening at my tardy appearance.

"I'll explain later," I mouthed back. Mrs. Pope was on a rampage today, as she usually was on the first day of school. She always put pressure on herself to start the school year off strong, so we would never fall behind the curriculum. Unfortunately, with her spacey nature, falling behind was inevitable which made for a stressful beginning and end of every semester. At least the middle part was usually enjoyable.

To my delight, today was nothing but lectures and discussions about what was to come during the school year. This meant that it left no time for Amy to question my disappearance and for me to think about what I wanted to say.

I had to be careful about what I told her about Sean. She already got extremely defensive this morning when I was disapproving of the relationship. If I come out and tell her about the girl he was with earlier, she might not believe me. Or worse, she would believe me and I would once again be roped into the middle of their relationship.

No, I couldn't do that.

Another option would be to avoid that situation entirely and allow Amy to witness Sean's unfaithfulness firsthand. But is that really what a friend would do? If the roles were reversed, I would want Amy to tell me if I was making a mistake with a guy.

I had to tell her. It would eat me alive if I didn't.

The bell rang, which startled Mrs. Pope, and allowed us to enter the world of freedom again. It was like a huge sigh of relief breathed through the classroom when the bell went off.

"Don't forget tonight's assignment, folks! You must have the topic for your paper, tomorrow! We need to start this semester off strong." Mrs. Pope hollered as we fled the room.

I didn't have much time before Amy bombarded me.

"Gosh, Mrs. Pope was on something today," she rolled her eyes. "I didn't get a single chance to talk to you."

"You act like you're surprised. This is how she starts every semester," I chuckled.

"I suppose. Anyhoo, let's talk about detention, shall we?" Amy's eyes shifted from bright and curious to small and challenging.

"What about it?" I asked with a shrug. I wanted her to dictate the direction of the conversation. Then maybe I could get a better idea of how I should respond.

"Oh, come on, Brooke! You've never gotten detention in your life! What happened? Was it just because you were late?" She asked.

"Mr. Keizer happened," I rolled my eyes as we reached my locker. There has been so much that has happened today, I just wanted it to be over with. "I was using my phone in the hallway and he caught me."

"What a grumpy, old man," Amy scoffed.

It may have been paranoia getting to me, but I swear people were staring at me. One girl walked by and rolled her eyes in my direction. It could have been a coincidence, sure, but it happened again a few moments later. Guys were walking past and...noticing me. Has this always happened? Or am I just now observing it?

Could it be because I associated with Sean this morning? Sean was one of the most talked-about people in school. Everyone knew what he was up to at all times; even me — who hardly hears any drama except for what revolves around Amy. It's just one of those things about Kalani Prep. Sean's a celebrity without even doing anything to attain his status.