Painted Smiles [completed]

October 23

Sadly, I woke up with barely any sleep again. I got home from band at eight and had to do the remainder of my homework. Plus, I wanted to write a bit and catch up on YouTube, so I went to bed at about one in the morning.

I woke up and got ready as fast as I could. I rushed through my shower and makeup routine just to pick Sasha up this morning. We had writing club and she needed a ride.

I got to her house and ran out. The rain was harsh and the wind was bitter. Fall was standing at the edge of winter, and that scared me quite a bit. I was so cold my teeth actually chattered viciously.

I hugged her mom goodbye and she ran into my mother's car with me. The ride there was fairly awkward, filled with small talk, but we made it.

Writing club was fairly awkward as well. We arrived as the first people there and found our seats in the back of the room. People came in and filled half the room. Probably 15 people came, which was actually bigger than I had expected. Eddy didn't come, but I had expected that.

Skinny hour wasn't much. I was mostly just trying to finish up my essay for civics, which I had finished but left unedited. As well, I started mapping out the plot for the upcoming month of November. I was going to write a complete book in one month. I had done it before and I'll do it again, but better.

I caught a good glimpse of Dolly. She looked a bit tougher than I remembered. She used to be so small and innocent. The only formidable part about her was her vicious dark side that came out when I pushed the wrong buttons. Now, she had some type of scar or cut on her eyebrow and her hair reached the length where it would swoosh around in a black wave.

I wasn't intimidated, but I was impressed. My words hurt her and now it looked like nothing could touch her. I wonder if she felt the same about me. Probably not.

Band was fairly fun. Mr. Smith was conducting today and kept the class lively. He wasn't the funniest of the band triplets, but he was the coolest. Being the youngest and the most attractive out of the three, he was definitely fun to watch.

Obviously, I had civics next. Triple D was gone today, so the same substitute that subbed for two weeks was going to sub today again. She wasn't too bad, but I liked the tall woman that found politics and debates so energizing.

On the way to civics, Gretchen, Sasha, Chelsea, and I all met up in our usual corner. Everyone greeted each other.

Unfortunately, Chelsea didn't seem that interested in me. She was closer to Gretchen, which wasn't a problem, but I felt like I wasn't showing off my skills with flirting. I was the third wheel, and Sasha joined me quickly. It became two separate conversations. Sasha gave me a look, telling me that I needed to make a move or do something.

When we were all done conversing, I said goodbye to Gretchen and Sasha. They both left which left Chelsea with me. She looked down at me, smiling widely. Not only was she usually very tall, but she was wearing boots with tiny heels. She even curled her bright hair, and it was so beautiful. She was like a gorgeous giant.

"Are we gonna thumb wrestle as planned?"

We had argued about petty things yesterday and she challenged me to a series of tests to see who would win. The first was thumb wrestling, and we would decide what else to do when we got there.

I nodded in response as we put our backpacks beside our desks. She shoved her desk to the side as we knelt down on opposite sides of it. Her large eyes showed confidence and victory, and I was intimidated.

She held out her large, dismaying hand and I held out mine. She firmly gripped my hand in hers as our thumbs poked out.

"One, two, three, four, I declare a thumb war! Five, six, seven, eight, this will be a piece of cake!" We both said in unison.