She [SLOW UPDATES]

Chapter 9

Monday came, once again. And, for the first time in forever, I rode the bus alone. Mickey was at the back with the Alphabitches.
Obviously.
Needless to say, it was a long bus ride. And an even longer morning. 

Eventually, lunch rolled around and I headed to the cafeteria where I met up with Tinera.

"You look a whole lot better from Saturday", she smiled as we lined up. 

"I'm feeling a whole lot better, thanks", I replied, smiling right back. We got our lunch and headed over to our usual table.

"How's it going, Rache?" Sean said as I placed my tray beside him and sat down.

"I'm alright, for the most bit", I said, emphasising the second part of my sentence.

"And?"

I turned to face him. "You don't even wanna know what our next Geography project is." 

"Tell me about it", Antonio added, putting his sandwich down. "Rancourt wants us to design our own country!"

Tinera chuckled. "That doesn't even sound that bad. What's the big deal?" she asked, cocking her head to the side slightly.

Before Antonio and I could launch into full complain mode, we heard a male voice above our heads.

"Is this seat taken?" All four of us turned to see Zach standing there, gesturing to the empty seat between Tinera and me - where Mickey used to sit.

I bit my lip nervously.

"What happened to your usual seat?" Antonio challenged. "Or has someone replaced you?"
I glanced around the caf, and sure enough, there was no empty seat at the 'popular' table. The last seat, presumably where Zach was supposed to be, was occupied by none other than Michaela.

Zach sighed. "I thought I'd get a warmer welcome than this, Rachel". My eyes widened as he said my name. "After all, we have a date later today".

"Wait what?!" Tinera blurted. She and Sean gawked at me as if I'd grown an extra head, and I really couldn't blame them for it.

I slumped in my seat.

"So you didn't tell them? Now that is disappointing", Zach remarked, shaking his head. I glared at him.

"Well you might as well sit here since you have 'nowhere' else to go", Tinera muttered, stabbing at her salad. Antonio huffed before picking up his sandwich once again. Zach and I exchanged a look before I glanced at Sean, hoping my eyes could serve as my explanation for now.

After a moment, he sighed. "Alright, Zach, you can -"

"About damn time!" Zach sat down beside me before Sean could finish his sentence. I noticed Tinera rolling her eyes and bit my lip again.

"Wear something pretty this evening", Zach whispered to me. "I've got something special planned". I managed a nod before pushing the rest of my food around my tray rather than eating it.

As soon as the bell rang, Tinera took off. The rest of us left shortly after, in complete silence. I dumped the rest of my lunch in the trash and headed to my locker.

From the looks of it, things weren't getting better anytime soon. Instead, things were getting worse.

During Spanish class, my mind wandered back to the alcohol incident. Whether it was a mistake or just another petty attack, I didn't know for sure. But I was almost certain it wasn't the former.

And then Mickey came to mind. The way she'd turned on me at the party was completely unexpected. I mean, we'd been friends for years, and yet she was convinced that I was capable of betraying her like that. It didn't make sense to me at all.