ivy; s.m.

e i g h t

     THE next day, after a rather awkward and uneventful study session that mostly involved Shawn gorging on my food; I was sitting in my kitchen eating breakfast.

Cara had decided she was staying with us, and was packing me an interesting lunch while I waited.

I wrapped my hands around the large mug of tea, the heated cup warming my fingers.

"So? How did the studying go?" she asked as she peeled an apple.

"What studying?" I snorted.

She turned to look at me. "You didn't study?"

"All he wanted to do was hang out, apparently. I don't even know why he came." I took a gulp.

Cara went back to her work. "Maybe his mom made him come," she suggested.

"Whatever. I don't care, all I know is that he can find a new tutor."

"Awe, babes," Cara pouted, as she folded over the top of the paper bag.

"I'm so done with him showing up everywhere and screwing me over." I grumbled.

"Everywhere? What?" Cara replied as she handed me the bag.

"It's a long story," I said, then paused. "Actually, it's not. I just don't want to tell it."

I slipped on my converse and shut the door, leaving a stunned and befuddled Cara in the kitchen.

-

The first half of my day went easily, Art class and English were my two favourite classes anyways.

After lunch was Geography, and Math. I felt like throwing up just thinking about it.

Tessa was using the lunch break to finish an abstract project in art, so I was accompanied by my new friend Ashley. I soon learned that she liked to be called 'Ash', that she was as good at art as she was as at running marathons. Not very good, obviously.

Ash was a slightly pudgy girl, but she was crazy beautiful, maybe even more than Sierra or Justice. Some boys couldn't help but turn heads when she walked by. And she was so kind that being around her made me feel beautiful, too.

"There is no way in hell," I whispered as I unraveled my bagged lunch, "that he is coming anywhere near my house again."

"Awh, why not? I ship it," she whined.

I raised an eyebrow at my lunch and pulled out several different balls of tinfoil. "You and Tessa always say stuff like that. He's nothing like me."

Ashley tapped her chipped purple nails on the table as I struggled to unwrap one ball, finding an apple. "He just... has the same air as you do. I can't describe it." Ash admitted.

I turned to glance at him, but instead of laughing at a joke Justice had just told he was looking forlorn.

I took a bite of the apple and studied his face. His head was tilted towards the floor with his messy hair falling into his face. Was he... crying?