Linger

E L E V E N

"Maddie! How are you?" Chelsea greeted me as she engulfed me in a big hug as soon as Sasha & I stepped up to our lockers.

"You think you'll be alright today?" she asked with concerning eyes as she pulled away. 

I quickly averted my gaze to the lockers behind her. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be fine." I stepped away from them & made my way to my locker a few lockers away from them, keeping my head down. 

I don't know what happened. Things were started to look up while Sasha & I were chatting in the car. But now, stepping through the doors & coming back to these hallways again seemed almost too much for me to bear. The hallways were crammed with students going to their classes, talking at their lockers . . . 

. . . but they were also filled with teachers, like him, who were going to their classrooms - like he was going to his classroom.

I shook my head, ridding my mind of any lingering memories I had with him & took a deep breath, trying to set my focus on the school day ahead of me. Grabbing my literature binder, I slammed my locker shut & turned to the other girls with the best smile I could put on.

"You have study hall now, right?" Sasha asked me with a smile.

I sighed & rolled my eyes. "I'm not new here. I know my schedule & so do you guys. What I don't know is what's going on with all the questioning this morning."

"We just want to make sure you'll be okay." Alice assured me softly.

"I will, okay?" I raised my eyebrows at her. "I mean, I appreciate it. But just--You don't have to treat me any different. It's still just another school day," I told them, adjusting the books in my arms.

"Yeah, but you know how unpredictable the monitors can be for study hall, Maddie," Chelsea reminded me.

I nodded. "I'll be fine."

"Yeah, she'll be fine!" Sasha exclaimed with a wave of her hand as she put her arm around me. "The two of us had a nice chat before school this morning & what's in the past is in the past! We are moving forward!" She pumped a fist in the air with an excited look on her face.

Chelsea, Alice & I gave her questioning looks.

"We would go with you but Alice & I have AP Chem right now." Chelsea turned  to me.

"It's alright." I shrugged. "I said I'll be fine."

"Sasha could--"

"Nope! I've got math," Sasha said with a smile.

I huffed, rolling my eyes. "You guys are seriously making too big of a deal out of this. Just let me go to study hall. Don't worry about it, alright?" I assured my friends. 

"We'll see you at break then." Chelsea nodded.

"See you," I said as I started to make my way down the crowded hallway.

"Later!" Sasha waved as she & the other girls parted ways to get to their classes.

There was no teacher yet when I arrived in study hall, which was nothing out of the ordinary, so I took my usual seat in the back & spread my study material over the desk. I had two exams today, so not a minute of this study hall could be wasted. Not a day went by when I couldn't be more grateful for having a study hall first period. It was probably the only way I was getting through high school. I took my notes  & highlighter out & began revising the study guide when I felt someone's presence behind me.

"Wow. Cramming?"

Being so focused on my notes, I jumped at the sound of his voice & turned around to see Tom standing there with is backpack slung over his shoulder & his hand tucked in the pocket of his blue jeans.