The Zodiacs

Chapter 3

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"Ah, final bell. How victorious," Thomas says with a yawn. He gets up, starts to stretch, and walks out the back door.

"And don't forget to turn in you're summer work. Some of you still haven't returned even the essays let alone the projects," the English teacher tries frantically to tell the students that are already walking away.

Vincent and Abel get up from their seats and make their way through the desks to get out. "Goodbye love," Vincent winks at the teacher. She in turn nods, and continues organizing the tests so she can grade them when she finds the time.

"Typical guys EVERYWHERE," says Phoebe to Vincent while making a rainbow motion with her hands and leaving the class.

"Woah there lion. You might want to calm down. That's already, what? Six teachers?" Abel laughs. Stephen who's still trying to get his things together looks up when Abel says, "Someone's slow today."

"What can I say? The ladies love me." Vincent smirks slyly and continues walking on, trying to make a dramatic exit. Stephen and Abel catch up to him in the hall. Vincent tries again with another teacher, "Mrs. Blen, lovely as ever." She nods and continues walking.

Stephen nudges Abel, "when they literally leave you on read."

"Shut up," Vincent tells them but talks loudly in the direction of the teachers lounge, "They just need to be loved."

The three students make their way to the back of the school and wait with the others to get picked up by the bus. This setting is always the same. Everyone is bunched up in their same groups talking about the same days events in the same places they always stand.

A group of girls surround Analise and Giselle on one far end of the side walk as they talk about what they put in their answers for the French quiz.

"But I put that it meant to take a stroll around town," Analise freaks out, "And then I based the rest of the test off of it."

"You should have just cheated off of me," Giselle tells her.

"But Ms. LeMieux was staring me down so hard I couldn't even blink without her getting suspicious." Analise justifies.

"Yeah, every time she walked around the class she would just slow down at your isle." A random girl says.

On the other side of the sidewalk is Lenox, Vincent, and Stephen. Lenox spends the whole time talking about a party he wants to throw, and Vincent tells him all that could go wrong with doing it too soon.

"You have to pick the right house, you don't want neighbors calling the cops before people even start showing up," Vincent reasons, "Then there's inviting the right people because you don't want it to be boring, but you don't want someone else to find out they weren't invited and get mad and call the cops."

"Are you scared of getting arrested?" Lenox laughs. Vincent just shrugs it off with a laugh.

"Okay first of all, DO you want to get arrested?" Stephen challenges Lenox while tilting his head a whole ninety degrees to one side, "And second, yeah come on Vincent you are getting WAY to analytical about it all. We just need drinks, a place, and what time to start."

Caroline is right next to the bus stop, waiting patiently and listening to a song in Spanish to help her learn the language quicker. Safiya and Thomas are also listening to music. Safiya is standing somewhat next to Caroline, playing music but not really paying attention to the lyrics as she plays games on her phone. Thomas is sleeping on a bench by the school, headphones plugged in. Loren is pacing around, texting some out of school friends and sending snapchats to others. Carson just stands by the school doors and stares absentmindedly at the direction the bus comes from. Abel talks to Phoebe as she opens the front view camera and fixes some stray hairs that have moved throughout the day.

When the bus finally pulls in Caroline is the first on, then everyone else lines up to squeeze through the doors.

"Umm, where are the seat belts," Analise asks as she makes her way to the back. Making sure that none of the other girls besides Giselle actually follow her there.

"What? You've never taken the bus before?" Loren says as she pops her head in and sits in the middle closer towards the back.

"It's not a big deal anyway Analise," Lenox tells her, he sits in the aisle next to where Giselle is sitting.

"I could die, and besides there were seatbelts before," she declares as she takes off her backpack and reluctantly sits.

"Yeah but then I ate them," Thomas laughs but no one else does so he just laughs even louder, and moves to the very end of the bus.

"Nice joke. I would laugh but its actually believeable," Giselle pops up her head from her window seat next to Analise.

"BBBUUURRRNN," Abel and Stephen yell while rubbing Thomas' hair, and sitting in the seat in front of him.

"I can't stand being here," Loren murmurs to the girl next to her while hiding her face more with her scarf.

"Carlos, say something. You can't just sit in the back and not talk," Lenox tells Carson who is slowly making his way towards the back.

"His names Carson, idiot," Thomas yells over the loud humming of the bus' engine turning on.

"Um.. I like taking the bus," Carson replies.

"Get out of here!" Lenox tells him with a laugh, so Carson moves up to sit in the front next to Caroline. She in turn, doesn't even look up but does take off one ear just in case he wanted to talk.

"The ...." Stephen pauses for effect, "wheels on the bus go round and round."

"Get outta here," Lenox laughs.

"ROUND AND ROUND. ROUND AND ROUND," Abel and Thomas play along.

"Awe look even Caroline's singing along." Analise jokes. Caroline looks up but ignores it and focuses back on the songs again.