With Love, Silvia. [✔️]

Chapter 29 Make New Friends, But Keep the Old

The date marked my first month back in NYC. I'd gotten about a million texts from Iris, and Emma pretty much telling me about how much they missed me, and I would text back saying the cliché 'it's not the same without you.'

As far as my social life went, it was nonexistent. When we had to do a group project in my advanced calculus class, I asked the teacher if I could work alone just to avoid social interaction. I guess I was prominent on never being happy unless I got to go back to Hollow Springs, the place I really belong in.

Dad didn't see it that way.

"I think you're becoming a bit of a hermit crab. Just hiding away when something scares you." Dad said to me one night as I warmed up a Jimmy Dean Breakfast Bowl up to serve as my dinner.

"Thanks." I said bluntly, watching the black plastic container spin around and around, trying to forget all the horrible cancer inducing stuff that microwaves put into your food.

"I guess what I mean is that you need to put yourself out there, get some friends! Don't be that girl nobody remembers at their high school reunion in ten years." he pushes, cracking open a bottle of Coke.

"Hmm. I don't plan on going to any high school reunion any time in the future." I say, and open the microwave door right before the clock hits zero, it was just a little game I used to play with Mom. We tried to stop it from blaring out because neither of us liked it's annoying beeps.

"You know what I meant. Please, Silvia, just try?" he asks.

I take out the food and grab a fork from the drawer. I ponder over why he cares so much about my reputation, because I knew Mom could care less if I had any friends or not, she always told me I would forever keep my 'best friend position' open for her.

And I plan on keeping it that way.

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Lunch hour is my least favorite part of the day.

I get a salad bowl from the cafeteria and scout out a place to sit outside, because it's way to hectic in the lunchroom, which is mostly full of hollering football players and gossiping cheerleaders.

The plum tree is surrounded by the theatre freaks, as usual. They recite lines from Les Miserables.

I take the tree next to them, and dig into the almost tasteless salad, that I had to use three packets of ranch dressing to add even a tiny bit of flavor. I shove four forkfuls of the concoction into my mouth, then throw the rest away and plan to write in my journal at the library for the remaining hour.

So I walk down the halls buzzing with seniors switching classes, and make my way to the library. I open the big doors, and almost smack into a girl with carrot orange hair, carrying a colossal mountain of library books.

"Oh-I'm so sorry!" I stammer and move to the side.

"No problemo, sister." the girl said setting down the stack of books. "I'm Ginger, ironic I know." she said gesturing to her hair. "You must be, Silvia. The new student?"

"Uh, not exactly. But yes." I say.

"Hmm. Complicated background I see." she said.

"Need any help?" I ask, looking at the book stack.

"Oh yea! I'm re-shelving them. I do it almost every lunch hour with my friends. They're in the non-fiction section I think. I can introduce you later. For now, let's get to work." she said quickly, and handed me a stack of the books.

I follow Ginger to the fantasy section, where I gently put down the books and begin to clear a space on the shelf for one of them. I gently set my journal down next to me, and hunt for the H portion of the shelf to put the book on.

"Hey what's this one! No author or title!" Ginger asks, and to my horror she holds my journal in her hand.

"NO! I mean, uh, it's mine." I interject feeling heat rise in my cheeks.

Ginger gives back the journal and her smile never falters.

"Sorry. Looks like a great book." She winks and we continue shelving the mountain of books. 

"Hey Ginge? Where's the- woah who's that?" A tall boy that says looking right at me.

"Oh! Leo, this is Silvia. She's the new-old student." Ginger says to him.

"New-old student?" He asks.

"Long story." I smile sheepishly.

"Welcome to Birchwood, new-old student." He laughs and grabs a book.

Another person joins us this one's a girl.

"Hey! It's the new-old girl!" She chimes.

I remember her as Piper, a girl I sat next to in pre calc last year. She's super smart and tutored the Jr. Highers over the sumner.

"So, everyone refers to me as the new-old girl?" I groan.

Everyone laughs, and begins to pitch in with the books.

"Hey, I think I have science with you!" pipes in a final voice approaching us.

I recognized him, but couldn't remember his name. Luckily he introduced himself before it got awkward.

"I'm Asher." he says.

The rest of the hour was fun, I talked with Ginger and her friends like we'd known each other for years.

Maybe New York isn't as bad as I thought it was going to be.