Apart

Friends?

October 1st, later
Emma
I jumped as my phone started to spam notifications. I looked at it. It was the group chat some random people in my class had added me into.
I muted it and turned back to staring at the piece of homework next to me. I scribbled down some numbers and words, then closed my binder in relief. My homework was done.
I took my phone and went onto Instagram. I'd recently made a cube fan account on there. 56 followers. It read. I wanted some inspiration for edits, so looked at the girl who had just reached 700 followers. She had dmed me saying thanks for being the 700th.
I looked at her account. Apparently her name is Alice. Her edits slayed everything. The theme was neat and organized, color coded, and a perfect mix of video and picture edits. Rain pounded against the windows.
I could here my mom arguing with my step dad down the hall.
I opened my door and hollered, "Could you both shut up and give me some quiet for once?!?" And slammed my door shut.
They remained quiet for about a minute then the shouting started again.  I opened my window and climbed out into the fresh air. I grabbed my phone and turned on its flashlight. The sky was dark and starless. Lights flickered all around in the city. People bustled down streets. I hurried down the road and turned into a small park. I sat down on the swing.
Could my mom and horrid stepfather stay quiet and not argue for a day? I wish I had someone to talk to.
Then I remembered; that girl who had dmed me earlier on Instagram. She seemed nice.
"You there?" I asked.
"Yup. I'm on the bus going to school."
"Can I talk to you? I have no one else."
There was a pause. "Sure."
"Well, my mom and my stepdad argue every day. I don't know what to do at this point. I'm really wishing I had a normal family."
"Oh." Alice replied. "It will get better."
"How do you know?" I questioned.
"I just do."
"That's not a valid answer." I pointed out.
"Ok, look." She said.
"Yeah?"
"You seem pretty nice, and I wanna get to know you. Take your mind off things, yaknow?"
"Umm, sure." I answered.
"Let's start simple. My name is Alice, and I'm in eighth grade. I live in Paris, and am French, but I speak English." Alice said.
"My name is Emma. I'm also in eighth grade. I live in California."
"Cool!" Alice replied.
"Do you have Skype or Minecraft pc?" I asked.
"Yeah. I have both, actually." Alice said. "My Skype and minecraft name is FrenchAlice."
"Great! Mine are the same too. It's called Emma_is_me." I answered. For the first time in a while I smiled.