The Game of Hearts

Chapter Seventeen- Annabel

When I arrive at school, I'm on a mission. I need to gather every one of my friends, every single one, and show them what I found. Because it's pretty awesome.

Luckily I get to school with time before the bell and everyone is gathered at our tables near the front of the library.

"Guys," I say, walking in, "you'll never guess what," I tap Lola on the head as I walk past, before slamming the massive folder down on the table, getting everyone's attention. "You have to look at this." Everyone gathers around me, by everyone I mean: Adam, Zara, Daisy, Hunter, Snow, Nick, Matthew, Alexis, Lyra, Connor, Felicity and Lola. I flip the folder/book open. The first page has a picture of Snow. She's in a dark room that I remember from Daisy's birthday party back years ago, when we went bowling. I flip the page and there is a picture of two bowling lanes, Lexi on one side and Snow on the other, both of their bowling balls rolling down the lanes. That was the time that Lexi got a Strike and Snow got nothing. I smile as Snow giggles and I flip the page. The next page is Lexi, standing down by the river, at the docks, her arms wide, outstretched, in a titanic like pose, her hair flying out behind her. Then the next picture is one of Snow and I, standing by the river, the water and sky behind us, smiling at the camera.

The next photo was taken in the park down by the river, it's from years ago, of Daisy and Hunter, back when they were just friends, Daisy is eating cake and Hunter is smiling, standing next to her. After that comes a photo of Lexi and I, holding ice-cream, smiling from when we visited Sea-World together, we were the only ones that didn't go away those holiday's. I flip the page revealing more photo's, Snow grinning whilst holding a book on swimming carnival day, Daisy, Alexis and I in my room when we had to make a movie for school, Snow and I at school, mid-laugh, the outside of the library full of people, talking and laughing, Lola and Felicity working on a student council project, Lyra and Connor playing handball, Matthew ducking to enter a classroom, Adam falling over at Lexi's roller skating fourteenth birthday party, Lexi hitting Hunter in the face with her red cast in Grade Eight, Nick falling over at Cross Country in Grade Ten, Lola making faces at the camera and so much more. As I go through the book everyone laughs at the memories, there are hundreds and hundreds from through the years. Of us. Of 'The Gang.' When I finish, I close the folder and smile.

"Whoa! You've been collecting all those photos?" Lexi asks.

"You took most of them, but yeah I've been printing them out and sticking them in here," I nod, with a smile.

"That's so cool," Connor nods. Snow laughs and shakes her head.

"You copied the idea I had, I made one of those with photos of me and Annabel from grade eight and gave it to her back then," Snow says.

"Oh yeah, credit to Snow," I smile and shove her shoulder with my own. And so the bell goes and we all head off for class.

***

A few days later, I'm sitting outside the student council meeting, waiting for Lola and Felicity to come out. I'm sitting on a concrete step, swinging my legs back at forth, quietly humming the song I heard on the radio this morning under my breath. I shoot a smile to a freshman walking past and watch a bird flutter past. Kait is sitting to my right, talking to me and a few other girls about how romantic Harry was on their first date; my Halloween party. Lexi is off trying to convince Snow to go to prom with Nick, and so I'm here, waiting alone, while Daisy is at the library with Hunter and Lyra is at gaming club with Connor. I consider getting my phone out to text Jason, to see when we could meet up again, maybe this afternoon? But that's when I hear someone gasp; the girl, Poppy, who was just commenting on what Kait was saying, points.