FIGHTING FOR SURVIVAL

Chapter 4

GUYS PLEASE READ THE SILVERLIGHT. IT IS A NOVEL ABOUT THESE CHARACTERS AND I PROMISE YOU WON'T REGRET READING IT! :))

Alice

It was Friday. The sun was shinning brightly in the deep blue sky and a soft breeze was blowing and the trees swayed gently.

The marble structure also known as my school rose up in front of me and I pushed my bag higher up my shoulder. Today was the day I would tell my mother whether I wanted to be homeschooled or not.

I would be lying if I said that this past week was horrible. The truth was, it had been my best week at Crescent Hills. I finally felt like I belonged here. Like I was wanted here. I now hung out with Eleanor and Emily during lunch instead of sitting with the sixth graders. In gym, Emily always picked me first for her team and I was not the girl no one wanted on their team and who had to be taken as a last resort. Classes were now fun as I had someone to pass notes to. Michelle and her posse had not said a word to me this week and more or less stopped getting in my way.

I was in no hurry to get to my locker seeing as classes did not start till eight and I still had ten minutes to spare. The hallways were not that crowded yet. Most of the kids were clustered around their lockers and were talking amongst themselves. I reached my locker and punched in the combination.

My locker was messier than usual. This was because usually in my spare time, I'd clean out my locker and put everything in an organised fashion but lately, I had spent all my free time talking and laughing with Eleanor and Emily. I had gotten to know them a lot and had told them a fair bit about myself too.

Eleanor had one sister who was in fifth grade and her name was Elizabeth. She lived on one of the most prestigious streets in town and had pool in her backyard. She had promised to take us swimming in there. Her mom was a layer and her dad owned a construction firm. Apparently, she was happy with her life. She had a whole family unlike mine. My dad wasn't with us.

Emily had two younger brothers, Charlie and Nick, who were both four years old and were identical twins. Her dad was a pilot and her mother was a florist like mine. I found out she lived very close to my house.

I proceeded to empty out my bag and put the books in neat piles. Glancing at the schedule taped to the inside of my locker, I saw that I had math, English and Spanish before lunch but I also had a break between English and Spanish. I put my math textbook at notebook in my bag along with my English things, crammed a couple of pens in and zipped it up.

"Well, you're here early!" I turned to see Eleanor grinning at me. Her dark hair was pulled up into an intricate bun and she wore casual blue jeans with a light denim jacket.

"Hey," I greeted.

"Did you see the poster in the science hallway?" she asked.

"Nope," I shook my head." What's it about?"

"There's going to be a talent show soon!"

"And anyone can enter?" I asked.

"Of course, silly." she said."Here's what I'm thinking: We enter as a group of gymnasts."

I stroked my chin in thought. That sounded like a good idea. I had been doing gymnastics since I was ten and I knew Emily and Eleanor could do it too.

"Great," I said. "Let's sign up." And then another thought struck me. "But..."

"But what?" Eleanor asked.

"I.... I'm dropping out of school."

"WHAT?" she exclaimed." Why? Are you guys moving again? But isn't this earlier than usual. I mean, you told me....."

"We're not moving," I explained." I asked my mom to homeschool me. She said if I didn't make any friends in four weeks, she would take me out of school and I could do seventh grade at home. Today's the last day,"

"But you're going to tell her not to take you out, right?" Eleanor asked. I did not know what to say to that. This was what I had wanted ever since I had started going to this school: to study at home. A tiny voice in my head told me I had friends now but for whatever reason, I pushed it away.

"I.....I...don't," I stuttered and her expression hardened.

"But you've got friends now. You've got us!" she said, her voice rising a little. I was a little new to this and I did not know how to handle the situation. Emily decided to dhow up at that moment.

"Hey guys," she said perkily. Then she seemed to notice the tension in the air and asked uncertainly," Umm, so what's up?"

Eleanor glared at me and turned to Emily." It's her," and she explained everything that had just happened between us.

"So what you're saying is, you don't think we're your friends?" Emily cried incredulously.

"I don't," I started. I had no clue what was going on in my mind or about what I was saying, just that whatever I was saying was coming out wrong." I mean..."

"You mean what, Alice?" Eleanor asked." We've been talking nonstop over the past week, gone to the mall, passed notes in class, texted each other, done homework together, eaten lunch together.... I don't know what you're thinking but I'm pretty sure that's exactly what friends do!"

This was all so new to me. I had never had this talk with anyone before and I had no idea how to handle it. It was true, I told myself. These girls were amazing friends. They were not like Michele. Just a day before, a minute ago, I had been thinking how this week was the best week I had ever had at Crescent and now I was considering being homeschooled again. What was I? Stupid?

"Guys," I began." I'm sorry." I slung my bag over my shoulder and continued." I don't know what happened. I did not mean to come off that way, I swear. I know you guys are my friends. I just... I guess I can't get over that fact. I was so used to not having anyone that I guess I... forgot."

For s minute, we were all silent until Emily said," Well, that escalated quickly." And we burst out laughing.

"I'm not dropping out of school." I had made up my mind on the spot. No way was I leaving. I wanted to spend seventh grade with these guys, like a normal person. I had no reason for hating the school anymore, or the people at the school. Except maybe Michelle Peterson that was....

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A/N

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The next chapter will be about...... Dylan Grace!