{COMPLETED} ✔ December Bloom

forty'four

Looking around, I vaguely remembered a girl from Braden's Social Studies class standing by her locker. I remember seeing her walking out of the class just behind Braden one day when I was waiting for him outside of his class.

"Uh, hi, do you know where Braden is?" I asked her in a very flustered way, coming up behind her.

She turned around, scrutinizing me for a second before slowly shaking her head. She didn't seem to recognize me.

"No, sorry." she said quietly, her gaze suspicious.

I groaned and glanced back to see Dante was catching up and was only a few steps away from me.

"Right, thanks." I thanked her hurriedly and was just about to turn around when I got hit by an unpleasant surprise.

I came face to face with none other than Leila. I pulled a face but quickly covered it up with a huge fake smile.

"Miss Sterling, what a joy to see you." I gritted out brightly between my teeth.

I heard small breath puffs from behind me and knew that Dante was fuming at me, glaring daggers at the back of my head.

"Yes, it like is, like isn't it? Like whatever, drop the act, okay, like, Norah?" she huffed, her chest practically poofing out in front of me. I grimaced. I hated that annoying voice of hers, it really made me want to leap forward and stuff her mouth with paper, all the way back down her throat just so she couldn't speak.

"Like whatever, drop the 'likes', okay, like, Leila?," I asked her and she huffed again, "Oh yeah, and tuck in your boobs if you will, they're practically spilling out of that thing you call a shirt."

"Uh, like whatever. Does it, like, look like I, like, care?" she asked me, flipping her strawberry blonde straightened hair over one tanned shoulder, her blue eyes glittering dangerously at me.

"What do you want, Leila? Can you hurry it up? I'm looking for Braden. Plus, I don't want to be around you anymore than I have to be." I sighed, snapping angrily at her.

"Oh, I'm, like, so, like, hurt," she sneered at me, "but, like, whatever that's what I, like, came here to, like, talk to you, like, about. Like, Braden just, like, got out of the changing rooms and, like, he's now, like in the Drama Studio storage cupboard, 'kay? I think he's, like, helping out or, like, something." she told me, scoffing and flipping her hair over her shoulder once more.

I nodded slowly, trying to process what she said to me, taking out the 'likes' in each sentence.

"Right, thanks, Leila." I said slowly and suspiciously.

"No problem." she chirped happily before walking off.

Strange…

Dante was right behind me yet she just completely ignored him…how odd.

Something is definitely up.

"Norah." I turned around, wincing slightly as I saw Dante. He had a stony expression on his face.

"Hi?" I tried.

"Haha, real funny and clever. We still need to talk." he said in a neutral tone.

"Well…I would just LOVE to stay and chat but, gotta find my boyfriend you know? Heh…" I trailed off before turning around and making a dash for it.

I heard his sharp, surprised intake of breath before he started running after me.

On the way to the Drama Studio though, I couldn't help but question myself mentally as to why Dante suddenly stiffened as I said the word, 'boyfriend' before relaxing when it passed.