Transition

4

"Savanna!" I heard my best friends scream in unison as they charged toward me down the street. I never understood how they would make it to my house before me, but honestly I never questioned it. Seeing them always made me happy, so for them, I pushed aside the rising discomfort I felt when they merely said my name.

The first one that barreled into me, as always, was Riley. Her vanilla scent hit me like bricks as she enveloped me in a bear hug, her two arms placing themselves tightly around my waist. I always had a couple inches on her, and the feeling of her so close to me made my heart race erratically. A second body collided onto our embrace. The smell of fruity perfume let me know instantly that it was none other than Kayley Desai- aka the sweetest girl to have ever breathed. The third stood in watch, never one to be overly touchy. Nonetheless, she smiled at the exchange. Her emerald green eyes bore into me, and she quirked her eyebrows at my blushing state. I never understood how someone so pale could be related to Riley Rodriguez, but that was just Maddie for you. Mysterious was her thing.

They pulled back from the group hug and my eyes met the beautiful brown orbs that belonged only to Riley. She smiled brightly at me, exclaiming, "We've been waiting so long for you to get home, Vanna. Seriously."

"By that she means that we've been here for five minutes tops," Maddie quipped mockingly, draping an arm around me. Her raven hair was being controlled by a backwards snapback, otherwise it would have whipped itself into my face. "No worries, Crosby."

Maddie never called me by my first name, and I think that she always had an inkling about me hating it... about me hating everything that had to do with it. That was something that she picked up on alone, but Riley and Kayley never did. But Maddie understood without there needing to be words. Another mystery from Riley's cousin.

"Sawyer!" Jade shook me, her other hand waving frantically in front of my face. I looked up at her in a daze, and she gave me a relieved smile. "You just totally spaced, Sawyer... you didn't even answer Kayley's question."

I looked at Kayley, who was looking at me curiously. I swallowed the lump in my throat and shook my head, "Never heard of a Savanna before so unless I have a secret cousin, no. I don't think so."

"Really?" Kayley asked, leaning forward to study me. Her eyes narrowed. "You could seriously be her cousin. You have her weirdly blue eyes."

I shifted in my seat and another voice echoed in the room as another seat was brought up, "Twenty Questions already, Kay? He's barely even started his day."

I looked to find a set of bright green eyes meeting mine. Her pale skin, her wild raven hair. I felt my heart drop because her eyes flickered in recognition when they met mine. She looked me over and I knew in that moment that she knew exactly who I was. But she held her hand out for me, and greeted me.

"Maddie Ramos."

"Sawyer... Crosby."

That's all she needed. A small smile played at her lips, but she didn't give me away. She replied, "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Crosby."

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and I felt a sense of relief wash over me. Saved by the bell. I saw a message from Parker and opened it.

Parker:
Sorry about the shitty replying. Did Riley catch on? How're things so far?

To Parker & Noah:
Riley was clueless, I think. But my two other old friends have met me and one thinks that I'm my own cousin or something and the other... she caught on.

Noah:
Wait which one caught on?

Parker:
The cousin, right? Riley's cousin?

To Noah & Parker:
Yup. Maddie Ramos. Figured me out the second that I saw her.

"What's so interesting on your phone, Crosby? Girlfriend?" Maddie teased, almost as if I had never left. I could see the confusion written on Kayley and Jade's faces. She wiped the smile off of her face, knowing she was giving something away, but she still looked at me expectantly.

I shook my head, laughing nervously, "No, no girlfriend. Just my two best friends from back home."

Jade smiled, "Oh what are they like? Are they hot?"

"Seriously Jade, keep it in your panties," Kayley groaned.

"Well... Parker is gay, so... I highly doubt he would date you. Sorry Jade. But he's really cool! He was born in Australia. He moved over here when his dad got moved in the company- he's a good guy. And Noah's single but very picky. He's an asshole but he's cool."

Jade was about to speak up, but Mr. Dodson broke her off by starting his class. We all straightened up and faced forward. But a small sheet of paper slid onto my desk. I looked over to see Maddie eyeing it urgently, a smile on her lips.

I opened it and it read:
I know. But I won't tell. I promise.