Different Worlds

Chapter Five

Kenzie walked through the library, searching for Johnny. This part of the school was foreign to her, she rarely went to the library, unless it was a necessity.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀There was table after table lining the area of the large room that there weren't book shelves on. Johnny was sitting at a table that was in the far right corner of the library, right next to a bunch of computers.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Mackenzie made her way over to the table as soon as she saw him. He was reading something as he awaited the girl's arrival.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hey." Kenzie said when she got close to the table. Johnny looked up from the paper he was reading, more like skimming over and smiled at the girl.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hi." He said, and she smiled as well as she pulled out the chair right across from him.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"You know I never would have pinned your for being a big math nerd." Kenzie laughed trying to break the ice. Johnny looked at her in a confused way.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Why not?" He asked with a smile, and Kenzie shrugged, as she put her purse on the ground by her feet.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I don't know, you're just like mysterious and quiet...but like in a hot way not a creepy way." She answered not even realizing she had said he was 'hot' and the fact that his checks turned a light pink color as she said those words.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh, so I'm hot?" Johnny joked, taking Kenzie by surprise. The few times she had talked to him it had been vague and he had seemed like the nervous type, too nervous to joke about something like that. Yet, she didn't know him well, and like she said before he was quiet, that didn't mean he didn't have a personality.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Cocky much?" Mackenzie laughed, and it felt good. With her friends everything was serious, you had to play a role, someone you weren't. She had only been talking to Johnny for two minutes and she already felt like she could be different around him.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Oh yeah always." He answered sarcastically, and Kenzie laughed. Johnny had so far turned out to be a lot different than she had originally imagined. She thought he'd be another boy with a crush on her, too nervous to talk to her. Having an actual friend couldn't hurt, one that you didn't have to worry about stabbing you in the back. Maybe he could be that friend.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I think your good, at least for the next quiz." Johnny stated as Kenzie finished one last problem. She did pretty good when she actually put her mind to the problems in front of her. When she focused it was like she was never bad at math.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yay!" Kenzie answered happily as she handed her math page back to Johnny. He grabbed the paper, stuffing it back into his own book bag.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"If you don't do good on this quiz Mr.Blake is going to fire me...from my non-paying job." Johnny added the last part with a chuckle that made Mackenzie smile. There was something about Johnny she liked already, he made her smile. Her friends for some reason had never been good at that, all they did was present her with stressful drama.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'll try my best." Kenzie added grabbing her purse from the ground, as Johnny packed up his book bag as well.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Sorry I kind of had to cut this short today, my sister is at Art Club and she needs me to give her a ride home." Johnny said not looking at the girl as he finished packing his school bag.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"You have a sister?" Kenzie asked curiously. She had always known of Johnny, even when they had never talked before, she just always knew who he was. She had never known he had a sister though.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I have three sisters actually, but only one goes to this school. Her names Lauren." He said as he stood up form his chair. Kenzie stood up as well, pushing her chair in, as she tried to think if she had ever met Lauren.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I don't think I've ever met her. What grade is she in?" Mackenzie asked, as she began to walk steadily beside Johnny, as they made their way out of the library. He looked at her in a happy-confused way. I guess he never knew Kenzie could care about things that didn't involve her, he liked it.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"She's a freshman...wait you have a sister too right?" Johnny asked, and immediately it felt like Kenzie's stomach clenched. Talking about Maddie either made her happy or sad. It just so happened at the moment she was really missing her own sister, which may have been why she was so interested in his sister.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yeah, her names Maddie. She's a sophomore in college." Kenzie answered trying to stay calm and collected. It wasn't like her to feel emotional about people, Maddison was the only person she actually cared about and it sucked that she always had to miss her. Even when she was in high-school, she went to a boarding school for Junior and Senior year because it was better for her education. It gave her more opportunities, and it also made Kenzie spend the last four years just wishing she had her sister back.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Did she go here?" Johnny questioned as the exited the doors of the library.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Kind of, she went here for freshman year and sophomore year. She ended up going to a charter school for the rest of high-school, it was also a boarding school." Kenzie told him, and it was kind of weird for her to tell someone that type of thing. Personal things like that were always hard to get out of Kenzie, but she just felt like she wanted to tell Johnny's everything which was totally unlike her. Honestly the whole time she was with Johnny that day she was acting unlike herself, but it was a better version of her.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Do you miss her? It seems like she's been going away to school for a while now." Johnny said and immediately Kenzie shut down once again. Revealing emotions was a lot different than just telling stories, and she couldn't let her wall down.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Well, I see her a lot, so uh no." Kenzie said in a very stiff and formal tone that made Johnny look at her a bit funny. It was like all of a sudden she was just back to being her fake self, the one that had no problems and was perfect. He had thought for a few minutes he might have been able to get through to the real Mackenzie, and maybe he did for a second, but once she realized how vulnerable she was she snapped back.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Suddenly they were approaching the art room. Lauren was leaning against the wall just outside the door. Her blond hair was pulled up into a tight ponytail, she had on a blue sweatshirt and black leggings. The girl was tightly grasping a portfolio in her arms, as her book bag hung loosely on her shoulders.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Her and Kenzie made eye contact as they both approached the younger girl, and Lauren seems in shock. Kenzie could see why though, her brother being with the most popular girl in school, who also happened to kiss him the other day would be shocking.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hey, you ready?" Johnny asked his sister as he stopped in front of her. Lauren nodded, still starring at Mackenzie as she pushed off of the wall.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Yeah...uh what is she doing here? Uh..not that I'm mad or anything...just wondering." Lauren asked nervously, and for some reason it kind of made Kenzie upset. The fact that she put that much fear into people. Usually she liked it, but right then it made her feel beyond awful.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I'm tutoring her." Johnny said and then everything clicked with Lauren. She nodded her head, and placed a nervous smile on her face.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Hi, I'm Kenzie." She said holding out her hand for Lauren to shake. It was weird for her to be that nice to a stranger, but at the same time it felt kind of good.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"I know...I mean I'm Lauren." Johnny's sister said nervously as she stuck her hand out as well, and shook Kenzie's. Lauren's checks had a light pink tight of embarrassment.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀"Well it was nice to meet you but I have to get going. Bye Johnny, bye Lauren." Kenzie added the last part with a wave as she turned around. She didn't know it but as soon as she left Lauren had asked her older brother a million question about the other girl.
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⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀Meanwhile Kenzie was trying to figure out what had come over her back there. She was never that kind, to anyone besides her own sister. Why did she act so differently?