The Broken Girl and The Golden Boy

Field Trips Make Friends

Chapter 9: Piper

"Are you sure you're feeling better?" I asked Sadie for the thousandth time as we pulled into her school's parking lot, "I can take one more day off of school if you don't."

"I'm fine, Piper," she said, smiling brightly, "Just a little tired. Besides, you have your big, important chemistry field trip. The one you told me is mandatory for your project. That is why you had to do all of that laundry for Ms. Wallace yesterday, isn't it?" Yeah, I'm not proud of it, but I had my neighbor sign my permission slip for chem class in exchange for laundry services. I've only ever had her sign something one other time - when I was awarded my scholarship and needed a parent signature to attend Carson Academy. But yeah... I'm really not proud of that either.

"Yeah, Sadie that's why I did the laundry," I muttered. Glancing over at her, I felt my worry return when I noticed how pale she was, "Are you sure you'll be okay?"

"I'll be fine!" she said, unbuckling and opening the door on her side, "You have to go on your field trip or you'll lose your scholarship."

I leaned over and kissed her forehead before she got out, saying, "You will always be my first priority, Sades. I'd give up that scholarship for you in a heartbeat."

"I know," she replied, "But you don't have to." She smiled again and hopped out of the Camry, shutting the door behind her. Then she walked over to the sidewalk and waved to me as I drove away - at least until she spotted Leo, after she caught sight of him I was completely forgotten. I wonder what that's like...

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"Mr. Hollough's chemistry students, please head to the back of the school to meet your teacher and load the buses. Head directly to the back of the school; you do not need to check in with your first period teacher," a woman's voice instructed over the intercom.

With a sigh, I began shuffling toward the back of the school, stopping for a minute to shove my backpack in my locker. The lake was only an hour and a half away - there were some smaller ponds nearby, but Lake Adrienne apparently had the best samples - so I could just sleep on the way there and not have to worry about getting bored.

"Hey, Pia!" Liv called, racing up beside me. Did she seriously forget my name that quickly?

"My name's Piper," I said, correcting her.

"I know that!" she laughed, "But I come up with Spanish nicknames for everyone. My mom still thinks everyone at my school is Hispanic. Lindsey is Linda; Ian is Iago; Justin is Justino."

"Wow... um, those are..." I stammered, fighting back laughter.

"Terrible?" she grinned, "I know. I love tormenting them with the crappy nicknames. Ian's is the worst... it's like that ugly parrot thing from that one Disney movie."

"Aladdin," I supplied. That had been my favorite movie before...

"Yeah, that one," she nodded in agreement, "See? You get it, chica. Come on, though, we're going to miss the bus if we don't hurry."

"Yeah, okay," I replied. We rushed to the back door and hurried down the steps to join the other students gathering by the bus. And when I say bus, I mean a deluxe, state-of-the-art, so-sleek-it-could-be-a-sportscar bus. Because god-forbid the precious snowflakes at this academy sit on a typical yellow school bus. Rolling my eyes, I walked up to the crowd so I could hear what Mr. Hollough was saying.

"...Seating arrangements, you will be sitting beside your partner on the bus," he said, "That will be all. If you missed any part of that speech, each pair has an itinerary of sorts waiting for them at their seats."