A.P. Freshmen

Chapter 6

*Paige POV*

The day after that went rather uneventfully. Can I say thank god for art? if i didn't have drawing I think I'd go insane. Just because I'm good at academic classes doesn't mean I like them.

I stand on the steps, checking my text messages, they're either from Ivy, Rorey, or my mom. The entirety of my social life, so I'm surprised when Alice walks up to me. She has a sunny smile on her face and her skirt swishes with her steps. I don't know how she did it, but she managed to keep the yellow flower in her hair intact through the entire day. She wears no makeup except for a vibrantly red lipstick. With her soft toned skin and honey hair, it looks striking. Somehow it doesn't look like too much on her, like red lipstick usually does.

I have to clear my thoughts.

"Hi" she says. "you should come over."

"Like, do you mean a later day?"

"Why would I? Patience was never one of my virtues. And why do something later that you can do now?" she states with confidence.

Oh. I didn't expect that. I don't make friends very fast. It's obvious that Allie has no qualms about that though. Even though I barely know her, I decide that I will. It's a new year, a new school, and a fresh start, and I dont want to be all alone in math.

And also becuase she seems fun. That's something I could use more of. I have fun with Ivy and Rorey. But even though we're as close as sardines in a can, we never see each other much outside of school. We have our advanced classes to study for, and both of them have extracurricular activities. I don't, of course.

Having someone to spend time outside of school could be nice. My parents might not even mind. They are incredibly overbearing, overprotective, and over paranoid. Not to mention very conservative and religous. Needless to say, they don't like Ivy and Roery, which might be one of the reasons that I barely see them outside of school. Ivy's prickly exterior, torn jeans, black leather jacket, and shoes that look like she just walked over a muddy mountain don't exactly endear her to my parents.

As for Rorey? Though most would call them classily flashionable, my parents say her clothes are way to revealing. That's enough for my parents to immediately dismiss her as inadequate friend material. My own wardrobe is pretty much snoozeville. Think bootcut jeans and zip up hoodies. Partly because I don't want to draw attention to myself, partly because my parents are prudes, and partly because I have no fashion sense.

So I tell her: "Yes, okay, I mean, yeah sure."

I internally grimace at my words.

"Um, I have to call my parents though."

"No problem. I can wait. My patience will hold out for a little while longer." I can't help but smile at that.

. . . . . .

I'm surprised my mom said yes, but I'm not going to question good fortune. Lord knows I get little enough.

It's a surprise when Alice leads me, instead of towards the parking lot where students are getting into their cars, but across the street and towards the woods near the school.

 "Wait, where do you live?" I ask as we walk into the woods. I don't see a clear trail and I nearly trip over a branch, but she seems to know what she's doing.

"My house is in the woods. You could get to it by car, but that's boring." I am getting the feeling that whatever Alice may be, it isn't boring. So why is she befreinding me?

Thankfully, a path appears. As we get a little further down, I see ivy curling up trunks and creeping out into the path,  and wildflowers struggling to push their way out of the heay growth.

"I made the path myself. I like walking to school through here. I decided not to make the path visible from the street. Don't want random joggers comeing up to our house. Plus it makes the whole thing feel more special and mysterious."

"It's beautiful." I say. And it is. The copious amount of ivy and paired with the closeness of the trunks gives it an almost surreal feeling, and the way it curves and bends through the trees makes it feel natural.

"Why thank you." She says with a smile. After only a couple  minutes of walking, we emerge onto a rather overgrown lawn with house a short distance away and a driveway leading the opposite direction of the lawn. Everything is surrounded by green trees. The lawn and garden looks as if it was once well kept and rather posh, but now it has fallen into disrepair. The house is a rather old brick one, with a steep roof and what looks like a mix between a lighthouse and a castle turret on the corner, a cone shaped roof on its top. The house itself is covered in ivy as well.

"Like it? I know it's getting old, and we haven't done much upkeep, but I think it has character. We actually moved here not that long ago, me and my dad."

I gaze at the old house and can't help but agree. It looks like a house with stories, a house with memories and secrets. A house you could explore and discover.

"I love it" I say, and she smiles even wider. Does she ever stop?

"Here, come on in."