Miss Cloudwalker (COMPLETED BUT MAJOR EDITING)

Chapter 23

Effervescence: Bubbles in liquid

Lunch period arrived swiftly. I moved nervously through the crowd in the hallways. I dug my elbows into kids when they passed too closely. Glares were sent my way and so were nervous glances. Some kids got out of my way, but most of them were blinded by their hunger.

I made it to the front doors and saw four figures standing there. Chanel was laughing while Liz and Tommy seemed to be in a heated argument. Rachelle was glued to her phone, her green eyes scanning quickly over whatever she was looking at.

I walked over to them and Chanel squealed when she saw me. She wrapped her arms around me in a tight embrace. I blinked, my body flinching at the quick contact. She laughed nervously and pulled away.

"Sorry, I just didn't really think you would come."

"Gah, Liz you're so wrong!" Tommy huffed. I sent Chanel a questioning glance, she rolled her eyes and shrugged.

"No, Zac Efron's voice was so autotuned!" She retorted, crossing her arms. Tommy frowned.

"No way, Zac is a multi-talented guy. He can so sing!" He said defensively, "his voice couldn't have been autotuned."

"He said it himself! That he couldn't sing," Liz whined, shaking her head.

"Guys, shut up and let's go get some food!" Chanel snorted, covering both of their mouths with her hands. The pair glared at each other before nodding behind Chanel's hands. She chirped and skipped out into the parking lot.

I followed, an unsure feeling burning in my stomach. was I really doing this? Did I really want to do this? Part of me felt like it was too soon to accept something this new. I've barely known these guys for three hours.

We jumped into the twins' minivan and Tommy revved the engine with a smirk. Rachelle commented on how stupid he looked when he did that and he just laughed it off. Music blasted as we burst through traffic. My heart slowed to a comfortable beat. I took a deep breath—I needed to stop being so nervous. These kids were sweet.

Tommy was crazy as he swerved in between cars. THe minivan lurched and stuttered. My heart lost its comfortable beat and it thundered in my ears again. I grabbed onto the handle of the door and flattened myself into the seat. The music was loud enough for the whole street to hear. These kids were sweet, yeah, sweet and psycho.

The car swerved around a corner and then a few seconds later lurched to a stop. The seatbelt cut into my skin and I sat there, soaking in the fact that I was still alive. I let out the breath I was holding and shakily took off my seatbelt. I stumbled out of the car and leaned over.

"You-" I gasped as laughter spilled from the other kids, "you need to learn how to drive again."

Chanel laughed, "oh, burn, bro!"

She slapped her brother on the back and he chuckled. He reached a hand out to me to help me. I shook my head and straightened out. I glanced up, staring at the broken down diner.

I followed the group into the diner. They trampled in, their loud laughter grabbing the staff's attention. The other customers eyed us, frowns set upon their faces. A lady in a checkered yellow dress with a white apron moved towards us. She flashed a smile.

"Hello troublemakers, you haven't stopped by in a while," she said, smiling brightly at them.

"Sorry Linda," Tommy murmured, "but we brought a new friend!"

He stepped aside, dramatically revealing me. I smiled nervously, warmth spreading over my face. The lady—Linda—stepped over to me and grabbed both my cheeks in her hands. She chuckled, shaking her head, and let go. She turned back to Tommy.