I've always loved you.

Chapter 4

*Beep. Beep. Beep.* Ugh, the famous ‘first day of school.’ Everyone’s favourite day! I hopped out of bed, had a shower, put on some light make up and got changed. I missed the Penola uniform quite a bit. Back in England my school blazer was oversized and stiff which led to discomfort. I was quite content with the uniform here.

Luke and Jai agreed to pick me up so we could walk there. “Ready to see everyone? They’re so excited to have you back!” Luke asked. “I feel horrible because I left at the start of year 8. I barely remember anyone.” “Don’t worry, you’ll remember them sooner or later.” Jai assured me. We walked into school hand in hand and Luke was ahead by a few meters.

“Rina! Welcome back!” Our friend James gave me a tight squeeze around my shoulders then raised his eyebrows at Jai. Typical boys and their signals. Acquaintances from when I was here three years ago gave me friendly smiles. The bitches were still bitches, but that didn’t bother me. I walked through the halls and nothing here had changed at all.

The day flew by so quickly and before I knew it, school was over. My old friends Bridget and Monique were walking in my direction. “Are you coming to James’ house tonight?” Bridget questioned. “I was thinking about it but it’ll be weird for me considering I haven’t seen anyone in years. Small talk will be hard to handle.” “Oh come on! You’ll have us!” Monique tried to enthusiastically encourage me to tag along. “Fine! Only because you want me to.” “I guess we got our way then.” Bridget winked at Monique.

I slipped on some jeans, a soft hoodie and vans. Apparently it’s just a small group gathering so getting dressed up wasn’t necessary and I felt comfortable this way. James’ house was probably the closest to mine out of everyone’s. 4 minutes of walking was enough to reach his front lawn. When I arrived all I could see were a few old friends but I was fine with this. I didn’t feel at all intimidated which seemed alright.

“Hey babe.” Jai slipped his arms through mine, hugging me from the back. “Hey!” I leaned my head back on his for a few seconds and turned around to hug him. “Ladies and gentleman…” James said as he tapped his cup jokingly. “I’d like to kindly welcome back our friend Rina who just came back from three years in England. We missed you sis!” Luke yelled out as he clicked cups with James. Friends and cousins were popping out from behind couches or were arriving fashionably late. I turned around to see Jai with a guilty smile then looked back at Luke and James, mouthing “Thank you.”

I pulled all three of the boys responsible aside. “Before you start, we know how hard everything has been on you.” James interrupted before I could begin thanking them. “And it means so much that you haven’t forgotten us.” Luke continued. “So take this as our gift and thank you to you.” Jai said before pecking me on the lips. “I love you boys so much!” I gave them a tight group hug with tears watering my eyes. Words wouldn’t be able to describe how ecstatic I was at this point.

Daniel and Beau came up behind me and started tickling me. “Don’t forget about us!” “Oh, how could I forget you two.” I finished as I started tackling them both in hugs.

The party: To be continued.