Welcome

Part 2

The bell rang for lunch. I stood up to pack my things when I bumped into someone. "Sorry," I said, turning to see who it was. I automatically recognized them.

It was Maya. She didn't say anything to me, much less pay attention to me. She hurried out the classroom with books in hand, struggling to put her jacket on. I swear that there's something up with her.

"Max, you coming," I heard Scarlet say as she and Kira were making their way to the door. I put my thoughts aside and grabbed my book bag and we made our way to the cafeteria.

...

"Okay, I think we have something to talk about," Kira said, picking up her granny smith. "Of course we do. There's no such thing as a "new student" here," Scarlet says. I can hear the questions forming in all of our minds. We just have no way of asking them. "Well, I think something's going on," I said, "She's in all of our classes so far."

"I was able to look her schedule when she left during second period. She has the same schedule we do," Kira said. "You don't think this has something to do with us," I asked. I didn't get a response. I get up to throw my tray away.

I was about to turn back to the table when I spotted her. She was at the vending machine. I couldn't help but watch, hoping that I could find something out that way. I just don't understand. How is she even here? Why is she here?

She walks back with vitamin water and suddenly makes eye contact with me. I didn't know how to play it off, so we kinda just had a stare down. I could've sworn she glared at me as she walked by...

"I think she knows who we are," I said as I was sitting back down. "We weren't properly introduced, so I'm pretty sure she doesn't know our name yet," Scarlet said. "We don't know that," I told her. "Guys, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Kira said, picking up her things, "I have no doubt in my mind that there is something up, but we don't have anything to go off with yet. Let's just keep a close eye on her for the rest of the day."

She does have a point. We have the rest of the day to figure out as much as we can about this girl. The bell rings and we start making our way to our next class.

Maya is in all of our classes. How hard can this be?

...

I'm pissed. This girl's quieter than a freaking mouse! We took every opportunity to interact with her. She rarely said a word to us. The teachers never called on her. They only mentioned it being her first day here. Let's just say we tried and we're exhausted. 

We're walking to the small coffee shop we always go to after school ends. The weather isn't working in our favor either. The wind is really strong and it only got up to twenty-six degrees. "I'm gonna need Georgia to make up its mind," Scarlet said, trying to cover her face with her coat. "I think we all know that isn't going to happen," I said. I press the button for the crosswalk, knowing good and well that it doesn't do shit. The light just turned so we are going to be here for a while. "I hate this light," Kira said. She started to put her bag on the ground. It's the end of January. We still have about a month and a half of this bullshit. The light finally turns green and we walk across the street.

...

The warmth of the building hit us and my senses started to come back to me. "Ah, there are my three favorite customers. Nice to see you guys didn't freeze to death out there," the man behind the counter said. "Hey, Blake. I thought we wouldn't make it," I said, greeting him with a smile. We set our stuff down at our usual spot by the window as he laughs. "Can I get you guys anything?"
"Something warm," Scarlet says and we all agree. "You got it. Coming right up."

We kinda just sat there and talked about random stuff the whole time, enjoying the hot chocolate that Blake gave us. Free of charge, might I add. He really didn't have to do that, but he did. We couldn't stop thanking him, especially Kira.
It just felt great to laugh and relax. Having tests most of the day has its benefits. We barely had any homework.

But even with all of this going on, I knew we were avoiding the topics that we should be talking about. I didn't want to be the one to ruin the mood, but it's been on my mind all day.

I waited till no one had anything else to say anymore. "I can't believe it's been a year," I started. They caught on pretty quickly. "It will be a year on Monday," Scarlet said, "What do you think they'll do about it?" Kira sets the cup she was holding on the table. "I'm sure they're going to do something different. Probably change something."
"Or, we're just overthinking all of this. They probably don't care as long as we still show up," Scarlet pointed out. She's probably right, but we still have to consider the possibility.

"Here's a question. Why do we keep showing up in the first place," I asked. I know why, but the answer just bothers me so much. "Because you know what they'll do to us if we don't," Kira said. I can hear the annoyance in her voice. I really want to believe that they're just empty threats, but I can't say that they are. Because we know what they're capable of.

"We should probably go before it gets dark," Scarlet said, checking the time on her phone, "It's almost five thirty." We pack up our things and get ready to go back out into the cold. "You guys be safe and warm. The temperature dropped five degrees since you been here," Blake informs us. "Thanks, Blake. We'll see you on Monday," Scarlet said and we waved goodbye.

...

"Okay, guys. Just come over when you're ready. I'm just going to be setting stuff up," Scarlet said. We were at the entrance to my neighborhood. "Oh? Are we having a party Scarlet," I asked, sounding amused. "More like we're going to play Uno all night till we fall asleep," She said and that made Kira laugh. "You guys are really trying to lose tonight," she said. I shoved her off the sidewalk as I started to walk up the street to my house.

"You're such a sore loser," She yells out behind me. "Whatever. Just don't get mad when you lose every game."

My goal this weekend is to relax. To have a good time. I just want to be normal for the next couple of days.

Because I feel like, after Monday, we would be far from normal.

Further than we already are...

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