Faces (Lannan Eacott) *Under Editing*

Chapter Three

     I hear my phone ding from across the room and within seconds it's in my hands. A text came through from who I can only assume is Lannan.

     A-Team is onboard with going to the zoo tomorrow. I did some research and we will meet you there at 9. See you tomorrow.

The rest of the night was restless. All I could think about was the kind boy with brown eyes. Specifically how he always had something nice to say to me. By the time I had fallen asleep, the sun was shyly peaking over the horizon. A couple hours is all I need anyway. For once my dreams were pleasant. Nikki's alarm echoed throughout the room around 7:45.

"Would you like to join me for breakfast? Or if you'd like a few extra minutes I can bring some up." Nodding my head I slipped into a slight slumber. "Sam." His voice was soft, but loud enough that I slowly cracked my eyes open. His hoodie strings dangled in front of my face as he continued to speak my name. "Sam. Wake up. SAM." Finally my eyes flew open and Nikki was holding a plate consisting of two pancakes and half a banana.

"Half a banana?" She shrugged and walked over to her dresser.

"I got hungry on my way up here." She found what she was looking for and turned towards me. "So, were you dreaming about Lannan?" I could see the smirk on her face as I tried to cover my now red cheeks. "Actually, don't answer that. I already know the answer." After eating breakfast, we both got dressed into comfy attire. Considering it's the zoo, it's hot, and we have no idea how long we will be there.

"About what you said last night." Nikki was a few steps behind me as we began the journey to our bus. "Even if he did 'have a thing for me', what would happen when we go home? I just forget he ever existed. I don't want another Jake." She sighed and put her hand on my shoulder, stopping me.

     "Regardless of what goes down these two weeks, one thing you have to learn is that not everyone is gonna be like Jacob. I know he hurt you. The only way I can describe it is that he is a seasonal person." She caught onto my confusion when she saw my raised eyebrows. She continued to walk with me. "Some people come into our lives and they aren't meant to be a forever person. They're seasonal. Unfortunately, sometimes we mistake them for forever people. When in reality, they're only suppose to come into our lives as a lesson. Like a filler chapter, if you will. They're there to fill the space that is empty. Jacob was an ass to you. And I wish that never would have happened. But look at the person you became because of it. One day, it'll be as if he never even hurt you. Of course, the scars will still be there, but they won't be fresh wounds anymore. Just let karma do its thing, Sam." She gave me a smile and finally we gathered in the lobby with our classmates.

     "One rule today. Stay with at least one other person from our group. We will meet at the exit at 3. Clear?" Everyone mumbled their 'yes' and we were off to the zoo. The ride to the zoo was quite long and made me realize just how much I actually missed home. I missed my dad, my pets, the food from the old southern factory that dad and I went to every other Sunday. I missed the way everyone knew everyone else and it seemed as if we were one big happy family. The bus came to a stop and I noticed a very familiar car parked not too far from us.

     "Do you think we could see the giraffes first? They were always my mom's favorite." Nikki nodded and linked arms with me. Our class crowded into the building and we all went our separate ways. Lannan and his friends were nowhere to be found so Nikki and I took it amongst ourselves to find our way to the giraffes. Upon finding them, we stopped and watched them for a couple minutes. "What do you think she would be doing right now?"

     "Who? Your mom?" I nodded ever so slightly and she looked back at the giraffes. "I'm not entirely sure. Probably blowing up your phone. 'Are you wearing sunscreen?', 'did you pack enough clothes?', 'don't forget to eat.'. She was like that."