Through the flames *MMG REVISION-COMPLETED✔️*

Chapter Eight: The Flame Riders

"Look, I'm sorry I didn't wait for you, but I didn't think you'd want to be dragged away from Jonas!" I cried for the fifth time in the last twenty minutes.

Rachel scowled and drummed her fingers on the steering wheel. "I was being nice! You honestly thought I'd want to talk to him after what he said at lunch?"

"Well it sure seemed like it!"

Rachel scoffed and turned on her blinker. "You know more than anyone that I don't want to date until we graduate."

"And then what? Date in college and waste precious time that you're paying for?" I huffed, crossing my arms and sending her a glare.

Rachel shrugged helplessly. "Then I just won't date until after college."

"Seriously? I mean, okay but seriously?"

"No!" Rachel half-cried, half-laughed. "I'll just date once my life is steady enough to. It's a big commitment you know," she said, turning into my street. "You have to remember so many dates and take time out of your schedule to care for them and you have to spend money on them-"

"Rach, you're confusing dogs with men." I hesitated and a grin tugged at my lips. "Sorry, same thing."

"Hey!" CJ cried from the back seat. "I mean, truth, but hey!"

Rachel and I started to laugh, and just like that, the argument was behind us. She pulled up to my driveway and unlocked the doors. I grabbed my backpack and turned around, waving at CJ.

"See you guys tomorrow," I said, sliding from the car. They chimed their goodbyes after me and I watched as they pulled off.

Sighing, I shouldered my backpack and trucked up the driveway to my front door. My mom's car wasn't here and my brow furrowed. Maybe she was working late?

I shrugged and slipped inside, closing the door behind me. "I'm home!" I called to no one, then laughed softly to myself and dumped my bag on the table.

There was a small piece of paper there, and I frowned.

Went to talk to Adam's father, soup on the stove!
Mom.

I scowled and crumbled the paper into a small ball. Of course she was. After all, we totally lived in the nineteenth century where the parents met to talk about their children's courtship!

Stomping up the stairs to my room, I kicked off my shoes and flopped onto my bed. What I wouldn't give for the Flame Riders to appear again and give me something to do. Sighing, I rolled off the bed and went to my laptop. My mom left my laptop for schoolwork but put heavy restrictions on what websites I could use. Social media was entirely out of the picture, even Coolmathgames.com was banned.

I opened up our student email and searched for Stacy's name. She popped up and I grinned to see she was online. I quickly shot her a message, asking if she had a Flisbee account.  A second later, she responded with an account name.

ThatBichStacy: Don't have a phone?

Hannanana: Grounded.
Flisbee is the only way I can contact my friends now.

ThatBichStacy: Oof. What'd you do?

Hannanana: There's this group of motorcyclists that
ride around my neighborhood called the Flame Riders.
Cheesy I know. Anyway, I like to mess around with them sometimes
and my mom absolutely hates it.

Stacy didn't respond for a while, and I started to think she left before my screen lit up with a video chat request. I raised an eyebrow and hit accept.