lemonade | ethan

four

"hey, we missed you yesterday. why didn't you show?" maya asks, coming up right next to me as i walked with melanie to the cafeteria for lunch.

"um," i thought for a bit. "show for what?"

maya rolled her eyes, sighing. "you know! the first day of school pool party at clayton's house?" she explains, "you didn't show. people were starting to think you and clay had problems."

i shrugged, "i've already been to three of those. i was busy yesterday. i couldn't make it."

"yeah, no kidding. i don't know what's more important than that pool party. especially since now there's rumors going around about you and clayton." maya said, her arms crossed.

there was an indoor platform in the cafeteria where my clique had sat. it was looked upon on as where the rich, the popular and the most known sat. again, if you were originally apart of that seating area, and then you don't sit with them one day. it's bad.

there's a foreign rule where south siders aren't allowed up there. rules made my none other than the north siders.

"i'm gonna go grab something to drink," i said. mel and i came into the cafeteria kind of late. the only thing open now was the grab n go aisle.

i walk in, scanning the shelves for my favorite beverage. this whole pregnancy thing was stressing me too. especially since melanie has only told me, so i have no one to talk to about it.

my eyes spot the last of my favorite bottle of lemonade, and i go in to reach for it.

suddenly, another hand snatches it away just in time before i could grasp it. i gasp, turning around to be faced with a south sider.

he smirks, flashing me the bottle of lemonade, taunting me. "better luck next time." he shrugged, before walking away back towards his lunch table.

"why were you talking to ethan?" melanie comes up from behind me, grabbing my shoulder. her eyebrows furrowed.

i looked at her, then at him. "i wasn't. how do you know him?" i asked, searching for a different drink since i clearly wasn't getting my lemonade.

"he's friends with nick. apparently he's the most innocent one out of all of them." melanie explains. she sees me looking for a drink, and hands me a smoothie. "the next best thing." she says, referring to the smoothie.

i nod, grabbing it. "yeah. still wish i had that lemonade though."

LEMONADE

"who's ready to get their chemistry on!" mr kim sings, walking into the room with stacks of papers with him. he sets them down onto the counter at the front of the room.

when the last bell rang, melanie still wasn't here. i shot her a quick text asking where she was. immediately, she replied:

'my parents found the pregnancy test in the trash bin. they called me home. i'm fucked.'

"devon. i know it's senior year, but we've been through this!" mr kim exclaims. "no texting in class!"

i stuff my phone in the pocket of my jeans, "sorry." i mumbled, pushing a part of my hair behind my ear.

"today we're going to have some chem fun. a little chemical reaction. i'm going to hand out an instruction sheet, and you and your partner are going to have to complete it. i'll be coming around if you need help, but other than that, don't blow up the school." my kim explains. "now, everyone come up and grab yourself some safety goggles."

everyone files up, going to grab them. most north side girls were disgusting at how these goggles were used.

i grab a goggle, stretching it out to see if it would fit my head. "devon." mr kim says, signaling me to come over.

"yeah?" i ask, standing at the front of his desk.

"i just received an email from melanie's parents saying she'll no longer be attending this school." he explains, a sympathetic look on his face.

"really?" i wondered. why didn't she tell me?

he nods, "yeah. so i'm going to unfortunately assign you a new partner. now i know i said at the beginning of the year that i'd assign you to someone you'll be comfortable with, but.." he looks around the room. "everyone is set with their partners."

i look behind me at all the north siders full with partners. "um. if you're referring to north siders, i'm completely fine with a south sider too."

he nods, smiling. "i'm glad to hear that. usually i don't hear a lot of positive feedback on the south siders when it comes to them." he explains. "well, ethan's partner is no longer here either. so i guess you're lucky. you can be with him." the kid who stole my lemonade?

"you hear that, ethan?" mr kim raises his voice for ethan to hear. his head shoots up, looking at mr kim, then at me. none of the other kids are looking. they were too busy talking to one another now that they had the chance. "you'll be partnered up with devon here."

he doesn't have much of a reaction, just rests his elbows on the table, watching me as i went to pick up my stuff from my original table to move to his.

this is gonna be fine. i tell myself. just treat him like he isn't different. this is new for me. just last year, i was wasting my time hating south siders just like maya and clayton are now. it was disgusting.

"hi. i'm devon." i hold my hand out to shake his, a smile plastered on my face. he looks down at it, his eyebrows furrowed, a smirk on his face.

he takes it, firmly shaking my hand. "ethan." he replied. "wait.. aren't you the lemonade girl?"

i furrowed my eyebrows in confusion, "lemonade girl?"

"yeah. you know. at lunch?" he says, eyebrows raised, hoping i'd understand. i did, but why lemonade girl?

i nod, "then yeah. i'm lemonade girl, i guess."

he chuckles, "by the way, i'm sorry about that. my friends were pissing me off. and i just.. really like lemonade."

"right? it refreshes my mood." i exclaim, my eyes wide, a smile on my face.

"same!" he states, followed by a light chuckle.

i sighed, a genuine smile still laying on my face, "but, it's okay. i'm completely over it." stereotypes on south siders aren't always true. that every one of them are bad, and in gangs and dangerous. that they do drugs and are super rude.

ethan was nice, and it erased every thought i'd been taught about south siders away.

END OF CHAPTER FOUR

my summer has been no bueno. super boring