alone | noen eubanks

3

                                           Noens POV
My phone ringed. I checked my notifications. A text from an unknown number. Scarlett.

I put down my phone, she's chill, I know we're gonna get along.

I check my social media. My TikTok account has been gaining a following after people started to refer to me as an Eboy. I went along with it. I'm planning on dying my hair pink soon. Gotta do what you gotta do sometimes.

I began to drift off too sleep.

——— Time Skip; at school ———

I enter the school hall and immediately head to where me and my friends usually hang before school.

"Guys there's a new girl, I feel like you'll all get along with her." I say to my friends, as I approach them.

My friend group isn't exactly the popular, despite being pretty big. We're those kids, the ones who spend half their time not serious and loud and other times completely quiet. We're all super close with one another, but we're more like one big group grouped up into smaller groups. We all know one another and talk to eachother yet we stick into smaller groups within eachother, floating around every now and then.

While they're talking I await for a text from Scarlett telling me she's here. I end up never getting one and just begin to forget about her while chatting with my friends.

I walk to my first period and sit in my usual sit in the back. My first period is History, I spend half the time ignoring as it's just a repetition of 8th grade history with more information. The girl who sits next to me, Lyra, enters late, like she always does, this time though, someone else enters behind her.

Scarlett. I forgot all about her.

We make eye contact. She doesn't look mad, just nervous. I slightly wave and smile, she returns the smile.

Lyra talks to the teacher, the teacher nods, pointing Lyra to her seat, Lyra comes towards her seat.

"Everyone, we have a new student, this is Scarlett." The teacher says. Scarlett's eyes widen as everyone looks at her. She gives a slight smile and wave. "Tell us about yourself."

"Oh I um, I'm Upstate New York, I'm from Scarlett." Her eyes widen when she realizes what she says. A few people giggle, her eyes lock with mine as she looks across the room.

'Breath.' I mouth at her, she closes her eyes.
"Sorry, I'm Scarlett, I'm from Upstate New York." She exhales, the teacher nods.

"Your seat is right behind Noen, the blonde hair kid in the back." She points at me, cool.

She makes her way to the back. "I couldn't find you this morning." She whispers to me when she sits down. Her voice completely changed and less shaky.

"You should've just texted me." I say. "You and Lyra get along? She's one of the chilliest girls in our grade." Lyra looks at me and throws up the sufer hand signal, we all smile.
"Yeah, Scarlett's so chill and funny, you two know eachother?" Lyra says.

"Our moms our old friends, I helped her decorate her room yesterday." I say to Lyra.

"Cute." She says. "Anyways, I'm throwing a party tonight. You two wanna come?"

"Not really my scene, you know this." I tell her.

"Mine either." Scarlett says. She seems to have been listening but writing down what the teacher is talking about. "Does she not care if you talk?" She questions, looking between the both of us.

"She says if we fail her class that's on us, so not her problem." Lyra says. I nod. "I always enter late and she doesn't care."

"It's an easy class. We already learned majority of it." I say to Scarlett.

"I haven't." She says, I remember the school system is probably different in New York.

"Come to my party. I'll even stick by you Scarlett." Lyra says to Scarlett, Scarlett looks at me for help.

"Only if Noen goes. I won't know anyone there besides you two." She shrugs.

"Alright, but only for an hour. Then I'm out." I say to her. I hate social places probably as much as her. Ironic, I literally am gaining a following on social media.

She smiles.

We talk a while longer, until the bell rings, everyone is quick to pick up their stuff, making a loud noise.
"You do drugs Scarlett?" Lyra asks. "Mister here is too pussy." She points at me.

"Hey!" I say.

"I've done it a few times. Why?" She shrugs, I look at her with wide eyes, she shrugs again.

"Wanna skip your second period gym to smoke in the bathrooms?" Lyra asks her, I look at her surprised.
"Really she's barely been here two hours and you're trying to get her suspended." I look at her flatly now.

"I do it everyday and haven't been caught yet. The school doesn't really give two shits." Lyra says and looks at Scarlett.

"Yeah sure." Scarlett answers and Lyra grabs her by the hand out of the class. I shake my head and head to my second period theatre.