Amara Holland is ready to fly by senior year as painlessly as possible. Isaac Coleman is ready to graduate and leave a town that thinks he's someone he's not. They've been at the same school since they can remember and yet have never had a real conv...
Thanksgiving week break has ended and it is the second day of getting back into the routine of classes. Yes, it was only a one week break but it was enough time to get back into staying up late. A break is a break.
I had a hard time sleeping last night and having English as my first class of the day does not help. Reading something does not actually wake me up this early in the morning so I'm having to fight the sleep that has been trying to consume me since I sat down.
I glance over at Isaac who also looks like he's trying not to let sleep take over at this very moment.
"Hey," I nudge his arm. "You get any sleep last night?"
He briefly looks over in my direction and shakes his head. That's all I get as a response.
I don't know what his deal is. November is almost over and we've been friends for almost an entire semester and yet he doesn't act like we've had plenty of memories together since Brett asked me and Emery to sit at their table. It seems like the only time we ever have a good conversation is whenever he comes into to Books & Beyond. I don't want to force anything, but it's the last year I'll see him so I might as well make extra effort to be actual friends with him. Or at least until he acknowledges me somewhere outside of the book store.
"Okay guys, today you will all be finally getting your letters. We have a good amount of time left in the class so read the letters and make sure your response it appropriate." Ms. Harper announced, starting to walk down the aisles and handing students their letters.
"Are you excited?" I ask Isaac.
"Nothing says excitement like being pen-pals to a third grader."
I give him a look.
"Okay, okay. I won't say anything else until I see what they wrote. Is that fair?"
"I'll take it."
When Ms. Harper hands us our letters, I see that I got a girl. I peek over at Isaac's letter and see that he got a boy.
I open my letter and read what my pen pal wrote:
Hi
My name is Annalise I am in 3 grade. My favorite color is yellow what about you?
Annalise
It was short and simple but hey, she's a third grader.
"What's the name of your pen-pal?" I ask Isaac.
"Landon. What about yours?"
"Annalise. What did Landon say?"
"Not much. He just talked about Minecraft. Very riveting stuff."
"Oh please. I bet you've played Minecraft at one point."
He shakes head quickly. "Of course not."
I raise my eyebrows.
"Okay, okay. Fine. Yes, I have. But it was just once I swear." He admits to which I smile in response.
Isaac turns his focus on getting a piece of paper out to respond to Landon. I want to ask him how his Thanksgiving went since I never got around to asking him, but I don't want to bother him too much.
Instead, I decide to reply to my pen-pal as well.
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"Can you please get out of the way? Some of us have places to be." Zoe appears next to my locker.
"I'm pretty sure your locker isn't here Zoe. Caitlin, Roger, and Zane's lockers surround mine."
"Clearly you need to get better observation skills and glasses. I asked Roger before Thanksgiving break if we could switch because his is closer to the exit."
"So you chose a locker that's next to mine?"
Zoe rolls her eyes. "It's not all about you, Amara."
I have nothing else to say to her so I zip up my book bag and start heading out. As if on cue, I hear Adam calling me.
"Hey." Adam greets once he catches up to me.
"Hi," I respond. "Haven't seen you in a while. What's up with that?"
"You see me in class everyday."
"True," I nod. "But we don't really talk that much."
"I didn't know we needed to." He responds.
At this I stop in my tracks in surprise and a bit of confusion since he's the one who came up to me. I have no idea what is going on or why he's acting like this all of a sudden. And guys say that girls are confusing.
5:23 PM
"Hey, so my friend is coming over." Xavier informs me, popping his head into my room.
"Uh, who?"
"You don't know him."
"Okay, well does mama know?"
"Of course she does. How else would I be able to have a friend over on a school night?"
I shrug. He has a point.
"What time is he coming?"
"In time for dinner." Is the only response me gives me before walks away.
I check the time. 5:23. I groaned, realizing that I have to get up and start making the dinner. Dinner is overrated.
"Rosie, come set the table!" I yell once I'm in the kitchen.
"I'm coming!" She yells back.
I get the steak, pans, and rice out to begin my cooking. After a few minutes pass by, there's a knock on the door.
"I'll get it." Xavier says, walking towards the door.
When he opens it, he reveals his friend who looks a bit familiar even though I've been told I don't know him.
"Kay, so this is Parker. We'll come back when mama and papa come home." Xavier tells me and leaves the kitchen with Parker before I can express my confusion due to the fact that we already know who Parker is.
8:43 PM
I've been lying on my bed, procrastinating since dinner was over which was almost two hours ago. I have no motivation to do anything at the moment. Which turns out to be tragic for me when I have to get up to use the bathroom.
Since Rosie was using my bathroom, I had to go to the bathroom that is at the end of the hall. I see Parker lingering around when I get there.
"Hey. Have I seen you before?" The question comes out before I can stop it.
"Probably when you dropped Xavier off that one time." He replies.
"Right, but I'm pretty sure that's not it. You look really familiar. Do you have any -"
"No, you saw me when I opened the door to let Xavier in when you dropped him off at my house a while ago." Parker snapped.
Stunned, I blinked twice and quickly walked back to my room.
I heard the front door close so I assumed he had left. I texted Xavier to see if that was the case and when he replied yes, I went into his room.
"Why did you say I didn't know who Parker was when you've mentioned him before?" I ask.
"Because you know him by name, but you've never actually met him. Does it matter?"
"He just looks familiar is all." I pause. "Does he have any -"
"Look Amara, I'm kind of trying to study for a test right now. Can we talk tomorrow?" Xavier interrupts.
"Uh, sure." I say, taken aback.
I return to my room and eventually fall asleep with a nagging feeling in my stomach.
