Nomads

Chapter 20

Soon enough, the two girls were dressed back in their school clothes and were standing outside the locker rooms, waiting for the final bell to ring.

"... And there's Marcus Donahue, who's the hottest guy in school. But I think Julia Cheng is in love with him. I don't know why, though. He's an absolute douche. Yesterday, I accidentally bumped into him and he called me a lobster. A lobster! Can you believe it? It's not my fault that I'm paler than the moon and they don't sell SPF 1000 in the US. I was forced to go on that stupid family vacation. I wanted to stay home in the shade and not get sunburnt. But no. Mom wouldn't hear it. Something about 'family bonding'." Jo ranted.

Mara chuckled, "Well, I'm sure your mom just wanted to spend more time with you since you'll be going off to college soon. And as for Mason, that's just ridiculous."

Jo huffed. "I mean, he's not wrong, I just... It doesn't mean he needed to say it." She sighed, running a hand through her hair. " Those cool kids just think they're all that, don't they? Did you hear how they dropped Amir Qureshi like he was nothing? Gina Fitzpatrick said that they didn't even have a reason to do so. They must've just got bored of being friends with him. Poor guy. And apparently their golden boy, Luke Callahan, got some exotic girlfriend over the summer in Greece. And the rest of us spent our summer here, listening to Sarah Jeffords brag about how she was gonna win his heart this year. Talk about embarrassing."

Mara cringed, but not for the reason Jo thought. "Really?"

"I know, it's sad right? And kinda pathetic. The poor girl must be getting tormented by Sarah, though. Can't blame her, either; Sarah's been head over heels for Luke Callahan since the day he beat up some 4th graders who were teasing her back in the first grade." Jo sighed dreamily. "Honestly, who wouldn't be in love with that guy? He's all aloof and mysterious. And handsome."

Uneasiness and guilt settled in the pit of Mara's stomach at this newfound information. No wonder Sarah hated her so much. But before she could inform Jo that she was the new girl who snagged the golden boy before Sarah Jeffords could make her move, she saw Luca coming down the hall. When they locked eyes, he grinned and waved as he began to make his way over to her.

"Hey, stranger," he called.

"Hello, yourself," she replied, trying to ignore the pang of guilt for stealing some random girl's first love. She watched him direct his path toward them, only breaking eye contact when a loud gasp erupted from the girl next to her.

"That's Luke Callahan. You know Luke Callahan??" hissed Jo, much louder than she probably intended to.

Mara struggled to bite back an amused grin at this girl's overreaction. "Yeah, I've kinda seen him around."

"How do you know him?? He's one of the popular kids! And- Ohmygosh. He's coming over here!" she whispered urgently. "Act natural."

Luca noticed the uncomfortable look on Jo's face and the barely concealed mirth in Mara's expression. He eyed his girlfriend suspiciously, finally coming to a stop right in front of her.

"I didn't know you had gym at the same time as me," he started, his pale blue eyes glancing cautiously at the badly sunburned girl before his eyes settled back on Mara. "Wanna walk to my car from here?" He asked slowly, unsure if he should vocally acknowledge Jo's odd behavior. Especially when she started choking on air at his statement.

Mara shrugged, biting her lip to hold in a smile. "I planned to walk with Josephine to the main entrance. Oh! That reminds me." She looked over at Jo to see her trying to regain control of her lungs. "I made a friend today. You know Josephine? She goes by Jo."

Luca followed Mara's amused gaze and nodded, his brows furrowing in thought. "Yeah, we've had a few classes together."

They settled into a mildly uncomfortable silence as they waited for Jo to form a coherent thought.