DEELAILAH 《ON HOLD》

Chapter 3 - So we're back to normal?

UNEDITED

"I'm so glad your Monday faze is over." Jared said with a huge grin dancing on his face. His energy today was almost contagious. Almost. Was he expecting me to just pretend?

"I know right." Kait added laughing like he had said the funniest thing ever. We were walking to school again. Our daily tradition.

"Yeah, finally." I say deciding to go along with them.
"You don't sound too happy there, Dee." Jared said nudging my shoulder a bit roughly.

I didn't say anything to that. I had many questions to ask him but decided against it. I didn't want to ruin his mood today.

"Well..." He drawled out. This gain him Kait's and mine attention. "I've been thinking." He began but pausing for effect.

"Go on." Kait urged

"I think we should start using our cars.-" By our he meant his. Kait didn't have her old truck anymore and I didn't have a car to begin with.  "-Don't you think? I mean, I get that walking to school is like our little tradition-" Little? "-and we want to reduce our carbon footprint and all, but I really want to start using the new car my dad got me." He finishes off excitedly.

So that's what this is about? You see, Jared's dad, Carlos Diamond, got Jared his dream car on his eighteen birthday last month . A Mandarin MX-5 Miata. Okay, I didn't know much about cars but I knew his was a big shot and he was really eager to show it off at school.
I couldn't help but pout at that. "So only Kait and I would walk together? No more Jared?"

"I can never leave my girls like that." He said clearly amused that I would even think like that of him.

"So what then?" Kait asked piqued. I gave her a weird look and she looked away. This caused me to frown slightly but it vanished immediately when Jared started talking.
"I was suggesting that I would be picking you guys up every morning." He says looking at Kait to get her affirmation. But she wasn't looking at him.

"Why can't we just walk like we always do? We've been doing that for a while now." She says in a small voice and just like that, fragile Kait was back.
Jared must have noticed this too because his features softened and he spoke to her in a small voice.

"What's wrong with what I suggested? I just want to drive us to school. I have a car now."
Now I think about it, it was Kait's idea to walk to school instead of accepting Carlos' offer to drop us instead.

The only reason I could come up with because she wanted to avoid us from meeting her parents. Her adoptive parents.  Kaitlin's real parents were dead but luckily she was adopted by two caring people. At least that's what she tells us. The last time Jared and me went to visit her, it didn't go so well.

But I knew she was having troubles at home, she would come crying to either I or Jared when things were too hard for her. Whenever I ask her if they physically hurt her she'd say no, I shouldn't worry.

"Okay." She finally caves in, her gaze lasting on Jared for longer than necessary. Jared didn't seem to notice.

Am I missing something here?

"Great." His infamous grin soon spread across his face.

We had arrived school in record time. Making our way through the school double doors, I see some students lazily scattered across the hallway. Some couples here and there giving unwanted PDA'S while some freshmen took pics. Ugh!

"Alright, I'll see-" I began stopping mid sentence when I realize my best friends were already gone. Odd.

Sighing, I open my locker and put some textbooks in it leaving some with me.
"Woah! Who's that?" Some random freshman screech. Bailey, I think her name was. Soon after, hushed whispers could be heard from students in the hallway. I wonder what could be the cause of the school's new gossip. I shut my locker.