Time really flies by during the next few classes and before I know it, it's already lunch. If there's one thing I'm thankful for Heaven for it's the fact that I dont have to sit and eat alone during lunch, if that ever happens to me then I might as well live under a dark cloud for the rest of my existence.
" Hey sis. How were your first Ridgewood classes?"
I hear Heaven's perky voice from behind me
" Just like you said, Ridgewood is like any other school. So the classes were like any other classes you'll attend in any other school."
I don't mean to sound bitter but that's how I sound regularly. Heaven will have to deal with that.
" Can I talk to you for a second?" I ask unsurely. Last thing I wanna know is that Heaven's told her friends about me.
" Sure thing. What's up?" She stops dead in her tracks and turns to face me
" Do you mind not telling anyone how we became step sisters in the first place. It's not that I don't want anyone knowing we're related it's ok if you tell them. Just don't tell them about my mom dying and your mom marrying my dad..." I hope I don't sound mean to her.
Heaven's really been trying her best to be a good sister and I don't want to make it seem like she's not doing anything to make me have a change of heart towards her. This is just really important to me and I just hope she can understand
" I understand what you mean. But what do I tell them if they ask."
She's smart she'll figure something out
" I'll let you bother about that on your own."
We continue walking in the direction of the cafeteria after Heaven dramatically rolls her eyes at me.
" I have to introduce you to the rest of my friends."
I jog a little to keep in step with her and we maneuver our way to a table with strange faces, Maeve and London.
" Hi guys. Umm, I want to introduce you guys to my step sister, Paris."
She turns to me and goes " Paris these are my friends. The one who hasn't looked up from his phone in the past hour is Jesse. That's Damien and that's Benny. You've already met Maeve and London and the girl over there is Ivy.
I wave awkwardly to her group as they all say hi and try their hardest to be nice to a total stranger they just met.
Heaven sits across the table from me and I realize that we haven't even gotten anything to eat
" Aren't we going to get something to eat, Heaven?" I'd hate to stand up just after we've sat down
" But we just sat down. Uggghh!!!" she can be really whiny whenever she feels like
" You know what? I'm feeling a bit mean today so I'll just take Jesse's food. It's not like he's going to eat any of it. You can get food for yourself Ri."How nice of her.
The boy who I think she said was Benny scoots closer than comfortable to me. " You can share my lunch with me Rii." I feel like he's making fun of my nickname that I don't even like
" But you do know that you'll owe me right?" I'm so starving at this rate I scare what I'll owe him.
" Don't do it girl. Owing Benny is the last thing wanna do. He never let's it go." Ivy says
I might just get used to Heaven's friends. They seem chill.
" Don't listen to her." Benny says
I give in to the hunger and take a pork finger from his tray
" I warned you." Ivy says shrugging and going back to her own meal.
" So Paris...." Damien says to me for the first time
" Yeah....?"
" Has anyone ever told you that you're named after the city of love?"
That was not what I was expecting to hear
" Umm yes. Kind of. But thank you?" I say the ' thank you' sort of like a question because I'm not sure if it's supposed to be a compliment or something
" Have you ever been to Paris?" Benny asks
" No, not really." I omit the fact that, that's where my parents met, in Paris.
" Well I'm going to take her there someday. When we're married." Damien says and looks at me
" Paris is a really beautiful city. Just like you."
" Woah Damien way to lay it on too thick."
Maeve says rolling her eyes at Damien and everyone laughs including Damien, excluding the Jesse boy.
" How did you guys even become sisters? Were you adopted." Benny asks me
" That's such an insensitive question." London says scolding Benny
" Imma let Heaven answer that." I say quickly dodging the question
" Ummmmmm." Heaven says. I can tell she has no idea what to say
She takes a huge gulp of water and looks at me
" Well...... Our parents got married." She finally says Jesse looks up from his phone across the table at me and I quickly look away. He can probably tell something is up unlike everybody else at this table cause they've all gone back to talking among themselves.
I study Jesse more carefully. I wonder how he fits in with this crowd he's so quiet and mysterious and annoying. He didn't even say hi or welcome or something. He didn't even pretend like he noticed my presence at the table. Rude much!!?? What kind of a guy is he?? Acting all better than everyone and shit.
I'm not even going to let his bad manners ruin this good time I'm having with Heaven and her friends.
All of a sudden Jesse gets up from his seat like it's on fire.
" Woah bro what's up?" Damien asks him but he rudely ignores him
" Dude are you ok?" " J! What's wrong?" " Did something bad happen?" " Is there anything we can do to help?" Were all the questions Benny, Maeve, Ivy, London and Heaven simultaneously asked Jesse
" Excuse me please." he has to talk though cause he's sitting at the opposite end of the seat and has to go through Heaven, Damien and Ivy before he can go anywhere
" You're not going anywhere until I'm sure it's nothing we need to be worried about. Ivy says trying to stare Jesse down
" It's ok bae just let him go." Heaven says getting up and putting a hand on Ivy's shoulder " Just let him go."
Jesse walks up to me and stops. He looks like he's about to say something but he stops and reconsiders
" Welcome to Ridgewood Paris."
I'm not sure if that was a threat, an actual welcome or God knows what.
" What was that all about?"
I ask.
They all look at me like they want to say something but they look away
" Ok so is no o e going to answer me?"
I understand that I'm supposed to be a stranger to them and all but they can at least say something instead of being so bloody rude.
" Loom Paris, don't over think it. He's not usually like this he's just been going through a lot lately. Can you just forget about us and our drama. And about the welcome he said, he really meant it." Benny finally speaks up for the rest of them.
Maeve looks pretty shook and I figure she's the sensitive one of the bunch
" I'll just go. Lunch is almost over anyway." I say getting up
" No. Don't go yet just stay for like 2 minutes." Damien says
" I really need to be going. Thanks for lunch." I don't want to be all up in their business like this and I can tell they're not so comfy with my presence
" At least stay and have a coke." Damien says pushing his coke towards me.
I mean, it's just 2 minutes. Two minutes never killed anyone.
" Fine. Thanks. I'll stay for the coke." I say taking the coke from Damien
" But only two minutes." I add after a huge gulp of coke. Hah... You can never go wrong with coke.
" I don't want you thinking Jesse is some sort of monster girl. He's actually pretty chill, but it takes more than sitting at the same lunch table with him to get him to open up to you." Ivy says
" Really? Cause he struck me as more of aggressive than shy."
" It's not you, he's usually that way with people he doesn't really know." She says standing up for her friend
" Well that's a problem." I'm not backing down from this. Their friend Jesse needs help
" How did you guys even become friends with him?"
" He's not always like this. You met him on one of his worst days. Give him time, he'll get better." Heaven adds.
Mahn!! How does a shut like Jesse get such amazing people around him
" He better. Cause I really like you guys but I don't want to have to be putting up with that every single day. How do you guys manage."
" He wasn't even that bad. C'mon cut him some slack." Benny says
" Well we really like you too Paris but you'll have to have us and all our problems." London says
" I'll take what I can get."
I didn't realize how chill Heaven and her friends are. I really hope Heaven doesn't mind me intruding on their friendship. Shit!! Heaven!!
I was too preoccupied with being selfish that I forgot to consider how Heaven feels about all this.
" Would you look at the time! It's two minutes already. I need to be on my way. It was really nice meeting you guys I hope we can talk some other time."
I need to make sure Heaven's ok with me being with her friends some other time. I don't want to be that person- who just walks in and takes over some other person's life- especially not with someone I share a room with- it's funny the criminal tendencies those with the sweetest faces usually have. There's only so much you can do to a person in their sleep and I don't want to find out.
I pick up my now empty bottle of coke and walk to the trash can. I toss it in and look up only to see a face looking at me inquisitively
" You again?"
YOU ARE READING
The Roads To Paris
Romance"....you can stop breathing, you can stop living, you can die a million times but you never stop loving. You can't. Love is something that never goes away." . . . . . . . . . . . . Whether it's love of a significant other, a parent, a brother or a s...