Staying Afloat

Chapter 3

I spend the first half of lunch quietly eating my food as Benny and his 4 friends discuss the upcoming school year. I am in between my brother and his good friend Dylan, who I have known since I was in elementary school. The only other person I really know at this table is Blake, another one of my brothers long time friends. I've had a huge crush on him since I was like 7, and he's the only one of the group that is sometimes nice to me.

Also with us are Trent and Michael, who I don't know well. I have seen them at our house a few times, but Benny didn't meet them until high school, and by that point it was completely unacceptable for me to hang out with him and his friends.

"So, Cece, how has your first day been going?" Dylan asks me, elbowing me in the side.

"Oh, um, pretty good. I've only gotten lost once, but I don't really know anybody in my classes yet." I awkwardly set my sandwich down, feeling uncomfortable with 5 giant junior boys staring at me.

"What, are you just gonna ignore the fact that we're all in your precalc class?" Benny scoffs. I had forgotten about that briefly. Honestly, I really only noticed that Benny was in that class and that was already enough to avoid them.

"Oh, right. Don't worry, I'll just leave you guys alone." I look down at my food.

"Benny, isn't it kinda embarrassing that your little sister is in the same math class as you?" Trent pipes up.

"Yeah it is kinda embarrassing that she's such a nerd, but at least I can make her do my homework," he grins evilly.

"You know, Cece, I think we should really show you how high school works for dorky freshman," Dylan nudges me again. "You guys think she'd fit in a locker?"

"Of course she would. She's like 3 feet tall and 10 pounds!" Trent pokes fun at me, earning a round of laughing from the guys. I'm not short, I'm perfectly average. But Benny's shortest friend is still at least 6 feet tall. Dylan pulls me into a headlock and begins to noogie me. I squeal and try to pry his arms off of me, with little success.

"So what do you think, a locker after lunch?" Dylan chuckles.

"Come on, don't make her miss any classes on the first day." Blake says in my defense.

"Yeah, my mom would be pissed." Benny chimes in. Dylan releases me and I fix my hair and grab my bags, quickly climbing out of my seat.

"Thanks for lunch." I say shortly, turning away and walking back towards my locker. Benny grabs my arm and turns me back

"Cece, wait," I can tell that he fees kinda bad, but he should! He just encouraged his friends to make fun of me and he was gonna put me in a locker for god knows how long!

"I'll see you after school." I yank my arm out of his grip and head out of the lunchroom. I go to my locker and start getting my books again. We still have almost 10 minutes until lunch is over, but I would rather use that time to try to find my next class. I have biology, free period, and then choir. Pretty easy afternoon.

I make my way through the halls, searching for my next classroom. The hallways are nearly empty, because people are still in lunch or class. I end up walking around in circles, trying not to freak out that I couldn't find it. Eventually, I went into a bathroom to try to calm down, and then the bell rang, releasing kids from lunch. I took a few deep breaths and walked back out into the hallway. I tried a different part of the school, and, sure enough, my classroom was there.

Biology was... interesting. The teacher was just flat out weird, and our class had both freshman and sophomores in it. I recognized a handful of people, but nobody I knew well. I sat down next to a guy that I think was in my choir class in middle school, but he was a year older than me. The teacher went over rules and then gave us time to meet others in the class.

"Hey, you went to East Ridge, didn't you?" I nodded.

"Yeah, I think we were in choir together. I'm Cecilia. Or Cece."

"I'm Caleb. Are you taking choir here? I'm in the Mixed Choir."

"Me too! That's last period, right?" He nods as the bell rings

"What class do you have next?"

"I have a free period."

"Oh, same! I'm going to go to the music suite and go practice for choir for a little bit if you wanted to come." He offered as we stood up.

"Sure! Plus this way, I know I won't get lost." I chuckle and we walk down the hallway.

A bit of worry sets in when I think of my brothers. We had never really talked about it, but I imagine they wouldn't love the idea of me and a boy, even just as friends. Luckily, I manage to avoid them all the way to the music suite.

Caleb and I practice our music and talk for a while, and eventually head into the choir room. Choir is definitely my favorite class, probably because it was my choice to take it. After class, I head back to my locker, where I eventually see August and Benny.

"You know, Cece, I was very nice to you today." Benny says, and I roll my eyes. "But that wasn't very fun for me." Just then, he grabs a few of my textbooks and puts them on the top shelf of my locker, which I can't reach.

"Benny!" I whine, trying to reach. I go up on my tiptoes and still can't quite reach. I can't jump high enough either, which makes Benny laugh quite a bit. I try climbing up the locker, but I lose my grip and fall to the ground. Many people are watching and laughing now, and I feel extremely embarrassed. Benny is laughing uncontrollably, but he still grabs my arm and pulls me to my feet as I blush.

"Benny can you please get my books down?" I ask in a timid voice.

"Only if you say I'm the best older brother ever and I'm way cooler than you'll ever be." I roll my eyes, but quickly and quietly say it, and he gets my books down. We make our way out to the car. The ride was fairly normal, talking about our days and how high school was going for me. I didn't dare tell August about what happened during lunch, because he would kill Benny, and Benny would kill me.

"So, Trent told me he saw you with a boy in the hallway." Benny said, getting my attention quickly.

"A what?!" August exclaimed, clearly angry.

"It's no big deal he's just a friend from middle school!" I scramble to defend myself, but they aren't buying it.

"Yeah, a friend that's a year older than you!"

"He's a sophomore?! What the hell, Cece?!" August kept yelling at me.

"Why do you care so much? He's just a friend! Don't you trust me?" I was a little bit offended.

"Fine, you can be friends. But I don't want you alone with him. Okay?"

I roll my eyes and ignore him, springing out of the car as soon as we park. I head to my room immediately. This is going to be a long year.