Not Thinkin' Bout You

Chapter 65

Ellody walked through her front door, seeing a crying Sienna on the couch. Her mum was yelling, brandishing a piece of paper like it was a weapon. The second her mum saw her, she became even madder, throwing a piece of paper in her face and yelling at her about bad grades, and how she was rejected from college, and that she would never, ever be good enough. Zach appeared and explained that he had to break up with her, since her grades were so terrible, and she'd never succeed in life. It was all over.

~

"Ellody, get up. You're literally whimpering."

Sunlight attacked her face as someone whipped the curtains back, and her bedroom became bright. Gabbie and Sienna stood over her, watching her attentively, and Gabbie sighed with relief as Ellody opened her eyes.

"Did I get rejected from college?" Ellody blurted, sitting up in her bed and blinking the sleep from her eyes. Sienna giggled and shook her head.

"No? We haven't heard back from them yet," Sienna said, attempting to stifle her laughter. Ellody sighed, rubbing her eyes as pieces of her dream came back to her. What is wrong with me?

"Ellody, we have half an hour until everyone is meeting us at the tree," Gabbie said slowly, offering her a piece of toast on a plate. Ellody gasped and sat bolt upright, pushing off her blankets and scrambling out of bed, eating half the piece of toast before rushing into the bathroom and getting in the shower.

As cold water slowly turned to warm, Ellody took a deep breath and planned her outfit in her head. She hadn't seen Zach for months, since she had just finished all her senior exams and hadn't had time for him to visit. But it was finally summer, and Ellody was waiting for her letter of acceptance or rejection from the colleges she'd applied to. Her exam scores had turned out alright - not as good as she'd hoped, but after all the drama of senior year, it was a miracle she hadn't failed. 

"Ellody? How long are you planning to take?" Sienna yelled, knocking on the bathroom door.

"I'll be quick," Ellody called, deciding against taking on the chore of washing her hair. Nothing was getting in Ellody's way of seeing Zach as soon as possible.

Twenty minutes later, Gabbie, Sienna and Ellody were sitting on the living room couch, waiting for the rest of their friends to get to Ellody's house. She was staring anxiously at her phone, barely paying attention to Sienna and Gabbie talking about a house Gabbie had spotted in Kauai, Hawaii, that she dreamed of moving into.

"I was so happy when I saw the balcony," Gabbie added, holding out her phone to Sienna, who raised her eyebrows.

"That is so pretty, I'd move there in two seconds," she commented, taking Gabbie's phone and scrolling through the photos Gabbie had taken of the house. Ellody watched them talk, wondering if Gabbie would actually move to Kauai one day, and if Ellody would get to visit.

Ding... dong.

"That's them!" Gabbie squealed, jumping out of her seat and propelling herself towards the door. Ellody's heart started jumping around in her chest as she pictured Zach on the other side of the door. Gabbie twisted the lock and pulled open the front door, grinning as Jack walked inside. The pair kissed, and Jack immediately asked for Lavender, making Sienna laugh. Jonah walked through the door next, and his eyes searched the room, landing on Ellody and lingering. A small smile appeared on his lips before he looked away, leaving Ellody wondering what that was about.

"Where's Ell?" a voice asked from the other side of the door. Ellody pushed herself off the couch, tears already filling her eyes as she slid past Jack and Gabbie and out the door.