Marigold High

Chapter Two

Chapter Two: Three Days Until Junior Year

"It's 7:12 Theo, we're going to be late." Lucy groans, as she enters my mom's minivan that my mom graciously let me borrow.

Lucy closes the door with a slam, and I audibly gasp.

Let's be honest here, this car is a rundown piece of junk, but she's my rundown piece of junk, and I will not tolerate that kind of behavior.

"Hey watch it over there! And it's not my fault, I had to pick up Alicia." Lucy glanced at Alicia, who was furiously typing on her phone. Lucy glanced at me through the rear-view mirror and we shared a look. That only meant one thing: Tommy.

After the dinner that took place a few nights ago and Titan's stunt, I'm here at 7 AM the weekend before school starts. Because of that little scene that Titan performed, we're here a week earlier than I anticipated since Titan will take any opportunity to undermine my decisions. This is a cruel punishment. Don't get me wrong, I love Lucy (no pun intended), but the thought of waking up before 10 AM and dealing with the very loud, very dramatic girls of her age, is a bit overwhelming.

The only thing that makes it tolerable is my best friend Alicia is here with me. Alicia just got back from a trip to Argentina with her grandmother last night, however, she was also supposed to see her boyfriend this morning, that she postponed, for me.

Tommy and Alicia, unfortunately, are the couple that is consistently breaking up and getting back together. Since Freshman year, their relationship has been a whirlwind, and pretty much everyone knows they'll end up married with two kids in ten years. But, that won't be before they break up at least, another 10 times.

"He's being so annoying right now. He acts like he can't wait an extra two hours to see me - oh hey short stack, wanna donut?" Lucy immediately whips her head around to see Alicia pulling from underneath her seat, a box of fresh donuts.

"Those smell like the donuts from Mia's bakery," Lucy says incredibly hopeful, her hazel eyes have shifted from frustration to joy in a moment. That's the effect of Mia's bakery.

"That's because they are," Alicia says in a sing-song voice, handing her donut wrapped in a napkin, and Lucy doesn't hesitate to devour it.

"From now on," She reaches for another donut, pauses, and then grabs the box from Alicia, "Alicia is a must." This time Lucy reaches for an apple fritter that's just a tad smaller than the circumference of her head.

Alicia glances at me and smiles, full teeth and beaming eyes, despite it being 7 AM on Sunday morning.

Alicia and I met in the 7th grade while working on a school project. I was absent that day, and she was the only one without a partner. Back in middle school, Alicia was well known for her projects. Always the best, but always too time-consuming. No one other than Alicia wanted to spend their entire weekend working on a world map that incorporated 12 different shades of glitter, including me. But after spending an entire week creating the project, we realized we had a lot in common.

Eventually, Alicia toned down her dramatic flair, and honestly living with mom and Julius prepared me for everything. An added plus is she lives next to the best bakery places in the world. So she tends to pick up treats like donuts or bagels, and the donuts are heavenly.

"Lucy, why exactly am I picking you up? Can't your brother, who lives with you, drop you off?" I question, and Lucy looks up, glaze smothered all over her cheek and chin, and shrugs her shoulders.

"He wanted to go see Veronica." She says in a mocking, high-pitched voice, and Alicia although attempts not to, giggles at the mention of Veronica.