Chapter two

Wow. My eyes have seen the school's library for the first time. Despite the fact that I'm a bookworm, the library is a mysterious place to me. When you walk in through the navy painted door, the librarian's desk was directly in front of you. The floors, ceiling and walls were a warm tone of beige. Computers were in front of the windows that faced the back of the school.

The reason I'm in the library is that my English teacher got me out of Spanish to finish an assessment. I stuffed my earphones into my ear and began playing my music. I've been giving to throwback songs recently so I was happy when the Sugababes came on.

Ten minutes into the assignment I began to sense shuffling next to me and bag swishing past my legs to be settled on my foot. Ignoring it, I went back to typing out my essay.

"That doesn't make sense" I was surprised to see Spencer's soft brown hair falling off to the side as he tilted his head at my computer screen.

"What?"

"The last sentence doesn't make sense" he repeated again.

Annoyed at the distraction I read the sentence and not-so-sneakily changing it again. "How'd you know I be here?"

"Don't flatter yourself. I didn't sit here because you were here; I need to finish some work as well" all of a sudden my cheeks got flushed from embarrassment.

"Wipe that smirk off. I'm not blushing- my cheeks are naturally rosey" I lied.

"Whatever you say, princess" he says before grabbing his stuff and leaving. He didn't even turn the computer on...

"Don't patronise me" I call out to him. No answer from him.

After my assignment I logged off and head to PE class where Sally and Izzy where already in the changing rooms getting dressed. I got dressed in the school's kit of a grey t-shirt (with the school's logo) and dark long and loose shorts.

"Alright! Today we will be joining the boys today because Mr Scott is off on paternal leave" me and the girls share a look of confusion because Mr Scott looks a bit too old to have a newborn. And the rest of the girls complained, then remembered that Spencer and his friends are in this class.

"I don't see what everyone sees in them. They're so vanilla" Izzy chimes in.

"Me neither" I replied.

"I don't know either and I don't understand why I fancy Luke because he doesn't even know I exist!" Sally wailed out.

"We like things that we can't have" I tell Sally.

"BUT WHYY??" Both Izzy and I shook our heads in exhaustion of Sals 2 year crush on Luke.

"So teams. Who wants to pick teams?" Mrs Bennett asks. Luke's raises his hand along with a girl named Matilda.

"Spencer?" Mrs Bennett asks hopeful. Ouch. That gotta hurt Luke's feelings.

"Umm, Miss?" Matilda quietly says.

"Yes Matilda?"

"Spencer and Luke could pick the teams and I could take a step back"

"That's very honourable of you, Matilda. It's settled then. Spencer and Luke pick teams"

They choose between heads and tails. Spencer lazily chooses heads and heads it was. Our team are striking the balls first. Sally and Iz were behind me and Spencer made his way in front of me. Convenient.

Spencer managed to get a home run. Izzy and I were so close but Luke just like Spencer was talented in getting people out. Luckily Izzy and I were smart and stopped at a cone. It was now Sally's turn, when one of Luke's friends- Will, I think? Tossed the ball at Sally, she whacked the ball as hard as she could (it didn't go far). When she got to Luke's cone she got all flustered and tried to talk to him but it was clear his attention was on the game.

"Your friend is a dick" I whispered to Spencer.

"Aren't we all?"

"Nope. Just you and your friends"

"Why was Montgomery talking to you?" One of Emily Chang's friends asked me. This is strange. Emily isn't in our PE class and I don't see why it's any of importance to her because I'm 99% sure that she was the one who ended it last year.

"He likes to bug people and I guess I'm the new victim" I laugh off. Thalia- the friend strides across the room to stand next to me.

"I'd be careful with him. Emily had horrible things to say about him"

"Like what?"

"You know the way you're a feminist and don't like controlling, sexist, homophobic and racist jerks. Well that's Spencer"

"Didn't Spencer beat up Jack because he called Abdul the n-word?"

"Oh... still don't trust Spencer" and with that she returned back to her friends.

"Why did Spencer seem extra friendly with you?" Izzy condescendingly asks me.

"Don't you start" I complain.

"Are you using Spencer to get with Luke?" Sally jumps in.

"Eww no! Luke's not my type! You know that I'm into the basic skinny white boys"

"And Sals into the Essex personal trainer Love Island type of guy" Izzy says with a laugh.

"What?" Sally asks confused.

"We only finished Love Island last week and you already forgot what type of dudes it attracts?" I say.

"I'm sorry! My art project is stressing me out and you know when I stress about something, it's the only thing I can think about" cries out Sally.

"At least there's a party that we're going to tonight" Izzy gleefully cheers.

"But Mols won't be there" Sally says, still in a sulk.

"We'll do something tomorrow" I promise her.

"Don't you have bridesmaids dress shopping with Ivy" Sally reminds me.

"Shoot! U swear I'm forgetting so much recently"

"Maybe your dads are right and you do need a part time job to make you more aware of TIME" Said Izzy.

"Could your mum get me a job in the shop?" I ask Izzy.

"I don't know how it'd look having a no-native working in a shop that sells things from my culture and my culture alone"

"Oh yeah... non-natives would think that having dream catcher is multicultural. It's cultural appropriation, right?"

"It loses its meaning. Ever since I was a kid, dream catchers are whitewashed and when my mum told me the history of them, it's offensive that other cultures are taking them" both Sally and I nod in a serious manner. Izzy is very passionate about her culture which is good because most things have been whitewashed. It makes Sally and I become more understanding.

After PE I had one more class then home time! Now it's time to get ready for the dinner.

With a sly smirk playing on his face I'm intrigued at first then I realised he was staring at me. I shake my head violently at him not to. Endless questions flooded my mind.

I stared at the potential clothes that were tossed on my bed. Just when I was close to make a decision my door swung open to reveal Jamal dressed up in his salmon pale pink jean shorts and a baby blue shirt.

"So...?" He turned round so I could see his outfit.

"It's not that warm! Change the shorts to your denim or black jeans"

"I'll be back" within seconds he returned in his skinny black jeans.

"Much better. Now you help me"

"Wear the white top and your black jeans, the ones that are flat legged. Is that what they're called?"

"Yes and I can't wear the white top because I'll spill on it"

"What about the burgundy turtle neck?"

"No because Ivy says it washes out my already pale skin"

"A dress?"

"Urgh, why do I ask you?" I groan while pushing him out of my room.

I settle for the white top with a sweetheart neck line the one Jamal suggested earlier and the black trousers he also suggested with a black belt and black Doc Martins. Before I got dressed I quickly applied a light tan on- should've done this last night, I look like I've been cooked by the sun. My makeup was natural except for the winged liner and red lipstick. A bold lip and eyeliner makes every natural look more glam. And lastly I put on a silver necklace with my birthstone (aquamarine). It's the only thing I have from my biological mother; this necklace never leaves me.

"I suggested that outfit!" Jamal cried out as he saw me waltz into the living room where he was watching the Simpsons.

"Who are we waiting for?" I ignored Jamal's remark and ask noticing that the time was 7.23pm and we have to get their for 7.30 and it takes us 10 minutes to get to the restaurant.

"Dad" he replies.

"It's always dad"

"Are you guys ready yet?" We hear dad's booming voice shout from the bathroom. Dad looks and sounds intimidating but he's a big softie in the inside.

"We're ready it's just you!" Paps shouts back from the kitchen.

"Okay let's go!" Dad says once he's downstairs pretending that he's been ready all this time.

We arrive at the restaurant and spot Ivy and her fiancé- Kevin sitting at a table. Ivy  physically looks like Nora from Skam and Kevin has very curly short auburn hair with dark blue eyes and obvious stubble. Kevin is wearing a dark blazer with a turquoise shirt and dark trousers and Ivy is wearing a grey t-shirt, black skirt and tights and shoes.

"Cute skirt and t-shirt, can I burrow it?" I ask Ivy after all the hellos, how are you doing? and the hugs.

"Ah ha! When I'm dead" it was a worth shot.

"How'd you find this place?" Dad asks Kevin who was the one who told us about this place.

"A coworker's sister in law is the owner" he replied. Chat flowed between the table as Ivy and Kevin caught us up on their wedding planning and we caught them up with our lives. Then Kevin asked Jamal and Paps to be his best men (considering that dad is giving Ivy away) and Ivy instantly asked me the day after he proposed. The boys both accepted.

When I enter the empty bathroom I whip my phone out to text Iz or Sals. A millisecond after I sent a text Sals name popped up on my screen indicating she's ringing me. I answered immediately.

"Have you finished your dinner yet?" She asked me.

"I am but the adults are having their coffees and then we're heading back home" I reply.

"Do you think you could possibly swing into the party for a sec?" She asks me worriedly. With that voice I know something's wrong.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" She lies.

"Sally"

"Fine! Izzy went off with some girl named Summer and left me and I have no one to talk to" Sally is the most shyest person I know so for Izzy to abandon her was mean.

"Why didn't you follow them?"

"They were smoking and you know how I feel about it, plus they left me out on their video game chat"

"I have no way of getting there and Paps didn't want me to go. Sorry"

"Spencer hasn't drank all night I could ask him to pick you up?" What the fuck?!

"Why would we ask him? We're not friends with him" I screamed into the phone.

"You two seemed close today in PE..."

"If I was friends with him, I'd tell you both. Look Sally I gotta go, love you bye"

"Who was that" ivy asked me when she entered the bathroom to reapply her lipgloss and fix her hair.

"You remember Sally Griffin, right?" She nodded her head yes.

"Well there's a party tonight and Paps didn't want me to go because of the dinner and Sally got left by our other friend Izzy" I explain to her.

"Do you want me to take you to the party? We could just say that you've got really bad cramps" she suggests.

"Oh no it's fine, honestly"

"I love you but you're being a shit friend"

"Let's go then"

We exit the bathroom with Ivy stroking my back and I'm crouched over holding my stomach dramatically. Ivy sweet talk Paps.

"Thanks Grant!" She thanks Paps.

Ivy parked as close to Jax's house as she could. "I remember all of Paul, Jax's older brother's wild parties" Ivy and Paul are both nine years older (26)

than Jax and I. Jax was an accident and Bonnie (Ivy's mum) and dad had her at a young age of 20.

"Jax is just like his brother" I tell her.

"Ehh... you look a bit too fancy for a high school party. Switch tops with me" I excitedly ripped off my top and put on hers.

"And wear the sneakers in the backseat, your boots don't go well with those jeans" I slipped off my shoes and slipped on her white sneakers. "Bye sis!"

I knock on Jax's parents en-suite bathroom door. I got a text from Sally saying that she was cooped up in the isolated bathroom. The door opened to reveal Sally in the midst of an anxiety attack. Sally suffers from social anxiety.

"What are 5 things you like about art?" I ask her softly hoping that this technique would work. I got it from Alexa and Katie season 3. I've never witnessed her having an attack alone but I've seen how her mum calms her down.

She then listed them and I asked her a few more distracting comments and then she was fine after a while.

"Are you ready to get back out there?" I ask her. With that she takes a few deep breathes and follows me out the door to the back garden where most people are at.

I scanned the garden to see a glimpse of Izzy but to no luck. I grab a drink and make my way toward the table where the food is at. "Didn't you just have dinner?" Sally rudely asks me.

"Uhmm, What?" I snap back.

"It's just that athletic girls usually have a certain body type and have a really healthy diet" she innocently answers me.

"Sally I love you but I can eat what I want without justifying it" I sternly tell her.

"Eh, sorry yeah. I don't know why I'm acting like this" I look at her strangely momentarily before going back to my drink.

Sally and I speak to a few people here and there. Now, we're just swinging lightly on a swing.

"Oh look there's Luke with... Lana" I saw the disappointment  in Sally's face as Lana laughed and twirled her perfectly curled light brown hair in her freshly manicured fingers.

"I'm going in" a surge of confidence soared through her veins. She ceased the moment when Lana left him to gossip with her friends. I stood closely behind to help Sally out if she needs any guidance.

"Hi Luke I'm Sally" she confidently greeted.

"Sup"

"I think you're quite cute, do you want to go out sometime?" She hopefully questions him.

Instead of being nice he laughed in her face and said the most despicable thing ever. "I don't go out with fat girls" Sally isn't the slimmest girl and has many curves but she's still perfect. Luke then proceeded to laugh in her face condescendingly. Everything and anything positive drained from her face.

"Oh wow look who it is? The asshole who thinks that whatever he says matter! Sorry to break it to ya but you're just a little boy who has no respect for anyone!" I exclaim at him.

"Ah and you're just a little girl who's friends with a fat shit who can't stand up for herself" without even thinking I slapped him across his face. He then grabbed my wrist, I winced in pain as his grip got tighter.

"This act of yours isn't cute" I tell him.

"You know when they say women only act on their emotions. It's true" he threateningly whispers.

"LUKE!" Everyone snapped their gaze at the widely opened kitchen door and Spencer Montgomery standing extremely tense.

"Yes team caption" he sarcastically remarks with a drunken smirk. I've never been so scared of a drunk guy ever.

"Get your hand off of her" Spencer ordered him in an terrifying intimidating quiet voice. They stared at each other for a bit (Spencer with malice and Luke with pride) then Luke slowly let go of my wrist. Spencer has full control of the situation and that's alarming...

"Are you okay?" He asks me concerned after Luke stormed off. He tried to examine my wrist further by delicately grasping my wrist but I recoiled away.

"Yes I'm fine" I say quickly. "Thank you" I whisper in slither of admiration.

"Sally" I get her attention and nod to the house indicating that I wanted to leave.

"Am I overweight?" Is the first thing Sally asks me. Is she serious?

"I-never mind..."

"What?" She begs.

"I defended you out there and he fucking assaulted me and you just stood there!" I roar.

"Assaulted? He grabbed your wrist. He didn't hit you like you did! You always preach about how abuse is wrong, you're such a hypocrite" she sobbed back.

"You should be thankful that I stood up for you like a good friend! When was the last time you were there for me? I swear I'm always cheering you up and every piece of advice I give you, you don't listen and end up getting hurt"

"Well if you think like that why are you even friends with me?"

"I am leaving" I scream while angrily texting Ivy to get me.