chapter 5

"Hey, Emma." Skylar chirped.

"Are you ok?" Bianca asked.

"Hey, guys. It's a strange morning, isn't it?" I asked them, looking at each of them straight in the eye. One of them leaked the news about my parents. Don't let her see how hurt you are. Don't let her see how hurt you are, don't let her have that satisfaction.

"I mean it's weird, people seem to be gossiping about me this morning," I rubbed my chin, looking deep into their eyes, searching for guilt, fear - anything. "Specifically about my parents."

Which I only told the three of you about.

Bianca gasped, "I don't understand how anyone else knew about it."

Skylar narrowed her brows. "I didn't breathe a word of it to anyone."

"Oh, boo, it's so upsetting." Crystal looked down.

This isn't going anywhere. Maybe now isn't the right time to question them. But I'll find out which one of them did this soon enough.

"So, what were you talking about?” I asked them.

Crystal shrugged. "We were just wondering where Sabrina is."

I frowned. “Sabrina? Why?"

"She was supposed to meet me here fifteen minutes ago so that I could return her notes to her,” Bianca placed her hands on her hips and continued, "But she's not here, and her mobile’s switched off."

Skylar grabbed a handful of her hair and screamed "Like, who switches off their mobile?"

I chuckled, "Remember that time when Bianca forgot her mobile in her room and climbed back up her wall just to get it?"

flashback

"Argh, there are mosquitoes biting me!" Skylar complained, waving her hands around in order to get rid of the mosquitoes.

"Hurry up, B!" Crystal urged rather loudly.

"Shhh! My parents will hear you!" Bianca said, climbing down from her room through her window.

"Careful!" I called out to her.

"Do you guys have any idea how hard it is to climb down a wall while wearing heals?" Bianca said, already down.

"I thought you were afraid of heights," Crystal said, straightening the wrinkles on her mid-length gown.

"I'm even more afraid of missing out on a great party," Bianca said hands on her waist like a sass queen.

We giggled. "Let's go!" I screamed out

"Wait!" Bianca yelled, stopping us right in our tracks. "I forgot my mobile in my room," she added, already climbing back up.

"Wait, is she seriously climbing back up her wall to get her phone?"

End of flashback

"You met that hot guy that night," Crytal chuckled. "Couldn't have exchanged numbers if you hadn't had your mobile with you."

Bianca flipped her hair. "Exactly."

The bell rang, signalling the beginning of class.

There's the bell. I hope Faye gets here soon.

............

OMG... I thought that AP English language and composition would be more interesting than this.

Yawning, I turned to look at Bianca. She had been awfully quiet the entire period.

"Hey, anca. Are you alright?" I asked her.

She gave me a sad smile, "My parents grounded me again."

"Oh no!" I gasped. "Did it have anything to do with the calculus test yesterday?"

"Yeah. They weren't too happy that I got a C," she said, looking at her desk like it was the most interesting thing in the world. "The worst thing is that I have to quit the cheerleading team."

My eyes went as wide as saucers. "Your parents want you to quit cheerleading?"

"Yeah. I'm so sorry Em," she apologized. "I have no idea how I'm going to break the news to Crystal. She’ll flip for sure."

"OMG... That's really awful news!" I exclaimed, rubbing my jaw. "Hey, do you think that they might be persuaded to change their minds?"

Bianca looked at me, her chest puffing out. "Oh! Are you thinking of speaking to them?" She rubbed her chin, licking her lips. "It's true that they've always loved and had a good opinion of you, and it would be cool if I could stay with you all on the squad.”

She clenched her hands on her chest, closing her eyes. "You're my best friends and this is the only time we really get to spend together. We're usually so busy nowadays."

"I'm so sorry to hear that you have to quit the squad. Bianca, you know I'm alright when it comes to calculus. Would it help if we study together from now on?" I asked her.

She grinned widely. "Could you? I'd really appreciate that. I think it would help a lot. Thank you so much, Emma!"

I gave her a small smile. "You know, the team is not going to be the same without you," I shivered slightly, "And Crystal isn't going to take the news very well, I think."

Bianca gave me a nervous giggle, "No kidding!"

........

"This is a disaster!" Crystal screamed her head off. "We can't afford to lose Bianca!"

"Are you really dropping out of the team, Bianca?" Coach Bukky asked her, frustration written over her face.

"I'm sorry, Crissie." Bianca apologized for the fifth time.

Crystal let out another scream of frustration, "That's so unfair, so you got a C on one lousy test - big deal! It's not like you failed calculus!"

"You know what my parents are like," Bianca muttered.

"This is a disaster," Crystal groaned, slamming her head on a nearby tree. That must have hurt.

Crystal was still freaking out so i decided to step in. "I think Bianca feels bad enough as it is."

"It is that bad!" Crytal yelled. "Especially with the cheerleading talent scout coming to check us out next week, we can't afford to lose a team member right now!"

"Speaking of which, has anyone seen Sabrina?" Coach Bukky asked, looking at us. "She was supposed to meet me in the gym half an hour ago."

Bianca shrugged. “She didn't show up this morning either when she was supposed to meet me before class." She looked around. "And why isn't she here now? Emelie, did you add her to the group chat when you texted everyone to meet here?"

"I did," I replied, double checking my phone. "Hang on... She hasn't even read the message." I said, glancing at them worriedly.

It was unlike Sabrina to flake on anyone. I felt a strange frisson run over my skin.

Looking towards the gate I saw Sabrina's parents approaching us. What are Sabrina's parents doing here?

"Mr. and Mrs. Greene, is Faye alright?" I asked them, obviously worried about my friend. Sabrina may not have been among my friend group but she was my friend and teammate; I couldn't but help be worried about her.

Mr. Greene shook his head. "Have any of you seen Sabrina?" He asked, giving us a worried look. "She never came home from school yesterday!"

A few tears dropped from Mrs. Greene's eyes. "We're filling a missing person's report!"

OH MY GOD! FAYE IS MISSING?!