Get your shit together!

.IAGO POV

Suspension and expulsion are worse punishments, but at least I'll be with my mother and help her out instead of being stuck with the two people I detest the most.

"What was the decision, Iago?" Howie grumbled as she moved over to me, followed by the others.

"Just regular library maintenance with Jess and Alan Wolfe," I answered softly, my frustration hidden.

"She made this mess, and now you're getting punished merely for trying to get her out of the problem she made."

"You shouldn't have helped her man," Kil strode my shoulder, "I've always known she'd betray us, but I'm delighted we're no longer pals."

"I guess it's for the best, at least now we know no one will betray us anymore," Elina said, folding her arms. " For the first time, you are right bro."

"I'm always right, you just don't notice," Kil joked.

"I'm not sure what I'll do without you. "I mean it guys," I remarked as I looked about at everyone looking so joyful as we strolled around the campus grounds. I then noticed Toby not looking so pleased, so I questioned him, "Toby, are you worried about her?"

"I don't think this is the proper thing to do, she needs us, and I saw compassion in her eyes, she ain't perfect," he cocked his head as we all glanced at him.

"What do you mean, Toby?" I think she's a phony, so forget about her, okay? I was hurt as well," Howie interjected.

"Let's go watch Jake's practice, the coach has been nasty to him lately, he even left the Saturday party early just for basketball practice," I offered, and they all agreed.

Everyone was clearly struggling to get over Jessica Hills, and changing the subject to Jake was the perfect way to divert their attention.

*****

"Oh c'mon Mavins, you're better than that," a dark average-height man arching and clapping his hands said.

He yelled at Jake, "You're killing me Jake, get your head out of your posterior and into the game!" Jake seemed to be playing well, but I believe the coach has a grudge against him.

"Seriously wtf! Despite knowing nothing about basketball other than dribbling and shooting, I can clearly see that Jake is playing the best "Her brows furrowed as Howie spouted.

"He's been practicing all hours of the day and night. This isn't fair to him "Elina purred as she folded her arms.

Totally fine, the coach knows what he's doing. No coach wants his or her team to be a losing one "Toby spluttered and pointed at the concerned coach.

Kil was enraged by what Toby had said "What's the matter with you today, dude? You've always been opposed to everything we do "..

Toby shimmied his eyes in disbelief and surprise "I'm not opposing what you're saying; all I'm saying is that you only see things from one point of view, which should not be the case "Toby spluttered again.

In backlash, Howie asked, "So you think we're mistaken about that Jess girl too?"

"Stop that, guys; I'm the one who's the most hurt here, and I'm also the one who's trying to keep things in order. Let us not talk about Jess, whether she is or is not ", I frustratedly blurted out.

"What happened to Jess?" Jake exclaimed as he approached us, weary and displeased.

"It's nothing, Jake; forget about it," I said.

"No, I'm not going to forget it until someone tells me what happened to Jess," As he roared at us, his eyes gleamed with rage and concern for her. We've never seen Jake act like this before.

"Do you want to know? Don't worry, I'll explain everything. They severed ties with Jessie after she ditched us at the party "Toby expressed his dissatisfaction with the situation.

Jake didn't seem to understand a word he said.

"Toby, why couldn't you tell him everything?" Howie scoffed, "because you didn't want him to know that his childhood friend got so drunk that she was used by Alan Wolfe and ended up being saved by Iago."

"Do you want to know what the most heartbreaking part is? The most upsetting part is that Iago was punished alongside them, despite the fact that he was only trying to save her "Elina stated.

Jake was visibly flummoxed "What happened to Jess? She must be in a lot of distress "He bolted from the basketball court.

JESS POV

I walked to my dorm feeling furious and fatigued rather than hungry. Lizzie was already in the dorm when I walked in.

"Jess, how was it?" she asked, concerned about me as she chambered to where I was sitting on my side of the bed.

"Fine?" I responded, forcing a smile.

"I know it's not fine, Jess, but don't forget Alan is also a friend of mine. How will you deal with both of them?"

Because of Lizzie, I should have realized the grocery guy was Alan Wolfe, so why didn't I notice?

"I'm not sure, Lizzie; both of them despise each other, and I don't want to be near any of them. We'll just have to wait till the end of the semester to find out what happens," I said, my countenance irritated and gloomy, thinking about something else.

Lizzie noticed my sorrowful countenance and inquired, "I don't think that's the only reason you're upset; spill it?"

"They broke ties with me, they detest me now, all of them," I said as I noticed my eyes felt glossy.

"Jess, not everyone will stick with you forever, don't worry, they'll come around and see that Jessica Hills is a terrific and lovely friend, I'm here ain't I?" she said as she straightened her glasses.

I pouted and drew her into an embrace, saying, "You're right, Lizzie," then pulling out of the warm hold, chuckling, "you act like a big sister"

and both of us laughed.

"Jess, come with me," Lizzie said as she stood up to the front door.

"Where are we going?" I asked as I stood up to follow her.

We dashed out of the dorm, unconcerned about whether or not our room door was locked.

Lizzie was right alongside me as we rushed out of the campus grounds, laughing as we got to the college's main gates.

Vroooom Vroooom!!

"Got your call, jump on," said a late-twenties brown-haired man in a deep crystal blue mica Mazda MX-5 Miata, wearing a black leather jacket and sunglasses.

I was worried because I had no idea where we were going. Lizzie and I slid into the backseat of the Mazda MX-5 Miata, and he took off right away. I'd never left campus before because I didn't have someplace to go in Arizona, so every view looked new as we drove by.

"Where are we going?" I questioned Lizzie again, perplexed as we drove past landscapes.

"Somewhere amazing," the guy said instead, kept driving.

"I think I need to know where we're going and who you are," I stated again, this time my anxious thoughts becoming enraged.

Lizzie finally responded, "Josh already told you, when we get there, you'll definitely feel better, plus Josh is my Az Godfather, he knows everywhere," before taking off her glasses and letting her ponytailed auburn natural curls loose.

As the vehicle speed increased and the breeze of airflow stirred our hair, she looked absolutely stunning without her eyeglasses.

"I guess you'll need your sunnies," Josh said as he pulled over in a parking lot.

"I didn't bring mine," I said, still upset by all that had happened that day.

"Don't worry, you don't need any," Lizzie remarked with a sly smile as she stepped out of the car, urging me to do the same, which I did.

The view I saw as I stepped out of the Mazda MX-5 Miata was breathtaking, with the dappled sky and a slew of teens, college students, and youths flocking to an outlandish lineup dubbed GOLD RUSH Music Fest.

“Holy crap!! What exactly is this place? I feel like I'm in a place for extremely super cool people," I muttered, my mouth drooping as we walked in.

"Not just super cool people, this is a place where people come to get their sh*t together and forget about their life worries," Lizzie replied with a chuckle.

"I know that now, you never stop to amaze me," I said, looking around. Favorites include rows of food stalls selling cheeseburgers, hot dogs, samples of local cuisines, and unique sweets such as Poutine, mac n' cheese, deep-fried ice cream, and funnel cake. There are so many things to pick from, such as healthier meals, a smoothie bar, and fruit and veggie stations where people may buy snacks. Jenga activities such as ladderball and event bocce balls, spectacular evening fireworks, face painting, arcade tents, and dancers performing stunts on the route outlands.

"Actually, I've never been to one before, but my brother sneaks out with his pals, so technically he's gone to numerous," I said once more.

"You have a brother? Anyway, you'll tell me about it later. We'll be here till 2 a.m., so let's make the most of the evening. "I hope you have a good time," Lizzie exclaimed.

"What are you Lizzie, one moment you're a geek who simply loves her books and the next you just morph into something amazing like a sexy, sassy gazelle," I blurted out, unable to contain my joy.

"There's a lot you don't know about me," she laughed as she diverted her focus away from me and onto the tacos guy at a kiosk a few miles away.

"I know that now, you never fail to amaze me," I said, looking around. On the walk, dancers gave stunning performances while people from all across Az had a good time doing enjoyable activities like love and friendship games.

Lizzie observed my constant staring and remarked, "Let's go have some fun before the main event starts."

"This isn't all?" I said in awe as we hurried gleefully to the taco stand.

"It's the gold rush, what do you expect?" she said as we ordered tacos.

We had so much fun that we forgot about our worries and were all headed in the same way.

"It's about to begin," Lizzie shrieked as she drew me in the same path.

All I cared about was the 8-layer ice cream I was clutching, which was melting to the ground due to my sprinting.

"Are you all ready?" "For the best day of your lives?" remarked a familiar voice over the woofers.

Lizzie and I were able to push our way to the front row of the crowd, my ice cream still melting considerably faster than before.

I looked up as the voice screamed again, "I said are you ready?"

The sight of Marshmello holding a microphone on the stage directly above me caused my ice cream to fall to the ground. I didn't give a damn about the ice cream I was holding. Fuck the bullshit Eight layered ice cream.

"Is it Marshmello, Lizzie?" I said, wanting to be sure because I had never expected to see Marshmello.

"Are you all ready?" "For the best day of your lives?" remarked a familiar voice over the woofers.

Everyone erupted in applause as Khalid took the stage, accompanied by his guitar. Everything felt like a dream, albeit a lucid dream.

My feet hardly touched the ground as the music began with Khalid strumming his guitar and Silence by Marshmello featuring Khalid as the opening song. So many popular artists of various genres were also featured, and the entire gold rush was booming with first-rate music. It felt like the happiest day of my life, with all of my anxieties and agitation vanishing in the matter of seconds.