CHAPTER SEVEN

FRIDAY FELT LIKE IT CAME TOO QUICKLY.

Usually, the weeks feel irritatingly slow and Fridays feel like they go by fast, but it seems like it's the opposite this week. The days felt fast but Friday feels slow. Amanda assumes it's because she's starting to enjoy school again. Monday's used to be her favourite back in elementary and seventh grade; however, once eight grade hit, she was knocked off her feet. She was too tired to tell that girl that her hair looked nice; her eyes were too dry to see that boy that sat beside her in class; she couldn't focus or concentrate very well on assignments; reading books now became a job, and drawing began to seem more of a hobby than a career.

Amanda moves around a bit in her seat, the chair feeling uncomfortable underneath her. She's waiting for Simon and Chase to get there. Rodrigo is already sitting in front of her but he makes no move to have a conversation with her so she keeps her headphones in, nodding her head and slightly mouthing the words. Amanda has an amazing memory with song lyrics, mostly because she can listen to a song a million times and never get tired of it.

Her mind starts to wander for a bit with the moment of silence. She finds herself thinking about what she overheard her parents saying last night. They were talking to each other about how she needs to be polite. Amanda is from the south, born and raised there. She doesn't sit up with her back straight; she slouches. She doesn't have basic table manners; she puts her elbows on the table freely and eats how she likes to. She does things as she pleases, especially around people she's comfortable with; like belching and not saying, 'excuse me' in a proper voice.

But there's a problem with all of these things. Her mom hates these aspects about her. No, she despises them. If she could disown a certain character trait about Amanda, it would be her table etiquette or her short temper. Being from the north, Michelle is a bit different than what Amanda is used to. However, her dad is just like Amanda, unfortunately. She's been blessed with all his amazing qualities, like her short temper and table mannerisms.

She doesn't understand that Amanda learned it all from him.

She doesn't dwell on it too long, she keeps on bobbing her head to the music before Simon sits down beside her. She looks over and sees he's tired, "Hey sleepyhead, you look exhausted." She comments, taking out her headphones. His hair is messy as usual and she momentarily wonders what it feels like, but she shrugs it off and thinks herself weird for even letting it cross her mind.

With a raspy voice, Simon replies, "Hey thanks, just what I wanna hear; just how tired I look and not about how hot I am." He says sarcastically, eyes rolling playfully before he smiles down at her.

She notices Chase sitting down beside her and she looks over at him, he tosses his jacket down on the seat to his left, "this is fucking ridiculous." he says, pouty.

Amanda's eyebrows crease, "What's going on?" She asks.

Chase looks over at her, "Fucking school, fucking homework, fucking teachers, fucking too early in the morning. I'm fucking tired." He says, grumbling and mumbling while putting his head down on his hand and closing his eyes.

Amanda pats him on the shoulder friendly, "There, there. It's okay. Another victim has fallen to the Board of Education; Simon, send help." She says dramatically, holding a hand to her heart and gesturing to Simon.

Simon laughs and she can hear Chase chuckle lowly to himself, "Fuck you." Chase responds playfully.

Amanda laughs along, "Fuck you times two. Ha! That's twice as more." She says, and she can even hear Rodrigo start to crack up at the joke. She's really starting to understand their vulgar humour. Although she's grown up around her dad, who curses like a sailor, she hasn't been around many people with such a humour like this. But, she actually likes it. It's so carefree and relaxed, so laid back that she can just enjoy herself.

Simon shakes his head as he laughs, peering over at his little brother, noticing that he's staring at Amanda. "You look a bit concerned little brother." he says, raising his eyebrow a bit and tilting his head. He's confused, why is Chase staring at her like that?

Chase shakes his head and shrugs off his sibling.

Amanda doesn't notice, she's getting bored. She plays around on her phone for a second, but there's nothing exciting going on. She checks her notifications, and it's empty. As usual. She's out of ideas for her books and none of the books she's reading has been updated. She presses the music app and changes the song. The music bursts to life in her ears and she nods her head to the beat. She puts her phone in her pocket and looks around the table. She then gets an idea of a sketch. She's too lazy to get paper out of her backpack and so she turns to Simon and asks, "Hey Simon, this might sound weird, but can I draw on your arm?"

Simon tilts his head and gives her a curious look. She's right, it's a weird request but not in a bad way. He glances down at his arm. He nods and leans over, "Sure." he drapes his arm in front of her, "Just don't draw a dick." He says, laughing.

She chuckles and shakes her head, "Wouldn't dream of it." She smiles and bends over to grab a pen from her backpack then takes his arm. She clicks the pen and rolls up Simon's sleeve. A blanket of chills erupts on his arms from how cold her hands are, but Simon doesn't mind. Amanda can feel the warmth radiating off of his skin, but she doesn't focus on it.

At first they're just boxes and rectangles, Simon watches her curiously. The black ink tickles his skin. She starts at his wrist and then works her way down his forearm. She pulls her lip between her teeth as she concentrates. Simon looks away.

A few minutes pass and finally she declares, "All done." She smiles as she watches Simon look at the drawing. He's amazed as he absorbs it. They weren't boxes, they were buildings. It was a city.

Amanda keeps staring at him. She glances around his face, noticing the little freckles that dot his cheeks, how his nose is slightly lopsided - but she finds it weirdly cute - and the faint scar around his neck. She wonders what happened there.

She loves this closeness between them. She loves the conversations they have, how she feels so comfortable around him, how she feels like she can tell him anything. She loves his laugh, the way he smiles. If she could write a book about Simon, she'd fill every page.

"Amanda," There was just something about the way he said her name. The way his eyes shimmered when he smiled. The way his laugh made her happy. It all just struck her in a way she didn't know was possible, "this is amazing."

She smiles and thanks him.

The bell rings and Chase breathes a sigh of relief and Simon makes a mental note to ask him about it later. Today is an even day, so they all head fourth period. Chase and Amanda chat about West's homework assignment. Amanda says the last four questions were confusing, Chase didn't even do them.

Chase, Simon and Amanda all play four square for a few minutes before Simon and Amanda get bored of it. Simon gets a volleyball and starts talking to her about his day and he asks about hers. She tells him about what her parents said and that it bothers her, but she shrugs it off quickly.

Simon passes the ball behind him and then catches it with his other foot, and then back again as he steps back from her where she can't reach. She tilts her head curiously, "Interesting.." She mumbles, thinking for a moment. "Do you think you could teach me that?" She asks him.

He looks up from the ball and to her, setting his foot on top of it and brushing his hair out of his eyes. He cocks his head to the side, "Teach you what?" He asks. In response, she nods down at his feet. He looks down and understands. The idea doesn't appeal to him, he's not really a good teacher but he's also a bit happy that she wants to learn, "Well, sure, I mean - I could try." He says jokingly.

She smiles excitedly and walks over to him, "Okay." She looks up at him expectantly.

He meets her eyes, "Now?" Simon responds, caught off guard.

She nods once, "Right now." She replies, determination in her voice. She tries to act confident; although, inside she's shaking with anxiety. Amanda hates being told no, not that she thinks she can get whatever she wants, but she hates feeling stupid for asking. Which is why she usually zips her lips most of the time; however, being around Simon and Chase is giving her somewhat of a freedom to ask for what she wants. They give her confidence, they make her feel brave.

He shrugs, "Alright, do you know how to dribble?"

She tilts her head, "Um, I'm not totally sure." she says, nervously laughing a bit.

He shakes his head, "That's okay, let's just start easy, something a bit more simple." He looks down at the ball, "So, you're just going to simply pass it between your feet, okay? You'll start to walk, and just pass it between your feet." He looks up at her as he does this, only to see her uneasiness. "Hey, it's okay, we can take it slow, and plus, I'm not pressuring you to learn, it takes time."

He nods his head, "Okay." He says, and then peers down at the ball while talking and showing her his movements, "You basically want to backwards, that's your goal, to go back so that your opponent can't reach the ball. So, you just kinda pass the ball to each of your feet as your walking backwards. Like this," he pauses so that she can see every little moment between each pass.

Amanda watches Simon's feet carefully. She calculates his movements and tries to copy his actions; she looks down at the volleyball resting between the insides of her feet. She looks up for a second at his, observing them move for a moment, and then back at hers, trying to mimic his gestures, hesitantly moving her foot to dribble the ball between them. She kicks it to her left foot softly and then back again to her right; then her left, then her right, "Yeah, there you go, you're doing great." Simon encourages her.

She starts to go faster with determination, trying to get comfortable with her feet. Amanda may be a bit small for her age, but she definitely has strength to her. Although, usually that strength rests in her arms and not her feet, so being able to do this instead of lifting something heavy is new to her.

Amanda starts to walk as she dribbles between her feet, her shoes squeaking a bit on the floor with the fasts movement. She starts to pass it to each foot as she walks. Simon is watching the ball, he's impressed. For a girl who's never played before, she certainly picks up quickly.

Before they both know it, the bell is ringing and they're heading to the locker rooms.