Forced to have the Player's Kid (Book One of The Great Age Plague Series)

Chapter Seventeen

It all began with walking into school. After parking the Mini Cooper, Josh opened my door for me like a true gentleman and grabbed my hand. As he pulled me out of the car, a light blush spread over my face causing him to laugh lovingly. He kissed my cheek.

"Don't be nervous," he said, but I was shaking like the leaves blowing around my heels. I nodded and looked at the ground. Josh squeezed my hand.

"Wanna come sit with me and my friends? We sometimes sit at that table in the courtyards, but recently a lot of us started smoking. We usually do that under the bleachers," he said. I shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant, but my heart was racing. He really did want me to meet his friends! The only thing keeping me from smiling like a weirdo was the fact that I was utterly petrified by the popular kids. And smoking! What if we got caught?

Josh led me away from the parking lot and slung an arm over my shoulder. For once I was tall enough in my heels that he could do that. We walked into the school to stop at our lockers, and that is when the whispers began.

"Wait, he's with her?"

"Who is that girl?"

"Crystal and him were cuter together."

"Wow, she's hot."

"She doesn't deserve him, stupid bitch. She's always off reading like she's better than everyone else."

The whispers said between students, as well as all the eyes on me and Josh, caused my knees to shake. I wobbled on my heels, feeling nervous as hell, and wished I had let Josh walk in alone so I could retreat to the library in peace like always. Josh continued walking along. He looked so casual--like he couldn't hear the whispers-- and I realized it was probably because girls whispered about him every day. He was used to the attention.

Finally, we reached his locker, and he let me drop my bag in there for safe keeping. Taking my hand again, he led me to the back doors I never used and into a little lane that ran alongside our school. Right in front of me was the football field, as well as a series of bleachers, an allyway, and a big cement slab that hid the smokers from the prying eyes of teachers. In the light, I could see tendrils of smoke rising into the air. I swallowed hard.

"Guys, meet Adira," said Josh as we approached his super model friends. All eyes were on me. The whole group of five were spread out, with three guys sitting down, a girl leaning against the slab, and another girl crossed legged. In their hands were black, pink, and white cigarettes. The first girl eyed me cautiously.

"I'm Alexis," she said. I saw her eyes roam over my outfit and she smiled approvingly. Alexis had long brown-black hair, a round face, and beautiful brown eyes. She smoked a pink cigarette.

"Hey, I'm Tad," said the guy on the ground with a black cigarete and curly afro hair. I smiled kindly and he smiled back. So far, so good.

"Jessica," said the cross legged girl. She shot me a peace that completed her hippy look-- wavy blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

"I'm Rob, he's Joey," said a super hot guy with blue-green eyes and brown-blonde hair. He jabbed his thumb at a moody looking guy with long dark hair and piercing eyes. I felt a little intimidated by them until Josh came up and gave Rob a bro-hug.

"This is the gang," said Josh with a laugh. He seemed so proud. I couldn't help but smile. Josh sat down next to Tad and took a long, black cigarette. I sat beside him awkwardly in my dress.

"These things are illegal in America, but I love them," said Tad, while lighting another cigarette. I nodded politely "Want one?" he asked. I paused. No way! was my immediate thought-- even if the weird colored cigarette did smell good, even I knew they were bad for me. I looked down, unsure how to reject it without seeming uncool. Before I could speak, though, Alexis came to my rescue.