10:53 [calum hood]

01

➸ r i l e y

"This is so fucking stupid!" Michael shouted from the backseat, causing me to roll my eyes and groan.

"Michael, honey, calm down before you choke on your own spit," Luke coaxed. Ashton chuckled from the driver's seat and I felt a smile creep to my lips.

Michael pouted and threw his phone down to the seat next to him. "Why can't the damn bird just fly around the pipes?" Luke and I couldn't contain our laughter any longer as Michael slumped further into his seat, crossing his arms over his chest.

"It's only 7 in the morning, Mike. Chill, we've still got a whole day of school before the weekend," I said happily, clapping my hands.

Luke, Michael, and I were all in our final year of high school and Ashton was a year older, already out of school. He insisted on driving us to school every day anyway, which we willingly agreed to.

As we pulled into the parking lot of the school, we all bid Ashton goodbye before heading out into the crowded lot. I stuck close to Luke and Michael as they made their way to the front door. I looked around for my best friend Dani and finally found her leaning against the side of the school with her boyfriend, Sam. I called her name and motioned for her to come join us. She waved goodbye to Sam before skipping over to us giddily.

"Hey, guys!" Dani chirped, smiling politely at Luke and Michael. They chuckled before waving back, and I noticed Michael's eyes lingering on her for a little longer than usual.

"Hey, Dan," I laughed. "We still on for tonight?" Dani and I had legendary girls night on Fridays, where we stayed up till the early hours of the morning reviewing the latest gossip and giggling about how much we loved One Direction. The usual.

"As always," she said happily. I gave her a small smile before turning to Luke, who seemed in a deep conversation with Michael about Flappy Bird.

"Luke," I said, and his attention snapped to me. Luke and I were best friends, even more so than Michael or Ashton. This was because we shared practically every class together and have known each other since we were still in our single digits.

"We better get to English before Mr. Thomson makes us write another essay on the effects of missing class."

"Right. See you," Luke replied, waving goodbye to Dani and Michael. I could see Michael blush at the thought of being left alone with her, and I smirked to myself.

I walked into English and took my regular seat in the back of the room next to Luke. Class was about to begin when a familiar face burst through the door and ran to his seat on the opposite side of the room.

Calum had always been a charmer. He had dated an abundant amount of girls in the past three years, but none of his relationships had lasted more than a few months. His dark brown hair, which he styled into a mohawk, and deep brown eyes are what drew girls in.

"Sorry I'm late, Mr. Thomson," Calum said sweetly, causing me to roll my eyes and look at Luke, who sighed deeply.

"It's fine," the teacher said, not paying attention. He was writing something on the board, and I tried to make out what it said.

Mr. Thomson finally moved aside and there, written in large black Expo marker, was the word "Project".

"Project," Mr. Thomson said, as if we couldn't read it ourselves. "You will choose a classic book and a method of presentation to show how well you comprehended the plot, characters...you get the idea. For this project you will be working in pairs."

The whole room burst into conversation, friends looking between each other giddily.

"Wait, wait, before you get too excited." Mr. Thomson put his hands in the air, trying to silence the class. "I will be assigning partners in alphabetical order by last name."