Josie nodded quickly. There was only one seat next to a blonde girl.
"Josie?" the girl said as she sat down. She turned, and to her surprise, she realized it was Hanna Marin. A skinny and popular looking Hanna who was talking with Mona Vanderwaal, who had changed just as much as Hanna.
"Oh my god, Hanna?"
"You're back." the blonde girl said, and for some reason she sounded less than pleased.
Josie and Hanna had been best friends ever since kindergarten when Josie shared her new pink jump rope with Hanna. Then they discovered they lived on the same street. When Alison befriended Josie, she befriended Hanna as well.
"Yeah, how are you?" Josie said, smiling at her.
"I've been better." she said and faked a smile, turning back to Mona.
Her smile fell and she looked down. Josie heard more whispers behind her, all about herself.
She pursed her lips, glancing back in annoyance every few seconds. She turned back, preparing to confront the girls gossiping behind her, but she locked eyes with the boy sitting behind her.
Carson Thatcher. They held eye contact for a few moments before Josie turned back, embarrassed. She shifted uncomfortably. This was going to be a long day.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"SO, how was your first few periods?" Josie asked her brother, poking around her salad at lunch.
Jeremy scoffed. "They were great. So, the Montgomerys are back, too. Mike was in some of my classes."
"Yeah, I saw Aria in my English class." she replied. She sighed. "All of the girls were."
He stared at her sympathetically. "Did you talk to any of them?"
"Yeah, only Hanna." Josie paused, glancing at the table across the room Hanna, Mona and their other friends were sitting at. Hanna stared at her, and when Josie smiled at her, she gave a bitchy smile back "She's different."
"Try talking to her later," Jeremy suggested.
Josie nodded before laughing softly. "God, what are you, my therapist? I'm supposed to be the older sister."
He rolled his eyes, chuckling too. Suddenly, a girl appeared, slamming her hands down on the table.
"Josette Tate!"
"Aven?" Josie said, staring at her in surprise.
Aven Mackenzie was a year older than herself and they'd been friends since Josie had joined the cheer squad two years ago. Aven had taken it upon herself to mentor Josie until she was perfect. While she might've been a pain, Josie really did like having Aven around.
"There's some spots open on the team," Aven said quickly. "You're coming to tryouts after school."
