Fragile Pathways

Chapter Three

After finishing getting dressed and eating her breakfast, Ari brushed her teeth and put on her make-up, straightened her hair, and packed her purse. She hurried to let Regulus in, and then gathered her school supplies in her arms and rushed across the street, after closing and locking the door.

“Goodness, woman!” Nick laughed. “You take so long!”

Ari looked indignant, shifting her weight so it rested all on her left leg. “I’m six minutes early!”

Hunter laughed next to his twin, throwing his bag in to the back seat. “Who do you want to sit in the back seat with? We’re nice, and, since we couldn’t decide if you got the front or the one who wasn’t driving, we decided we’d sit with you.”

“Hunter, I guess.”

Hunter gasped, throwing a hand to his heart. “Not me? I’m offended!”

“Shut up and just get in the back, you idiot.”

Nick shrugged, walking towards the back. Ari glared at him, and he looked at her innocently. “Funny, I thought I said Hunter.”

“You did, though,” Nick frowned, cocking his head. His eyes were narrow slightly, and Ari laughed.

“You’re Nick, silly. Go drive! Unless you’re afraid my beauty will be too much of a distraction. In which case, I’ll cover my face. Or, you just want to sit with me.”

“I’m Nick!” Hunter cried out, huffing.

“No, you’re Hunter. It’s a sad day when your new neighbor can tell you apart better than yourselves. I mean, honestly.”

Nick frowned, and got into the front. Hunter also consented, with a frown also, and sat in back. Ari smiled in triumph, finally climbing in the car. “How did you do that? You were too far to see the freckle, that’s for sure.”

“Well, Nick-y-poo,” Ari grinned, tossing her hair over her shoulder, “you look identical, but you stand differently. Hunter, you slouch just a bit more, and Nick, you square your shoulders. And Nick, when you’re trying to be Hunter, you weigh down your face. And Hunter, you challenge with your eyes when you’re trying to be Nick.”

“Good God,” Nick muttered from his seat. He was already driving, but he was listening closely. “How did you notice all of that since Thursday?”

“Reese has twin sisters. They’re ten, and I’ve always been able to tell them apart, because one of them crosses left over right, the other right over left. No matter what they’re doing. Katharine also turns her feet in when she stands or walks, and Kourteney does not. It’s all the little things that no one ever notices.”

Both the twins laughed, and the rest of the ride was driven in a comfortable silence, the only conversation being about Ari’s readiness for school.

“We’re on our way to English, English, English!”

“We’re on our way to English, with our new pal Ari!”

“You two are utterly horrible song writers,” Ari frowned as they headed towards English, her first class of the day. Both the twins were in that class with her, along with Erin.

They finally made it to the room, Ari smiling kindly at the teacher. “I am so sorry!” Erin gushed, rushing towards her friends. “I was going to rescue you in the parking lot, but my little sister woke up and I was trying to be nice and put her back to sleep so my mom could sleep in, but she was being a brat and wouldn’t sleep, and so when my dad got home from his midnight shift he just took her from me, but I was still late and you still had to suffer, I’m so sorry!”

Ari laughed loudly, throwing her head back with mirth. “Erin, it’s quite alright! I was kept entertained for the first minutes of my American school experience, it’s not a problem.”

“Alright,” she nodded, setting her stuff down in the seat next to her new friend. “Ready for your first day of high school? American style?”

“Of course!” Ari laughed.

When Ari looked up, she was amazed to find a familiar face glaring at her.

Danielle! She thought.

Okay. Maybe she wasn’t ready for her first day of school. She was far from ready. And when a new boy she had never seen approached her and sat in front of her, Danielle’s glare hardened even more.

Oh, no.

She was not ready.

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Okay. I apologize. This still isn't the chapter I wanted. But I've been working on it forever, and I planned to finish it tonight/this morning, but I've just come home from a concert and I absolutely cannot continue writing. I figure this would leave my few readers in suspense? Ehh? Maybe? Possibly?

ENOUGH TO COMMENT? YES? PLEASE?

.-. xDD

It's not like I'm writing only for the sake of your comments, guys, but it helps me write a better story, one that you'd like to read.

This is also in third person, guys, and, while you've noticed that, so have I, and so have my hands. My hands tend to disagree. If you notice and first person mess ups, like 'I laughed' or anything, instead of 'Ari laughed', let me know. I don't mean to...

I used to be beast at writing in third person, but I haven't since last May, and... It's a bit complicated. Dx Plus, all of my other stories except for one of them are in first person and it's just... URG. xDD

... I'm going to stop rambling. xD

But, I may simply make the chapters shorter, that way I can upload more frequently...? Hows that sound?

I don't know.

IMMA SHUSH. Adios.