Senior Trip

Chapter 1

Jade walked over to the group and sat next to Harry with her lunch in hand. She sat her food in front of her on the table, but she couldn't work up the strength to eat it after the lecture she was given in the office. Harry analyzed her face and knew she had been in the girls washroom crying her eyes out over something she didn't do. He placed a comforting arm around her back and rested it on the back of her chair. Jade's eyes were red and puffy, matching her pale skin tone and depressed demeanor. "Are you alright, love?" He asked in a hushed voice.

"No," Jade whispered and sniffled, "but I will be."

"What happened?" Bella asked concerned.

"the principle lectured me on how cheating and plagiarism is against school policy. I tried to tell him it was a lie and Jess was the one who cheated, but he took Jessica's side and now I have to write an essay on why what I did was wrong," Jade rolled her eyes, "Jessica wasn't punished for cheating at all. If anything, she was given a pat on the back for getting away with it."

"That really pisses me off," Harry's jaw clenched and he picked at his food.

"It's fine, Hazza," Jade sighed, "I'm used to this kind of treatment. Freshman year, remember?" She chuckled lowly.

"I remember Freshman year; why do you think I'm so persistent on protecting you? You have to start standing up for yourself, babe. I can knock Michael's lights out for you behalf, but I can't touch Jessica." He half joked, bringing up Jessica's boyfriend. Michael was the president of the student council and a shooin' for valedictorian.

"Actually you could, it just wouldn't be in the same context th-" Bella was cut off by a slightly tempered Harry,

"Shut up, Bella," he rolled his eyes.

"I tried, but I can't win against her." Jade bowed her head and closed her eyes, "Can we please move on?" she sighed.

"Fine, but only for now." Harry points out.

"On that note, are you guys excited about spring break?" Bella pointed out which spiralled a conversations amongst the table, but Jade just remained quiet.

"Why haven't you dug into your lunch pale?" Harry asked softly, whispering so no one else hears.

"I'm not in the mood to eat at the moment." She put her hands on her lap and played with the bracelet on her wrist.

"I know, but you still need to eat, love." Harry stated and unzipped her lunch pale, releasing the items inside. Jade gave a ghost of smile, and Harry could tell that he was going to have to knock down some pretty heavy walls to get to the truth. There was something wrong; something bigger than the Jessica problem, and Harry was going to find out what.

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Jade sat in her assigned seat for her last class of the day; English. The teacher began to lecture the class on how the last 9 weeks of school will be after Spring Break, and reminded the class how important it was to apply for scholarships and finally settle on a few colleges they would like to attend. Ms. Madsen was very consistent on preventing senioritis, but it was inevitable. Once the lecture was completed, she encouraged the class to read form their respective books until the bell rang.

Jade absolutely loved reading, and she jumped on the opportunity to continue the book she was immersed in at the moment: The Darkest Minds. It was a beautifully written story that began an incredible trilogy. This particular book was about a girl named Ruby who was sent to a Camp Thurmond when she was only 10 years old, she is now 16. It followed her story which included special powers, abuse, and friendship along the way. While reading Ruby's intriguing story, Jade couldn't help but identify with her throughout her journey. It was overall a story about a scared and frightened girl slowly turning into a warrior - turning into her own hero. Along the way she gained a love interest named Liam who reminded her a lot of Harry - he was fiercely protective over the people he loved. Jade was getting to the climax of the book when she was passed a folded up piece of paper, placed on her desk. She looked around to see who would have passed her the note and saw Jessica in the back corner, smirking while she twirled her hair. Jade took a the note and unfolded it slowly - she alreayd had an idea of what it said.