My Ex-Best Friend: The Bad Boy (Smythe #1)

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

       I stared out the car window, looking at the new high school I was going to be attending. This was it. This was the moment that I could see all my old friends that I had to leave five years ago. I couldn't wait to see them, especially my best friend.

       Unfortunately, I hadn't been in contact with any of them, so I had no idea if they still lived here. They didn't even know I was moving back.

       I wondered how they were. I wondered if Lauren and Tanya were still best friends. I wondered what Seb was like now. Man, I really missed Sebastian.

       I still remember the moment we meant. We were five and both signed up for karate class. I met him in the dojo on the very first day.

       I watched as everyone excitingly ran up to their parents, telling them about their first day. I couldn't wait to tell my mom about it.

       I tied my shoes, anxiously watching the door for my mom to pick me up. When my shoes were tied, I stood up. Almost everyone was gone. There were a few people left, including a boy who stood up when he put on his shoes. They were untied and I didn't want him to trip. "Hey," I said to him. "Your shoes." I pointed to the laces.

       He looked down. "Oh, I know. I don't want to tie them."

       "Why?" I asked. "You don't want to trip, do you?"

       "When I tie them, they always untie by themselves," he said. "And I fall anyway. Life is full of disappointment."

       I furrowed my eyebrows. Someone wasn't a happy person. "Why don't you get the shoes with the straps?"

       He shrugged. "There's no point. My daddy won't buy them. He says I should learn to tie my shoes."

       "Why don't you?" I asked.

       "Life is full of disappointment."

       Seb was always a pessimistic kid, but we became best friends anyway. I wondered if he was still the same.

       "Artemis," Dad said, snapping me out of my thoughts. "You should probably get going. Go straight to the office and they'll give you your schedule and locker."

       I nodded, opening the car door and hopping out. "I'll see you after school."

       "Have a nice day," Dad said before I closed the door.

       I went straight to the office, which was thankfully beside the entrance of the school. I did not want to look for it right now. The bell was going to ring soon and I would still have to find my locker and my classes.

       I walked up to the desk to the lady sitting behind it. "You must be Artemis," she said. I nodded, amazed at how she knew that. She handed me a piece of paper. "Here is your schedule. Your locker number and combination is on the top."

       "Thanks," I said, looking at my schedule. "Uh, any chance you know where the AP chemistry class is?" 

       "Yes, that's upstairs, on the east wing," she said. "It's the chemistry lab and it's not hard to miss. Anything else?"

       I looked at my schedule again. "English?" I just wanted to find out the classes before lunch. The ones after I could look for later.

       "Upstairs, west wing," she said. "All the English classrooms are grouped together."

       "Okay, thank you," I said with a smile.

       She smiled back. "You're welcome. I hope you like it here."