Choosing Sides

01 | the battle starts

"Brooklyn! I haven't seen you in so long!" Tasha's excited squeal sounded behind her.

I turned around to face my best friend with an amused grin. Unlike my other two best friends, Tasha's family decided to visit their grandparents in Europe. We have not been in contact the whole summer, save for a few FaceTime calls and postcards.

"Hey Tasha!"

"Hey weirdo!"

Cain and Skylar, my other two best friends, came down the hallway to my locker. "Oh hey Brooks!"

I smirked, "How's that new tan coming out for you, Sky?"

Skylar looked mildly upset. "My aunt told me that the tanning place she went to was better than going to the beach, but right after I went to that place and got sprayed on by a dozen chemicals, I googled it and realised it was harmful to skin! I mean, who does that anymore!"

My friends and I all snickered. "At least you look tan," Tasha signed. "I could barely escape out of the house the whole time."

Cain threw back a laugh, probably imagining what I am; Tasha's strict and uptight grandparents, trying to convince their wild granddaughter that she was better off in an expensive, private school and perhaps become a nun along the way.

I had obviously had the better summer out of these fools.

Cain smirked, "The one week I went to Maldives with my dad was great, I saw a lot of sharks." He flashed a toothy grin and winked at Skylar. "And fishes."

"Idiot," Skylar smacked him on the head. "Is that all you remember from a trip to freaking Maldives? Fishes?"

Cain shrugged uncertainly. "The hotel was cool, eh, and very... bright?"

We all burst out laughing at this.

"I guess I win then," I smirk proudly. I briefly replayed my short but interesting month I went with my aunt Tiffany to her beach house at the nearby town. It was larger than I remembered, and it seemed like everything I looked at was a memory. The mantel plate was when I used to unscrew the nails with my partner-in-crime, the china tea sets make me think of the laughter we all shared when we would just "accidentally" drop a worm or two into my aunt's stuck up daughter's tea. We built the tree house outside and it had been a period of my life when I finally did not feel alone anymore. I had been happy.

I looked up the hallway subconsciously, and caught eye with a certain brown-haired boy. Chase Knight. He was a jock, not only, no, he was the IT boy in our school, yet I never found much urge to fan over him like some of these girls casting him hopeful discreet looks. I quickly looked away before I could cause myself anymore emotional harm. I really didn't need it.

"Brooks?" Cain asked, confused. "Are you there?"

Hastily, I nodded.

"So you won," Tasha shrugged in her usual careless way. "You've been having pretty fun summers. It's not really fair that your Aunt Tiffany has houses around the world. The rest of us gets stuck with our family for half the summer without wifi, but I'll win summer, darlings."

She took a look at all of our faces and added, "I know I've been saying that for three consecutive summers but—"

A tinge of red appeared on her cheeks.

"History, huh?" Skylark peered over to my timetable. "Looks like we've got Homeroom, Literature, Chemistry and Lunch together. Well, I got to go, the council wants to hold a last minute meeting, some newbie apparently refused to do her job. Bye!"