Ticking Clocks

Chapter 1

"I'm so glad that this is actually happening," Brooke said, her hazel eyes wide.

"I know. We've been talking about doing this since, like, freshman year. And now it's actually going to happen," I said.

"We've been talking about it for even longer than that," Brooke added, nudging me with her hip. I smiled at her.

Brooke and I had been best friends since high school. I remember the day I met her.

She was the new girl in the school. She hadn't graduated middle school with everyone else because she had previously lived in New York City with her mother, who was an aspiring Broadway actress. Apparently, Brooke's mother was also an alcoholic and one day, things took a turn for the worse for Brooke. So she it was decided that she would come live in California with her father, who was a wealthy business man that had absolutely no time for family.

She had a pretty rough family life, but she never let on about it. When she came to our high school for the first time, she made sure she made an entrance. The day she walked in, she was wearing a pair of tight black skinny jeans, a low-cut ruffle tank, and nude stilletto heels. She was the definition of fabulous and all the guys wanted her.

Just my luck, so did my boyfriend. His name was Craig and he cheated on me with her. But he had told her that he was single. However, when she found out that this was a lie, she had made it her goal to find who he had cheated on and apologize.

She had marched up to me during lunch one day, wearing yet other one of her fabulous outfits. She put her foot up on the bench and leaned forward.

"Are you Sophia Joslin?" she asked. I looked her up and down and glared at her. I did not want to talk to her.

"Yes, and you must be the new slut," I replied viciously. Her eyes flashed with anger, but then calm restored on her face.

"I guess I deserve that," she muttered. She swung her leg over the bench and sat down, straddling the bench. "Look, I found out that that Craig kid cheated on you. And it's kind of my fault," she had said. I looked at her, confused. "I just wanted to apologize and tell you that I'm willing to help you make his life hell if you want because I'm actually pretty good at that," she continued. I gaped at her incredulously. The queen slut was apologizing to me? That's not how high school was supposed to work. Who was this chick?

"So, what do you say? Water balloon him as he walks out from the locker rooms or draw tiny penises on his car with red lipstick?" she asked me. I burst out laughing and she continued to look at me with her serious face. 

"Neither. But thanks for offering," I said. She smiled at me and leaned forward slightly.

"I really am sorry, though. The scumbag told me he was single and well, he was hot, so I went with it. I should have known better, though," she said.

"It's all right. He was a jack ass anyway. It was bound to happen. If not with you, then with someone else," I said. She beamed at me.

"So we're cool?" she asked. I nodded.

"We're cool," I replied.

"Wicked. I'm Brooklyn by the way. You can call me Brooke," she said.

"I'm Sophia, but I guess you already knew that," I replied. She grinned and stood up.

"It was nice meeting you, Sophia. I'm glad we cleared things up," she said. I nodded and she walked away to go sit at an empty table. I frowned as I looked at her. She was so gorgeous, but the sight was somewhat disheartening. She looked so lonely.

So I did the right thing and I stood up, leaving my own friends to go sit with her. And just like that, I had made friends with the girl that would be by side for the rest of our lives.