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Chapter 39- Back to the Beginning

For someone's who's had a week like mine, I was unreasonably happy.

Not all my problems were solved, but with the content look that was comfortably seated on my face, it was safe to say, things were finally getting better.

It felt like a huge burden had been rolled off my shoulders and everything was reverting back to the way it was before, when I was happier. And I did feel happy. So happy, in fact, that even Lena began to worry about my mental stability. I guess I've just been smiling a lot lately.

"Yes, you have," Jodie tells me on the way to lunch. I guess I must've said that out loud. "It's getting really creepy."

"Jo does have a point," Alyssa agrees somewhat hesitantly. "How are you not affected at all?"

I shrug as we head in to the cafeteria. "I guess, I'm just tired of being sad and insecure all the time. The problem is gone, and I just want to concentrate on getting over it now."

It was true. The problem was gone, technically. Thinking back, I hadn't seen Mable Gordon since that day. News of what happened between Mable and I had spread around the school like wildfire, and people didn't hesitate to voice their theories of what happened to her. There were rumours that she'd been expelled, others said it was just an exclusion, some said her mother had sent her to the other side of the country to live with her dad. Honestly? I didn't know which ones were actually true myself.

"And your not even a little bit curious to find out what happened to Mable?" Alyssa says a couple minutes later, while she and Jodie scan the room for our friends.

I pause. The thing that happened with Mable still hurt. The last real conversation we had may have been in middle school, but she was still someone I'd known my whole life. Whatever she thought I'd done to her in the first place, had to have had aspects of truth - thinking back to when I was younger, I probably wasn't the angel everyone paints me out to be. Still, that was a wound I'd rather not be reopening.

"Nope," I reply honestly. "I feel like everything is finally coming together again. Why would I frown about the past, when I have the present to smile at? Everything is pretty much perfect right now."

Lys and Jo exchange looks. Eyebrows raised, scepticism written in their faces.

"Far left corner of the room," Jodie says. The conversation is momentarily dropped, and we follow her lead. Right before we sit, she sighs, "Whatever, then. I guess if smiling creepily makes you feel better; smile away."

"Are we talking about Mai?" Ethan asks once we're sat down. We turn to him. Alyssa nods.

"Well, it is creepy," Ryan takes a break from his food to contribute, smiling devilishly as he catches my reaction. My smile quickly turns into a scowl. "Ah, look she's back to normal now. Much better."

I roll my eyes at this, but a good-natured grin makes a reappearance on my face, causing my friends to go again.

Perhaps I was exaggerating a bit- not everything was perfect now. But it wasn't too far off either.

Lena was still a control freak that stressed over everything, but at least she has Austin now to balance it out. Lauryn wasn't really as over Connor as she claimed to be, but at least she can smile about it now. I was positive Ethan never really lost his 5th grade crush on her, but I think they're slowly realizing it too. Alyssa was never quite as peppy as she was before Declan's illness, but at least now she has her brother back. Jodie and Ryan's parents probably still had some issues to work out, but at least, Jodie had licorice, and Ryan had football and bad jokes to keep them going. And Cameron? Well, he still wouldn't touch a soccer ball in public, but-