Reality check (Complete)

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Before I knew it, the first week of winter break was over. I had learnt a lot from Harvey and found out that when we co-operated, he was a very good teacher. It also turns out that Janice had come early from her trip and was already home. She had called me right when she had gotten home.

"You're back already?" I had asked.

"Yup! My parents got a little bored and we didn't want to miss Christmas here." Janice answered cheerfully.

"But…flying is pretty expensive. Wasn't it a waste of money to only spend a week in Zimbabwe?"

"Nah. My parents don't really have a problem with it."

"Right."

Janice had also organized a Christmas party just in time for the festivities. Unbeknownst to me, she had been planning it for quite a while because in just a few days, the party was held.

Walking into Janice's home with all the rowdy teenagers around seemed very different from all the other times. The house boomed with music, complete with a table full of food and beautiful decorations. I quickly noticed the large, decorated Christmas tree in the corner of her living room and marveled at all the colours.

The house was full of familiar faces from school, but there was also a cluster of people I didn't know. Mingling with everyone else didn't seem to fit my style to I walked over to the snack table to find Steve and Harvey stuffing their faces. Grabbing a cupcake, I raised an eyebrow.

"You guys have been eating since you came. Aren't you full yet?"

"Nope." Harvey answered simply.

"We have a fast metabolism." Steve supplied.

I sighed. How come everyone here used that excuse? At that moment, I saw Harvey shove a whole donut into his mouth. I widened my eyes.

"Careful." I scolded. "You might choke."

Harvey shrugged and swallowed. He stared at the cupcake in my hand. I looked over at the platter to see I had taken the last cupcake. Steve seemed to look up from his snacking and gazed hungrily at the cupcake.

"You gonna eat that?" The boys asked in unison. Sighing, I gave them my cupcake.

"Score!" They cheered together, splitting the cupcake amongst themselves. I grinned. I had never seen Harvey so excited before. I guess food was the key to making him happy.

"Okay. Well you two have fun. I'm gonna go see if there's anyone I know. "

I turned around to see the girl I had met at the skating rink, Sophie, standing near the Christmas tree. I eagerly went up to talk to her.

"Hey!" I poked her arm. Sophie turned around and beamed.

"Hi! Alicia, right?" I nodded and Sophie brightened. "I haven't seen you in a while. Do you like the party?"

"It's awesome! I didn't know Janice knew you."

"We used to go to the same music school when we were young and became pretty good friends. I'm not surprised she's friends with you. I thought you guys would get along well."

I nodded and Sophie's eyes seemed to look past my head. I turned around to see an Asian girl with straight, black hair streaming down her back. The girl seemed to be a bit older than Sophie and I; around her senior year in high school. Her brown eyes stared into mine and brightened.

"Hey!" She greeted. The girl then turned to Sophie. "Who's this?"

"Oh. Monica, meet Alicia. Alicia, meet Monica."