what we thought

5

"First of all, I'm only two days younger and second of all, I didn't ask for you either." I point out.

"Asshole."

"Dick."

"Prick."

"Jerk."

"Will you two quit it?" Holden demands. "You're acting like you're five."

"She is five." He mutters.

"You know what? Shut up." I snap.

Holden groans loudly. "Both of you shut up."

"No." We say simultaneously.

Holden then shuts up and leaves us to bicker. He is always trying to solve conflict but he knows when to take a step back. Especially when it deals with Ryder. And definitely when it deals with both Ryder and I. That is when the guys know to leave us alone. We are explosive together and nobody wants to be in the line of fire. That is pure danger.

We arrive at school late which pisses me off more than I already am. Holden attempts to calm me but it is in vain because he ends up being annoying. Ryder has already rubbed me in all the wrong directions so it doesn't help in the slightest. I ditch them and immediately go to class, bumping into Piper on the way.

"Hey, Mia." She calls, walking over. "Good news. My parents booked the tickets last night and we are good to go."

"That's great." I reply flatly.

She makes a face, furrowing her eyebrows. "Woah, who's got you in a mood?"

"Ryder."

"Oh," she drawls our slowly. "That makes sense. But don't let him ruin your day."

"He already has." I say bluntly.

Piper rolls her eyes. "You're on your period, aren't you?"

My cheeks unintentionally heat up, "What? No."

She laughs loudly. "You totally are."

"Okay, yes I am but he's being extra annoying today."

She cocks an eyebrow. "Or you're just being moody Mia."

"Shut up. I'm going to class." I begin walking, but she grips my arm.

"Mia." She groans loudly, facing me. "You have to talk to your dad about the trip. My parents are inviting you both over for dinner to discuss it. When is he free?"

I ponder for a moment, going through my dad's normal schedule. "Um.. Thursday should be good but he might be free on Saturday."

"Well, I think my parents are free Thursday but I'll check up with them first to see if it's good." She explains, pulling out her phone to take some notes. "Oh and I'm sort of busy on Friday so we are rescheduling our mall trip to Saturday."

"Or we could cancel." I say hopefully.

She scoffs. "Not a chance."

"Piper," I sigh.

"Nope." She turns around and struts down the hall. "Saturday."

~~~

I wave goodbye to Corey and Jenna and a few other staff members who are in the front of the diner.

"Be safe." Corey advises. "Text me when you get home."

"Of course," I reply, rolling my eyes.

My dad has this rule where if I ride my bike home from work, I need to tell Corey when I get home and Corey then tells my dad. And then my dad will call me on the house phone unless he is already home. Because then that's how he assures I am not off doing something else. If Corey doesn't get a text or a call, then he would immediately know something was wrong and tell my dad. I always wondered why I couldn't just call my dad myself but he insists that I could call and be somewhere else. If answer the house phone then he knows I'm safe. I used to think this process was outrageous but now I've gotten used to it. It makes sense.