Crushed

Two

Tui
I caught up to him easily, as my strides were much longer now. "So where are we meeting everyone?" I asked, curiously. Our group had been a bit of a mess since last term. Some catty drama with boyfriends and backstabbing. Dumb shit. No one had really talked over the holidays either- apart from Guy and I. Or that's as much as I knew anyways. "Dunno. Would they even be there?" He added, looking up the road. Nobody was at our regular morning spot, except for some year nine that looked lost. "Apparently not." I sighed. The two of us decided to continue walking right to the bus stop and, to our surprise, almost all of the group was there instead.
"Hey eggs!" Morgan called out. She ran over and hugged first Guy, then me. "Shoot- you've grown! And I love the haircut!" she laughed, pointing to both of us as we greeted the others. "Yeah! I'm a true bean stalk now!" I said, laughing with Guy. "So, how's everyone been?" Jack asked, running his fingers through his hair. Just like the classic 'fuck boy' he was. Or, that's what he wanted everyone to think. Deep down, he was a genuine softie. A softie who loved the colour pink, fluffy dogs and going for long beach walks at midnight. "Oh I've been great! Finally dumped that shitty ex," Mimi chimed in. Her and her now-ex-boyfriend, Dean, had been dating for a few months before the holidays. It was the longest relationship she'd had since kindergarten. Until she found out Dean had cheated on her with Nona, our ex-friend. That's what all the drama had been about last term. And Nona wasn't here so- seems that was sorted. We all cheered quietly and I high fived Mimi. "Nice work man," I congratulated her, grinning.
"So..Morgan, how have you been?" Guy asked, scratching his head. He'd liked her since..basically forever. The rest of us were just waiting for them to finally start dating, since she also had voiced her very-obvious-feelings for him as well. "Oh! They were- I've been- yeah! I've been good..!" Everyone laughed at Morgan's struggles and Jack got a punch in the shoulder for laughing extra hard. "Oh shut up! You guys suck.." Morgan huffed, her face now very red. "We'll shut up when you two finally-" Jack started, but was cut off by the sound of Nona yelling in the distance. "Hey bitches!" She shouted, grinning at everyone. Dean was there, his arm around her shoulder. I shot him a death glare, and he immediately gazed elsewhere. "How are y'all sluts doin?" Nona's heavily-Texan accent kicked in. "Better without you," Mimi turned away and folded her arms.
"Daww, I doubt that very much. Dean and I were just on our way to walk to school. Couldn't bare to be on a bus with y'all losers," Nona laughed and kissed Dean's cheek, walking off with him. "You two deserve each other," Jack yelled, flipping them off once they'd turned around the corner. "You okay?" I asked Mimi softly, as she'd gone slightly quiet. "Yeah, I'm fine." Her voice sounded cold and bitter. Fair enough. After that disturbance, we all managed to get back to chatting and catching up properly before the bus showed up. I reached into my bag and hunted for my ticket.
"Shit." I felt the panic already building up. "What's up?" Guy asked, noticing and my visible suffering. "I don't have my ticket-" "Hey, I'll just pay for you as well. No biggie." Guy smiled and patted my shoulder. Phew. I don't know what I'd have done without him. Probably walked..or gotten a hiding from my mum and a ride to school via her. Yikes. "You just have to pay for me tomorrow!" Guy snickered as I groaned. "Ugh..deal." "Hey, you're the one who lost her ticket." He laughed. "Yeah, yeah." I chuckled and zipped up my bag, swinging it onto my back.
We all got onto the bus and sat at our spot, right in the back seat. Since we were all in our final year of high school, no one could really take our seat anymore. Otherwise they'd have had to deal with our judging senior eyes. As well as Jack's terrible breath. It was like he didn't know what a toothbrush or mouthwash was. I sat down first, going right to the corner. Then Guy sat next to me, then Morgan, Mimi and finally Jack. We all gossiped the next 40 minutes away with ease, laughing and joking about stupid things like we always did. Then the bus stopped at our school. "Ahh great. I just love prison," Jack and Mimi laughed as they stood up, walking off with the rest of us following behind. Checking my watch, I noticed that it was now 8:10. "Hey guys, what do you all have first?" I asked, walking into the gates behind everyone.
"Ah- I think I've got calculus?" Morgan said, digging through her back for her timetable. "Same here," Mimi grinned, finger-gunning Morgan. "I've got photography, and so does Jack, right?" Guy nodded towards Jack, who nodded back at him. "What d'you have then?" Guy asked, turning to me. Shit. I didn't have any of them in my class. "Oh- English, I think," I said, shifting my weight between my feet. "Well hey, it's close to our calculus class. We'll walk with you!" Morgan smiled brightly at me, grabbing my hand. "Okay, okay. Let's go then." I smiled at Guy, giving him and Jack both quick fist bumps as they left to go to their class.
The three of us giggled about silly things on the way to our classes, and I almost tripped up Dean. He'd walked past us and I jokingly put my foot out, not knowing he wouldn't see it. I pulled it back just before he collided with it, and that gave Mimi something to laugh about. Regardless of their current..ugly situation. However, we all did have a good laugh about it, even up until I had to leave. "We'll see you at morning tea, don't worry!" Morgan called out. "Yeah, you'll be all goods!" Mimi cheered after me. I smiled for a second, before turning around the corner. Then the loneliness actually set in. I genuinely hated being alone at school. Being alone at home was fine it's just- school was so different. So much more..public. I overthought things for a few minutes, almost hitting into a few doors on the way to my class. There was still a little while before school actually started by the time I reached the classroom.
I sighed and leaned against the wall, grabbing my earphones. Plugging them into my phone and ears, I opened Spotify and clicked on my 'school playlist'. Most of it was screamo..since that was how I constantly felt during school. But, I chose the one mellow song in that entire playlist for once. I was in a kind of okay mood so..eh. Why not. My eyes closed and I vibed for a few seconds. My peace was almost instantly destroyed by a tap on the shoulder. "Hm?" I opened my eyes and took an earbud out. "Tui." Mrs. Kea? The deputy principal? Both earbuds were now out and I'd come away from the wall. "Y-yes?" I asked, startled by the fact that she was asking for me. Had I gotten in trouble? Was I going to be expelled?? "Mrs. Jones asked for me to get you." I gulped. "Did I do something wrong-" my voice was cut off by her's. "Oh no, it's not bad. You're just going to tour a new student of our's around. She's a year 13, and since you're the captain of the student council, Mrs. Jones chose you." Mrs. Kea reassured me, smiling a little. Her eyes shone whenever she smiled. I really missed those smiles. And I missed having her as a teacher. She took me for Maori in year 9- then I just stopped taking that class in the later years. Mainly because it never fit in with my timetable. I breathed a breath of relief. "Thank god- okay. Would she like to see me now?" I asked, scratching my nose. "Oh yes, as soon as possible she said!" Mrs. Kea laughed. "Come on then." I followed after Mrs. Kea, walking to the front office. There, I was met by our head mistress, Mrs. Jones, and the new student.
"Ah- here she is now." Mrs. Jones announced. The two had obviously been talking. I felt bad for interrupting their conversation, but then again they were probably just talking about..well. School. "Now, we'll just wait until-" Mrs. Jones began before the bell stopped her. "There it is. Tui, could you give Kylie a tour of the school? She's moved here from Britain and I think you'd make her feel very welcome," Mrs. Jones smiled at me, gesturing to Kylie. I nodded enthusiastically and smiled back at her. "Of course Miss. Do you want us to come back here or head to class once we're finished?" I questioned, folding my arms slowly. "Ah- I'd appreciate if you could bring Kylie back here, and you can head off to your class. This should take most of first period, so just..take it slow and be here when you're done. Thank you." She nodded to the two of us and headed off to her office. Mrs. Kea did the same, going in a different direction. Probably to chase up students. Wouldn't be surprised if Jack was one of them.. Rest in peace, Jack Ford.
"So..where shall we start?" I turned to Kylie and smiled. "Well, probably with introductions. Proper ones, I mean," she giggled quietly. "I'm Kylie. Kylie Smith." She reached out her hand to shake mine. "Well, Smith, I'm Tui Henare. And it's a pleasure to meet you." I put on a British voice and shook her hand. The two of us burst into laughter right afterwards. "I think your British impression may even be better than my actual voice!" Kylie laughed, smiling at me. "Yeah nah. Oh wait! You should try a kiwi accent. It'd be hilarious!" I said, encouraging her. "Ohh, nahh. I don't think I'm any good bro.." she said, in a terrible yet awfully funny voice. It was a mix between New Zealander and Australian..as well as a hint of British mixed in. "Spot on," I grinned, fist bumping her. "Now, let's get going on this tour," I exclaimed, clearing my throat and leading Kylie out the sliding doors of the office.