The Month of September

Chapter 7-The English Language

Previously on The Month of September: September told August and his friends that she wouldn't spend so much time with them. Lawrence Ford is the person she ran into her first day. Tom, Paul, and Austin are August's friends. She met Gemma, Lisa, Chris, and Jake the other day during lunch.

Dedicated to: Meem because she's so awesome and she made the new cover that you see right now! =D

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Austin's horn honked loudly from the street, and I ran outside to meet him, August trailing after me. "Hey!" I said, climbing into the backseat.

"Sup," Austin said, but not like a question. More like a greeting. I decided to answer him anyway.

"I'm good! What about you?" I asked.

He chuckled a bit. "That was rhetorical, but I'm fine," he said. I rolled my eyes. What happened to the English language? People didn't even understand what they meant when they said greetings anymore. "I saw that," he said, smirking.

"Whatever," I mumbled.

"Sup, August!" he said when August finally reached the car. God knows what he had been doing outside for that long.

"Sup, dude," August said, slipping into the front seat and nodding at him. I seriously didn't know what was wrong with those two.

"Your little sister here doesn't know what the meaning of 'sup' is, August. It's a serious problem," Austin said.

"What?!" August exclaimed, turning in his seat to examine me closely.

I coughed uncomfortably. "The meaning of 'sup', or 'what's up' is what is above you, or what are you doing, so the way you use it is wrong."

"Ember, you don't have to take things so literally," August said, waving his arms.

"Yeah, just assume that everything here is figurative," Austin said.

"Hmm...okay," I said, making a mental note of that. Assume everything is figurative.

We arrived at school, and Austin slid his car into a parking space across from the front office. "May I accompany you to first period, m'lady?" he asked, extending his arm to me.

"Yup, but put your arm down so you don't look like a fool," I said, slapping his arm.

"I'm hurt," he said, dramatically clutching his arm to his chest. I made a face and started walking away from him. He put his arm down and trailed after me to our Bio classroom. I noticed Gemma right away today, she was dressed in a neon green sweater and dark leggings. She winked at me when she saw Austin behind me and I stuck my tongue out at her as I went to my seat.

"Who's that?" Austin asked, glancing towards Gemma.

"Gemma. Wouldn't you know that?" I asked, surprised.

"No. I only moved here last year," he told me, looking back at me. "From California."

"Oh," I said, not knowing what else to say. "Was it nice there?"

"Yeah, but I had to move here because of my Dad's work." Was it just me, or was there underlying tension when he said "Dad"? I wasn't going to ask, and luckily I was saved from trying to think of other things to say by the bell. Mr. Sandell started the lesson, and I dutifully took notes, trying to distract myself from thoughts about Austin. He had moved here from California because of his Dad, but obviously he didn't really want to. I wanted to know the story, but I didn't want to pry or make him feel uncomfortable. I decided that I would ask August later.

Before I left class, I waved to Gemma and followed Austin to Calculus. Surprisingly, Ford--Lawrence--I mentally corrected, was already sitting in his seat. "Not late today, huh, For--Lawrence?" I asked.

"Nope. Not at all, Stan--September," he said, winking.

"How did you know my name's September?" I asked, my eyes narrowing in suspicion.

He raised an eyebrow. "Everyone's talking about you, didn't you know? The mysterious sister of August Stanberry, finally joined him in Michigan. Where has she been all these years?" he asked in a reporter's voice. I groaned. I did not need any extra attention on me. I just wanted to fit in and be my stylish wallflower self. This was senior year, and I wanted it to be a smooth year, without any drama. Maybe I should have stayed in Wisconsin. "Hey, are you okay?" Fo--Lawrence asked. I really needed to get his name down.

"Fine. Why wouldn't I be," I said, forcing a smile. "I just wanted a smooth senior year, and now a bunch of people are going to be talking about me. Who knows what rumors they're going to start." I put my head in my arms.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he said, awkwardly putting his hand on my shoulder. It felt a bit uncomfortable, so I slyly sat up so his hand slid down my arm and he moved it away. "I'll take care of it."

"You will?" I asked, my eyes widening.

"Yup," he said, leaning back in his chair confidently.

"Good luck with that," I replied. It was impossible. Besides, why would he do it for me? We didn't even know each other.

"Have some faith," he chided. Ms. Maddox cleared her throat, signaling the lesson was about to start.

I couldn't pay attention during the lesson. Why was he being so nice to me? How was it even possible to take attention off someone when the whole school was buzzing? I could swear I even saw some people looking at me in class. I told my self I was just paranoid, but still left the class as soon as I could.

I ran into someone on my way out, and said a rushed, "Sorry." I moved past them, but they grabbed my arm.

"Wait!" a petite brunette called.

"What's up with people always stopping me after I get out of this class?" I wondered to myself.

"You're September Stanberry, right?" I widened my eyes in surprise. I had never seen this girl in my life. "My friend pointed you out this morning when you were walking into school," she explained to my questioning expression. "I never knew August had a sister! Are you guys really related? You guys look so different," she said, peering at me. I started to feel a bit sick.

"I'm sorry, I don't want to be late to class," I said, surprised I didn't stutter. I turned quickly and walked to my next class, trying to avoid eye contact with everyone. I realized a few minutes later my excuse was ridiculous because of two reasons: first, I wasn't even walking in the right direction to my next class, and second, it was break. I sighed and turned around, heading in the right direction this time.

I had been wandering around for ten minutes, so by the time I got to the right class, I was right on time. I quietly sat down and dropped my bag on the floor. Mr. Burke was just about to speak, when the fire alarms went off.