Diamond in the Sky

Chapter 2 (Pre-NaNo)

NB:  This chapter was written before NaNoWriMo 2019

"You kissed Nate?" Arizona looked horrified at me. We sat waiting for registration in our gang. I wondered if she still had a thing for Nate but didn't dare confess after Fallon's original reaction. Arizona turned to look at Fallon, "But you said..."

"Nothing has changed. He's still my brother," Fallon interrupted, guessing at Arizona's line of thought. She then turned to look at me. "And, none of you are allowed to date him." Fallon then smiled at Arizona, "I'm not setting them up. It was just an exercise to see what we are working with. Kya was worried Jace dumped her because she's a crap kisser."

I blushed as some heads turned in response to overhearing Fallon. Jace was sitting on the other side of the room with the lads and I prayed he'd not heard it. It was the first time I'd seen him since we had broken up. He didn't look too comfortable with the situation either and was making a point of not looking at me.

"Is that why he dumped you?" Arizona gasped.

"Unlikely," Kya said smiling at me, unfazed at the fact she'd just publicly humiliated me, "Nate says you're an excellent kisser." Her eyebrows bounced with mischief and she bit her lip. She leaned in close but didn't lower her voice, "Next step is to get you back out there. Say goodbye silly boys and hello real men."

"Oh no Fallon, I'm fine," the words hurried out of my mouth. "I don't want a boyfriend. Not right now, anyway."

"I'm not talking about a boyfriend. I'm talking about a bit of fun at a nightclub. Some flirting, some kissing and definitely no commitment." Fallon turned to look at Arizona who still looked annoyed – it was clear she worried her absence at the Christmas Eve party had resulted in her missing out on something major. Fallon acted as if she hadn't noticed the scowl and breezed, "We're going this weekend. I've already sorted it."

I sighed, knowing that once Fallon had an idea there was no way you could change her mind. "Okay, I'll try but my mum is livid about me sneaking out on Christmas Eve. It killed Christmas."

"You'll find a way," Fallon said with a toss of hair. Then, Arizona and Fallon began chatting about what to wear and how to style their hair. I sunk my head onto my elbow. My eyes wandered across the room, seeking out my heart's desire.

His head was still turned away in an over deliberate way, making me feel like I'd done something wrong but I couldn't fathom out what. I hoped his coldness would pass soon. Perhaps I should say something to break the ice. Maybe he wasn't speaking to me because he was worried I didn't want to speak to him. I tried to fathom what I could say without coming across desperate to have him back.

A teacher entered the room to take registration. It wasn't our usual homeroom teacher. She was plump with ugly square-toed shoes and glasses on a string hanging around her neck. She then managed to knock all her documents on the floor and then knocked her tea over trying to collect them back up. The woman pulled some tissues out of her bag and began mopping up the mess.

"Talk about making an entrance!" Fallon laughed.

She kept looking up from her mopping like a rabbit from a burrow wary of a predator close by. I recognised her. It was our form tutor from three years ago when we'd been in the first grade. She'd left to work at another school and I'd heard rumours the students there had made her life hell. It was almost uncomfortable to look at her, she was jittery and skittish. I couldn't see her lasting very long. If she didn't pull it together fast, her teaching profession would be over fast. I felt sorry for her. "It's Mrs Fancy," I whispered back at Fallon. "Give her a break. She was good to us in seventh grade."

Fallon's jaw dropped in shock as she stared at the woman who seemed to be searching the room for something. I wondered if she could remember us all, she must have met loads of students since us. "She looks awful!"