B(re)aking Away

Chapter 2

"I knew it!" Carina exclaimed from the back seat on our way to our first stop from the beach, Olivia's house. Jo and I in the front and Brian and Olivia in the back with Carina in the middle.

"Was there something you, Carina, was in doubt if you knew? Good heaven!" Brian said and then looked at her phone, where she was eagerly reading.

"I know it rarely happens, but everyone has their dark moments" she responds with a playful jab to Brian's side.

I glance at her in the rear view mirror "What did you find, Care?"

"That Jack guy, I knew I recognized him from Sean telling me about him" She explains as she hands me her phone, "That is Jack Casey. You know, the guy, who was caught in the girl's bathroom a while back with Sam, I think it was?"

"Is Sam a boy or girl?" Brian asked jokingly.

"Story doesn't say, but most people lean towards a girl. Freshmen, if I am not mistaken, while he was a junior" Jo responded with a laugh.

"So, that is Jack Casey" I could hear Olivia quietly say behind me. I sensed a crush coming forming. We had all heard the stories about Jack Casey and half of them were probably not true, but nevertheless it peaks one's curiosity. Objectively, I could see what people were talking about, now having met him. He was so hot it was silly.

Boys had never been a real issue in our group, we had quite different taste, which is evident from our past boyfriends. Last year, Tommy, who is now a Senior, and I dated for a while and it was nice, but eventually we both realized that it was not working out and broke up. Carina and Sean have been going on forever, but not officially. They are not quite there yet. Olivia had dated a guy from the Technical Academy briefly, when he sort of ghosted her or at least ignored her. We were never given the full picture, because Olivia was embarrassed. It hit Olivia hard, because she had really liked him. Brian did not really date, but more hung out with lots of girls and occasionally made out with them. He did not seem to want to stay in a relationship currently. Jo was the only one, who really had had something long term. She and Josh McKay (son of the founder of McKay Industries) had been steady for a while and then suddenly they were on-again-off-again for months, until Josh's family moved away as the factory closed down. Even though she did not show it, Jo was heartbroken, but Josh did not want to do a long-distance relationship, so he broke up with her.

We soon arrived at Olivia's house and she departed. Next was Carina and Brian, who lived like one street apart. We don't all live that far apart, but when Jo has the car, it's nice that we can all make sure that everyone gets home safely.

"Oh, I forgot to mention, we should probably get together over the weekend, if we wanted to pair up electives and priorities." Jo said as she stopped in front of my house. "I'll text everyone later"

"We can do it as pre-party get-together on Saturday, for Sean's party"

"Good idea!" Jo said and started typing on her phone. A few moments later my watch vibrated. "There! We can meet up at my house, it is closest and my parents are out for the evening".

"Great, see you Saturday then" I said and jumped out of the car, "Love you!"

"Love you too" she called as she drove away.

My mom and dad were making dinner when I entered the house.

"Hey, honey!" my mom called. "Was it fun at the beach?"

"Yeah, nice to get to soak in the last sun rays before school starts"

"About that. We got an e-mail today about the addition to your school. It is all on the school website. Did you hear about this?"

"Yeah, we saw it. We'll discuss elective on Saturday before the party"

"There is a party?" my dad asked. I forgot I had not told them yet. My parents are not strict, but we do have a standing agreement that I let them know when I go out and they expect me home not too late, if not agreed to spend the night at one of the other's places. Of the five friends of us, most of our parents meet socially as well, so we are a tight-knitted group, parents included.

"Yeah, Sean is having a last summer party"

"Carina's Sean?" my mom asked with a sparkle in her eye. See? Even parents talk.

"Yes" I answer even though Carina would be arguing this point. "We'll go as a group and hit back to Jo's afterwards"

"It's good you girls stick together"

"And Brian" my dad added and continued teasingly "How he ended up in that group-... I don't know if was lucky or unlucky"

I just rolled my eyes at this. I knew what was coming.

"Dear, you know how. The girls was grouped together at the zoo field trip and when they saw Brian standing there with the teacher all alone, they snatched him right up"

"If you are done walking down memory lane, can I help with anything? I am starving"

"We're almost done here, but Rosa next-door asked if you wanted to make a dessert for her club on Sunday."

"I would love to"

"See how she lights up whenever it is time to bake" my dad teased and tried to pinch my cheeks, but I dodged him.

"Enough of that now. Zoë, can you go get your brother? He is out back"

"Sure" I called back half-way out the backdoor.

Our yard is not that big, but it is right next to a big field with a small playground and basketball court. Most kids from the neighborhood play here. I did when I was little.

"Max!" I called as I stepped out the gate and scouted around for my dark haired little brother. Before long, I spotted him playing basketball with a couple of boys. He shot the ball through the basket and then waved goodbye to his friends. I was beside me in a few moments given he is a fast runner. He gave me a high five, our usual greeting.

"Nice play, Max! Are you trying out this year for the basketball team"

"You bet!" he answered enthusiastically and shot an invisible ball through the basket beside our gate.

Dinner went as ever with the various updates from the day. School was starting soon and both Max and I had all the necessaries for the new school year.

On Friday evening an e-mail from school appeared in my inbox with the list of electives to choose from as I would be a junior this year and get two electives of our choosing and the guidelines on how to sign up online. A warning was written in red on the sheet that said:

"Remember to choose at least 3 priorities (you can set more), as we cannot guarantee you your first priorities. It depends on your current schedule and size of the elective in question"

I had not thought about that. However, there cannot be that many who would choose zoology, right?

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A/N* Short chapter this one, but we got a picture of Zoë's family life. Also, we leave it on Friday evening, so next up is Sean's party before school starts.

Any feedback is welcome or questions. I would like to hear what people think :)