After All These Years

23

Chapter 23

Shoulder

When she replied to Carlo that she'll sleep, it's true. Maybe not right away but soon. Her mind's wandering somewhere, overthinking any scenarios she could imagine on her head, whether it's about her career, love life, and even about her sister.

Trixie listens to the nothingness instead of listening to her thoughts. Her eyes find the clock on the wall, and it was nine fifty-eight in the evening when she starts watching it and twelve-thirty when she stops.

The next morning, she came to school a little earlier than normal and she saw James who went out from a taxi.

"Where's your car?" she asked him. "Coding," he says and then plugs in his earphones on his ears.

They have the same schedule for their classes like yesterday's and she suddenly felt nervous when Ms. Hernandez opened the topic about the Foundation day again. She kind of regrets that she said yes because she felt like chickening out, but she remembers that she's on her last year and she has to make the most out of it.

They were dismissed at three in the afternoon and she was about to hail a cab when she saw Grace's red Wigo- if she's not mistaken parked in front of their school. She was shocked to see it there, and then the door of Grace's car suddenly opens. She saw Grace on casual wear, maybe because work's done. Grace is wearing a white hanging blouse from Guess-since the text could be seen on its print, plain ripped jeans, and a pair of Nike Cortez as her footwear. Though Grace is just a year older than Trixie, she looked like she was younger than Trixie as she carries herself today.

Franco suddenly speaks and Trixie directed her eyes at him, "Will you still practice with us later?" he asked. Trixie remembers the call from James last night, "Oh, in your place right?" she asked too, and she saw Franco nods at her.

Trixie looked at her girl friends beside her who are saying their goodbye's to each other and she told them hers too. They proceed to Grey's Civic quickly because he drives Amanda back in her dorm, and lucky for Krishna and Tanya to join them too since the three of them live together. She turns to the other and almost giggled when she noticed James' reaction. The man looked like he saw a ghost.

She turned her head to James who still looked like his soul left him, "James," she called him and the guy quickly came back to life. "You think we still need to practice?" she aske. James opens his mouth when someone stood beside him. "Hey," Grace says, leans on her, and then kissed Trixie on the cheeks. She noticed how James' stance changed a little probably because he wasn't expecting to see Grace today. When did he started being this obvious? Trixie thought. Her sister greets Franco and Grey too and both smiled at her. "So?" Grey probes, "Will you still go?"

"I am satisfied with our rehearsal yesterday," and then she paused. She realized that Grey's car is where the girls will be, and then she could probably join Zion and Franco so that James will have his alone time with Grace. "But I think I need to practice more to make sure," she continues.

She knows James didn't bring his car today because it's coding. "Zion," the man looked back, "You'll go directly at Franco's right? I'll just join," and he nods. "But how about Grace-" Franco interrupts them, and Trixie faced their direction once again, "James will go at our house to get my guitar because that's what he's going to use tomorrow," she says an excuse and wished that Franco will buy it.

"Can't practice with an electric guitar when my song should sound acoustic, right?" she adds. "Besides, the strings aren't well so," she suddenly remembered and looked at James, "Can you buy it at the mall? It's near and I'll just pay you when you come back," she  says since they will be using her guitar tomorrow. Franco looks confused, "Why don't you do it yourself? I think Grace is here to fetch you anyway," he asked.