y/ns pov
Mom had ordered us to take a family photo with Paul, for his mayoral campaign, but with Austin being silent, and Ginny being bitter, it was nothing short of awkward. There was a gap between Mom and Ginny, making the photo look even more off than usual. Mom and Paul had faux smiles stuck on but the rest were deadpanning.
The photographer signalled Ginny to move closer, she refused, moving away from Mom and closer to Austin and I. Giving up, she went back to taking more photos, trying out a different angle on the camera.
"Ok. The election is tomorrow. Your opponent, Cynthia Fuller, is running her campaign attacking your lack of family values, and now you're engaged. How would you respond to critics about the timing of your proposal?"
"I am marrying Georgia because I fell in love with her, and her kids. It's as simple as that."
"How did you propose?"
"I, um..." "It was so romantic. We were working late one night, and he handed me this file and asked me to put it in my desk drawer. And I'm like, "The file goes in the filing cabinet." On and on about this desk drawer until finally, he opens it, and inside is this little velvet box."
The interviewer ate up the story, scribbling down every detail Mom said. Paul looked more surprised at her ability to conjure up stories on the spot, whilst Nick looked impressed. The interviewer turned to us, asking questions about Wellsbury and how we interpreted it.
"What about you, Virginia? What's your favourite part of Wellsbury?"
"My friends."
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Max, Norah and Abby were huddled around a locker, whispering about something. Max looked pissed, it was probably something to do with Sophie.
Once we arrived, they all turned to us.
"Hey, guys!" Ginny shouted. "Hey, I waited for you at Berry Tree."
"Hey, N/N." Max beamed.
"...hey?" She didn't say anything to Ginny, glancing at the other girls.
"Oh, ha ha, avoid looking at her. Ew, she can't sit with us. I get it."
No one laughed.
"Hey, joke's over." Max looked at her, wrapping her arms around Abby and Norah.
"Y/N, you coming?" "Yeah."
I left Ginny by the lockers alone. She looked confused, wondering why they shunned her.
"Okay.." I started, "What was that?"
Abby looked back at me, "What was what?"
"You know what I'm talking about. Why are you ignoring Ginny?"
Max huffed, "It turns out she's the reason why Marcus was in hospital. She almost killed him."
"What do you mean?"
"I saw in his and Padma's chats. They were talking about something she said, I can't say what but it was bad."
"Hm. Okay." I shrugged, walking to my next class.
I love Karma.
They ignored her for the rest of the day, despite her weak attempts. She seemed lost, but I was eating it all up. I didn't say anything, watching them ignore her with a smile on my face. She tried asking me for help, backing away once my laugh met her ears, cackling at her misfortune. I was probably the worse person to ask for help, especially in Ginny's case.
"However, I think it's important that we highlight that during the time, this word was not as polarising. It was a different time. Also, I'd like to point out that a female wrote this book. But back to the word, I'm not going to say it out loud because, well, frankly, it can be very upsetting. Right, Y/N and Ginny?" He continued but I stopped him.
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I said "Right?""
I snorted, "Ok, but why did you draw us out? Because we're black? You're weird, I'm sure anyone in this class could tell you why the word is upsetting."
"Yes, I know this is a class full of very smart students, but you two have a personal connection to the word."
"Personal connection? What th—"
"Y/N, leave it. It's fine." Ginny whispered.
"No, it's not. You're seriously going to let him continuously draw us out like this?" I laughed, standing up.
"Sit dow—"
I cut him off, "Shut up."
Walking out, the class remained silent, eyes burning into the back of me. I pushed open the bathroom door, going to the sinks to wash my face with water. Bracia was there, scrolling on her phone.
"Hey, I haven't heard from you in a while. Thought you was ignoring me." I chuckled, drying my hands.
"It's my extras, between Leadership and Dance, I'm burnt out. My mom says that's what happens when you take on 6 different things at once." She put her phone down, jokingly rolling her eyes.
"There's a dance club here? Running right now?"
"Yeah, this school has everything. It's magical." We shared a laugh.
"So why are you here?" I raised an eyebrow, Bracia didn't seem like the type of girl to cut class.
She held up her toilet pass, "Couldn't deal with History any longer. You?"
"Mr. Gitten." She immediately understood what I meant, recalling her disastrous time in his class.
"You just know he voted for Obama twice and is really proud and gross about it. And he never chose me to read for Juliet. And I'm a phenomenal Juliet. I go to theatre camp every summer, so I have Juliet on lock. Whatever. He sucks, but I'm here for you."
"Thanks," I sighed, "If I stayed in that class any longer, I'd be arrested for assault."
She chuckled, "I've lived in Wellsbury my whole life, I know what it's like. Especially with your sisters friends."
"Tell me about it." I moaned, "Ive tried to tell Ginny, but apparently my word doesn't count."
"What, you're telling me she doesn't realise how they touch her hair? Like they've never seen type 4 hair?"
"Trust me, she's blind to it. And guess what, they're even not talking to her right now."
"Why?" "Long story."
She laughed, checking the time, "I better go back, I've been here for 35 minutes."
"Bye." We hugged as she walked to the door. "Come to my table at lunch tomorrow, I think you'll like my friends."
"Sure." Since English was my last class of the day, I left, not bothering to tell anyone. The school day was practically over anyways. Ginny had work so she wouldn't be home for hours to come. Max's performance was at 8PM, it was 2:49PM now, long enough for me to get a solid nap.
I was able to recharge for 5 hours before Mom and Ginny arrived, quickly changing into new clothes. We were going to meet the Bakers there, them saving the good seats for us.
Ginny had secured a bouquet of roses, hoping to win back Max's affection.
Strobe lights were waving over the crowd, keeping up the cheery mood. The audience was full, buzzing with anticipation. There was an empty seat besides Marcus, his hand resting on the seat. Shuffling through the rows, I plonked on to the seat Marcus was saving for me. He grinned at my presence, reaching for my hand.
"Hey." He smiled.
"Hey," I waved at Ellen and Clint. "What time is this starting?"
"Should be starting soon, in the next 3 minutes or so."
Just as he said that, the lights dimmed. "This should be good."
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had to stop there so all the drama is in the next chapter lol
i already said i wasn't writing smut, it's a no from me👍🏾. if you want smut, there's plenty on wattpad and tumblr.
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