I watched the clock’s second hand ticking and going round in circles for the 12th time. History was the one subject I hated with an immense amount of passion. Kyla, Kian and I have spent countless hours talking about how dumb the decisions made in the past were. Whenever we had Derrick around, though, our so-called harmless discussions always escalated into a heated debate.
The second hand finished another circle. 3 more and I’m out of here. After 3 excruciatingly slow minutes, the bell rang and I was the first one to exit the room. I made my way to my homeroom to find Derrick already there.
“Haven’t seen you for 3 days and you’re suddenly Miss Popular,” he commented as I sat next to him.
I rolled my eyes. “Shut up.”
“Seriously, though,” he said, his dark eyes scanning my face. “What’s with all these rumours that I’m hearing?”
“It’s nothing,” I said, shrugging. “Just some girls gossiping.”
“So how was the date?” he said with a mocking smile on his face.
“What date?” I looked up to see Kian walking towards us.
I almost forgot Kian was a part of our homeroom too since he was gone for way too long. Kian and Derrick always seem to team up on me, making me wish I had Kyla around.
“The one with Mr. Seth Riley,” Derrick responded, giving me a nudge with his shoulder.
“Ooo,” Kian cooed. “Apparently, it was magical.”
I glowered at the two of them. “Stop it, guys. We’re just friends.”
Kian’s eyes widened. “So you are friends now? Last time we talked about him, he was ‘someone you went on a blind date with.’”
I averted my gaze. He was right. Damn it.
Why did I call him my friend, though?
I guess I could consider him a friend…
“Look at her!” Derrick laughed next to me.
“Alright everybody, settle down,” Mr. Palmer, our homeroom teacher, called out.
I let out a sigh of relief, glad that I didn’t have to deal with the two of them for a little bit. Kian sat down in front of us, angling his chair to face us while Mr. Palmer rummaged through some papers.
“Could you help me give this out, please?” Mr. Palmer asked a girl, Alison, sitting in the front.
She let out an exaggerated sigh and got off her chair lazily and grabbed the papers from his hand.
“Thank you very much, I appreciate your enthusiasm,” Mr. Palmer said sarcastically, causing a few people to snicker.
Everyone while she passed on the sheets of papers. I scanned through mine once I received it.
Dear parents,
We are proud to say that the school has organized an interactive trip for your children to enhance their qualities and abilities along with giving them the opportunity to be able to bond with their peers.
The letter went on with details about the trip including how many days it was for, how much it would cost, where they were going to take us.
“Another way for them to earn money,” I mused out loud as everyone began chattering excitedly about the news they had just received.
“I think it sounds quite fun,” Kian said. “We should go.”
“What? Seriously?” Derrick jumped in before I could. “You want to go on a trip organized by our school? Do you not remember how horribly wrong each and every one of them turns out to be?”
“Exactly,” I said, surprised Derrick was agreeing with me.
“But this may possibly be our last one!” Kian exclaimed.
“I presume everyone has received one,” Mr. Palmer interrupted our discussion. “If you are interested to go on this trip, get the slips signed by your parents by the end of this week along with the sum of money in an envelope.”
When we left our homeroom, Kyla was waiting outside for us. Derrick wrapped an arm around her waist and hugged her while she reached up to kiss him.
“Did you guys hear about the trip?” she asked.
Derrick nodded.
“We should go!” she said with excitement.
“Exactly!” Kian echoed, positing himself next to Kyla.
“And the two of you don’t want to go,” Kyla deadpanned.
She sighed. “Guys, this is our last year of high school, who knows when we’re going to be able to spend time altogether after we graduate. Can we please go? All of us.”
Derrick’s eyes met mine and his mouth pressed into a thin line of defeat. I sighed and looked at Kyla’s face to see her grey eyes pleading.
“Yes, of course, we’ll go,” I said with a smile.
She was right. This will probably be our last time to actually have the chance to go together on a trip for quite some time. I wouldn’t want to miss out on that.
“Let’s just hope my parents agree,” I commented.
“If they don’t, I will come over and persuade them,” Kyla said, winking at me while Derrick hugged her from the back.
*
I was doing my homework at the dining table when my phone rang.
‘Sexiest man I know’ flashed on my screen and I felt a small smile etch out on my face. My finger was poised on ‘decline’ but I decided to answer it.
“Hello?” I said.
“Oh, wow, you answered,” Seth spoke, his voice sounding oddly deep over the phone. “I didn’t think you would.”
“Don’t make me regret it,” I said, rolling my pen between my fingers.
His rich voice laughed through the phone.
“What’s up?” I asked.
“I had to ask you something,” he said.
“Okay, go on,” I prodded.
“Are you going on that trip?” he inquired.
“Why?” I questioned, simply to annoy him.
“You know,” he said. “I’ve noticed you answer lots of my questions with questions. How difficult is it to respond with a simple yes or no?”
A satisfied smile appeared on my face. “I just want to know why you’re asking.”
“To know whether it would actually be worth it to go or not,” he said.
I rolled my eyes. “I’m pretty sure you watch more chick flicks than I do. Where does all this cliché-ness come from?”
“It’s from within, babe,” he said and I could picture his smug smirk on his face.
“Of course, it is,” I said sarcastically.
“So are you going or not?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” I responded honestly.
“Seriously, Ava,” he said. “Yes or no?”
“I don’t know!” I exclaimed. “I haven’t asked my parents yet.”
“Oh,” he said. “Alright then, I’ll call you later tonight. Bye.”
And he hung up. I stared at my phone for a moment and then got back to my homework.
Dad came back home while I was still doing my assignment. He looked drained with dark circles under his brown eyes. Dropping his bag on one of the chairs of the table, he came over to me.
“That’s a refreshing site for once,” he joked, ruffling my hair.
“Thank you,” I said, shooting a sweet smile. “I have been working very hard for school recently, you know.”
“That’s good to know,” he said, sounding a bit suspicious already.
“How was your day?” I asked casually.
“Quite productive,” he commented. “Where’s your mom?”
“In the kitchen,” I said.
He nodded and went into the kitchen to meet her. I sat there, trying to think of a way to tell him about the trip.
Once dad freshened up, I helped mom set up the table for dinner and once all of us settled down, I decided to ask him.
“There was a letter given out today that I was meant to give you,” I said, helping myself to a piece of potato.
“And you haven’t done so because?” mom questioned.
“I forgot,” I said, shrugging. “I’ll give it to you after dinner.”
“What was it about?” dad asked.
Yes!
“Just some trip,” I responded casually.
“Oh! What trip?” mom asked enthusiastically.
“It’s meant to be one last trip for us,” I said with a sad expression.
“Then you should go!” mom exclaimed.
I knew I didn’t have to do any of the work. Mom always helps me out without realizing it.
“I suppose so,” I replied, nodding.
“When is it?” dad asked with a mouthful of salmon.
“Towards the end of next week,” I said.
“You should go, enjoy yourself one last time before you dive headfirst into studies,” he said.
“Really?” I asked with a grin.
He nodded, smiling.
Well, that was easy.
*
‘Guess who’s going on the trip?’ I sent the text to Kyla, Kian and Derrick before going to bed.
Receiving excited replies from them, I went to bed and pulled my comforter over my head.
My phone buzzed again and I unlocked it to see a message by none other than the sexiest man I know.
Yes or no?
Contemplating on what to respond or whether to even respond, I finally sent a ‘yes.’
A/N- Helloo! How have you guys been?
Yes, this is more of a filler chapter but I have to move the stor forward now so :P
A trip! Sounds good, doesn't it? Well, there's lots of crazy stuff coming your way :D
Did you guys watch the MTV Movie Awards? Didn't Shailene Woodley look gorgeous? Shansel won best kiss yayyy! <3 :D
Please leave a vote and a comment if you enjoyed this chapter because it really makes my day. <3