"I'm awkward, ok?! Stop judging me."
"Oh, we're going to get along great."
The first day of school. Daisy stands before the building, her hands on the arms of her bag, waiting for some signal to walk in. She is not particularly nervous or new to the idea of starting anew, but her heart flutters dangerously in her chest.
"Nervous?"
She gasps and jumps aside at the voice. It takes her eyes a moment to focus behind her now crooked glasses. Pushing them flat against her temple, she clears her throat and lets out a slow breath. "You scared me."
Justin furrows his brows as he tries to hide a smile. "I've been standing here for a few seconds. I said your name, like, twice."
"Oh." Daisy purses her lips. "Sorry, I zone out sometimes."
"Happens to the best of us." He shrugs and glances around the courtyard. "You want a guide? I can walk you in. Maybe to your first class?"
"That'd be wonderful, thank you." She takes his extended arm with a laugh. "I don't know why I'm like this. It's not like I haven't done this before. Just feels different for some reason."
His muscles tense beneath her hands before he opens the door and they walk in. Some students glance their way—she swears at least three cheerleaders and a football player practically swoon at Justin's smile before glaring at her—but they remain mostly unnoticed.
"So, I know you met Julie, but I thought I'd introduce you to some of my other friends," Justin says. "Nick's gone AWOL recently, but there's Carrie."
"Sure, yeah," Daisy nods. "Friends are good. Anything to not feel alone."
She catches Justin looking down at her before he plasters that subdued smile back on his lips and drags her down the hall. "Hey, Carrie!"
A girl closes her locker and grins, waving a hand. "Justin! Hey! Who's this?"
Daisy's mouth goes dry. The girl moves effortlessly, perfect hair swaying on her shoulders with a perfectly matched outfit, almost as if she were a work of art. The girl nods along to whatever Justin says, but Daisy is practically transfixed. The words are meaningless compared to the trance Daisy is in.
Why did she choose to wear this today? Just a stupid math joke on her sweater—the letter pi copied many times until it is an octopi—and a bland shirt beneath. Oh, but she had taken off the sweater, so that's hidden, but her shirt is still just plain green. The girl before her is wearing vibrant pink and red, but Daisy is a mush of green and denim blues. And her hair! Why hadn't she chosen contacts today, and—
Justin nudges her side.
"Hot," Daisy blurts out. "I mean, hi. Sorry, hi. I'm Daisy."
The girl arches a brow and looks her up and down. "Justin said. I'm Carrie."
"Right," Daisy lets out a breathless laugh. "It's a little warm in here. Anyone else?" When she looks around, she can't help the warmth on her cheeks when Justin tries to hide his laughter.
"So true. Anyway, I've gotta run. Wanna grab lunch later?" Carrie asks, tilting her head.
"Sure. See you later," Justin replies.
"Nice to meet you, Daisy." Carrie winks as she walks away.
Daisy watches her go, her eyes wide enough to feel strained and her mouth dry enough to cough out sand. When Justin's giggles reach her ears, she buries her head in her hands and groans. "Stop!"
"'Hot?'" Justin wraps an arm over her shoulder. "That's what you say? Hot?"
"I'm awkward, ok?! Stop judging me."
"Oh, we're going to get along great," Justin says as they begin walking to her first class. "Come on, disaster gay. I've got you. You're going to be perfectly fine."
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If Alex could eat, he'd be chewing so much his teeth would grind. Instead, his corporeal jew clenches so hard he feels it in his muscles as he glares at the table across the dining hall. Whatever Julie and Flynn are talking about never really finds Alex's ear as he narrows his eyes.
Someone shoves an elbow into his side, but he doesn't care. From his other side, someone covers his eyes. "Hey!" He yelps, shoving Luke's hand away and pushing Reggie back. "What?"
"Dude, they're not gonna burst into flames if you keep glaring," Luke says. "You look like you want to kill someone."
"I don't." He shrugs. He sort of does, but he wouldn't say that.
"Relax, it's fine." Luke leans against the table and follows Alex's gaze to the other table. "He'll talk to us eventually."
"Why are you bothering me?" Alex shakes his head. "Reggie's the one who can't stop looking at them."
Reggie's eyes widen. "I-I am not!"
"Oh my gosh, can you three be quiet for two seconds?!" Julie hisses. "Flynn and I are coming up with a game plan. So let me think!"
"But what if you don't have the brain cells today?" Luke asks.
She glares him into silence. "Do you have any ideas, Patterson?"
He shrinks back, slightly hiding behind Alex. "No."
"We could go talk to them," Alex says. "Yeah, let's just go over there now and talk to them and yell a bit and everything will be fine." He leaps to his feet, but both Reggie and Luke pull him back to the seat.
He had made enough commotion that Justin looks over from where they stare. All of them, Julie and Flynn included, look elsewhere to avoid his gaze. The new girl glances over too with a happy wave before Carrie pulls her back into some conversation.
"Nice going," Luke mutters.
Alex grimaces. "I still say we just go over there."
"She's on the move!" Reggie exclaims suddenly, slamming his hands on the table. Everyone attempts to slyly look over as Daisy Nobel walks away from the dining hall, her bag slung over her shoulder. They watch as she turns right, looking over her shoulder as she goes.
"Guys—"
"You distract Justin," Reggie says, already sneaking out of his seat. "Talk to him about that project or something."
"It's a fake project!" Julie says through her clenched jaw. "What am I supposed to say? Guys! Don't leave me!"
Alex is the last to sneak from the table, his heart tightening when Justin doesn't bother looking their way. Reggie is in front as if this were a spy movie, waving his hands around and making symbols like Luke and Alex know what he means. They stay a good hallway behind Daisy, staying quiet for the most part. She only looked back once and that was because Luke slammed his toe into a trashcan and yelped even though nothing hurts them anymore.
Eventually, Daisy slows down in a hallway Alex doesn't really recognize. When he was alive, he never came down this way, and Julie never had class in this wing of the school, but Reggie's breath hitches as they peek around the corner, Daisy disappearing into an open doorway.
"So?" Luke whispers. "Are we following?"
Reggie's mouth hangs open as he steps out from their hiding spot and walks, transfixed, after Daisy. "Reggie, wait!" Alex hisses as he and Luke follow him. When they reach the doorway, it suddenly clicks in Alex's head.
The art room. The walls are filled with paintings and drawings from students over the years. Anywhere that isn't covered in canvas has art directly on the walls. Only the windows remain untouched, showering the space with California sun. Alex looks around in awe, but Reggie walks forward, his eyes locked on a piece pinned between the windows.
"Oh!" Alex looks at the startled girl as she yelps, placing a hand against her chest as she looks at them. "I didn't hear you come in. Sorry, I know I'm not supposed to be here but...Oh, wait. You guys are that band, right?"
"Yeah, we met the other night," Luke says quickly, nervously glancing at Reggie who has yet to move. "Just wanted to introduce ourselves. I'm Luke."
"Alex." Alex purses his lips as he nods.
Luke swings an arm over Reggie and says, "This is Reggie. He really likes art, you know?"
She chuckles. "I'm Daisy, but I guess, you knew that. Any reason you're here?" Her eyes dart between them.
"Oh, Reggie likes to look at the art in his free time," Alex replies with a stretched smile. "We're a package deal so we go with him."
"That's cool."
"Why, uh, why are you here? I hear you like math stuff."
Daisy's eyes widen. "Oh, you know. Exploring a bit. I met this girl who said that I should try some stuff since Los Feliz gives you a ton of opportunities, and she said she was into drawing, so I thought why not, but that probably doesn't make much sense—"
"It does," Reggie says calmly as he manages to tear his gaze away. "You should try it. Maybe you have a knack for it."
"Well, I wanted to sign up for a class, but no one's here." Daisy shrugs just before the bell rings. "Well, I should get going. Nice to see you again. Maybe we'll have a class together?" As she begins walking past them, she pauses and looks at the painting Reggie was staring at. "It's a nice one. Did you do it?"
"No," he waves a hand in the air. "No, uh, I think a friend of mine did."
"They're really good then. See you." She throws one more glance back at them before she disappears into the halls.
Alex lets out a sigh of relief. "That went ok, right? I think we scared her. That could have gone better."
"Whatever. Look at this." Reggie fails twice at taking the painting from the wall before he finally manages to grab it and lay it on one of the tables. Alex exchanges a look with Luke before they peer over his shoulder.
The piece is familiar. A vibrant sunset dropping below the skyline of the ocean with a mountain to its side, the curve of road visible from the artist's perspective of the rolling hills. An almost insignificant car comes around on the road, though the marks from the colored pencils make it difficult to see clearly.
Reggie gently runs his finger over the drawing, up and down and diagonal. "I know this," he says with a frown.
Luke nods. "It's familiar to me too. What are you looking for?"
Reggie's eyes suddenly widen. "That." He presses his finger to the page, towards the car. Alex narrows his eyes and leans in to the point where his head collides with Luke's, but the details become clearer. Initials in the wheels: JN.
"This used to hang right near the door," Reggie says quietly. "Then I brought it to the studio. Everyone liked it. We named it Sunset Curve, remember?" He quickly flips the page over to see marks on the back like someone had erased a message. "Jess made this."
It comes out as a whisper, but it still feels like a punch to the gut.
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Reading those bonus chapters are sort of important now :)
Hope you enjoyed!
-L