I was alone. It was dark. I only saw things that were a foot away from me. I called out but i couldn't hear my own voice. Where was I? Suddenly the bleak world started shifting. I heard Karolina's voice calling for me But I couldn't reply. The world shook and shook beneath my feet until I fell over, into a dark, black hole...
***
'KATIE!' a pillow was thrown in my face as I opened my eyes. My bedroom light was on, shining brightly in my eyes. So bright I had to cover them.
'Wake up Katie, it's a school day!' said Karolina from my bedroom doorway with a fluffy pillow tucked in her left arm.
"Noo..." I groaned. Squeezing my eyes shut to block the light out.
'Alex will be their...' she cooed, yanking my blankets off me. My eyes snapped wide open. Karolina was smirking at me.
'Shut up' I said, making her chuckle.
'Let's go lazy, get dressed, mom is making breakfast.' Karolina headed for the door again.
'what is it?' I asked, rubbing my eyes.
'Pancakes, your favourite...'
***
I walked with Karolina across the courtyard of the school. Some people were staring at us, mostly at Karolina. No one stared at me. That's a good thing. I don't like attention from other people. Never have. I clutched my backpack and looked at the floor. Suddenly, Karolina pulled me close. She was taking another photo from up high... again. I tried to wiggle away, I don't like photos taken by Karolina, she always makes me look bad. She doesn't do it on purpose of course...
'please Katie, just one photo' Karolina said.
'fine' i replied moodily.
' 3...2...1...'
She added a caption while a group of people walked past us. It was Chase and his jock followers. Ever since the group disbanded, Chase became the annoying, popular jock. We used to be such good friends. We still are but, he doesn't talk to me that much as before.
"Right let's go" she posted the photo then looked at me. She noticed i was looking at something. "What are you staring at?" she asked me.
"Nothing..." i looked back at her, she gave me the lookr. The look she gives me when she is worried about me. I ignored it.
"I'm going to find Alex... I'll see you later Karolina" I walked off.
I left her and started walking towards the doors leading to my dreaded high school. Gert was handing fliers for this woman's act thing. Gert didn't change much. Same old Gert with a bit more of a feminist touch. One thing that did change was her hair. I think everyone noticed it. After the group disbanded she started fighting for woman's right on a daily basis. I think she is doing it full time because every time I see her, she is either handing out fliers on making a 'touching speech' about how woman need more in our lives. No one really listens of coarse. Not to be rude but no one cares a bit about the fliers. I see people sneakily chuck them on the bin during lunch. I listen though. I think I am the only one.
"Hey Gert." i smiled at her.
"Oh hey..." Gert said with an obvious fake smile. She pushed up her glasses but that just made it fall back down her face.
"What's up!" i still smiled at her.
"Oh nothing much just handing out fliers that will be put in the bin after..." Gert trailed. "Want a flier?"
"Sure!" i took a flier. We stood there for a while, not talking. "Anyways... bye Gert!"
"Bye...Oh and don't forget to join my new club!"
"Will do!"
Striding towards the doors, I saw Alex. He leaned on a wall while talking to someone on his phone.
"Besides they're teenagers" Alex said to the person on the other end. I walked towards him as he saw me. He waved to me. I blushed slightly as I waved back.
"Hey nerd, what's up?" I said looking up slightly to see his face.
"I just called my mum, I'm thinking of uniting the gang together again." Alex said to me with a smile.
At this I started laughing. Was he serious? Did he not understand we would just start arguing. I look back up at him, his smile faded into more of a frown. He was serious. He wasn't joking.
"Your joking right?" Putting back my straight face back on. "Alex the group disbanded! All we do now is argue."
"Look Katie you are the only person in the group that talks to everyone, you are the reason why we all are a tiny bit more friendly than we should be" Alex was begging I saw it in his eyes. He wanted it to be like old times when we played games and joked with each other.
"Ale-"
"Please Katie, for me?" I can't say no. He has pulled his puppy eyes.
"How can I help."
***
Gert was doing one of her speeches in the school assembly. She normally takes over every two weeks. The teachers always take it as an opportunity to relax and go with it so they themselves don't have to do the talking.
"Tonight, another becomes eternal. We hear so much lip service about women's empowerment, as if women aren't already powerful, but, I mean, do you ever hear anyone talking about masculine authority? Of course not! Because it's already baked into the concept, am I right? My point is that the system needs to be dismantled, which is why I'm starting a new club on campus, undermining the patriarchy."
Gert made her speech same as usual. No one was listening. Except me, I didn't want to be rude. I glanced at Alex, who was checking out his nails. He was going to ask the group to reunite after the assembly using me as the bait. It was that original. I didn't really want to get involved but I thought it would be fun to have it like old times. I looked around glancing behind me. I met eyes with an annoying guy staring at me. It was Brandon. He was dribbling. I gagged and turned round swiftly, Alex must have noticed because he was looking straight at me questioning what I was doing instead of listening to Gerts speech about her new club. I shrugged and pointed my thumb behind me. Alex looked at Brandon with a mixed of disgust a dislike in his eyes.
I looked around the room, bored. I glanced back at Alex again. Instead of checking his nails or pretending to listen to Gerts speech, he was looking at Nico. Nico, the girl who lost her sister two years ago. I felt sorry for Nico. She had strict parents. She didn't have anyone other than us and Amy. When Amy died and our group disbanded, she was lonely. She became an emo and us all out. I think when Nico lost Amy, we all became lost ourselves.
It was finally the end of the assembly. Alex and I were going to ask our old group of friends to have it like old times...
"Whoa, are those the, uh, God, what did you call them, handblasters? It's so cool you're still working on it." Alex said, his geeky side of him coming out...again
"Handblasters? No, these would be bionic prosthetics using myoelectric sensors. I'm calling them Fist- Wait, why am I even talking to you?" Chase was offended.
"Actually, We were talking to you. Alex was thinking that maybe you might want to get together tonight, just all of us, like we used to." I said.
"Seriously, you and you puppet think I'll come over to hang out like we're still friends... just keep your voice down." I was offended he just called me a puppet. Chase was looking around to see if his nee friends were around.
"Hey I'm not his puppet!"
"Hey she is not my puppet!"
"Your joking right?" We all new Gert would say that. Typical Gert.
"That is what I expected you to say, Gert, which is why I was hoping that if I could get Chase on board first and-" Alex started,
"Oh, right, because I totally make all my decisions based off of what some roided-out jockstrap has to say." Classic Gert.
"hey I have opinions!" Chase butted in.
"Right, about what flavored protein powder to use, right? And we really admire you for it." Gert said sarcastically. We all stared at them really tensely. I knew this wasn't going to go well.
"Classic Gert, you see? This kind of delightful banter is why I think we should all get together and hang out at my place tonight." Alex wasn't helping.
Karolina popped by, I think she heard the whole thing.
"You're having people over tonight?
"Why, are you interested?" Alec asked Karolina.
"Oh, no, I'm sorry, I can't. I have a church thing." Karolina's smile lit up the angry room.
"You could just come by after that." I told her.
"It doesn't have to interfere with your religion." Alex really wanted them to come.
"Religion, is that what we're calling it now" Gert is such a pain. She is rude to my sister and I couldn't take it anymore.
"What We believe in is positive and life-affirming and it doesn't allow me to be cut down by some miserable loser." I butted in I didn't want to get in a fight but I was annoyed and fed up because of how me ex-friends were behaving.
"Oh, think she was referring to you, Wilder!" I really wasn't I was referring to Gert... Alex looked at me with a hurt expression. I didn't mean it for him.
"I didn't refer to Alex..." I said in a whisper.
"But you do realize that no institution has been as oppressive to women as organized religion." Gert said. I knew she is jealous of Karolina because Gertrude Yorkes loves Chase Stein. Most of us already knew that already.
Karolina continued to fight back for me and for herself.
"Except our mother runs that church." She said, silenced nocked the room. Karolina's face was red with anger.
"You call yourself a feminist, Gert, yet no one cuts down other women more than you do." I butted one again.
"Not all of them, no, just the ones who walk around with fake smiles - pretending to be happy all the time."
She turned to me and Karolina when saying that, mostly me. I saw all eyes on me in my peripheral vision. I glared at her one last time and left, not wanting to fight anymore. I made a mistake when chose to help Alex. I walked as fast as I could to class. However, before i was out of ear shot, i heard Karolina say to Gert: Gert, you know out of all people should know the effect of us splitting up had on Katie.
One small tear left my eye. I wiped it away.
"Katie, wait up!" Alex ran after me as I strode to class.
I turned round suddenly, making him bump into me and cause me to trip. I closed my eyes.
"Woah, you ok!" I opened my eyes to see Alex's face inches away from mine. He caught me when I was centre meters away from the ground. We were in a really awkward dance position when the male dancer lowers the woman down toward the floor. I couldn't help but blush a little.
"Yeah I'm fine..." I managed to say while searching his face for any sign of falter.
Alex immediately pulled me back up to a standing position his hand still in mine. I continued to stare at him. Speechless.
"Um... I was wondering If you could help me get ready for the invited guests..." Alex scratched the back of his neck. Looking from the floor to me and back at the floor.
"What if they don't come?" I said as a whisper.
"Then it's more pizza for us!" He chuckled in his weird but cute voice.
"Sure! I'll see you at...."
"I was thinking we could just go to my house straight from school? Maybe we can grab a doughnut on they way!" He said in a excited tone but with a pleading look on his face. Almost like his puppy eyes.
"I'd like that a lot." I said with hidden hope in my voice.
The bell rang loudly. Giving out a giggle, I started to head to class.
"Bye Alex"
"Bye..."
***
Alex and I head out of the doughnut store and made our way to his house.
Suddenly I got a call from someone.
"One moment" I said in a cheerful voice.
"Let me hold your doughnut. I promise I won't take a bite!" He said chuckling
"Good!" I said as I accepted the call.
"Hey Kaitlyn just wondering where you are"
"Hey mom I'm just with Alex at the moment. We just got doughnuts and then I'm helping him set up for when the others get there, there will be pizza just like old times!"
"That's good! Do you kids think you can hang out when we go to the PRIDE meeting?"
"Oh mom we are going to set up at Alex's house
"Oh it's at Alex's house?"
"Yup"
"Ok I'll see you there honey!"
"Ok bye!"
"Bye sweetheart love you!"
"Love you!"
After putting my phone back into my pocket, Alex passed me my doughnut again and headed to his parents house.
What was going to go wrong?