Stacey let out a sigh as she took her time fixing her hair. She didn't feel her best today and in her eyes, what she saw in the mirror matched her mood.
There was nothing interesting about her morning, in fact, it was truly boring. She wished she were anywhere but at school. Her interaction with her father this morning was part of the reason why her mood had been messed up. Her father's impatience annoyed her so much that she stormed out of the house without doing everything she needed to do. She loved him, of course she did but that didn't mean his impatience didn't make her want to give him an earful. He made her have regrets about sparing time for them to have dinner, something they hadn't done in a while. What she knew was that once the opportunity arose, she was going to make it a point to address this issue. No more would she leave the house looking unsatisfied.
Someone who had a rather good morning was none other than Anna, who was occupied with organising her locker. Maddie, who had noticed her on her way to class, stopped in her tracks and approached Anna. Something had been bothering her and she thought it would be best to share this matter with someone, and Anna was the right person to hear about this. the moment Anna took notice of Maddie, she couldn't help but admire how pretty she looked in a cute yellow sundress. The small touch of make up she had made her eyes to pop.
"You look pretty today." Anna commented.
"Thank you." Maddie said, her face warming up due to the complement. " Um, you are coming to my match today, right? " Maddie asked, to which Anna nodded her yes.
" I believe that you guys will do good today." Anna said with a smile, expressing her faith in Maddie's team.
This made Maddie smile but it didn't last for long, when she remembered why she had gone to talk to Anna in the first place.
" Are you okay?" Anna asked, noticing the change in Maddie's mood.
Maddie in response took the opportunity to mention her concerns regarding Kate. She made sure to not leave anything out, in her eyes, witnessing Kate's behaviour yesterday shook her a bit. She had never seen Kate so pale and frozen in place like she did yesterday. She worried deeply about her friend. Anna, after she had received all the information from Maddie about Kate, reassured Maddie that she would make sure that Kate was okay. To further ease Maddie's concerns, she promised that she would update Maddie after she talked to Kate.
The minute Anna was out of sight, she frowned deeply as she thought over what she had heard. Her gut feeling had been on point, something was going on with her best friend and she was determined to find everything out. She wouldn't let her best friend be be burdened alone when she was present. For Anna, her heart ached at the thought of her best friend handling all emotionally heavy things alone, Kate was a sensitive soul and carrying all worries was not good for her.
There was a sense of fear, that Kate would draw back to the old Kate, the one whom was closed off the first time they met. It's like Kate lived under constant fear and though she never mentioned it to Kate, but she had witnessed Kate in one of the most heartbreaking states, that Anna had seen Kate. She prayed that Kate would be okay, no matter what it was, Kate would overcome it. She vowed to help her friend anyway she could.
*******
Cheer practise was underway and everythig would have ran more smoothly, had there been a full team.
"Rachel, what is up with you?....You know that a simple call would just do!" An irritated Stacey said over the phone.
"Still no answer ?" Clara, her cheer mate and friend asked.
"No and you know what, I wont bother trying to contact her again. She can get back to me when she decides she wants to." Stacey nearly bit off those words, rolling her eyes.
The silence was annoying her so much.
"She must be pretty busy these days, you know how it is. Anyway, don't worry too much, she'll reach out when can, I know she will. Now come on, we have practise to get back to."
Stacey shook off the troubling feeling that been weighing heavy in her heart, which was overshadowed by her irritation with rachel not answering. She decided that she needed to let all this go for now, so that she would focus.
"Yeah sure, lets go."
Both girls headed back to the rest of the team, there was no denying the tension in the air, due to teammates missing.
"Who is missing ?" Stacey questioned.
"Anna and Tatiana." Someone mentioned.
"I know that Anna has got an afternoon class, What's Tiana's reason ?"
"Well it seems like our wild cat hasn't made contact with either one of us, eversince the news of her going out late last night." Clara said while she stretched.
Clara and Tatiana lived in the same street, and their houses weren't too far from each other. Whenever one of the girls couldn't make practise, they made sure to send word through the other. This made things easier for them both, so for Clara to not receive word that she could pass on, was a little strange.
"Again, I swear that girl has got some problem, alright lets get on with it!" Stacey instructed.
Stacey wondered how Tatiana's mother handled that little rebel, who had the habit of disappearing for the night. The worse was when she disappeared for a few days, which had most of them worried. Tatiana never shied away from wild adventures and that concerned people close to Tatiana, her mother especially. Tatiana on the other hand was unpaologestic about her actions. According to her, she was lmaking the most of her life.
******
It was late in the day, hours after Kate had been back home, she was swarmped with homework which she gladly got done and all that was left was Math. She wasn't much of a fan of it but listening to music made everything bearable. The ringing of her cellphone gave her a reason to look away from her worka attend the call.
" Hey," she had gone with her senses, that the one calling was Nick and that is why she sounded so casual as she answered.
" Hey, I hope I'm not disturbing you."
"No, no, just finishing off my schoolwork with Math." The displeased sound that Nick let out made Kate smile. She knew very well how much both of them felt about the subject, though he was very good with it.
"What are you up to?" Kate asked.
"Nothing really. Hey listen, there's this Mad X party happening this weekend. What do you say I pick you up after practise and you can get ready at my house?"
Nick's excitement was evident over the phone, which made it sad that Kate couldn't share the same feeling. In all honesty, she didn't feel like going, because a big part of her wasn't too fond of big crowds. She bit on her bottom lip gently as she thought over how she could decline without hurting his feelings. Nick was well aware of how she felt, which is why he rarely mentioned such events to her, but this one time, he really wanted to go with her. He felt that they needed this.
There were times she had gone to a few similar events, but that felt like a lifetime ago and more like a distant memory. It was hard for her to even utter the word no, especially when he sounded eager to go.
For a while there was silence and she sighed, knowing that her answer was about to disappoint him.
" Nick, It sounds like fun but I'd like to miss this one." She trailed off.
There was yet another moment of silence.
"It's just that I'm really not in a mood for parties, I'd like to stay home." She tried again.
" Alright, I hear you." This time he responded, but it was clear from his tone that he was disappointed.
She disliked being the one bring the mood down, but what she was dealing with was overwhelming.
"I'm sorry." She quickly said, feeling guilty.
"It's okay."
'No, it was not okay, because now you are disappointed.' She thought.
"Well I'd better go," he said.
"Nick!" She quickly called for him, not wanting him to hang up just yet.
"I - night." She lost her words right then, which discouraged her even more.
"Night." He said before switching off the phone.
She let out a heavy sigh as she leaned back in her chair.
She couldn't believe that she had denied his invitation, she actually said no to her boyfriend. Letting her hair down was far from her mind now, after a sense of fear had been inserted in her, after what happened in the basketball grounds.
She felt a bit frustrated with herself, she couldn't believe she was doing this again. She wondered why Nick still stayed when he could be more free and not be burdended by her emotions.
It was a shame that all she dealt with felt like it was returning, it seemed like the worst time when she was meant to enjoy her senior year.
No matter what she would never be able to ignore the fear that had been inserted in her, after what happened at the basketball grounds not so long ago. She didn't want to freak out and scare people, but what overtook her that day almost paralizyed her with the worst kind of fear.
Maybe she had jumped the gun and claimed herself fine, when she stopped taking her meds. The doctor had strongly advised them, that they would help her feel at ease and the nightmares, wouldn't be the wall that stood in her way of reality and actually living.
She did not want to be the broken person who seemed too closed off from the world, when she had a family who loved her, a friend that cared for her and a boyfriend that made her feel special and whom she really loved.