Nine Years Later…
August 21, 2007
“Jordan! If you don’t get your ass out of bed, I’m going to get a bucket of ice water and poor it all over you!”
I groaned, turning over in my bed to face my blonde best friend as she towered over me. I made a face at her, but all she did was grin. She knew that I wasn’t a morning person, but that didn’t stop her from waking me up. My brother was too scared to wake me up because I had almost broken his hand when he tried to wake me up once in seventh grade…
“Go away,” I groaned once again, covering my head with both my pillow and my blanket. “I don’t want to wake up. I don’t want to go…”
Lexi rolled her eyes at me. “I don’t care what you want, Jordan! It’s our first day of high school! So get out of bed and get ready so we can leave! I don’t want to be late!”
“Go without me,” I waved away, still not removing my head from under my pillow. Why did summer have to end? “This is way too early for me to wake up and you know it.”
“Is she up get?” the familiar voice of my brother rang out as he popped his head through the opened door. “She’s not going to almost break my hand again, is she?”
“I think you’re safe,” Lexi laughed, and I could see out of the tiny crack between the pillow and my bed that she had placed her hands on her hips. “She won’t get up, but she’s awake. I can’t carry her or anything, and I know you won’t risk getting your hand broken…”
I could tell that Austin was grinning. “I know how to get her up.”
“If you poor any type of liquid on me, I will definitely break your hand this time,” I threatened, my head still shoved under the pillow unhappily. If they got my bed wet, I’d kill them…
I heard the door be pushed open, and suddenly an enormous amount of weight was being pressed down on my back. I let out a gasp of surprise, pushing my pillow off of my head and onto the ground so I could get air more easily. When the weight finally went away, I quickly spun around on my back so it couldn’t happen again.
My eyes widened when I saw Dallas lying next to me, and I almost rolled right out of bed. Not only was I not wearing any makeup, but my hair was probably a complete mess! I didn’t want Dallas seeing me like this!
“Morning, Jordy!” Dallas grinned, obviously not noticing how gross I looked right then. “It’s time for your first day of high school! Aren’t you excited? I’m excited for you! Adeline Academy is such a prestigious school!”
“Why don’t you go there for her?” Austin asked him teasingly from the doorway.
“Alright,” Dallas grinned, rolling over me and off the bed, causing me to let out another groan. He jumped up and grabbed onto the skirt that went with the uniform for Adeline, and he held it up to himself. “Do you think this will fit me?”
Austin rolled his eyes at our best friend. “You’re putting some very disturbing images in my head, dude.”
“You want to see me in a skirt, don’t you, Jordy?” Dallas now asked, turning more toward me as he continued to hold the skirt up to his hips. “I’d still look amazing, wouldn’t I?”
“Narcissist,” Austin coughed, causing Dallas to grin and throw my skirt at him. I let out an impatient breath, not wanting them to get into a fight with what I was going to have to wear that day.
“Anyway,” Dallas continued to grin once Lexi grabbed the skirt from the two of them. “Aren’t you excited for your first day of high school, Jordy?”
I let out another groan when I remembered why everyone was trying to get me out of bed, and I shoved my head under my blanket once again before anyone else could say anything else.
I could tell Dallas rolled his eyes as he grabbed onto my blanket, yanking from my grasp and throwing it onto the floor. I let out a cry of defeat, finally sitting up since I had nothing else to hide myself under.
“Get ready,” Lexi ordered, grabbing onto my hand and yanking me up off my bed. “I don’t want to be late on our first day! You might not care, but I sure do! I can’t wait to meet new people!”
Mostly everyone from our middle school was going to the school that Dallas and Austin attended, and it was their first day as well. Except Austin was a junior and Dallas was a senior…
“We’ve gotta go, too,” Austin called over to Dallas as I grabbed the uniform I had to change into. “If we’re late, Hunter’s gonna kill us.”
Dallas rolled his eyes at my brother. “Doubt it. Hunter’s so harmless, he wouldn’t even hurt a fly…”
Austin ignored what Dallas had said, turning to me with his usual bright smile on his face. “Have a great first day, JoJo! I hope you like high school!”
Even though Adeline was prestigious and very hard to get into, I really wished that I could have gone to the same high school as Dallas. Now we were even farther away from each other than we were before…
Dallas finally turned back toward me, his goofy grin on his face like it always was. I couldn’t help but feel a little depressed, even though I knew he was going to be at my house after school ended. But I really wanted to spend the day with him…
“My little Jordy is growing up!” Dallas suddenly cried out obnoxiously, wrapping his arms around my shoulders and squeezing tightly. My cheeks turned bright red, but no one seemed to even notice. I really wished that I was going to the same high school as Dallas… “I can’t believe you’re a freshman in high school!”
“You’re going to make me late,” I murmured, pushing on his chest as I hid my face under my hair so he couldn’t see the tears that threatened to fall. “And you’re going to be late, too. Don’t make this Hunter guy angry and go already.”
Dallas let out a laugh when he finally let go of me. “Alright then, Jordy. I’ll get out of your hair and let you get ready. I’ll see you here after school ends!”
I smiled at him, waving as both him and my brother finally left for school. I really thought that they would never leave, but I was sure glad that they did. Now I could wipe at my tears without them knowing…
“That boy is so oblivious,” Lexi commented as she watched him go.
“What do you mean?”
“He doesn’t see how completely in love with him you are.”
“Lexi!” I shouted, covering my burning face with my hands only a second later. How could she say something like that so easily. “I’m not in love with Dallas!”
Lexi smirked. “Sure you’re not.”
I didn’t argue with her, because I knew there was no way I was going to win. I only grabbed my uniform and marched into the bathroom, knowing that today was going to be an unforgettable day.
When I finally emerged from the bathroom, it was time for us to go. Though my mom offered to drive us, Lexi for some reason wanted us to ride the bus on the first day. I didn’t think I would ever understand why…
“Jordan!” I heard a voice call out from behind us, both Lexi and me stopping after we had heard it. We turned to see Adam, a friend of ours from our middle school who now went to Austin’s school. “Lexi! Hah, I didn’t think I would see you at the bus stop!”
“This is probably the last time we’ll ever be able to ride a bus because our parents are going to drive us, so I think it would be a great experience,” Lexi informed him with a smile before I could even say anything. She wrapped her arm around my shoulders, smiling her usual bright smile. “But it’s great to see you again!”
“It’s great to see you, too,” I responded before Lexi could answer for me once again. She always loved to do that… “I wish we could have seen each other over the summer or something.”
Adam nodded in agreement with me, but glanced over to his right quickly before he said, “You guys are going to Adeline, right?”
I nodded in response, Lexi giggling as she said, “We sure are!”
“My neighbor’s going to Adeline, too,” he informed us now, finally looking away from his right and back at us. “She only knows one other person, but she isn’t riding the bus. So is it possible if you guys could hang out with her a little bit?”
I blinked, but thought that it was an awesome thing to do. Lexi and I only knew each other with the exception of a few girls, and it would have been great to make some new friends…
“Of course!” Lexi answered before I could say the same exact thing.
Adam smiled gratefully at us, obviously happy that his neighbor wasn’t going to be all alone at school. He quickly darted off to search for her, and I couldn’t help but feel excited. We hadn’t even gotten to school yet and we were making friends!
“This is exciting,” Lexi giggled, as if somehow reading my mind. “We’ve already made a friend, Jordan! How great is this?”
Before I could answer her question, Adam came back over to us, a girl trailing behind him. I looked around him to see a very pretty girl with curly brown hair and brown eyes staring back at us, obviously looking a little frightened.
“This is AJ Crow,” Adam introduced, motioning to AJ with one of his hands. “She didn’t go to our school last year because she went to a different middle school… Her best friend Aimee is coming to Adeline as well, but she’s not taking the bus.”
I couldn’t help but smile a little when I saw the way Adam was looking at AJ. Obviously he liked her more than a friend, but AJ looked so nervous that she didn’t even look up from the pavement.
“Hi, AJ!” Lexi smiled, sticking out her hand for the shy girl to shake. “I’m Lexi Lightle! It’s nice to meet you!”
AJ smiled at my blonde best friend, timidly reaching out and shaking her hand. After they were finished, I took Lexi’s place. “And I’m Jordan Emery. I’m sure we’re going to be great friends.”
AJ continued to smile, not shaking my hand as well. A few seconds later, the bus for Adeline pulled up, so we quickly said goodbye to Adam before we piled on.
“So, AJ, are you excited for high school?” Lexi asked after we had all taken a seat on the bus. “You shouldn’t be nervous! It’s everyone’s first day today!”
AJ only smiled a little. “I guess I’m a little excited…”
Lexi smiled brightly, as she usually did. “That’s great! Jordan and I are really excited about school, too! It’s the first time we’re going to go to a school with no boys…”
“Yeah, every boy is either going to the high school Adam’s going to or Cambridge Institute,” AJ agreed with a nod, and I couldn’t help but furrow my eyebrows at her in confusion. What was she talking about?
“Cambridge Institute?” I asked, playing with the hem of my skirt just a little. “What’s that?”
“You don’t know?” AJ asked me in surprise, her eyebrows rising on her forehead. “It’s a school just like Adeline, except it’s for boys…”
“Oh,” I blinked, feeling stupid for not knowing about this school. “I wonder if we’ll ever meet anyone from that school…”
Lexi shrugged. “I’m sure we will.”
We quickly checked each other’s schedules to see if we had any classes together to find out that we did in fact have some, so I was definitely happy about that. I was afraid that I was going to be all alone in some of my classes…
When we got to the school, the three of us were the first ones off the bus. Before we could get onto campus, AJ smiled largely and ran over to the front gate, Lexi and I following after her as quickly as we possibly could.
“Aimee!” AJ smiled, wrapping her arms around a redhead’s shoulders and squeezing tightly. I assumed that this was the Aimee that Adam had been talking about earlier, so she must have been AJ’s best friend. Aimee hugged AJ back just as tightly, obviously just as happy to see her as well.
“I’m glad to be back in California,” Aimee sighed when the two of them pulled away from each other. “Australia just isn’t the same.”
“I’m glad you’re back!” AJ smiled at her happily. “You got even tanner!”
Aimee shrugged. “Yeah, well…”
“Oh, Aimee,” AJ began, turning toward Lexi and me now. “This is Jordan and Lexi, friends of mine that Adam introduced me to. They have the same first period as we do.”
“Nice to meet you,” Aimee smiled at the two of us. “I’m Aimee Dennett.”
Lexi and I quickly introduced ourselves, and then we were off to our first period that we all had together. So far, even though the day hadn’t even started yet, I didn’t hate Adeline… I still kind of wished that I was at the same school as Dallas though…
When we got into class, there were only a few minutes before the bell rang. The teacher wasn’t there, so we just assumed that she was late. We sat near the front, but not right in the front row where all the loners were sitting right then…
“Hi, Jordan! Hi, Lexi!” a familiar voice called as they passed by us, and I looked over to see the familiar face of my friend Emily as she passed by us. Her best friend Yolanda trailed behind her, but I knew well enough that she was way too shy to say hi to us. “It’s great seeing you again!”
Lexi and I smiled back at her as Lexi giggled. “Emily! I didn’t know you were coming to Adeline! I didn’t know that Yolanda was coming either! It’s great to see you two!”
Emily and Yolanda both smiled as they went to sit in the back, and the three girls and I started to talk. It was kind of weird since I didn’t know AJ and Aimee that well, but I was sure that it would get easier and easier as the time went on…
Right as the bell rang, a girl with dirty blonde hair and glasses came rushing into the room. The teacher still wasn’t there, but since she didn’t know that she continued to rush. Before she could get to an empty seat, she tripped right over something and fell flat on her face.
Though mostly every girl in the room burst out laughing, my friends and I didn’t. Since the girl was only about a foot away from us, Lexi jumped to her feet to make sure she was okay.
“Hey, shut your mouths,” Aimee shouted to the girls that continued on laughing, which made them shut up almost immediately. Almost every single girl look frightened, scooting away from Aimee and the rest of us just a little bit so they would stay at a safe distance.
“Are you alright?” Lexi asked her, grabbing onto her arm and helping her up into the desk next to me. “That was a pretty hard fall!”
“I’m fine,” the girl sighed, brushing herself off as quickly as she possibly could. “Sorry for worrying you…”
“It’s alright,” Aimee shrugged, waving it away as if it was nothing at all. “It was really mean of everyone to laugh at you when you fell like that. People can be so cruel…”
“Yeah,” AJ agreed with a nod.
“Thanks for sticking up for me,” the girl now smiled, pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose. “I’m Chelsea Evans, by the way.”
The three girls and I introduced ourselves to her, and we all began talking after that. I knew, even after knowing them for a few minutes, that these girls were going to be good friends of mine.
The school day went by quickly, and I had someone to talk to in each of my classes. So far I really liked Adeline, and I couldn’t wait to tell Austin and Dallas all about it when I got home.
They were actually going to pick me up after school, so I was going to be able to tell them even sooner than I thought I would be able to.
“Bye, Jordan!” my three new friends and Lexi chorused as we parted from each other. “We’ll see you tomorrow!”
I smiled, waving back at them as I jumped into Dallas’s car. He was driving, and Austin was in the passenger’s seat. I sat in the middle in the back, and I was fully ready for all the questions the boys were going to hammer at me.
“Did you make any friends?” both of them asked in unison, freaking me out just a little bit. I didn’t know if they had planned on doing that, but I didn’t really think that I wanted to know.
“Yeah,” I shrugged, as if it was no big deal at all. But it really was a huge deal, because my main fear was not having any friends besides Lexi. “I made a few friends.”
“I seriously almost asked if any of them were cute boys,” Dallas informed me with a shake of his head. “Austin, I’d let you hit me for being stupid, but you’d knock me out and then get us all killed. I’m just so used to you going to a school with guys that I totally forgot.”
I laughed, happy that I was with the two of them again. I had been surrounded by girls all day, so I was happy that I was around my hilarious best friend and brother.
“Since you go to an all-girls school, I don’t have to worry about you getting a boyfriend,” Austin sighed, leaning back in his seat as he placed his hands behind his head. “That just made my job easier…”
“Jordy can still get a boyfriend,” Dallas told my brother with a mocking grin on his face. “She’s a cute girl. One day a guy’s going to just knock into her and they’ll fall in love--”
“Not going to happen,” Austin deadpanned with a roll of his eyes, obviously not very amused my Dallas’s joke.
Dallas continued on grinning, and I was kind of scared to find out what he was going to say next. Dallas always had something in mind when he was grinning so cheekily like he was right then…
“What if I said I wanted to go out with Jordy?” Dallas suddenly asked, almost causing me to choke on my own spit.
Austin rolled his eyes once again. “I’d say that you’re a liar.”
“But what if it was true?”
Austin was obviously not amused in the slightest, even though I could tell he was teasing Dallas just a little as he said, “Then I’d say that no, you can’t go out with her.”
Dallas made a face at my brother through the mirror. “Aw, come on, Aus! She’s such a cute little girl! Why wouldn’t you let me go out with her?”
“You’re going out with Trinity.”
“You don’t know how hypothetical questions work!”
Austin only rolled his eyes at our best friend, and I continued to stay silent in the back. I would have been lying if I said the thought of dating Dallas hadn’t crossed my mind, but I did have a crush on him. But it wasn’t like he could ever know that…
“I love you, Jordy!”
At the sound of the sudden voice, I sucked in a breath, not knowing what I was supposed to do for a moment. That was what I wanted Dallas to say to me for the longest time, but now that he actually did, he didn’t even mean it. He was just joking around…
I forced a laugh. “Hah, I guess I love you, too.”
“You guess?” Dallas asked, faking a hurt expression as he continued on driving. He placed a hand over his heart, only one hand on the steering wheel. “Wow, Jordy. I think you’ve just rejected me. I’m crushed!”
I frowned when Dallas wasn’t looking at me anymore, even though I knew Austin could still see me. He knew fully well that I had a crush on Dallas, and he was a good big brother for not telling him.
“Jordan, tell me more about your school,” Austin finally cut in before Dallas could go on with anymore nonsense. I thanked him inside my head, grateful that he was interrupting this awkward conversation. “Do you like it?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, finding it easier to breathe now. “I like it…”
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There's someone named Austin Emery at my school. I don't know who he is, but he has my PE period. When they first called out his name, I thought that it was cool that he had Jordan's last name. But when they called it out again, I almost started freaking out because I realized that Austin Emery was the name of Jordan's brother.
Jesse comes in the next chapter, I promise! :D
Most chapters are going to have a date on it, because this story goes through three years of their life. Unless the chapter takes place on the same day, there's going to be a date on the top. :)
Please COMMENT, VOTE, and FAN! <3