Chapter 1
"The first day of school is tomorrow."
I looked up from my half-painted toenail to see my best friend, Chloe, looking down at me. In her perfectly tanned arms were magazines that I assumed she would begin reading while we talked. I looked back down at my toes, which were slowly being painted in a dark, sparkly blue.
"Yeah," I replied. "I know." I reapplied the nail polish on the tiny brush and continued to paint my toenails once more. Chloe sat on the edge of my bed and set the magazines down next to my feet. I looked at her up and down as she stared at me. She was wearing pink flannels with a pale pink tank top, and her blonde hair hung in a loose ponytail down her back. Her hair- I was so jealous of her hair. It was perfectly highlighted with different layers, while mine was jet-black and straight. There was a lot to be jealous of when it came to Chloe.
"So? Avery, it's senior year! Aren't you excited? At least a little?" she said, bouncing a little. Chloe was always excited about starting something new. Whether it was a new fashion or a new year at school, it didn't matter.
I shrugged. "Yeah, I guess," I said, still not looking at her. "Are you spending the night?"
I heard her sigh. "Would I be over here at ten o'clock in my pajamas on a school night if I wasn't?"
This time I looked up, raising my eyebrows and smiling at her.
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Okay, yeah, I would. But seriously, we need to find you something to wear for tomorrow."
It was my turn to roll my eyes, but it was anything but playful. It was full of frustration and irritation. "Chloe, I'm probably just going to wear jeans and a sweatshirt, like I always do."
She turned to me and gave me her death glare. "No way are you doing that this year. You lost so much weight over the summer! You need to start showing off what you worked so hard to get."
I sighed. She was right, I had to admit. "But I'm not comfortable in anything else."
"Well get used to it."
She got up and walked straight to my closet, then opened it. I watched in complete dismay as she pulled out clothes my mother had gotten me over the summer, but I'd never even attempted to wear. Some still had tags on them. Chloe kept rummaging through the clothes, until she pulled out a dark blue tank top with French lacing around the bust and on the straps. She threw it onto the bed. "This, with..." She turned back to the closet and pulled out a denim jacket. "This."
I stared at the clothes, then began laughing. "Yeah, like I would ever wear that stuff."
"You can and you will. Or I'll get your mom in here."
I cringed. The thought actually scared me. Chloe isn't as nearly as bad as my mother when it came to what I had in my closet, and what I chose to wear. Finally, I let out a sigh. "Fine. I'll wear the damn clothes."
She pulled out a pair of neatly folded jeans from the shelf on top. "And these. They make your butt look cute."
I narrowed my eyes at her. "So you like my butt?"
She smiled wickedly at me. "I never said that."
Not wanting to continue the conversation, I shrugged. "Whatever. What are you wearing?"
"An orange blouse and denim shorts," she answered, beginning to rummage through my jewelry box. "You have so many cute necklaces in hear, Avery. And earrings! Why the hell don't you wear them more?"
I continued to paint my toenails while listening to her comments on how I should wear more accessories with my clothes. As I finished the last toenail, Chloe sat on the bed and picked up the first magazine from the pile and flipped it open. I closed the bottle of dark polish and set it on my bedside table, then examined the color on my toes. Perfect and ever- just the way I liked it.
"I heard there was a new teacher at school," Chloe said, flipping through the first few pages of the magazine.
"Oh really?" I asked, trying to sound interested.
"Yeah."
"Who is he?"
"His name is Mr. Taylor." She didn't look up as she continued to talk about him. "He's an English teacher. I this I have him, actually. Fifth period."
I widened my eyes at her, then reached over at my night stand to grab my schedule. I scanned the list of classes and teachers I had, until my eyes landed on fifth period. Mr. Taylor, English 4 Honors.
"I have him fifth period, too," I said. Chloe looked up and smiled.
"Seriously?"
I nodded. "Seriously."
"That's awesome! Hopefully he'll let us sit next to each other."
"Yeah, hopefully." I replaced the schedule on my night stand and swung my legs over the side of the bed.
"I heard he's hot, too."
I spun my head towards her direction. "Excuse me? Chloe, he's a teacher!"
She looked up and winked one eye, then gave me her signature, promiscuous grin. "Yep. A hot English teacher. Score."
"Chloe!" I laughed loudly. Grabbing a pillow from beside me, I chucked it at her. She wasn't expecting it, so it hit her straight in the face. I laughed more as she got up.
"Oh, it's on now." She picked up the pillow and threw it right back, but I caught it easily. I gasped in surprise when I felt her snake her arm around my waist and pull me to the bed. "I know all your weaknesses, Avery!" At first I was confused, but then I began to laugh uncontrollably as she began tickling me.
"No!" I laughed. "Quit it!" I tried to get away, but it was no use. She finally stopped when a knock came from my door.
"Avery, Chloe?"
I rolled my eyes. "What is it, twerp?"
The door opened to reveal the five foot, nine figure of my younger brother, Josh. He walked into the room and towards us. Chloe got off of me and I sat up. "What is it?"
"I'm scared about tomorrow, Avery."
I rolled my eyes again, but this time out of irritation. Josh was going to be an official freshman tomorrow, and already he was scared. But I couldn't blame him. I was the same way three years ago. "You'll be fine."
"Yeah, you've got senior connections, remember?" Chloe said from beside me. Josh gave a small smile this time, and seemed happier.
"Yeah, you're right! You won't let me be picked on, right?"
"Of course not," I said. "Besides, mom would kill me if I let anyone mess with you."
"Yeah, me too," Chloe said.
"You promise?" he asked.
"Yes!" We said in unison. He nodded and stepped forward, throwing his arms around both me and Chloe.
"Thanks, you guys," he said. Without another word, he ran out of my room and shut the door behind him.
I looked over at Chloe and smiled. "He won't make it far."
"Well he's in almost a freshman and he just gave two hot, senior girls hugs- at the same time. I think he'll make it farther than you think," Chloe pointed out.
"True," I laughed. Chloe went back to her magazines, so I grabbed a magazine and flipped it open to a random page. I groaned inwardly. Much to my dismay, it was a love quiz. It was not something I wanted to do, so I closed the magazine almost as fast as I had opened it. I sighed and threw it back onto the pile of magazines in the middle of the bed.
"I'm going to bed," I said, feeling overly tired all of a sudden.
Chloe looked up at me. "You sure?"
I nodded and grabbed my throw blanket from the edge of my bed. Chloe closed her magazine and threw it onto the pile, then grabbed a second blanket and threw it over her. She settled down next to me and stared up at the ceiling. I reached over and flipped off the lamp on the table next to the bed.
"Are you excited?" she whispered into the dark.
"Define excited," I replied.
She laughed beside me, then was silent. A few minutes later, I heard her soft snores echoing throughout the darkness of the room. Finally, I closed my eyes as well and fell asleep.