Chapter 2
Ariana’s POV
I tossed and turned all night worrying. About school, about why Frankie had flipped, and about my mom’s sad far off expression when he stormed off. He really wasn’t taking the move well. I was the first one up so I got to the bathroom first. After a quick shower, I blow dried my hair and curled the ends before tying it up in a half ponytail. I padded back to my room in my bathrobe and changed into my school clothes; jeans, nude ballet flats, and a boxy floral print tee. I added a thin black headband to my hair and stepped out into the kitchen.
“Morning Mom,” I said trying to sound cheerful.
“Morning,” She turned and set a plate on the table. “I made pancakes, since it’s your first day.”
My stomach growled after essentially skipping dinner the night before. “Thanks,” I sat down in front of the plate and dug in. Sprinkle and chocolate chip pancakes with whipped cream were always my favorite since I was little. Frankie emerged from his room, already dressed as well. He dropped his backpack on the floor and sat at the table.
“Morning Frankster,” I smiled. Under the table, I kicked him when he didn’t respond. He looked up at me and I mouthed to him: ‘could you mope a little less, I heard her crying all last night.’ His expression changed and he shifted in his seat to be more upright.
“Morning Booper,” He used the old family nickname for me. “What smells so good, Mom?”
I saw her smile a real smile and slid a plate in front of him. “Pancakes.” He smiled back at her and began attacking his plate. I was relieved that he’d cooperated and felt more at ease as I finished breakfast.
Frankie stayed at the table talking to Mom about the school while I hurried back to my room where I did the small amount of makeup I did everyday-- a tiny bit of tinted moisturizer and mascara. It wasn’t a lot at all, but it made me feel more confident. I grabbed the bag I had already packed with all my school supplies, tucking my phone away into one of the pockets, and padded back out to my mom and Frankie.
She handed us each our lunches; his in a paper bag and mine in a lunch box. “Thanks Mom,” we chorused, shutting them away into our bags.
“The bus should be around soon, you should head down,” Mom told us. Frankie rose from his seat and we walked toward the door. “Good luck, love you!” She called back to us.
The bus’s meeting spot was the corner furthest from the park. By the time we walked up, there was already a pretty good crowd. Butterflies consumed my stomach with nerves. I stood next to Frankie a couple of feet away; I saw Jai, Luke, and Beau at the bus stop but they were talking with a crowd of people I didn’t know, and I wasn’t that confident.
“Ariana?” A deep British voice startled me again. Nathan, his glasses now absent, walked over. He still had the huge book in hand. “You’re going to the performing arts school?”
“Yea,” I nodded. “Oh, this is my brother Frankie. Frankie, this is Nathan. I met him at the park yesterday.” Frankie’s eyes lit up with recognition of last night’s conversation.
“Hey,” Frankie said. Nathan waved awkwardly for a second with two fingers.
“What’s your performing art?” I asked, just to make conversation.
“I play piano and sing a little bit,” Nathan answered.
“I act and sing too, Frankie’s a dancer,” I shared since it didn’t seem like Frankie would say anything else.
“Cool, do you-” Nathan broke off suddenly and looked down at the ground. I was confused but didn’t have time to ask before Beau, Luke, Jai and two guys I didn’t recognize swaggered over.
“Ariana, right?” Luke questioned and I nodded with a smile. Everyone remembered me so far, that’s a start. “What are you doing talking to this loser?” He snickered and shoved Nathan slightly.
Nathan didn’t move his gaze from the ground and I had no clue how to react or what to say.
“He stumbled!” Beau cackled. “That wasn’t even a push!” He slammed into Nathan, throwing all his body weight into the shove. Beau was taller and had a more athletic build, so it was nearly impossible for Nathan not to stumble even more. This time, he dropped the book and one of Jai’s friends I didn’t recognize snatched it.
“The Illiyad?” He read the cover. “What the f_ck is this?!”
“Lemme see,” Luke commanded, reaching around Jai for it who shifted on his feet but saying nothing. Luke took the book in both hands and broke it over his knee.
“Hey, there’s the bus!” Beau noticed. “C’mon Ariana, come sit with us.” I still didn’t have any clue how to react, but defending the bullied kid probably wouldn’t help my case. I felt horrible with myself as I nodded and walked onto the bus with them.
“New kid too?” One of the guys I didn’t know clamped a hand on Frankie’s shoulder. “Don’t worry, we’ll save ya from the dork too.”
I ended up sitting with Jai on the bus and Frankie with the guys I didn’t recognize, who introduced themselves as Daniel and James. Jai let me sit by the window, but the bus got caught in too much traffic for looking out it to be interesting.
“Nervous?” Jai asked conversationally, taking his headphones away from his ears.
“Yea,” I nodded quickly and laughed nervously.
“Hey,” He said in a considerably lower voice. “I don’t like what they do to him either, but I’ve been there and it’s easier to just say nothing and fake laugh.”
I looked over at him. He was wearing a beanie like yesterday, but the 90’s style headphones had been traded out for apple headphones. His big brown eyes went with his dark brown hair perfectly, like he was a drawing and they were drawn by the same crayon. He had a long face that had a “baby” quality when he smiled. I wondered what he meant by “I’ve been there” but just nodded.
“Thanks, Jai,” I smiled, actually grateful for the advice. I still felt bad not defending him though.
“Welcome,” He smiled back and offered me a headphone. I graciously took it and popped it in my ear. He tapped a button on his phone and music floated through the headphones. Jai listens to… Around The World by Justin Bieber. Interesting. He brought a finger to his lips like his music taste was a secret. I giggled quietly and sat back in the seat listening to the music.
The school was a huge building with three floors; I would definitely get lost. I followed Jai off the bus, avoiding Nathan’s eyes when I passed him sitting alone.
“I forgot to ask, what grade are you in?” Jai asked, falling back into step with me.
“Tenth,” I answered looking around the school in amazement. Everything was so modern looking with glass walls and steel braces.
“Me too,” Jai said happily. “Luke is too; he’s my twin.” He continued leading me somewhere through the hall. “Nathan is too,” He added in a whisper.
I pulled my schedule out of my bag and looked at it, but none of it meant anything to me. “Sorry, can you tell me where I’m going?” I asked nervously. It was a mess of colors and numbers.
“Sure,” He took the paper from me and peered at me over it. “And there’s no need to apologize. It’s confusing as h_ll.”
“Thanks,” I laughed.
“You’ll want to see the grade head, Mr. Matthews. I’m in some of your classes but not all of them, so he’ll assign you a guide. I’ll help you find him.” Jai handed the schedule back and I shoved it back in my bag carelessly following him through the hallways. By one of the staircases, Jai called to a tall man with white, fading hair and a Daffy Duck tie.
“Mr. Brooks, what can I help you with this morning?” Mr. Matthews asked kindly, munching on a bag of popcorn.
“This is a new student, Ariana. She needs a guide,” I was insanely grateful that Jai did all the talking for me.
“Ah, yes. Ms. Grande, I remember your audition tape. A lot a lot of talent,” He beamed. I blushed and thanked him.
“Elizabeth!” He flagged down a passing student. She was taller than I was with dark hair and porcelain skin, like a delicate China doll.
“Good morning Mr. Matthews,” Elizabeth joined us, standing awkwardly far away from Jai. “What can I help you with?”
“This is Ariana, she’s a singer and actress like you. Would you mind being her guide?” Mr. Matthews gestured toward me. I smiled at her and waved slightly.
“Sure, no problem. We’ll have English first and that’s all the way on the top floor so we should get going.” Elizabeth started toward the staircase and motioned for me to follow.
“Bye Ariana!” Jai called and I looked over my shoulder to see him walking in the opposite direction, all of the other students giving him a wide berth. Did they bully more than just Nathan?
“Thanks for showing me around, Elizabeth.” I turned my attention back to her and kept in pace with her considerably longer legs.
“Ugh, please, call me Liz. I can’t stand Elizabeth.” She groaned.
“Sorry, Liz.” I corrected as we reached the top of that flight and turned onto the next ones.
“So…” She looked over at me, her eyes loaded with something. “You know the infamous Brooks Brothers.”
“Infamous?” I questioned.
“Surely you saw them at the bus stop with that Sykes kid,” She prompted. “Sorry, forgot you don’t know last names. Nathan.”
“Oh…” I trailed off. “Yea, I saw that.”
“And then there’s the egging teacher’s cars, and bringing pepper spray to field day, and filling the water fountains with spoiled milk. So, infamous.” Liz explained as we reached a classroom door. “I guess if you’ve gotta associate with one of them, Jai causes the least humiliation to other people.”
I frowned wondering if I should aim for not being Jai’s friend. He’d seemed so nice though; maybe he was misunderstood? He did secretly listen to Justin Bieber, after all. I keep all this in my head and just nod. I follow Liz into the classroom, where there are several long tables spread out. I spot Nathan in the corner, lost in some other book but decide to listen to Jai’s warning for the first day at least.
“Hey, Liz, do you know him?” I ask her. She follows my gaze and settles back in her hip.
“Everybody knows Nathan Sykes, but at the same time no one does. He basically reads all the time, gets bullied by the Brookses, talks to no one, and is insanely good at math,” Liz seemed to be making an effort to look in his direction only discreetly. “Don’t sit with him, there’s an empty seat at my table anyway.”
I met her friends Jennette, Victoria, and Daniella who were all very nice and decided that they were going to develop a plan to steal my hair. I stayed with them and Liz in science class too, and didn’t talk to Nathan the whole time. Now, Liz and I had a study hall without the girls and she told me she was glad she wouldn’t be alone in the study hall anymore. She showed me to a big room with bookshelves to the ceiling and a glass roof I guessed was the library.
“Let’s go find a table,” Liz decided and wove her way over to them.
“Hey! Ariana!” Jai sat at a table with yet another guy I didn’t know and waved me over.
“No,” Liz whispered catching my arm.
“He’s nice, I promise. Have you even talked to him?” I retorted.
“Well, no-” Liz admitted. I seized her wrist and lead her over to the table.
“Hi, is it cool if-” I started to ask Jai a question when he slid his feet off the chair across from him and sat normally, propping his head up with his elbows.
“Wait! Don’t tell me, it’s…” He interrupted, staring at Liz intently during the pause. Liz looked rather uncomfortable. “Daniella!”
“It’s Liz, actually,” She said coldly. “Daniella’s my friend.”
“So I was close,” Jai reasoned. “Sure, she can sit. The more the merrier.” I sat across from Jai and Liz sat next to me. “Oh, I almost forgot. Ariana, this is my friend Mac.”
“Good evening,” He said in an overly fake posh accent that made me laugh. I replied a normal ‘hello’ too scared I’d sound stupid to do an accent like he did. The teacher commanded that we start working and we fell to silence. I took out my science book and opened it to the page we were supposed to be taking notes on and started working.
My first day was going really well, I think. Liz was in all of my classes if there was no one else, and she was becoming a good friend and we had a lot in common. Not only were we both singer/actresses, but we discovered in English that we would both love to be on broadway. I was, still, quite confused by this whole “Infamous Brooks Brothers” and “Nathan the Nerd” thing. I wish I could just be friends with both of them, but Jai’s advice from the bus burned in the back of my mind. Doing anything the school would consider ‘big’ on my first day wouldn’t be smart so I decide to try to find out more about it tomorrow.
After study hall came math, which I had Liz, Jennette, Victoria, and Daniella in my class for again. The class was really hard-- the amount of work was insane-- but these girls were really funny and I could barely stop laughing the whole class. Every now and then, I would catch Nathan (alone in the back again) looking at me. I tried to brush it off, but ended up staring firmly down at my paper until I felt his gaze leave.
I was ecstatic to learn that next period was music. Liz was, of course, in my class as well as Jai, Luke, Beau, James, Daniel, and Mac. I couldn’t convince Liz to come sit with them, so she went to sit with some Avan guy and I sat with Jai.
The teacher, a little skin-and-bones woman with a head full or dull red curls, stood in the front of the room. Jai had told her before that her name was Mrs. Quinn. “Class! We will be starting a new long term assignment as of today. You will do a cover of any song of your choice with one assigned partner.” She announced, the entire room groaning in unison at the word ‘assigned.’
“Here are the pairs: Liz Gillies and Jai Brooks, Luke Brooks and Victoria Justice, Beau Brooks and Jennette McCurdy, Daniel Sahyounie and Daniella Monet, James Yammouni and Avan Jogia, Mac Miller and Miranda Cosgrove, and Nathan Sykes and Ariana Grande.”
I wasn’t sure how to react-- Nathan had been really nice at the park and I still wished that we could be friends, but what about what Jai had said? It wasn’t hard to imagine Beau and Luke’s comments when he got up to do the performance, and I don’t think I could just stand there laughing and saying nothing.
All of the other groups were joining up, so I found where Nathan was and started toward. Disregarding whatever he was saying mid-sentence, Jai caught my arm and whispered: “Just try to look like you’re not thrilled about your partner. It’ll help you, I swear.”
I know he was just trying to help, but I was worried enough without Jai. I muttered a thanks and slid into the seat next to Nathan. He looked up from his book and shut it, pushing it away before I could see what book it was.
“So, got any song ideas?” I asked. My voice came out dull, sounding bored almost, but I hadn’t intended to do that. I tried to shake Jai’s newest advice from my head. “I would suggest something from Holiday Inn, but I don’t think anyone else would have a clue what it was.” I tried to sound more cheerful.
“I got nothing, you?” He shrugged, his tone sounding bored too. Was that a response to the way I said it, or was he bored? It was entirely possible that he was upset that I hadn’t defended him this morning.
“Unless you like 50’s swing music,” I decided keeping my tone neutral was best. “No, I don’t.”
“Let’s brainstorm, then.” He pulled his book back toward him and opened it, starting to devour the text again. A crease formed between my eyebrows as they scrunched together in confusion. Was he trying to make me do all the work?
“Ummm, ok,” I said, not that I thought Nathan was paying attention anymore. I had been turned in the chair to face him, but now I twisted so I was sitting normally at the table. I tried to block out everything I was now confused about and racked my brain for a song idea to just get the project done.
“Do you want to do Hey Brother by Avicii?” I suggested after a good ten minutes of thinking. I knew my voice, but I had no clue what would sound good with his voice and I doubted he would burst out singing with the bullies around. If he was even paying attention, that is.
“Whatever you want to do, Ariana.” He finally looked up from his book; at me and then at the clock. “I’ll print out lyrics and bring them tomorrow.”
As soon as he finished talking, the bell sounded signaling that the class was done. Was he being nice, letting me pick the song? I was even more confused than when I had walked in when Nathan bolted to the exit. I found Liz gathering up her stuff and waited since I didn’t know where I was going at all.
“Lunch time,” She told me, starting toward the exit and I followed yet again. “How’s your group going?”
“Good,” I lied, preferring to keep all this confusing stuff to myself.
“Really?” Liz raised an eyebrow. “I saw him completely ignoring you just reading whatever it is he finds more interesting than other people.”
“Okay, not that good. But, we picked the song so that’s something.” I argued. “How’s your group going?” I diverted the subject.
“I gotta admit you were right-- Jai’s nice. He actually agreed to some cool Indie music, as long as he can act like he just let me pick it.” Liz said, not bothering to hide the surprise in her voice. So Jai was the misunderstood bad boy, then? Why is it that when I decide to dive in headfirst with new people, it ends up the two most confusing people I’ve ever met.
At lunch, I sat with Liz, Daniella, Victoria, and Jennette who, to my gratitude, were glad to have me. They asked me about myself mostly, and I asked them as many questions as I could. I then walked with them to History, and I ended the day with Drama. The class was mostly deciding what play to do next, and they decided Grease. The teacher, Mr. Appleton, even did all of the role assigning right there. To my amazement, I got cast for Sandy and Jai got cast for Danny.
“We should get together and run lines sometime, Sandy.” He grinned during the bus ride home, where I sat with him again.
“Sounds good, Danny.” I answered with a smile, elbowing him gently.
“Let me see your phone for a second,” Jai held his hand out. I unlocked the passcode and handed it to him, relieved that he just put his phone number in as “Jai Brooks/ Danny Zuko.”
When I finally got to my room, I threw my bag down and kicked my shoes before collapsing on the bed. I was so confused about what Liz told me about Jai, and people staying away from him, and then her suddenly changing her mind after music. And Nathan, who seemed so different from yesterday, and staring at me in math only to ignore me in music. I thought it would be clearer after the first day was over, but it was all cloudier than it had been first period