I stand outside of the school, alongside Ally and Harper. My backpack is heavier today, loaded wth extra clothes and my swimsuit, my hairbrush and toothbrush. I have my wallet, charger, and earbuds in my hand.
We leave for the field trip today, and I'm actually surprised at how excited I am.
"We're all planning to sneak into the pool at the hotel tonight," Ally says excitedly.
"I'm so down." Harper adds, grinning. I roll my eyes and smile, staring at my feet.
"Aren't you excited?!" Harper asks. I look up at her and shrug.
"Okay. Fine. I'm excited," I say.
"See? It's not all that bad." Ally says, grinning.
The bell for school starts to ring, and the rest of the students on the decathlon team start to gather around the bus. I stand in between Ally and Harper.
"Alright, I'll take role. I see we have a few extras with us?" The decathlon coach says. It's silent.
"Right. Okay. I'll start." He says.
Ally turns to me, a devilish grin on her face. The coach starts to take roll.
"What?" I whisper.
She steps back. Peter.
I roll my eyes and hit her gently, stepping forward.
"Hey, Peter." I say, fiddling with the ring on my finger.
"Hey. I see your friends convinced you to join." He says with a smile. He sounds nervous.
"Uh, yeah. They did." I say, continuing to twist the ring around my finger.
"Peter?"
"Here." He calls.
"I got my dad to write an excused note for me." I say. He chuckles.
"Ned did the same thing," He says, chuckling. I smile in response.
"Alyssa?"
"Here," Ally calls, tucking a strand of her long hair behind her ear.
"Alright, that's it. Everyone get onto the bus, and everyone who isn't on the team, I need you to come see me!" The coach says as everyone piles onto the bus.
"Hi. Um, I'm not on the team. I have a note, though." I say.
"Okay," he sighs. I set the note into his hand and hop onto the bus. I'm surprised they even let other students come with the team.
I spot Ally, who, of course, decided to sit behind Peter and Ned.
I plop into the seat next to her and set my backpack on my lap.
"So." She says.
"Ally. Stop. Please." I say. She huffs.
"Fine. Where's Harp?" She asks. I sit up and look over the seat.
"She's getting on now." I say.
We eventually all settle in and the bus leaves, and we're on our way to Washington DC.
"Did you finish your homework for ELA?" Ally asks me as we pull out of the school parking lot.
"Yes...why?" I ask.
"Um...I didn't." She says, then gives me a slight laugh. Harper snorts.
"Who are you and what have you done with Ally?" I ask.
"I was...busy." She stammers. I raise an eyebrow.
"What kind of busy?" I ask.
"Busy." Ally says. "Could I copy your homework?"
"If you tell me what you were doing last night." I say.
"I was busy, okay? Busy doing...stuff." She continues stammering.
"You're such a bad liar." Harper says, grinning.
"Fine." She huffs. "I was with Tyler last night."
"Tyler?!" Harper and I exclaim at once.
"Tyler Cummings?!" Ned exclaims, turning around in his seat.
"Yes, Tyler Cummings." Ally says like it's obvious.
"Seriously? You can do so much better than that." Ned says.
"He does have a point there," I say. Harper nods.
"What? He's funny, he's cute, he's sweet..." she trails off.
"...and a douchebag." Harper continues.
"And, no offense, but he's pretty dumb." Ned says. Peter turns around, taking his earbuds out.
"Ned's got a point there, too." Peter says.
"Oh, please. You just don't know him like I do." Ally says.
"What?!" Harper and I exclaim at the same time, again.
"Ally, you used to hate him." Harper says.
"Okay, yeah, until he left that sweet note in my locker." Ally says.
"I don't think that was Tyler." I say.
"Well, I do." Ally says. Harper and I exchange glances with Peter and Ned.
"You guys are supposed to be my friends!" Ally exclaims, looking at Harper and I.
"We are your friends." Harper says.
"Look, Ally, we just don't think it's a good idea." I say.
"Remember what happened with Jane? And Tyler?" Ned says. I swallow, hard.
"That must have been a rumor." Ally says.
"Okay...." I trail off, unzipping my backpack and bringing my homework folder out. I hand it to Ally.
"It's in the front." I say, setting my charger, wallet, and earbuds in my backpack before zipping it up.
Ally takes out a piece of paper and a pencil and starts to copy my homework.
Ned turns around and so does Peter. I turn and look out the window, watching as we start driving down the highway.
After awhile, my eyes grow heavy and I drift off into a light sleep full of empty dreams.
***
"Juniper. Juniper."
My eyes flutter open, and I yawn. Ally shook me awake.
"We're here." Harper says, grinning. My eyes shift from her to Peter, who's holding back giggles at the sight of me. I blush and look at Ally.
"Do I look that bad?" I whisper. She snorts.
"No. You were just fast asleep and wouldn't wake up," she giggles, grabbing her bag and standing up, following Harper.
I sigh and grab my backpack, slinging it around my shoulder and following the two. I step out of the bus into the crisp, chilly autumn air.
"Alright, everybody follow me into the lobby, and please, try not to act like a bunch of gorillas." The coach says, before turning around and heading into the hotel lobby.
"Do you think three of us can be in one room?" Harper asks.
"Uh...yes." I say.
"I mean, why not?" Ally asks.
"Never mind." Harper says, shaking her head. We slowly follow the coach and everyone else on the team into the lobby.
After what seems like forever, we get the key cards and start to head up to the rooms.
I hop up the steps, my backpack bumping against my back with each step.
"What room number was it again?" I call, continuing to jog up the stairs. Harper and Ally are close behind.
"Thirty-six," Harper calls from behind me.
We get to the second floor, and slide the key card into the door of room thirty-six.
"Alright, who's sleeping on the floor?" Harper asks, walking in first and plopping her stuff on one of the two beds.
"Not me." I say.
"Can't two of us just share a bed?" Ally says, plopping her stuff on the floor. I flop onto the bed by the window.
"What did the coach say we were doing today?" I ask.
"Well, the competition is tomorrow, so...I don't know." Ally says.
"It's already five o'clock, so, I mean, I don't think we're doing anything else today besides maybe ordering pizza." Harper says.
"It's already five?" I ask.
"You were asleep for awhile." Ally chuckles.
"Traffic was bad. And the drive was like five hours." Harper says.
"Oh," I reply, rolling over and to face the window.
There's a knock on the door. I sit up and watch Ally walk over and open it. It's Peter and Ned.
"The coach is ordering pizza, what kind do you want?" Peter says.
Ally looks back at as. Harper shrugs.
"Pepperoni or cheese. Either is fine." Ally says. I sit on the edge of the bed, looking down at my feet.
"Alright." Ned says, scribbling it down on a piece of paper. I hold back a laugh. He's so serious about this.
Ned starts to leave and Ally starts to close the door. Peter puts a hand to the door, stopping it.
"And if, uh, you need anything..." He stammers. I look up. He's looks at Ally, then Harper, then me. "Our room is...right next to y-yours." He says. His eyes linger on me for a bit, then return to Ally.
Thank god Ally is a sweet person. If that were Harper, she would slam the door in his face.
"Of course." She says. I hear the polite smile in her voice as she closes the door.
Ally and Harper turn and look at me.
"Stop." I say, smiling and looking down.
"Peter's in looooove!" Harper says, starting to jump on the other bed.
"He likes you back. He likes you back!" Ally squeals, jumping up and down.
"Oh my god, shut up. And besides, he wasn't just looking at me. And you don't know that." I giggle, tucking a strand of my curly hair behind my ear.
They get silent and I look up. They're both giving me the famous "Really?" look.
I flop back onto the bed and stare at the ceiling with a sigh.
"Okay, well, you're oblivious." Harper says. I roll my eyes and chuckle.
"I'm kind of nervous for the competition tomorrow," Ally says suddenly. I sit up and look at her.
"Ally, you're super smart. You have nothing to worry about." I say.
"Yeah, and we'll be there to support you." Harper says, setting a hand on her shoulder. She smiles and fiddles with her skirt.
"What are you most nervous for?" I ask.
"I'm afraid they're going to ask an answer I don't know. Duh." She says.
"Ally. Again. You're really smart." I say.
"You are, too." She says.
"Maybe," I say. "But I'm not the one competing tomorrow."
She smiles and looks at Harper, then back at me.
"I have the best friends I could ever ask for." She says.
"Okay. Enough with the warm and fuzziness." Harper says, standing up and bouncing on the bed. Ally and I start giggling.
"I'm ready for pizza!" Harper shouts.
"Harper! Don't get us kicked out!" Ally laughs. I flop back onto the bed.
I'm really glad that I came.
Author's Note
Heyyy loves! I'm so sorry this chapter is so boring. Chapter five is in the works already! Again, let me know if you find any mistakes and I'll fix them right away. Have a wonderful day/night! :)