"You drive like a fucking maniac!", Jess snapped as we stepped out of my car in the school's parking lot.
"Hey, at least we're not that late.", I smirked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
She was a gorgeous, tall skinny girl, long blonde hair with piercing blue eyes. The same blue eyes that were now staring back at me, silently murdering me at my remark.
"Right. We're just in time for the tardy bell and we haven't even picked up our schedules yet. You're right, we're not that late.", she grumbled as she angrily pushed through the double doors and into the nearly empty hallway.
"Jess, are you okay?", I cautiously asked, dropping my playful act and sensing that there was something wrong with her. "I mean, I get that you're pissed because I made us both late, but you can't be that mad at me. It's not like you actually give a shit of this place.. Is there something you wanna talk about?"
"No, I'm fine.. it's just..", she sighed hesitantly, stopping in her tracks and turning around to face me with a troubled expression.
"Hey, talk to me.."
Just as she was about to speak, the tardy bell rang, signaling that we were officially late and screwed.
"Ugh. I'll.. I'll tell you later, over lunch, okay?", she replied as she started to take off. "Go get your schedule and then text me your subjects, I really hope we have at least one class together!"
And with that she was gone. Confused and worried about what was going on with her, I made my way to the administration office.
——
As soon as I had my schedule, I rushed to my History class. I was already 20 minutes late and I honestly was about to skip it, but then my conscience kicked in. It wasn't wise to skip the first period on your first day back, was it?
I ran up to the door and knocked, waiting for the teacher to let me in. I heard footsteps on the other side of the door when it finally opened, revealing Mr. Bombay.
"García. Really?", he sighed, shaking his head and rolling his eyes.
"I know, I'm late and I'm really sorry.", I looked at him with pleading eyes. "There's been a slight hiccup with my schedule and-"
"Go take a seat.", to my surprise he cut me short, taking a step aside and letting me in. "I don't want to hear a sound from you for the rest of my class. Next time you'll get yourself detention, Miss García."
"Thank you..?", I replied uncertainly, shocked that he let me off the hook so easily. Usually he was a royal pain in the ass. I quickly entered the classroom and took the only seat available at the back of the room, determined to keep my mouth shut for the rest of the period. That's gonna be easy since I really don't know anyone in this class. I took out my book together with my phone and texted Jess my schedule:
'1st period 7.30-8.20 History
2nd period 8.30-9.20 English
3rd period 9.30-10.20 Off
4th period 10.30-11.20 Spanish
Lunch
5th period 12.30-13.20 Science'
Her answer came almost immediately:
Jess 7.59am
'We have Spanish and science together, señorita ;)'
I smiled to myself, quickly typing in a reply just to realize my history teacher was eyeing me from his desk. I smiled sheepishly and threw my phone in my bag, focusing my attention on what was left of the lecture. Boring.
My English class and my period off went by surprisingly quick as I found myself heading towards my Spanish class, grateful for the fact that my best friend was going to be there.
I didn't have many friends. It wasn't that I was socially awkward, but I spent the last 2 years trying to get my shit together for my brothers' sake, so I didn't really have time to bond with any of my peers. Jess was an exception though: at first, she basically forced her friendship on me, causing me to think that she was really weird and impossibly annoying. But once I got to know her and spend time with her I soon realized what a great person she is and how good she was to me. She stuck with me through thick and thin, and as of today, I honestly don't know what I'd do without her.
I entered my Spanish class and looked around for Jess, who was already waving me over. I sunk in the seat next to her and studied her: she definitely looked more relaxed compared to this morning.
"How was your morning?", she asked me with a warm smile.
"Boring, as usual. What about yours?"
"Same.", she shrugged, leaning back in her seat. "Oh! Did you hear the news?!", she suddenly squealed in excitement.
"Uh.. no?", I frowned and laughed at her in amusement.
"Seriously? Do you even bother to pay any attention to the school's gossip every once in a while?"
"Nope. And you know that."
"Whatever. Anyways, we have a new science teacher!", she revealed, winking at me in a very weird way.
"Okay?", I shrugged emotionless as I took my Spanish book out of my bag and gave her an inquisitive look.
"Oh, don't 'okay' me babe. I'm sure you'll be head over heels by the end of 5th period.", Jess replied with a confident smile.
Just as I was about to ask her what the hell she meant by that, our Spanish teacher cleared her voice signaling that the lecture was starting. I rolled my eyes and focused on my textbook, but I couldn't help but notice the suspicious looks that my best friend gave me multiple times during the entire period, slightly getting on my nerves.
———
When 4th period ended, I gathered my things and walked outside the classroom along with Jess. I was about to ask her what the hell was that all about, but as soon as we rounded the corner we literally bumped into Tyler and some other dude.
"Woah there, watch where you're going ladies.", he chuckled before pulling us both into a hug.
He was the captain of the football team. He was a tall, build up guy, with black messy hair and a pair of amazing green eyes. And yes, basically the entire school had a crush on him. Surprise surprise.
"Hey.", Jess greeted him sheepishly as her face turned all kinds of red, causing me to suppress a laugh.
"Hey T, what's up?", I asked him, playfully nudging him in the side.
"You know, same old crap.", he shrugged. "Hey, this is Jason! He's my cousin from New York, he just moved here.", he added, introducing the guy standing next to him.
He was a little shorter than Tyler, but all in all they kind of looked alike. They shared the same messy hair, though his wasn't as dark as Tyler's; his eyes were also green but a different shade, and he had freckles all over his nose and cheeks.
"Nice to meet you Jason, I'm Alex.", I smiled warmly at him before realizing that Jess was still in some sort of trance over Tyler. "And this is Jess.", I added, subtly pinching her arm and causing her to snap out of it.
"My pleasure.", Jason smiled to the both of us before focusing his attention on me. "Damn girl, you're hot!"
"Upfront much?", I frowned in amusement as Tyler and Jess hardly managed to control their laughter.
"I'm a man that speaks his mind.", he bluntly replied as he boldly kept taking in my figure.
"I can see that!", I chuckled. "Not my type though. Sorry bro."
"Really? What's your type then?", he asked with a teasing smirk on his face.
"Well, for starters, my type has a vagina. Do you have a vagina, Jason?"
His smirk instantly vanished and his jaw dropped, while Tyler and Jess were now practically wheezing.
"Yeah, I didn't think so.", I playfully winked as I brought my hand to his chin and put his jaw back in place, leaving him dumbfounded. While the other two tried to gather themselves, we were joined by another girl. Oh, great.
"Hey guys!"
"Hey Rachel!", Jess greeted her as I rolled my eyes. Of course she remembers how to speak now.
"Hey.", I simply blurted out of politeness, starting to feel slightly uncomfortable under her glare since she barely acknowledged the others.
"Are you guys having lunch in the cafeteria?", Rachel asked us, even though I knew she just wanted to know if I was going to be there.
"Yup!", Jess replied before I could even open my mouth. I'm so going to kill her.
"Great! So, I guess I'll catch up with you later?", she trailed off, never taking her eyes off of me. I simply nodded and smiled at her before she, Tyler and a still confused Jason took off in the direction of the cafeteria.
"We are so going out for lunch now!", I gritted through my teeth as soon as they were out of sight.
"Oh come on-", Jess started to complain but to no avail since I was already pushing her out of the building and towards my car.
"What is wrong with you?!", I snapped as soon as we were in the parking lot.
"Alex come on! Rachel's a catch! She likes you, she's pretty hot and you've been hooking up with her the entire summer.", she tried to reason with me as she climbed in my car.
"It was just sex, Jess. Sex doesn't include having lunch together and pretend there's something more to it.", I retorted, putting my seatbelt on and revving the engine.
"I think you should give her a chance."
I mean, Rachel was pretty: she had a nice body, wavy brown hair and dark brown eyes. The sex was good, and her ass was something else. But was there something else to it? Nope. Did we have a connection? Not on my part. Did we have anything in common? Well, I wouldn't know. We never really talked about anything. Hell, we barely talked in fact. It was just sex, and I was pretty clear about it.
"Yeah, I'll give her a chance when you ask Tyler out.", I joked as I pulled out of the parking lot, knowing that she would finally drop it.
Or not.
"Really?!", Jess perked up and gave me a hopeful look.
"No.", I chuckled, slightly shocked that she even considered it. "But seriously, you really should ask him out! He's a nice guy and I think he likes you too."
"Ha! No fucking way.", she waved me off and fell silent.
Mission accomplished.
———
We made it to a diner not too far away from school and took our seats in a corner booth. It was your typical diner: very busy during lunch hours, friendly staff and damn good burgers. Once we placed our orders, Jess looked at me impatiently.
"So, you wanna know about our new science teacher?", she asked me, wiggling her eyebrows and causing me to laugh.
"Nope, I don't.", I replied, pushing my curiosity at the far end of my mind. I would have figured it out in less than an hour anyways, so screw it.
"Too bad.", she shrugged, slightly disappointed.
"What I want to know is what was going on with you this morning though..", I said in a soft voice, giving her a concerned look.
With us it was all fun and games, but we knew each other like the back of our hands, and I knew that something was troubling her.
"Oh...", she paused and shifted uncomfortably in her seat, her mood suddenly changing and her eyes becoming watery. I leaned forward on the table, just to let her know that I was listening. "My.. my parents. They.. they lost their jobs and we're broke, Alex. We're about to lose our house too.", she sniffed as she ran her fingers through her hair, trying her best to fight back tears.
"Oh god.. Jess, I'm so sorry!", I whispered, grabbing her hands from across the table and squeezing them in the attempt to comfort her a little. I was never good with these kind of things, but she's my best friend, and I wanted her to know that I was there for her. "How-"
"It doesn't matter 'how', Alex.. the point is that we'll probably have to move from Chicago. And..", her voice broke as tears came streaming down her face. "And I don't wanna leave! I don't wanna leave my life here, my friends, you.. I don't wanna start over, Jesus!", she started sobbing as she pulled her hands away from mine and buried her face in them.
"...then don't.", I whispered before even realizing what I was doing. It was like my brain had suddenly a voice of its own and I had no control over it. Was it even a good idea? Hell, why not.
"What do you mean 'then don't'?", she let out a nervous laugh in between sobs and looked at me. "If my parents move it's not like I can live in a shelter or-"
"Move in with me and the boys, dumbass.", I interrupted her rambling, causing her to look at me in disbelief.
"Very funny, Alex.", she half whispered trying to figure out if I was messing with her.
"I'm serious, Jess.", I shrugged, trying to convince her, or myself, that it wasn't a big deal. "I mean, as much as I would like to get rid of you..", she rolled her eyes and wiped away some tears. "..you're my best friend, and I'm sure as hell not going to survive senior year or life in general if I don't have you here with me. Plus, we have a spare bedroom at home."
"You really mean it?"
"I do, of course I do. The boys love you, I love having you around.. and you're over at my house most of the time anyways, so I really don't see what difference would it make if you came to live with us.", I replied flashing her a reassuring smile.
Jess just stared at me for a couple of seconds as she seriously considered my offer. After what felt like ages, she cracked a grateful smile.
"Okay. But I'm paying you rent."
"There's no need babe."
"I want to."
"You don't have a job-"
"I'll get one."
I nodded silently, realizing that there was no point in fighting her on this. Just as our conversation ended, the waiter came along with our food and we were more than ready to dig in.
"Thank you, Alex.. You're the best.", Jess said as I was about to take a bite of my burger.
"Tell me something I don't know.", I teased her, sticking my tongue out. "Now eat, or we'll be late for 5th period."
"Right, And you really don't wanna be late for that.", she winked at me once again causing me to roll my eyes.
Whatever.