Page 7 of Honest With You

I crook a finger at Reese and hold my phone up to take a quick selfie to send to our brother.

Like magic, Reese’s face transforms from an angsty teenager to one of pure elation.

The brat.

The fact that she can switch on and off just like that? It’s unreal.

But I get it. New city. First day. New school.

It’s a lot for a twelve-year-old. Hormones and nerves – a volatile combination.

Hell, it’s a lot for me too but Reese needs a steady hand to hold, not a sinking ship. I can drown on my own time. For now, my baby sister comes first, so I usher us out the door, into my car and to school.

I make it with fifteen minutes to spare. I exit the counselor’s office, my face buried in the school map when I feel someone grab my elbow and pull me back. I stumble and drop my things. I look up in surprise to see a girl around my age, holding her hands up in apology. She bends to pick up my welcome packet, but I am too stunned to help her out.

She smiles sheepishly at me as she hands me my stuff back.

She’s freakinggorgeous.Long auburn hair that comes down in waves and stops at her elbows. Piercing hazel eyes and a smile so radiant that it could put toothpaste models out of a job. Her skin is flawless with a slight tan that did not look like it came from a can but by rays of sun as golden as her skin.

“Sorry about that,mami. You were about to walk headfirst into that door there.”

She nods at something behind me. I turn to look and realize I would have walked straight into those metal doors had she not stopped me.

My cheeks heat in embarrassment as I glance back at her.

“I was born a klutz. Thank you for saving my life.” I grin at her though the flutters of shame still hang low in my belly.

She giggles, the self-assured belly laugh kind that makes me instantly like her. The anxiety and humiliation ease with that sound alone.

She holds her hand out to me. “I’m Vanessa.” Tilting her head, she considers me as her eyes light up.

“You’re new here, huh? Are you a senior too? What’s your first class? Have you found your locker?”

I sputter out a laugh at her word vomit and shake her hand. “I’m Ava. Yes. Yes and–” I rifle through the stack of papers in my hand, find my class schedule and hand it to her. “Here. My locker number is on there, too. Can you point me in the right direction?”

Vanessa scans the paper then flashes me another beaming smile. She links her arms with mine like we’ve been best friends forever and tugs me down the hall.

“I’ll do you one better. Since we're friends now, I’ll show you around.”

The knot in my stomach unfurls and for the first time since moving here, I feel better about my decision.

* * *

Vanessa, my new friend, showed me around for the rest of the week.. Our lockers happened to be right across from each other, so I didn’t get lost once. We also found out we had most classes including lunch period together too.

I met some of her friends, including her boyfriend, Dean. We sat with him and some of his basketball teammates at lunch. But there’s something about him I don't like. I don’t know if it was the way he checked me out when we first met that made me instantly dislike him but something about him just rubs me the wrong way.

Their other friends are cool though. They welcomed me without missing a beat.

As if on cue, my phone starts dinging nonstop and a slew of messages from Vanessa come in.

Vanessa: It’s not too late to change your mind, Torres!

Vanessa: Not to peer pressure you or anything.

Vanessa: But am I really when we both know you could be having fun with me?

Vanessa: Ok. Wait.

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