“Thank you again for showing our new student around,” Principal Mabee says to me as we step out of her office. “I’m sure she’ll be in good hands with you. It wasn’t that long ago you were the one getting the grand tour.”
“I remember,” I reply, trying my hardest not to think about my first days at this school and how quickly I made friends and enemies.
Principal Mabee and I make it to the waiting area, where I see a girl and her mom waiting patiently for us. They both stand up as soon as we walk towards them.
“Ms. Turner, Grace, this is Addison. She’s in the same grade as Grace and will be showing her around today.”
The girl my age steps towards us and holds her hand out, offering a big smile. Her warm brown eyes are welcoming, and I find myself grinning back at her right away. She’s got dark skin and magnificent curly hair pulled into two ponytails on either side of her head. “Hi, I’m Grace.”
“I’m Addison, but you can call me Addie.”
“Thanks for letting me follow you around today. I already know we’re going to be good friends,” Grace says hopefully, clasping her hands together in front of her body. She gives a quick goodbye to her mom, and then we step out of the principal’s office into the hallways.
I do my best to give her the tour, showing Grace our homeroom and her locker. It’s the middle of the fall semester, so already, there are flyers up announcing the homecoming game and dance that Grace looks longingly at every time we pass one.
“Are you going to the homecoming dance?” she asks me as we walk down the hall side-by-side
I press my lips together. “I’m not sure. No one’s asked me yet, but I might go with some of my friends anyway.”
“What are your friends like?”
“Charlie and Eli?” I smile. “They’re the two best friends anyone could ask for. We clicked right away on my first day here, and we haven’t separated since. We’ll catch up with them at lunchtime, and you can meet them.”
“That sounds great. I was friends with mostly boys at my old school too. I’m glad they put me with you today, though. I’ve been needing a good girl best friend in my life.”
I grin at Grace and nod my head in agreement.I feel the same way. Charlie and Eli are great friends, but theyareboys. And there are just some things I can’t talk with them about.
Soon, the bell in the hallways buzzes to let everyone out for a lunch break. Students flood into the halls and Grace reaches for my hand, gripping it tightly, so she doesn’t get lost in the sea of our peers. We walk together towards the cafeteria, passing the courtyard on our way.
“Who are they?” Grace asks, pointing to someone. I follow her gaze across the courtyard to the bench she’s indicating. I try not to vomit. Of course, I should have known that Noah would catch Grace’s attention. He currently has Rose Abbot in a solid lip lock, his hand cupping the back of her hair as he moves her face to meet his perfectly.
I roll my eyes and tug Grace away towards the cafeteria. “That’s Noah and his girlfriend Rose. They’re both in our class. They’ve been together officially since the start of the semester, and they’re literallyalwaysmaking out.”
“Can’t say I blame her. He’s kind of cute. Or at least from what I’ve seen,” she speculates. I crinkle my nose up and make a dramatic gagging noise. Grace laughs, “What? Is he not?”
“Definitely not. He’s disgusting. If you listen to any piece of advice all day, stay away from Noah McCoy.”
Grace stops walking, and I turn around to face her. She’s looking at me with an eyebrow raised, her dark eyes sparkling with something I can’t place since I’ve only known her for a few hours. “Do you like him?”
“Ew. No.”
“Really? Cause it seems like you’ve got jealousy written all over your face right now. But hey, what do I know? I’m new here.”
I frown at her. “I definitely don’t like Noah. We’ve been enemies since my very first day here. He can be really mean. Last year he yelled at me just for being concerned about him.”
“You know what they say; it’s a fine line between love and hate.”
I purse my lips, not loving the direction this conversation is going. I have never given anyone any indication that I liked Noah even the slightest bit. In fact, quite the opposite. But here’s Grace now, making me wonder if I’m putting off some weird vibe towards him. She’s been at this school for practically two minutes and already making assumptions.
“How about lunch?” I ask her in an attempt to thwart Grace from traveling further down this rabbit hole?
She looks at me knowingly, a sideways grin settling on her face, but she tags along anyway. I walk her through the lunch line process—how to determine which food would be good and which food to avoid at all costs. We each grab a tray and load it up. I settle for my favorite mac and cheese, and Grace goes for the special of the day, a brave move. As soon as we exit the line, I scan the room to find Charlie and Eli.
I spot them all the way at the back, sitting at a table that’s already full, but I notice there’s one close to them still that has a few seats left. Grace follows me as we weave through all the tables in the lunchroom, arriving at our table without injury.
I tap Charlie on the shoulder, and he turns around, Eli following suit. “Hey guys, this is Grace. She’s just starting here, and I wanted to introduce you all.”
The boys sound a chorus of hellos and scoot over on the bench to make room for us. I sit next to Eli, and Grace takes the seat across from me, next to Charlie.