Chapter Two

An Application for Death

The weather was finally beginning to warm up, which resulted in everyone's spirits to be brought up. Noah Richards was parading down Kenyon Ave. alongside some of her school friends. The school day had ended not even five minutes ago and summer was just around the corner.

"I cannot wait for the summer!" high school senior, Jade Donnaque, screamed.

"Right, though?!" Sara Emerson smiled at her friends. "Can't wait to get these exams over with."

"They're only next week." Noah reminded her friends. "And after that, we just have two more days!" The group let out a cry of relief.

"What are you guys planning on doing?" Mark Finch asked, holding onto the leather strap of his messenger bag.

"Sleeping," Nancy Leppard stated promptly. "It's been a long year."

"I'm going to this summer theater camp," Jade announced.

"Sounds fun! I'm going to become a life guard at the Logan Beach, so you should all come sometime this summer." Mark smiled, thinking that he was a big shot with his opportunity to save lives.

"I'm going to hit up Starbucks every single day!" Sara beamed at her friends, who all rolled their eyes in response. She was most definitely addicted to those sugary drinks. Sara, on the other hand, could care less because those drinks were delicious!

"What about you, No?" Sara asked her friend.

Noah only shook her head. "I would like to get a summer job, but I'm not sure where."

"We'll find you a place!" Mark promised her.

The five friends headed into the Starbucks that was conveniently right around the corner from their school. Every single student at their school, Kenyon Academy, was internally grateful for that small perk. On a good day, they could celebrate with a drink. On a bad day, they could drown their sorrows into the drink. Either way, it was most definitely a bonus for them.

"I'll have a Caramel Cocoa Cluster Frappuccino, please." Noah said before having the card on her phone scanned. They waited patiently for their drinks, all ignoring each other on their iPhones.

Once they each got their drinks and all too familiar green straws, they walked outside to the outdoor seating, where they all began talking about their hopes for the summer. Indeed they should have been busy studying for their exams, but after a long week, they needed this Friday afternoon to just relax.

"Guys, next week are exams and then we have three days left," Sara said with her eyes wide.

Noah nodded. "Um, yeah. I sort of just said that."

Sara shook her head. "No, shut up. That means that we only have a week and three days left of going to the same school together. Then, we're all college-bound, guys. We're about to be separated!"

Mark sighed. "Can we not talk about that?"

"Seriously, guys! Like, I don't know how I'm going to survive without your support system next year. We've been like a pack of wolves these last four years." Nancy played with her green straw. "I don't know if I can do it."

"Yes, you can, Nance!" Jade laughed. "You're going to be just fine. It won't be easy for any of us to leave each other, you know that." The friends sat in silence trying to imagine what life was going to be like without each other in the upcoming years. They had always been there for each other during the urgent and not so urgent moments, like friends should be. A scary thought passed through everyone's heads - what if they aren't able to make new friends at college? They all looked at each other with terrified faces.

"Guys, we'll be fine!" Noah exclaimed and they all just shrugged, not knowing what to think. Change was terrifying.

In an attempt to change the subject and make the air a little less heavy, Noah flipped her long blonde hair over one shoulder. "So earlier today I was thinking about our freshman year and that one pool party at Jack Dursh's house."

Everyone laughed, recalling the memory. Jack Dursh was the only child of a very wealthy family. During the freshman year, he had invited the whole school to his house for a pool party. The whole student body had attended with the absence of only five people, which wasn't too bad, considering that the attendees included almost three thousand people. How his parents had even allowed for such a crazy event to take place was still a mystery to all. The party had been loads of fun, even though Noah and her friends decided to go on a whim.

"Jack walked around looking like he owned the place!" Mark laughed.

"He kind of does. Well, his parents, at least." Nancy snorted.

"But you know what I meant," Mark said out of aggravation.

Noah laughed. "Yeah, but like then he was acting all cool at the juice bar. Joshua ran into him, Jack fell into the pool, his swim shorts fell off, and then the whole school learned that he owned a huge fancy pool with no idea as to how to swim."

"He literally walked around telling everyone that he just wanted to socialize and would swim later." Sara laughed. "What a loser, and that's what you get for lying!"

Mark spoke up. "But let us not forget what Noah did after that!"

Jade smiled. "May I?"

Noah covered her face. "Go ahead."

"You had this big, freaky crush on him, then. Still don't understand what you saw in him. You jumped in to help him out like the nice person you are, but when you tried to grab his trunks for him, they got caught on something and ended up ripping them right down the middle. He still hasn't forgiven you!" Jade howled.

Noah nodded. "Good times! He still tells me that he will get back at me. Like, school is almost over! He better make a move soon."

"Oh, what kind of move?" Sara laughed and Noah hit her in response.

"Guys, I am over him now." Noah took a sip of her drink and allowed for the blend of chocolate and caramel to dance across her taste buds. Sometimes she secretly thinks that she could marry the drink, though she would never admit to it out loud. Her friends would say that she was just as addicted as Sara.

The trees' leaves danced about in the wind and the sun sang a bright song with its rays beaming down on the sidewalk. It felt like a sunscreen worthy occasion, though no one had it on them. The weather forecast had predicted rain. Why anyone ever trusted what those guys said on TV was a mystery? They never seemed to give the right answer. Facts are a very interesting subject because how did one know that a fact was indeed a fact, especially when it comes to history? People can find "artifacts" that lead them to believe something or written records, but how can one just trust those records? How can one trust a "diary" to be a primary source, when it might just be a creative writing project? This is why Noah finds it hard to trust and believe in people. It's not that she isn't open minded - she is, but she is also weary when it comes to facts.

Noah grabbed the tip of her straw and stirred her drink around a little bit. The universe was terrifying. She shuddered and have her friends a small smile. "Can we get something to eat? I'm sort of hungry."

The friends stood up and walked over to Kenyon Burger and Fries, which was right next door from Starbucks. K. B. F. is not a chain restaurant. It is unique to Kenyon Ave. and the culture of the street. When you walk into the restaurant, there is vibrant, indie music playing and a very hipster feel. It's the place where all the teenagers liked to hang out.

As they were getting in like, Mark tapped on Noah's shoulder and pointed out a sign to her that was near the cash register. Seeing those words made her heart flutter and she immediately knew that something good was about to happen.

To be continued...

******
Author's Note:
So I went to the ER yesterday, which would be the reason for not having this up yesterday. My apologies! I'm sort of... kind of... not really okay, but I suffered through my pain to write this for you, haha! SO I HOPE YOU ENJOYED IT!

What do you think of Noah so far?

Lots of love,
Ali xoxo