"Happy Monday!" Mrs. Mackenzie says, excitedly clapping her hands together. Brandon groans from the back of the classroom. It's his usual response to pretty much anything Mrs. Mackenzie says. "As promised, I will be giving time for you to work on your assignments. Just a reminder, it is due at the end of October."

Tamara turns to look at me, her hair whipping around her. Blue streaks have replaced her pink ones this week. I'm waiting for when she decides to go back to green, my favorite color. "Ugh. I have to work with Mr. Minus. He's such an asshole."

"Feelings be mutual bee-itch," Brandon spits and plops down next to her. "Did you read the book?" Tamara shakes her head in response. "I didn't either. You do realize that we are going to have SparkNotes this shit."

"Moore!" I spin around at the sound of my last name. "You coming?" Right, I should probably go to my group. I drag my chair to the back of the classroom and take a seat across Blake and Cynthia. My eyes focus on the wall behind them. I had texted them my number last week but still hadn't received a response.

"Hey, New Girl. Did you finish the book, yet?" Cynthia says, placing her elbows on the table and resting her chin in her hands. Blake has his hood pulled over his head. His lip is cut from the fight on Friday and there are bags under his eyes. It seems as if first period English is the last place he wants to be right now.

"Um, yeah. I did." I shrug, ignoring the nickname she uses.

Cynthia snorts in response. "Didn't you get the book last week?" I nod. This weekend was spent on a boat with Pi and Richard Parker. That sounds utterly lame of me but it's true. "I have a few chapters left."

I clear my throat. "How about you, Blake?"

He shakes his head, a look of annoyance spreading across his face. "I can't read to save my life." I frown. How is he going to help us on the assignment or finish his paper?

A suffocating silence falls over us. "So... what aspect do you want to focus on?" I ask, wiping my sweaty hands across my jeans. The norm for me back in Oakville was a group with Emily and Aryan, who were always full of great ideas.

I'm expecting a degrading response from Cynthia, instead, she says, "I think the easiest would be the characters and plotline. We could make a movie trailer, with a script and everything."

"Don't you think everybody is going to do a movie trailer or a skit? It seems so overdone," Blake adds.

I press teeth together at his rudeness. "Fine, dick-face," Cynthia says. "You think of something." She crosses her arms and leans back against her chair. Her silky black hair cascades down the back of the chair like a waterfall. It looks beautiful.

"How about a song?" I suggest, desperate to keep them talking. A song? Seriously. They would never agree to it, I think. "We could write a song about the characters and plot and sing it to the class."

Like a vulture, Cynthia squints her eyes at me and tilts her head. With her face like that, I can definitely see her painting over my canvas. Cynthia actually has a sweet face. But she always has her eyes narrowed and mouth in an angry scowl, which matches her rude attitude. "That's actually a cool idea," Blake says. He sits up on his chair, excited and alert at the idea of writing a song.

"Of course, you would like to do a song," Cynthia says with an eye roll.

"Hey, do you play an instrument?" Blake asks looking at me with his intense brown eyes.

"I play a little piano," I answer. The lazy summer days I had spent at my neighbor's learning the piano cloud my mind for a second. I remember the recital Agatha held one summer, where Emily and my mom brought cupcakes and punch for the guests. My shoulders sag at the memory.

"You play the piano?" Blake questions. The enthusiasm is clear in his voice. "Cool." Blake regains his composure and calms down. "I can talk to Mr. Li about using the music room for a bit. Audrey can play the piano, me on the guitar and Cynthia, you can sing."

"I don't want to sing alone," Cynthia whines. "Can't you sing and play the guitar? Audrey and I can write a stupid song." I smile and nod enthusiastically because I actually like that plan.

"Don't be such a baby. We'll all sing with you," Blake says. Despite the glares, Cynthia throws at us I can tell she likes the song idea. "Can you guys meet me after my shift on Friday? We can figure out the lyrics and then practice the song later."

"Um, where do you work?" I ask, avoiding his gaze.

"At Smith's, this café down the street. Josh would know where it is," he says. I nod.

"Blake, you haven't even read the book yet," Cynthia says. The smile from his face falls and the ghost boy is back.

"Yeah. Right," he responds.

For the rest of the period, Mrs. Mackenzie wants us to read the book in our groups. We start reading from where Blake is at. He hadn't even bothered to read the sections that Mrs. Mackenzie had assigned for the class discussions. We take turns reading and I realize why Blake doesn't like reading that much. He struggles with some of the words and isn't able to keep a consistent speed.

I make soft lines with the charcoal. After Mr. Ackley found out that someone had painted over my canvas, he had given me another one. This time I am re-creating a picture I had found online of a couple. "This looks amazing, Audrey," Mr. Ackley says behind me.

"Thanks, sir."

"I'm really sorry about your original. Some kids can be so cruel." He shakes his head in disappointment before he walks over to the storage room. "If you find out who did it. Please let me know." His voice is muffled.

"Will do." There is no way I would confide in him about my suspicions about Cynthia. Somethings are better left in the past, locked away where no one can reach them.

"So, you're going to eat lunch here?" he asks. I nod in his direction. "I am heading down to the cafeteria for some lunch. I trust that you won't jack the art supplies," he says with a laugh. I smile and continue working on my drawing. Tamara had skipped Art class. I had texted her but there was no response. For a few minutes, I become lost in my drawing, the world around me fading away.

"I knew that she would be here. Todd, you owe me ten bucks," Josh says.

"Not fair, man. You live with her. Obviously, you are going to know her schedule," Todd spits. Josh and his friends file into the classroom one after the other. The only one who is missing is Blake. I'm surprised to see them here. Other than Josh, I couldn't imagine why they would want to talk to me.

"Hi...guys," I say awkwardly. The past week I had been eating lunch with Tamara and Gabriel. For the most part, Josh had been avoiding me at school. Todd limps over to my easel and lifts the canvas I had used to cover my drawing.

Letting out a whistle he says, "Shit. This looks really good."

"Thanks," I mumble, avoiding Cynthia's gaze. All four of them are looking at me, causing a tidal wave of anxiety to pass over me.

"What's up, Damsel in Distress?" Todd says, looking at me. There is a scar on his lower lip and his eye is still bruised from the fight on Friday.

"Nothing much. Just working," I answer. I hop off the stool and go to the sink to wash my hands.

"We heard your friends got booked for smoking weed," Cynthia says before crossing her arms. I spin around to look at her. "I'm not surprised that she was getting high at school. That's all she does in her free time anyway."

"Shut up, Cynthia. You don't know her," I mutter.

Todd covers his mouth and leans back. "Ohhhh." Cynthia snorts and looks away.

"We're walking to McDonald's. Do you want to come with us?" my cousin asks, changing the subject. Did his mom tell me to hang out with me? Or did Josh genuinely want to be friends with me? It is hard to tell.

"I have to work on this art thing," I say quickly.

"Come on, girl. It will be fun," Todd says with a smile, his eyes sparkling.

"We'll pay?" Aditi says with a shrug.

"Yeah. Aditi will pay," Todd says. She rolls her eyes at him.

"Okay," I say finally, feeling embarrassed from the attention. I leave a note for Mr. Ackley and follow them into the hallway. Josh walks beside me as we head downstairs.

"I heard about Tamara and the weed. I just wanted to check on you," he says quietly, looking in front of him.

"It's true?" I ask, slightly surprised.

"Look. I told you. You should be careful around her," he says. I nod but don't say anything. Josh pats my arm and runs after his friends. When we are outside, I take in a breath fresh of air. The wind plays with the ends of my hair. I bury my chin into my sweater and my hands into my pockets. It isn't long before I fall behind the group.

I walk alone for a few minutes but then Todd stops and lets me catch up. "Hey, Audrey. How you doing?" he says. I frown at the question.

"I'm fine. I should be asking you that question," I say, pointing to his eye. He shrugs his shoulders.

"I'm alright. Blake and I apologized to each other," he answers.

"That's great," I say, genuinely happy for them.

"Yeah. At least until we fight again."

"I'm really sorry about that," I say. Todd laughs.

"It's alright." He lets out an audible sigh.

"Where is he now?" I ask.

"I think detention. The guy didn't do an assignment or something." We walk in silence, listening to the sounds of the cars rushing past us. "Are you coming to the game on Wednesday?"

"What game?" I ask. The numbness is starting to spread across my leg. I am regretting agreeing to this.

"The basketball game. It's pretty big at Lakewood. They let everyone skip the fourth period for it," he says, excitedly.

"You're on the team, then?" I ask stupidly.

"Yeah, both Josh and I are on the varsity basketball team. I'm a Lakewood Lancer and I'm proud of it." His breathing gets heavy and he slows down.

"You alright?" I question, tilting my head to look at him.

"Do you mind if I smoke?" Yes. I would mind if you smoked. But I don't say that out loud.

"Um...you do know that smoking isn't good for you," I say flatly, feeling stupid and embarrassed.

"No, really?" He gives me a pointed look. My leg is starting to hurt and I can't take it anymore. I have to stop.

"Sorry. Can we stop for a second?" I hunch over and place my hands on my knees. My head starts to spin and I have to close my eyes. Todd grips my shoulder and I grab onto his arms, afraid that I might faint.

"Audrey, are you okay?" Todd says. His voice sounds anxious. My physiotherapist told me to take it slow. Baby steps. This is definitely not baby steps. "Oh no. I'm sorry for forcing you to come with us."

I open my eyes and stare at his grey ones. "It's not your fault."

"We could go back," he says. I awkwardly pull away from him and shake my head.

"I'm sorry. It's fine, just a little dizzy." I breathe in the air and watch Josh's tall figure come to a stop. Todd waves at him to continue.

"Don't apologize. I am a Lakewood Lancer. Catching fainting girls is what I do," he laughs. I smile at him and roll my eyes. "Too much?" he asks. I nod but can't help but smile.

"Have you ever tried to quit?" I say, breaking the silence. The smile from Todd's face fades and he looks away. "Give me your lighter." I reach out my hand to him.

"What? Why would you need my lighter?" he asks, confused.

"I'm going to help you quit smoking," I answer. Todd's face softens and he smirks. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the green lighter.

"I'm not sure about this, Audrey. I don't even know you that well." His hand on the lighter tightens as he presses it against his chest. "How do I know that you won't use this yourself?" As long as it's not you. I shake away the thought and manage to raise my hand up for the lighter.

"I don't smoke," I answer blandly. There was a time when Emily had gotten into it for a while. It scared me so much that I told Aryan about it, who told Emily's mom. Emily didn't talk to me for a whole week because of it, even after I apologized a million times.

"Fine." He hands me the lighter. It feels cold and solid in my hands. I tuck it into my sweater without thinking about it too much.

"You promise that you won't smoke?" I ask, crossing my arms and giving him a hard look.

Todd looks up at the sky and closes his eyes. "I promise that I will not smoke," he says. I am bonding with someone over quitting smoking. It's a strange thing to bond over. So strange.

|| Author's Note ||

I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I am hoping to distinguish between characters as I move forward with this story, especially the guys. Let me know how that is going so far. I am also hoping to portray Audrey's naivety through the choices that she makes. Again thanks for reading and comment any thoughts. :)