Noah slid into the seat beside me and nudged me with his elbow. "You have this look like you might kill me." He observed, disappointed.

Practiced on pretending to be fake, I laughed. "You are pretty annoying, but I'm not there yet." I teased.

Noah fake-pouted and Paige giggled. "He's always annoying." She informed me. "It's a miracle Noah's alive." She shook her head and chuckled.

"Wait, are you and Paige dating?" I asked Noah. He choked on air and stared at me like I was crazy.

"Ew, of course not. Noah is like a brother to me, a very annoying brother." Paige cried.

I let myself wear a genuine smile. "Most brothers are. I had a brother named Cameron and he always woke me up with squawking seagulls. Cam made up for it with breakfast in bed, though."

"You said you had." Paige observed. "Do you not anymore?"

"Oh, um, no." I stammered.

Noah tilted his head slightly. "What happened, Ali?"

"I don't want to talk about it, you know? And where did Ali come from?" I asked.

He laughed. "I call Paige Paigy so I decided to call you Ali." He explained.

"Hey, if you're such a ladies' man, how come the only seat beside you is empty?" I inquired curiously.

He grinned. "I wanted to sit beside Paige but we decided on to sit directly beside each other."

"A lot of girls don't like me because they think I'm flirting with Noah. They told me not to 'hit on their man'." Paige added, her nose wrinkling with disgust,

"Wow. You really are a ladies man." I observed sarcastically.

Noah shook his head. "Not really. I've only had one girlfriend. Just a lot of girls get crushes on me."

"What do you want to be when you get older, Alice?" Paige said suddenly.

"An artist. I think I'm pretty good." I said with a hint of pride. At least Cameron used to say so.

Paige brightened. "An artist? No way!" She cried. "I want to be an author. Would you be my illustrator?"

I blushed. "You haven't seen my art."

"I'll see it eventually." She said breezily.

"What are your books about?" I asked, my voice suddenly soft. I had a passion for meaningful books.

"Oh. A lot of things. I like rewriting the rules." She said enthusiastically. She went in depth into rewriting the laws and physics of the universe as I found myself absorbed in her words.

"Wow." I breathed.

"Come on. It's Paige. She isn't that smart." Noah scoffed.

I have real friends. Cameron would be proud. I thought and then felt my heart break. As Paige and Noah continued their classic bickering, my thoughts of Cameron continued and my eyes filled with tears.

Paige paused and gave me a concerned look. Noah noticed and tilted his head at me sympathetically. "Ali?" He said gently. "What wrong?"

"Nothing." I whispered. My tears began to stream down my face and Emma noticed from her seat across the room.

"Are you okay?" She asked, hurrying over. I began to bawl.

"Ms. Kimora?" Emma called. "Can Alice and I be excused?" The teacher glanced at me and nodded.

"Can I come?" Paige asked. "And me?" Noah asked. I sobbed into Emma's shoulder. More people to see me cry. Great.

"Of course." Emma said, patting my back. I cried harder at the small comforting gesture.

Emma guided me out, with Paige and Noah following close.

"What's wrong with her?" Noah asked, touching my shoulder. I recoiled from the contact.

"She lost some important people in her life recently." Emma explained vaguely. "We were expecting a meltdown, but I'm grateful I was there for it."

"Can you tell us who she lost?" Paige asked. She sat beside me and I leaned on her for mild support.

"When she's ready she'll tell you." Emma answered. She lowered her voice. "Is this about Cam?"

I whimpered and nodded.

"We should take the rest of the day off." Emma suggested. "A Mental-Health-Day."

I hesitated. It was tempting because it sounded really good, but I then shook my head no.

"What? I'd say yes." Paige said.

"School is a great distraction, Paige." Emma explained. "Hey, I have an idea. Do you guys want to come over later?"

Noah nodded ad winked at me. I glared back. "I'd love to. Can I have your number so I can set it up?"

"Sure. Just stop flirting with Alice." Emma said, rolling her eyes. Paige giggled.

"How can I not flirt with her? Plus, I don't hear Ali complaining." He said with a smirk.

I rolled my eyes, enjoying this friendship.