Highschool was six to eight hours, five days a week and six years. It has been drama, suspense and shock. In Lonsdale High, they could mix and match a combination of coordinated prep-wear such as skirts or pants, paired with pique polo shirts, all in “goldenrod yellow,” navy, or white, topped off by a fleece zip-up, which the school crest is optional.

For her first term in Lonsdale High, she had chosen the windowpane patterned navy skirt with the white polo. Rosemary stepped out of her class for lunch and melted into the school environment, grinning from ear to ear. She instantly loved Lonsdale High. It's architectural constructions and beautiful gardens were enough to lure any child to become a student. Rose stood at the edge of the corridor. The sun winked through three tops as it relinquished itself to her. Listening to the silence in the background, a disturbing noise came from the direction of the school’s cafeteria. Rose rushed there at once, not to be left out.

Jack threw Charles to the wall like a trash. He tried hard to endure the pain while close to tears. The silent whispering around them intensified. All the students in their neatly sewn white and blue uniforms gathered around them, watching. Rosemary, a tiny girl with slightly noticeable hips, ran to the scene. She aggressively pushed the taller kids, just to get through. Rosemary wanted to get a glimpse of who the three musketeers were beating up this time. Her eyes frowned once she realized it was her seat-mate, Charles Bailey.

“Charlie, the bookworm.” Jack raised at him. “How dare you push Becca?”

The faint scent of his tobacco stained breath that met Charles nostrils, made her pull her face into a grimace. He trembled, gaining a little stamina to stand on his feet, not to pass out at that moment. A drop of fresh, red blood tickled from his forehead but he didn't bother wiping it off.

“What name were you aiming to gain for yourself?” Jack fired at Charles.

The poor boy looked down, unable to defend himself.

15 years old Rosemary was innocent-looking with straight, black hair and Sapphire blue eyes. Her gaze darted across the room to where Becca was. She noticed her eyes concentrated on something at the back of her mind. About to hit Charles again, Rose grabbed Jack’s black hair, pulling it really hard from the back. He was three inches taller, so he just tilted his head, leaning toward her for support as he let out grunts of pain.

“What name were you aiming to gain for yourself, huh?” she raged at him. “I’m asking you a question!” Rose snapped.

Denim and Asher watched Jack struggle in astonishment. Expecting him to fight back at least, it shouldn’t be tough. It could be them just now.

“Get your fucking hands off my hair!” Jack ordered.

“He’s my brother, you bully! We come from the same neighborhood!” she defended, finally letting go of his spiky hair.

“What’s happening?” A tall man in neatly pressed suit and clear reading glasses intervened. He was the Mr Moses Aragon, their head teacher. “Jack and Charles, to my office!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, here we go again!” Jack gave Rose a dagger stare as he chewed on his jaw with a half lipped smile. As if he will come fir revenge or something. She frowned back at him, knowing nothing was funny.

Going on suspension wasn’t new for Jack and the other members of the three musketeers. It was the regular thing, like going on a break or a weekend, but it pestered him who Rose really was to intervene and why she did that. He hadn't noticed her till now. 'She mist be the a student.' He guessed.

“Ryder!” the head teacher snapped as Jack watched her. “Right now!”

His dark eyes narrowed above his slim, tightened lips. “And everyone, it’s ten minutes past break time. To your classes!”

As the students disappeared, Rosemary’s eyes stopped at Becca. Her eyes widened when she saw her diary in her hand and rushed to her at once.

“Give it to me!” Rose demanded at once.

With a bitchy attitude, Becca jerked it off in the air, out of her reach.

“What are you doing? That’s my diary.” Her voice trembled, knowing that Becca Fox, the school’s queen bee, was just as rude as the three musketeers.

“Back off, little fly!” She warned and suddenly smiled at Rosemary. “Reading your diary is fun. I will update everyone.”

Becca was the three musketeers’ main girlfriend. Rose had severally caught her by the corners of the school, laughing while kissing Jack, Denim and Asher. It disgusted her knowing that she was a school slut. They were all classmates at 10th grade, but nothing brought them together until now.

As Rose struggled for it, Becca pushed her away, crushing her teeth against a ball of bubblegum in her mouth.

“Why did you bring this to school?”

“It’s none of your business!” Rose hissed. She sensed Becca was a worse person from the way she glared at her.

“Oh, so you hate the three musketeers, but fancy one. Who among my boyfriends do you fancy?” Her friend was one to avoid, but Rose looked her straight in the face.

“How did you get my diary?”

“That dummy nerd, Charlie, dropped it, but don’t worry, your secrets are safe with me.” She willingly handed the diary back to her and gave a smile that betrayed all innocence.

“Let me just give you this warning and trust me, it’s only going to be once!” Becca’s smile dropped as she gawked at Rose like a predictor. The demand in her voice gave a red card. “Stay away from the three musketeers if you don’t want your head out of your body by the end of the term!”

A hand crawled up to Rosemary’s exposed shoulders, her heart dropped from the sudden feeling. It was Kimberly was by her side.

“Oh, my, you scared me!”

“What were you thinking, Rose? It’s almost 9:00 p.m.” Kimberly reminded her, already prepared for the outing.

“Why the hurry, Kim? It’s not as if they gave us time.” Rose quaked. She only used a black eyeliner over her naturally slim eyelashes and transparent lip gloss over her small lips. The makeup on Rose was barely visible. She looked comely fair and glamorous.

“Your phone has been ringing downstairs. It was Jack. You probably didn’t hear because of your off mindedness. What were you thinking?”

“Nothing.” Rosemary defended, holding back the rushing smile.

“Don’t tell me you are finding a reason not to attend?” Kimberly leaned to the side with folded arms.

She had a candy coloured strap top that slightly exposed her bellybutton. Under it was a tight pair of black fancy jeans and black wedge booths. Her wavy, curled hair covered her perfectly and the pink lipstick she used made her round face pop.

“Definitely not. Why would back down at the last minute?”

“Better.” Kimberly rolled her eyes.

A gentle smile escaped her lips as the thoughts played through. Highschool days were the flower of life.

“You know that you’re going to a dinner date and not a night vigil, right?” Kimberly raised an eyebrow.

“Yes, I know, and it’s not a dinner date.” Rosemary corrected. “It’s just a date.”

She pulled out of the chair facing the full-length mirror and grabbed her purse. With a hand on her black peplum mini dress. Kimberly eyed her jelly flats but didn’t comment.

“Come on, let’s go.” Both girls hurried out of the room and locked the doors. They both had their cars, but Rosemary agreed to go in Kimberly’s car. It was a silver Kia Forte, compact sedan.

Kimberly drove for minutes to escape the pollution, the noise, the light. They sped past the strip malls, industrial buildings, and finally turned onto a narrow road with edges bound by the stitching of telephone poles and punctuated by infrequent gas stations and the odd trailer.

The street was desolate. The storefronts were devoid of displays, which was just as well, because not a single person was there to admire them. Cars sat empty along the curb, collecting dust. Kimberly swerved the car into a narrow street of Santa Monica, lined with rows of restaurants and bars. In a few minutes, they were stepped into Easter’s wine bar.

Immediately they stepped in, a server walked towards them and took them to a table in the booth, separated from other booths by thick brown planks and cherry red curtains hung up on the four corners of the space. After the humid warmth outside, the interior if the restaurant was cool and dim.

“Hey!” A series of laughter chuckled in the air.

“Oh, gosh! You frightened us!” Rosemary hissed with a hand on her chest as both ladies joined the table. Jack felt embarrassed while Denim placed a leg on the club couch, sipping on a glass of wine at hand. He sat opposite Kimberly, while Rose sat next to Jack and Asher. On the marble table before them were three bottles of Zinfandel fruit wine.

“What took you girls so long? We’ve been waiting ages!” Asher started. “Don’t tell me it’s makeup. Anyway, you both look good.”

“Thank you.” They chorused.

“We are ladies, okay? Dressing is important.” Kimberly pointed out.

“Yeah, I won’t argue with you about that. Asher raised his hands up in defeat.

After a couple of minutes, they had already had a cup of wine, tearing on another relevant topic.

“It depends, you know.”

“No, no, no, no...” The guys opposed. Rose nodded with a light giggle.

“Honestly, I think are daring to propose to men. The marriage population will skyrocket.” Jack assured.

“Hmm... No!” Kimberly replied amidst held smiles.

“The man chases after the woman, not the other way round.” Rose acknowledged and Kimberly agreed.

“Exactly, it makes us feel desperate and desperate, not good for a woman.”

“Come to think of it, the world is changing.” Denim contributed.

“You know, I was going to say that, but most ladies are feminists.” Asher smiled at his words. “Would feminists want to do that?”

“Yeah, equal rights means obligation to your man. A woman should be able to pop up the question without being accused or guilty. In fact, between both sides, it should be a natural thing.” Denim stressed with a smirk.

Kimberly let out a series of laugh while Rose simply rolled her eyes at him.

His words weren’t funny, it was ridiculous. She pretended not to care so they would not have an argument again, at least. The guys invited her. They invited them. This should be like a reunion date, not a comeback fight.

“No, you don’t say that. It makes no sense.” Kimberly gushed at the idea and Rose, whom was staring at him a while ago, got pissed that he would even think that.

“But it’s fact.” He said.

“Well, you should know that ladies like me do not chase after men!”

Denim nodded in silence, sipping on his wine. Without reply, he rested his head on his folded arm while others turned to her, paying attention.

“We must be magnetically attracted, and that takes a lot of push!”

“Magnetically attracted.” Jack quoted her words, puzzled. “How is that? I really want yo know.”

Rosemary rolled her eyes and faced him. A little closer. “Proverbs 31:10 says, she is far more precious than jewels. Even in animals, the make makes the first move, let alone humans. What I’m saying is, to truly love a woman, a man needs qualities, soul attraction and compatibility. And if he doesn’t have these, then it will take a fortune to get a woman who will propose to him.” She emphasized on her words.

“Hmm...”

Denim wore an apathetic look while he held his glass of wine. He knew she had her pride. Jack and Asher stared at her like a flawless goddess. With the way she spoke, one would know that she wasn’t afraid to speak up and voice her opinion.

Kimberly smirked, trying to comprehend. “That’s deep.”

Denim fixated his eyes at Rose, with wide eyes, raised eyebrows and slightly tucked in chin. He gave an enigmatic grin because he wasn’t expecting Kimberly to say that. Just like he and his friends, it seems, all friends might not be the same, but they know themselves better.

Kimberly tightened her lips while texting on her phone.

“Okay,” Rose stressed, noticing the awkward glances. “Why is everyone suddenly quiet?”