Melody

I stood at the table and smiled at Alani's friends. Emma gave me a wide grin as she pulled her fiery red hair up into a high bun. The other two people sitting at the table smiled at me politely.

"Friends! This is Melody! Melody, this is Cora and Noah," Alani introduced, pointing to her friends. "And I assume you know Emma, because she's in your art class."

I waved shyly and flashed a bright smile. Cora had the high cheekbones and black hair that made my heart hurt. She was beautiful and her jeans a white t-shirt told me how effortless it was. The boy with the black hair with blue tips was Noah.

As Alani and I sat down, Cora continued a conversation with Emma and Noah that I hadn't been a part of. The smell of their food teased me, as Noah's cheese pizza mingled with Cora's French fries and Emma's spaghetti, and together they wafted towards me. I looked down at my notebook and continued doodling to distract myself.

"... and then everyone turned into dinosaurs as we walked through the cave. But it was made out of blankets in a bunk bed," Cora finished.

"Cora that's the weirdest thing I've ever heard you say!" Noah laughed. I kept my eyes down at my paper and forced myself not to smile. It was a group of friends talking, and I was here as a pity addition. Now I'd "owe her one" like she did before.

"It's not her fault her dream took her the plush toy route!" Alani defended her friend. She scooped a mouthful of rice up and swallowed before she continued talking. "I one time had a dream my whole family turned into teddy bears and it was so weird!"

"What about you Melody? Ever have any weird dreams?" Emma asked suddenly. I met her gaze with a wide-eyed look.

Okay. So, the thing about me is that I don't make friends very easily. I haven't since grade one. I could make witty remarks or talk to someone one on one, but trying to be interesting when I wasn't, would be a difficult task. Modelling was different because I didn't really need to speak, and when I did, I was able to put on a persona of fake confidence for a short period of time. But right now, I was talking about myself and my dreams, not what I thought about a client's clothes.

"I–I once, um, I dreamt I was, um, a mermaid. It – it was kind of cool, but mostly just weird," I felt myself blushing. Even with my English group, I didn't speak unless I had to. My heart beat uncomfortably and I got shy. The only reason I stood up to Rose was because she was picking on someone, and I hated when people did that.

"Mermaids are cool!" Emma encouraged, but I didn't miss the look Cora gave Alani and Noah. I looked down at my paper and began drawing again. I really hoped Ms. Foster would be back tomorrow because this was torture.

***

There's always something about a substitute teacher that makes students lose all common sense and sanity – especially in a class where there's not much to do. Ms. Lang was a tiny and quiet lady and the moment everyone saw her, they checked out for the period. Once she announced Ms. Foster wouldn't be back tomorrow either, it sealed the deal.

I was the only one doing my homework, as everyone else was talking and sitting on the tables. There were three guys playing catch around the classroom and poor Ms. Lang could do nothing about it.

"Ooh, can I play?" I heard a trill voice ask. Jennette was batting her fake eyelashes at the guys. I rolled my eyes but stayed focus on drawing a few parts of my English collage that didn't get finished. My group had decided to meet up at Carson's house tonight, as we still had to finish the collage and the written component Mr. Garcia had added.

I noticed Emma was watching me draw. I flashed her a sheepish smile, and held my head down, using my hair to shield my face.

"Melody?" I glanced up and noticed Emma had moved beside me. It took all my will power not to flinch at the sudden closeness.

"Hey," I said casually. Emma smiled.

"You don't like speaking in front of people, do you?" Emma asked. I nodded self-consciously. "Sorry for putting you on the spot at lunch," She said. I smiled.

"It's okay," I said looking down.

"You're really good at drawing," Emma added. I smiled brightly. Maybe Emma was genuinely a nice person. She was outgoing and friendly and didn't seem to care what people thought.

"Thank you! I'm glad you think so," I mumbled. "It's for an English –"

I was cut off by the impact of a ball to the side of my head. It actually knocked me right off my chair, since I had angled it a little to face Emma. I hit the floor, and felt my hip and elbow contact the floor and the whole class' eyes on me.

"Oh no!" Jennette said. The amusement in her voice was evident, but I didn't say anything. The whole class was silent, unsure what to do and then they started laughing. Ms. Lang rushed over to us asking if I was okay. I ignored her, as her helpless fluttering was really beginning to annoy me.

Emma helped me up and I thanked her quietly. "Your face is really red, and probably going to bruise," She whispered.

"You should go to the nurse!" Ms. Lang suggested.

"I'll walk with you," Emma offered.

"It's okay," I said shaking my head, as I did, I felt a little dizzy, so I stopped. I picked up my bag and notebook.

"No really, I'm coming!" Emma insisted. I didn't get why she wanted to, but I figured it was because she wanted to get out of that hellhole called a classroom. We walked down the hallway quietly.

"It doesn't look that bad right?" I asked, with the sudden realization that there was a possibility I could get the modelling job. Getting a bruise on my face would be horrible.

"Not yet, hopefully after we get some ice on it, the swelling goes down," Emma said.

"Swelling?" I exclaimed. I could feel the heat radiating off of the side of my face, but I didn't want it to swell!

Emma nodded at me sympathetically and continued to guide me down the hallway. As we walked past classrooms with their doors open, the bored students glanced out the door, curious at the sounds of footsteps in the hall. Once they saw Emma and I, they immediately began talking to each other. I was already preparing myself for the rumours that would surface from it.

I stepped through the doors of the infirmary and the nurse smiled at us.

"What can I do for you?" She asked. Her dark hair was pulled back into a tight bun and her olive skin was pretty. Her name-tag read, 'Ms. Walker'.

"May I have some ice?" I asked. "I got hit with a ball."

"Of course, dear," she smiled and backed out of the room quickly.

I sat down and smiled at Emma. "You don't have to wait for me, you can go back," I offered.

"No, it's a jungle in there!" Emma laughed. It confirmed my suspicion that she was just trying to get out of class, but I gave her a small laugh anyways.

"Right, fair enough," I agreed, looking down. Ms. Walker then came back into the room.

"Where did you get hit? I should probably get you a cloth!" She told me getting a cloth from a drawer.

"My face," I tilted my head to show her.

"Are you sure a ball hit you? This is huge!" She exclaimed.

"It was a football," Emma stated, as the nurse put the ice on my face. I flinched at the contact.

"Yeah, I bruise easy anyway," I said nonchalantly.

"Hold this there until it's numb," Ms. Walker ordered. I gave a short nod and held it to my face. "You're lucky it didn't hit your temple hon."

I didn't say anything, but Emma nodded in agreement. Then the bell rang to signify the end of our art class. I glanced over to Emma. "Go, don't be late for your next class."

"Are you sure?" She asked. I smiled and nodded. "Okay! I hope it feels better."

"Thanks," I said.

***

The end of the day couldn't come fast enough. After leaving the nurse's office, I went to math class and everyone stared at me, though I had attempted to hide the mark with my hair. After math, I heard the word was that I had gotten into a fistfight with someone. I rolled my eyes when I heard it, because people were so quick to believe anything they heard.

The plan was to meet Carson at the foot of the front steps after school and he'd drive us all to his house. So, I sat beside the meeting spot, and watched students walk to the parking lot, or meet up with their friends with wide smiles on their faces.

"Melody!" I heard Carson's voice.

"Hey," I replied, not meeting his eyes. I still felt the embarrassment from lunch, and now didn't want him to see the bruise on my cheek.

"About what happened at lunch... that wasn't cool of S–"

"Hey guys!" Lily chirped as she ran down the stairs. "I thought I'd be the last one here!"

"Don't worry about it," I said quietly to Carson. A moment later, Jeff came out of the school and down the stairs. He greeted the three of us. "Ready to go?" He asked. We all answered with 'yes' and I stood up, so we could walk over to Carson's car. I noticed the occasional glances Carson was throwing my way, but I didn't meet them.

When we got to his car, Lily and Jeff slid into the back so quickly it almost made my head spin. It would have been weird to sit in the back with them, so I sat in the front. I was nervous to, as the bruise was on the left side of my face, and that's where Carson would be able to see most while driving.

I looked out the window as Carson sat down in the car. To think, the last time I was in this car, Carson had picked me up from the park and driven me home.

"You can change the stations if you'd like," He offered.

"Okay," I said without turning to face him. Jeff and Lily's constant chattering was good for the atmosphere, though it was starting to get annoying. Carson sighed and reversed out of the parking space. Now that his eyes were on the road, I flipped most of my hair to become a shield between us and leaned towards the radio.

I flipped to the alternative channel and Technicolour Beat by Oh Wonder was playing. I smiled and closed my eyes, trying to relax.

"This song is great!" Jeff called from behind me. I opened my eyes and looked out the window. People could seriously be exhausting.

"Yeah, I've never heard it until now, but I like it!" Lily agreed. Then they began talking again.

"So, you like alternative music, but you aren't picky," Carson commented quietly. I noticed him glancing at me out of the corner of my eye. I bit my lip nervously and nodded. People could seriously be exhausting, but Carson was always surprising. He was figuring me out piece by piece like a puzzle.

"And indie," I mumbled with a small smile. "But I'm not picky."

Carson laughed as he tuned the steering wheel. My smile grew a little wider with the sweet sound of his laugh and I looked out the window again.

So maybe he was starting to put the pieces together, but I was a jigsaw puzzle, and a challenging one at that. He'd give up before he was halfway done, and rightfully so. I just needed to prepare myself for when he did.

__________________

Author's Note:

Firstly here's the song they listen to in the car! It's cool, so I thought I'd link you to it!

https://youtu.be/j9FfYWp_d5w

Secondly, yaaaay! I couldn't stop writing, so here's this chapter, that is hopefully longer than the other's and hopefully super fun to read! Also, I hope you like the new banner I've created! :)

Vote and Comment! Do you think Carson will notice the bruise? What are your thought's on Jennette?  What kind of shenanigans do you think will happen at Carson's house? Comment your thoughts! <3