Blinking multiple times, I look from the board to my book that has jibberish scribbled over the pages. 

I hate maths.

The sun is shining, birds are singing and I'm stuck inside a stuffy classroom for my last period learning to mathematically find points on a graph.

My attention snaps back to the teacher when I hear my name "Corey, how do we get the answer to problem 2c?"

The squiggly line that is supposed to be a graph looks more like a worm to me "I'm not sure."

He adjusts thin frames on his nose before giving me an exhausted sigh, "I just explained it in thorough detail. If you were listening you would know what to do."

"I was listening to you sir but that doesn't mean I understood what you said. For all, I know you could be making all of this up. Who puts words and numbers together?

"Obviously, someone who wants to torture teenagers by confusing them to the state of spontaneous self-combustion," Oliver answers the rhetorical gaining him a disproving look from the teacher.

He rubs the temple of his head, "Do I need to suggest to your parents that you get a tutor?"

"I can do it!" Oliver yells across the room, waking up the kids that have fallen asleep in the back.

The teacher dismisses him with a wave and pick up a copy of natural geographic.

Oliver seems to have found his place very quickly here which ended up being the seat next to me. He told the teacher that we are to be wed at the end of the year as an excuse for why we can't be separated. For some unknown reason, the teacher agreed.

Turning his attention back to me, my new table buddy spins his pen and asks "So catch me up. What do I need to know to survive this school?" 

"It's a fairly average school I guess. Bad toilet paper. Evil gym teachers. Overpriced food. Annoying teenagers you can't escape. Clocks that don't work which teach false hope," I shrug continuing on the set questions given though it just feels like I'm writing out random numbers.

"What about your friends? They seem to be a bit sceptical of me, should I be worried that they'll chain me to a chair and interrogate me?"

Jacinta and Rayne are a category by themselves of something he should be worrying about.

"Nah. You'll grow on them like a like moss too. Just ignore all they're threats except ones that involve heights or water, then you should probably change your name and move to Mexico to start a chinchilla farm." My attempt at reassuring him only makes him look paler in the face.

Jacinta leans forward over her table and sticks her head between us.

I may have forgotten to mention that it was Jazz's seat that Oliver had taken. Her attempt at trying to push him off the seat was a fail and ended with her sitting next to a guy that doesn't know what deodorant is.

"You should be more scared of Raynes cooking than us, she cannot cook unless you want 2-minute noodles," Jacinta explains. The last person who ate Raynes food was in hospital for a week.

"Duly noted."

She continues on "Also Corey here recently broke up with her boyfriend Chase, apparently, it was mutual. We don't believe her. She has a tendancy to become friends with questionable people which leads me to James, who you have probably heard very little about. But that is no problem as he is now the lead in our school play. Our school performs plays which we were unaware of until four days ago. A play we are now involved in as well as you. Welcome to the family bam," punches him hard in the arm making him wince.

"Oww, she's unusually strong," this gets him a punch to the other arm.

First day and he is already getting beaten up. He's going to get eaten alive.

I give him a reassuring smile "Just hang low, stay alert and away from the people that smell like someone has just poured a bottle of perfume over themselves. Hopefully, you'll leave this school with minimal mental scarring as possible but I can't guarantee it."

This only makes him more confused but he is wise enough not to ask more questions.

The final bell of the day is music to my ears.

Oliver follows us out of school grounds, "Did you get any good roles in the play?"  

I shake my head slowly and nod in Raynes direction, "She stole my role as tree number two. Now I'm the best friend of the main chick and actually have to say lines and do stuff on the stage."

Jacinta walks alongside me with a large grin "Well I'm going to be backstage the entire time painting backdrops and making. That also means I will be in charge of all the props. So don't get on my bad side otherwise I'll drop a 50 pound light on you," She gives a pointed look at Oliver.

I reassuringly pat him on the back, "Like I said it'll take time."

He quickly nods before turning back to me, "You're don't like being on stage?"

"I'm not great with public speaking or remembering lines or acting. I'm only doing this for my uni application. I guess it looks it appealing to teachers to know that I spent my weekends at school speaking Shakespearian instead of socialising with delinquents."

Oliver bumps his shoulder against mine "Come on, it'll be fun. We'll get to spend heaps of time together, there'll be free food and we'll be creating a masterpiece that will be talked about for centuries."

"Sorry, all I hear was blah blah free food. While on the topic of food, I have to head home as we are having Mexican for dinner. " my stomach rumbles at the thought of tacos as I head towards my car. 

"Other home?" Jacinta asks already knowing the answer

I smile over my shoulder "Where else?"

"Bring me some leftovers tomorrow morning okay," She calls out after me.

"Can't promise anything but I can try."

***

"Hello mother," I jumping over the couch to sit next to my best friends mum. Planting a kiss in her cheek I settle myself next to her under the blanket.

The blinds are wide open letting the afternoon sun radiate through the loungeroom.

She squeezes my side in response "Hi honey, get up to any mischief today?"

"Sadly no but I did-Ooo what are we watching?" I stop when I see what's on TV

"Bondi Rescue. Who doesn't love to watch shirtless men run around a beach saving drowning people?" she gives me a sly smile "I'm assuming you're staying for dinner."

Taking a handful of chips I start to pick out the larger ones to eat. "Yep. It's fiesta Friday here and parents are having a date night so there is only one place to be."

Fiesta Friday's are legendary in the family. There is always an excess amount of food, Latin music and lots of laughing.

"My second favourite child is in the kitchen if you're looking for. Be warned he is making popcorn."

I stop and look at how relaxed she is which is worrying because of the last outcome "Is that a good decision? You do remember what happened when you left him in the kitchen last time unsupervised?"

"So he may have made charcoal but he cooked pasta from scratch yesterday week so I'm hoping that he is slowly going to start improving with his cooking skills. By the end of the term, I'm hoping he'll be able to make a full course meal."

"What are we going to do about the awful thing on his bottom lip?" I ask her shiver is enough to tell me she hates it as well.

"I've tried to convince him to shave it but he keeps saying that he's a chick magnet with it, which I do not believe. I do not need my son looking like a magician."

"It's hideous and needs to disappear," I'm glad she agrees. "So I've narrowed it down to either waxing it off when he's asleep or putting the hair removal cream in his face wash."

I'm blown away by how much she has thought this over.

I turn myself around so I'm facing towards her, "I'm loving the ideas though he's a light sleeper so the first won't work. Also, he uses his wash for his hair as well and I really don't want to have a bald, eyebrowless best friend. Maybe we could- do you smell smoke?"

Jumping to my feet, I fly through the house towards the kitchen where I'm preparing myself to put out a fire. 

A rush of relief goes through me when I see James tipping black kernels into the bin. "Well, it's definitely an improvement from last time."

His head flicks up at the sound of my voice, an infectious grin grows on his face as we step into an embrace.

"You really should have waited until I got home until you started, I can cook just a little bit better than you and I think the popcorn might not have turned out so-." I try to find the best word to describe his food.

"Slightly crunchy." He tries

Looking up, I rest my chin against his chest. "Black is beyond crunchy, it's inedible."

"I can cook though, remember that time I made that really good bolognese?"

"You set the pasta on fire which I am fairly sure is impossible."

"That was once and it was a gas stove." he counters "Now I will get out the emergency fudge if you microwave the popcorn."

James reaches the back of the freezer to take out the last couple slices of fudge that we leave for situations like this. Fudge is one of the only things I can make well so that's what I'm going to stick to.

I'm about to slide onto the bench top when James mum yells, "No sitting on the bench."

I freeze "how did she know?"

He wiggles his finger in a mystical way. I swear she has secret cameras around this place.

We start to climb his stare when I announce the exciting news, "We have a  new friend in our group now and they haven't run away screaming away yet which I think is a great sign."

James stops suddenly that I walk into him ,"You voluntary made friends with someone?" 

I throw a piece of popcorn at his head "He's my new friend. Well, not really new. We met a couple weeks ago when he fixed my baby."

He gives me a sceptical look before continuing up the steps "There's a camera in every phone."

"Yeah, but it isn't the same. You get a special snapshot of a moment in an instant and polaroids are a classic." I got my yellow polaroid when I was ten and I haven't let go of it since.

I freeze as I take in the new element of his room "You got a bigger bed?"

James wickedly smiles before jumping on his bed "Yeah I convinced the 'rent that I am a grown man and needed a bed where my feet don't stick out of the end." 

My hand traces over the frame and scan over the new blue sheets, "I thought it was so you could fit all your soft toys on it."He has an obsession with winning soft toys from everywhere like the clay machine, raffles and carnival games. It became a hoarders problem when a quarter of his room was taken up by soft toys alone.

"Pose for me," I ask as he lays on the bed with his arms behind his head and a lazy smile.

After filling myself up with enough guacamole, chips and salsa to feed an army I find myself unable to move from the couch. That is until I am jumped on by a little human "Corey, will you play Uno with me?" Hailey asks bouncing with too much energy.

I crouch down to take the packet of cards, "I don't know sweetie. You know how much of a sore loser your bother is."

"Please," her pout melts my heart that I can't resist.

"How can I say no to you? You're my favourite sibling."

We lay out blankets and pillows over the floor as we make ourselves comfortable.

The game starts out friendly until James and I realise that she has a secret stash of wildcards under her pillow. The only way to resolve the problem is a tickle attack where I almost trip over the coffee table because the siblings turned on me.

Halfway through Wreck-It-Ralph James lays his head on my lap.

"You know you'll be asleep within the next 5 minutes if you do that? Your bed is for sleep, not my legs," I say as I comb my hand through his soft locks.

His soft sigh and deep breath are indications enough that I've already lost him.

Dang, it. How am I suppose to move now? 

:):):)

Well, how long has it been?

Way to long.

So for a reason unknown to me inspiration for the chapter finally came. It's short but it's up so yay me.

PRAISE THE LORD

Yes I am still alive.

A LOT has been happening. I started a new story which is interesting and I've Finally finished editing TCT.

Have you seen the cool new cover?

How are You?

Thank you for still reading

I'm going to sleep

lots of love

Theforgottonone