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Chapter 12 *Situation*

~Sophia

"Good morning! Rise and shine!"

Is it six o'clock already?

"Good morning! Rise and shine!"

I put my pillow above my head to distort the sound.

"Good morning! Rise and shine!"

A groan escapes from my lips as I turn my alarm clock off. I still need more sleep but I'll be late if I will not get ready now.

I walk to the bathroom and take a bath. I wonder if Draky's already done or if he's just being a gentleman, waiting for me to finish.

Monday - - the start of school week. Even though I like studying, there comes a time when I want to rest. It's just the third week of school but I already can't wait for the vacation. I don't know where this laziness comes from.

Putting some comfortable clothes, I blow dry my hair in my room. Going anywhere with a wet hair isn't my specialty. When I'm satisfied, I grab my things and walk downstairs. Will I eat breakfast? I think so. Aunt V said that I should be comfortable here and make this my home. I should eat because I don't know what the day will bring.

Walking to the dining room, I see Andre eating hotcake and sipping a coffee.

"Come and join us," Aunt V says, who's reading a newspaper.

I take the chair across from Andre.

"Good morning," he says.

"Morning," I mumble, taking a bite of omelet.

Draky's not here yet. Perhaps he's still taking a bath or getting dressed. Why am I wondering with what he's doing? I should just focus on eating my food.

"Andre will give you a ride when you go to school," Aunt V says.

"No," I decline. "I'll just uh, ride a bus."

Andre rolls his eyes. "We're going to the same place," he states. "Or maybe you'd rather sit with a bunch of strangers in a bus than me?"

"It's not that," I mutter. I don't know where he got that thought. "I'm just uh . ."

"Shy?" He finishes for me.

"Yes," I whisper.

Aunt V laughs, splattering some coffee on the table. She stops then, and looks sheepishly at us. "Don't be shy," she says amusedly.

Andre says, "We're already living in the same house."

"Okay," I murmur.

Does that mean that while living here with Andre, I have to ride with him to and from school? It's not a bad idea but. Yes, there's a but. People will start to notice then. There will soon be questions ask. But I don't have to explain. I don't owe them anything. Maybe not having a lot of friends has its advantages. Even if Driana is my only friend, I can manage. And she already knows my situation so it'll be just like a normal day for us.

"Are you ready to go to school?" Andre asks suddenly.

"Where's Drake?" I ask curiously. Are we going without him?

"I forgot to tell you," Andre says sheepishly. "He already left a few hours ago."

Oh.

"He wanted to say goodbye to you, but he saw you're still sleeping. He didn't want to wake you."

Drake walked in my room while I was sleeping? I don't know what to think about that.

"He said to tell you that See you in Literature," he mimics Draky's voice.

We both end up laughing because of that. He's a horrible mimicker.

"Are you ready to go now?" Andre repeats.

"Yes," I say.

"Let's go then."

See you in Literature, repeats my mind again and again.

Andre is more of a safe driver than Draky. Even though he drives fast, his eyes are on the road. I don't have to snap at him to use his seatbelt. We're not talking though, because we don't have anything to say. Every few minutes, I catch him glancing at me. Do I have dirt on my face?

It's a long ride than I'm used to because Andre's house is farther from the school than in ours.

This question is bothering me so I ask him, "What if people ask me why I'm riding with you?"

Andre looks at me and says, "Then tell them to leave you alone."

"As if I can do that," I mutter.

"I know," Andre says, chuckling quietly. "You're not rude to people so you can't tell them that."

I puff out a breath and scowl at him. "What if I can?"

"No you can't."

"I can," I say stubbornly.

"You can't."

He doesn't even know me so how dare he can say what I can or cannot do?! "I can!"

To my surprise, he slams the brake hard, stopping the car just a few blocks away from the school. I almost hit the dashboard!

When he turns to look at me, amusement flickers in his green eyes. "Drake is right," he says thoughtfully. "It's fun arguing with you."

I open my mouth to say something but the words he said comes rushing back in my mind. Drake is right. It's fun arguing with you. Does that mean they talk about me? Why? And what do they say?

"Sophia," Andre says, interrupting me from my reverie. "You can tell them that you're living with us - me and my mom."

"Really?" I ask dubiously.

"Of course." He grins cheekily. "Why wouldn't you tell them the truth? Are you that ashamed that you're living with us?"

"Of course not!" That thought didn't even come to my mind.

"You're blushing," he says amusedly.

"I am not!" I say furiously.

"And you seldom disagree to whatever I say."

"You and Drake are real best friends," I mutter under my breath.

"What did you say?" he asks curiously.

"Nothing," I say slyly.

I'm contemplating if I'll ride with him again tomorrow when he starts the car and we move forward again.

~Drake

"Are you insane?" Andre asks furiously. "Why don't you just ask her?"

"Didn't you listen? I asked her a few times already but she refused to tell me!"

We're in the hallway, taking things from our lockers before the bell will ring.

"Why don't you ask Driana then?"

"As if she'll tell me." I scoff.

"I'll ask her."

"You?" I ask, taken aback by his suggestion.

"Yes," he says.

"She won't tell you," I say, shaking my head and rolling my eyes at him.

"Why wouldn't she?"

"Are you stupid? Of course Sophia already told her not to tell any of us!"

Andre's eyes widen as realization crosses his face. "Right," he mutters.

I told him about my plan to know when Pie's birthday is. It consists of breaking and entering. It's quite simple. I'm going to the Records Section where all the files of the students studying here are safely placed. I'm just going to find the right file and then I'll go after that. Andre will be the guard, he'll tell me if someone is coming so that we can escape before they see and capture us. Of course, the Record Section is in the Principal's Office. There are people there; the Principal, the Secretary, and well, other staffs. That's why we're going in the Lunch time. For sure, no one will eat inside the office.

Unfortunately, Andre doesn't want my plan. It's risky, I know, but it's the only idea I have. Besides, the higher the risk, the higher the investment.

Andre snaps his fingers in front of me. Shaking my head to clear my thoughts, I give him a questioning look.

"Why don't we ask someone to ask Sophia about her birthday?" he suggests.

A devastated sigh escapes from my lips. "You think Sophia will just tell anyone her birthday?"

"Yeah," he says, but I know he doesn't believe his idea will work.

"Andre."

"What?" he asks, frowning.

"You don't have to help me if you don't want to."

He scowls at me. "Of course I'll help you."

"No, if you don't --"

"I want to help you!" He snaps, glaring at me.

"I know you will," I say, grinning.

He rolls his eyes but he's smiling too.

I know Andre hesitated before because if they capture us, there's a big chance that his records will be marred. And it'll be a huge problem because he wants to go to a prestigious university.

"You're going to be my guard," I tell him. "Give me a sign, a whistle, clap, or whatever, when you see someone coming."

"But I want to go there with you," he protests.

"No," I say firmly. At least, if ever they catch us, I'll be the one to be blame. I don't have to take my best friend with me when I go down.

"You're my best friend, I want to help you."

"You're already helping me by sticking to the plan."

He groans, but still says in a clearly defeated voice, "Okay."

That's what I like about our friendship; we respect each other's decision. "Thanks Dre."

"That's what friends are supposed to do." He shrugs.

I'm about to agree when the bell rings.

-----

We walk towards the Principal's office, both of us preoccupied with our own thoughts. This is a challenge for both Andre and me. I wonder why I'm taking a lot of risks just to know when Pie's birthday is. Is it really that important?

"Nervous, Swift?" Andre teases, a smile is tugging at the corner of his mouth.

Taking a deep breath, I say, "I'm not, Lavigne." I have to focus, keep the present in mind, and forget anything else until I'm done with the goal.

"Here we are," Andre says excitedly.

We stop in front of the Principal's office. Fortunately, there's no one in sight.

I twist the doorknob, and then nothing. It just clicks. I try again. And again, although I know it will not open.

"It's locked," I say obviously.

Andre looks smug. For a moment I think he's glad we don't have to do this, when he gets something from his jeans pocket. He dangles a key in front of me.

"Where did you get that?" I ask.

"Let's just say a friend of mine gave me a little favor," he says slyly.

I don't bother questioning him about details even though I'm curious. The important thing is, "What if your friend tells about us?"

"She will not," he says positively.

"Put the key then."

He slides the key and twists the doorknob. He opens the door quietly and says, "Ready?"

"Absolutely!"

*****

The song is Count On Me by Bruno Mars. The song of Drake and Andre :> Banner by LittleMissIronic.

Thank you for reading <3