Chapter 3 - Friday Crabs

Today is Friday.
Friday is meant to be the day that I, as a teenager, crave. The weekend starts tomorrow, so shouldn't I be looking forward to the gateway to a couple of days off?

Nope.

Why not? Because, for me, Friday means getting up at 6am for an early start for band.

Dragging myself out of bed, I slide on a lazy ensemble of a fitted tee shirt, faded jeans and some old Adidas. Next I tumble down the stairs. Not literally, but you couldn't tell the difference if you looked at me. I hear sniffles from around the corner. Mom is in the kitchen making eggs on toast.
"Hey Mom."

"Hi Sweetie. Did you want any eggs?" She turned, shooting me with her perfect smile. Her strawberry blonde curls are done up in a side braid, reminiscent of the early 2010's.

"Yes please, Mom." Taking a seat at the breakfast bar, I sneak a sip of her coffee. She won't mind.

"There is an Austin Powers marathon on tonight." My face lights up at the name of the funniest cryogenically-frozen spy. " I haven't seen Pat in a while. You can invite her over if you want." My smile drops and she catches it, just as I attempt to cover it with a forced smile.

"What's wrong?" She looks pretty concerned.

"Nothing. I'm just not really friends with Pat at the moment." I steal another sip of coffee.

"Hey!" She pulls the coffee from my hands and spins around, placing it on the other side of the kitchen. I laugh. I couldn't help it. It was moments like this that remind me that she truly is human, not just an empty shell running purely on antidepressants. Her face turns serious. "Patricia was always a bit strange. I'm sure that whatever happened between you two was bound to happen. She was a horrid girl. Had no manners." She turns back away, flipping my egg on the stained frypan. "So what's it been like at lunches? Awkward I'm sure." She is serving up breakfast, my toast is buttered and she has added a slice of cheese and some sweet chilli sauce which sits below the egg.

"I haven't been sitting with those girls lately." She makes a questioning grunt as she slips her drink.
Pat said some things she shouldn't have and we got in a fight and none of the other girls spoke up. Now I spend most of my time with Darla and her friends."

"Darla? That's a nice name. How do you know her?"

"She sings in the choir with me and plays the piano in band."

Mom nods her head, but her eyes are slightly glazed over. That's all I needed to see for me to realise that I'd lost her again. It didn't last very long this time. She picks up her phone and moves to the dining table. Sitting down, she opens her streaming app and begins watching the newest release of the show she is binging this week.

"Are you OK?" I ask
She nods, but her eyes don't leave the small screen.

Shaking my head and a tear slipping down my cheek, I eat my food. Soon it's quarter past and I have to go.
"I'll talk to you later Mom." No response. "I love you." Still no response.

I stand and sigh. Just another day.

The drive to school felt so slow, like I was wading in murky water. Before I knew it, I was at school. I couldn't even remember the drive. Probably something to be worried about I think.

I'm late, of course. I'm the last to arrive. Everyone else has their stuff out.

"Hey." A deep voice comes from behind me and I shiver. Samuel.

"Hi."

"Is it true that your going against Pat for Prom Queen?" So he's heard about the drama then.

"That was a bit abrupt." I chuckle nervously.

"Sorry." He laughs, "But seriously, what is going on between you two?"

"The two of you."

"Huh?"

"It's 'the two of you', not 'you two'." Grammar police. Sorry.

"Ok. What's is going on between the two of you?" The posh English accent that he puts on is hilarious, I can't help laughing at him.

"To be honest," I look up at him. His eyes are focused on me and I feel my cheeks heat up. Gosh girl, focus. "I don't really know what happened. One minute we were best friends, the next she's getting all upset about the dance. Then she goes crazy and screams at me about how she's going to win the Queen's title at prom." I shake my head, clearing the fuzzy thoughts. I can't concentrate on what I'm saying when Samuel is looking at me so intensely.

"Sounds like she got jealous."

"Ha! Jealous? Good one." I'm honestly laughing. Like, what the heck does the rich-girl with a perfect homelife got to be jealous of me for? My bucked teeth?

"You're going through major glow up." I laugh again, but his face is serious. "Nah, honestly. Once you gets those braces off... Holy heck, you'd be giving Charity and Grace a run for their money. Maybe even Kelly."

Now I know he must be joking, which is just plain mean. His face is undeniably straight. It's almost as though he believes what he is saying. I mean, Sam is the child prodigy of our band. He can play all kinds of instruments; percussion, woodwind and brass. He's smart, good-looking and kind. But he's had the hugest crush on the twins since third grade. Yet, he is telling me that I have a chance against them?

"I honestly can't tell whether you are being serious."

"Well I am." He smiles, placing his large hand on my shoulder softly. "I just want you to know though, I plan on giving you my vote."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that I'm definitely not on that bitch's side" He said.

"Pat?" He nods and I tighten my lips, "Thank you Sam."
His eyes meet mine and I feel my heart flutter in my chest. They're blue, a dark, deep blue. I'm lost in them.

"Hey, um, we should probably start practicing." He scratches his head and I smile, nodding.

*

Before I know it, practice is over and so is the school day. Standing by the bleachers in the gym is Darla. She's auditioning for cheerleading today - someone needs to fill Kelly's position now that she's MIA.

Without hesitating, I walk over to her.
"Hey D."

"Oh, hi V." She smiles up at me and I sit beside her. "Wanna hear the goss?"

"Sure. Hit me."

"Well Charity's boyfriend, you know, the 22 year old?" She starts. I cringe. I'm pretty sure that 22 is illegal. I nod. "He just dumped her for his boss. And she's, like, ancient."

"Shit, really?"

"Yeah. But that's not even the best part." She turns her body to face me, her face lit up with glee, "She gave him crabs."

"What?" I spit my drink I'd been sipping. "So does Charity..."

"Yup."

"Oh no!" I gasp, "She was wearing Grace's jeans last night!" Double gasp. Sharing clothes with an infected person? Not a good idea.

"Yep. Aren't ya glad that we didn't go to her sleepover last weekend?"

"Uh, yeah." I laugh. I really shouldn't be, but this is so bad that it's become funny.

"And Grace hooked up with Samuel last week."

"You are kidding." My face is torn between anguish and glee. Wait, Sam and Grace are a thing? "Does he know?"

"I don't know if he knows. Just don't sleep in his bed in the immediate future."

"Copy that."

It goes quiet for a while. All I can think about is the fact that Sam probably has crabs.
A giggle suddenly escapes Darla's lips. It's an ugly laugh. Ugly, yet contagious.

Soon Grace and Charity are entering the gym. Before I can stop myself, I have lost it laughing.

++++++++end of chapter 3++++

Hey again guys ! I've decided that I'll post the chapters whenever I feel like it. So I'm publishing another one tonight.
Hope you guys liked this chapter!!
Vote &comment!
Cya,
Soph

**PIC OF SAM ON THE SIDE**

QUESTION:WAS SAM FLIRTING?

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HASN'T BEEN REWRITTEN