“I’m in love,” Ledger gasped while leaning into the lockers.
Henry’s face was flushed from trying to stop his laughter as he shook his head almost embarrassed, “I’m sorry Maya, ignore us. We aren’t used to being around women, especially those two.”
I was still embarrassed so I nodded and walked toward the classroom. Henry followed after and I preened a little at the idea of them not being around women a lot. What made me special? Why did I get to be their friend? The three of them weren’t nearly as intimidating as Marco. I could see myself spending a lot of time with my new friends.
If they wanted to be friends with the girl who growled, that was their choice.
The minute I entered the classroom late, my face returned to bright red once again. Henry placed a hand to my back as the four of us avoided the scowling look the teacher sent us. It was a gentle touch, but it still hurt my bruises. I didn’t want him to ask questions though, so I didn’t say anything.
“Mr. Asfour,” the middle-aged man scowled, “if you and your brother would be so kind as to stop interrupting my class, I would be thankful.”
Anani saluted him and followed in last. I sat down on a small desk chair as both twins sat to either side of me and Henry moved to sit behind me. His hand squeezed my shoulder in a reassuring way. I shot him a soft smile, trying to hide the pain his actions caused.
When I turned around, I noticed a woman with crimson hair staring at the four of us. Her eyebrows were bent in confusion. Not wanting enemies, I offered her a soft smile that she returned.
I wish I could have told you what class consisted of. I had been placed in average level classes, so the work seemed fairly simple. Instead, I was overwhelmed by the number of fresh scents around me. I recognized the electric and warm scents the twins put off, but the new scent of mint came from Henry. It was a fresh clean scent that reminded me of spring rain.
“Mr. O’Connor,” the teacher, Mr. Fields, called on Henry. The class covered United States History from the time of World War I and on. Pastor Malcolm had been obsessed with World War II, so I felt fairly comfortable in the class.
When the bell finally rang, I moved from my seat and went toward the door. I noticed the three of them followed me as they talked casually about class. I turned and walked backward for a moment.
“If you’re wondering,” Ledger offered a lazy grin, “we are in all of your classes.”
I frowned. I wasn’t positive that was how school worked, but I did my best to keep my questions to myself. If they wanted to hang out with me that much, I wasn’t going to complain.
Someone banged into me by accident and I hissed, but turned around to a hand steadying me. A pair of warm brown eyes stared down at me, his scent a soft forest one and his face handsome with soft black curly hair. He tilted his head in a way that reminded me of a dog.
“Sorry there.” He didn’t let go of me. Then he continued, “you must be new,” the man said with an authentic smile, but I still felt nervous. It was clear he’d meant to run into me.
“I am. My name is Maya,” I said softly, feeling uncomfortable.
A soft low sound came from behind me as the man offered a hand. “Well, Maya, I’m Seth. Sorry for bumping into you, you okay?”
I nodded as another growl ripped behind me. Seth looked up as his lip twitched. “I’ll see you around?”
“Sure?” I whispered, feeling very confused, as he left. Now, I didn’t know a ton about interactions, but that felt odd.
Instantly an arm was around my waist as I jumped and looked up. Anani shook his head muttering something before leading me towards our class. I was confused on why the boys looked upset.
They hadn’t been lying. From US History through Chemistry, Calculus (which I found myselfbamboozledby), to Policy class, they were in each one. Only Henry had disappeared at lunch time. The twins however, had led me to a back table where they dropped backpacks before grabbing their lunches from their bag. I sat there with a pleased expression on my face. The table offered a fantastic view of the garden that was in an open-air pavilion at the center of the school.
“Where’s your lunch?” Ledger asked with a slight frown. My chest constricted because I really didn’t like that upset look on his face.
I hummed and looked away, “don’t have one, we only eat dinner usually.”
Both twins stilled in confusion.
“You can go buy one up there,” Anani offered, throwing a thumb back at the long lunch line.
I flushed, licking my lips nervously. “I’ll have to bring money tomorrow.”
Why did this feel like a big deal?
Both twins frowned, Ledger pushing half of his sandwich toward me. It was made of a light bread and peanut butter. I totally knew this type of food. See?I was cool! I knew things!
“So what’s your plan after school, peanut?” Anani asked. I smiled at that nickname. Much better than ‘little one’,although I was positive it meant the same thing to him. The ‘firefly’ name was growing on me as well. I liked those little bugs, they use to fly in through the basement window and light up the room. My chest warmed at the positive memory buried within the others.
“Well, I’ll probably walk around town for a bit before heading home,” I offered casually. I was proud of that statement. It sounded like something a normal teenager would do. See? I’m just exploring the town. Not avoiding my trailer and abusive mother.