"Rrrrrriiiiiinng!" The piercing sound of the alarm signals another end of another regular school day. I sigh in relief, and start packing my stuff. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy learning, i just hate math, and that's the class i have for last period. The teacher, Mr. Daniels, is actually a really good teacher and he cares about helping us individually with our struggles, so i guess i shouldn't complain. Some of my class mates wave goodbye to me and I wave back.
"Esmeralda." (That's me) I turn and see Jake Carter walk up to me. "Can I talk to you for a minute?" He asks.
Jake is the class clown/Popular jock type, and also one of the hottest guys at school. I'm more of the quiet girl who gets along with everyone. Jake had once been my friend when we were younger but he stopped hanging out with me after i made friends with Michael Buchanan who everyone thought was a weirdo kid. But Jake was always nice to me regardless we just weren't as close.
"Well i wanted to see if you wanted to come to the party I'm throwing tonight." He says, looking at me with those green eyes of his. Even though he was handsome, what with his movie star hair and flawless face and killer smile, my heart belonged to someone else...
"You want me to go to your party?" I asked, surprised. " Yeah i do, only I'd prefer if-" "I didn't bring Michael." I finish for him with a small sigh.
" Jake, I appreciate that you invited me and all but one: you know I don't do parties, and two: even if i did, i wouldn't go without my best friend."
I saw a flash of hurt in Jakes eyes for a second before he spoke again, and i felt a pang of sadness for him. I know that he probably felt Michael stole me away from him which is another reason he hates Michael.
"Okay, fine you can bring him... On one condition." He says frowning a bit.
"You have to hang with me and not just pay attention to him, deal?" He says, putting up his hand for a shake. I smile and gently wrap my arms around his waist. ( He's a bit taller than me despite us being the same age) I missed you, Jakey." I say the way i used to when we were little. He hugs me back tightly.
"Right back at ya little emerald." He calls me his nickname for me for the first time in years.
"As much as this warms my heart, its time for us to get going home, kids." Mr.Daniels says, kinda startling us, we had forgotten where we were. We leave the room and say bye to Mr. Daniels as we separated ways. I look ahead and see Michael at our usual meeting spot by his locker. He had his arms crossed and he was staring sadly at the floor.
"Ugh" Jake mutters under his breath and rolls his eyes when he sees him too. I slap him lightly on the arm. "Be nice." I remind him. He throws his hands up. "Fine, see ya tonight, doll." He says ruffling my hair. He gives me a smile and wink before going to find his usual group of jock and cheerleader friends.
I smile and wave and turn to walk over to Michael. I sigh. I don't know how I'm going to convince him to come to the party with me. He doesn't look up right away when i stand next to him.
"Saw you with Carter, what was that about?" He asks when he finally looks up at me. His tone wasn't angry, just really sad and tired.
"Oh well, he actually invited us to his party tonight." I reply. "Oh." He says and starts walking towards the main exit. I follow after him. My legs are shorter than his so i have to take quicker steps to keep up.
"I...I said we would go." I tell him. That made him stop suddenly and I bump into him.
"Why would you say that? We never go to parties, especially his." Michael's voice was full of resentment. He refuses to look at me and continues walking and i match my pace to his.
"Well because he was willing to invite us both and he says he misses me, I feel like its his version of a peace offering, we're both mature enough to end the distance once and for all."
We reach outside and walk over to the bike racks. Michael and I prefer to bike to school instead of getting someone to drive us, you see, we both come from wealthy families, but we prefer the simple things in life. My parents raised me and my brothers to be humble and down to earth so i was used to it; Michael's parents and family however, preferred a life of luxury and high society.
Michael was the oddball of the family and he really didn't care for much of all that stuff. He goes to another school, a private school and he bikes all the way here every afternoon to ride with me to my house.
"Correct me if im wrong, but he's the one who stopped being your friend, as i recall it." He says. We unlock our bikes and get on.
"Yeah but he wants to make amends not just with me but with you too. I'm sure he knows he wasn't really fair to you either."
"Yeah sure whatever." He shrugs indifferently. I sigh.
"Wait, before we head off, What's bothering you? I saw you were upset before I said anything." I tell him.
"I...well..." He sighs heavily. " I think it's best if we wait till we get to the tree house." He says sadly.
" woah... it's That bad?"
He nods and i see that he's blinking hard. I hate seeing people sad especially Michael. I can't stand seeing him upset or hurt in any way. We pedal off towards my house in silence. I get more and more anxious with every mile we rode.
What news could it possibly be...?
