"Wait—what? Max did what?!"
"I know, right? He's so handsome," I said, grinning with a little surprise in my voice.
"Well, nobody will see you, Lucy, and not fall, honestly," Jenny said, smiling.
"Thanks, J," I replied as we walked toward the classroom—right when we heard Mr. Harrison, the principal, making an announcement.
"If you're interested in running for a position in the student council, it'll be my pleasure to receive your application before the end of the day," said Mr. Harrison.
"What?!" I shouted, eyes wide.
"Lucy, what's the problem?" Jenny asked with concern.
"J! I totally forgot we're supposed to turn in our applications today. Jeez!" I said, panic rising.
"Hey, calm down. We can write a new one, right?" Jenny said, gently holding my hands.
"I need to go meet Mr. Harrison," I said and ran off. On my way, I spotted Jessy and his friends walking toward the classroom, joking around as usual. I immediately slowed down, adjusted my walk to look more graceful—Max was with them. Of course I had to impress.
"Hey Max, you look more mature now," Jessy teased.
"Max is now a full man!" the rest of the guys chorused, making everyone laugh. I tried hard not to laugh too—I was just about to walk past them. I didn't want Jessy to notice me and start with his usual immature jokes.
"Bby Lucy!" Jessy suddenly shouted.
"Jeez—Jessy, grow up," I snapped, frowning. Just as I was about to walk away, he pulled me back and slung his arm around my shoulder.
"Calm down, Lucy," he said, looking into my eyes.
"I'm sorry," he added in a soft tone.
I was just about to say, "It's okay…" when—
"Hahaha! That was a joke. You thought I was serious, right?" he laughed, looking straight at me.
"Dumbass," I muttered, but I was actually eyeing Max, who was smiling at Jessy. Wait… does he find us funny?
"Max, meet my best friend Lucy. And yes, we're more than just best friends," Jessy said with a mischievous smile.
More than best friends? What is Jessy up to now? I hope Max doesn't get the wrong idea.
"Hi Lucy, I'm Max—Jessy and Jenny's childhood friend," Max said, stretching out his hand with a charming smile.
"I'm Lucy. Jenny told me about you," I replied with a wide smile as I shook his hand.
"Yeah, I saw you and Jenny giggling at the car park earlier," he said with another cute smile. We were still holding hands.
"You saw that?" I asked, blushing.
"You look beau—"
"Okay, that's enough," Jessy cut in and separated our hands.
"Jeez—Jessy!" I snapped. Why must he ruin everything? Max was just about to compliment me, stupid boy.
"I'll catch you later, Lu," Max said with a wave, walking away with the guys.
I just stood there, watching them walk away, totally lost in thought… until I remembered—
"Oh shoot!" I gasped and dashed off to Mr. Harrison's office.
"Hello, Mr. Harrison," I said with my best smile.
"Hello, Miss Lucy. How can I help you?"
"Mr. Harrison, can I turn in my application tomorrow morning? I had a lot going on and totally forgot—"
"Miss Lucy," he cut me off, "Have you considered not applying at all if you've got so much going on?" he asked, completely serious.
"I'll turn in my application before school ends today."
"Great choice, Miss Lucy. I'll be expecting it, then."
"Yes, sir."
Back in class, Jenny was seated on the far right in the second row. She gestured for me to come over. Our classroom had five rows, each with four paired seats—eight seats per row. Most were filled, except for a few. The seat behind Jenny was empty, so I took the one beside her.
"Hey J, where's Jessy sitting?"
"Back row, far left."
"Yeah, always hiding at the back," I said, glancing toward him.
"Tell me about it," Jenny replied, shaking her head.
"Settle down, class," said Miss Helen, our history teacher. "We have two new students joining us."
She looked toward the door and gestured them in.
A beautiful girl with sleek platinum-blonde waves walked in with Max. The whole class went wild—cheering, whispering, and hyping them up. One guy at the back even shouted, "You're so beautiful!"
Everyone laughed, and the girls couldn't stop eyeing Max.
"That's enough, everyone. Please introduce yourselves," Miss Helen said, smiling.
"Hello guys, I'm Channel Mark," the girl said confidently.
"Wooooow, you're beautiful!"
"Welcome, Channel," Miss Helen replied warmly.
"I'm Max Pippa," Max said with a straight face—but yeah, still handsome.
"Welcome, Max," Miss Helen added.
"Find a seat and sit down, my darlings."
Channel pointed at the seat behind me and sat down. I gave her a small nod. Max, on the other hand, walked to the back and sat beside Jessy.
"Hey, I'm Channel," she said, tapping me and stretching her hand for a handshake.
"I'm Lucy," I replied, shaking her hand.
"I know. And your friend is Jenny," she added, pointing at Jenny.
"Wait—how?"