"Wait—how?"
J and I were genuinely surprised.
"Girls don't get worked up over it," she said with a smile.
"So how does a new student that just arrived today already know our names?" I asked, giving her a dead stare.
"I overheard some boy calling you at the lock space. Just assumed she—" pointing at Jenny "—was Jenny, because you two looked close. Like you said," she replied, smiling sweetly.
"So in conclusion, you were eavesdropping on us, new girl?" I said, staring at her with no particular emotion.
"Not really. I just happened to be there—it was right in front of my locker, babes."
Okay, well, she got that right. Jenny here is my bestie.
Jenny stretched out her hand for a handshake.
"Nice meeting you, Jenny. You look so beautiful," the girl complimented as she took Jenny's hand.
"And I assume that he over there—" pointing at Jessy "—is your brother?"
"Okay, Chanel, I see you have a good memory, ahh! Totally impressed. And I assume you know him too?" —pointing at Max— "Right?"
"Oh, Max? Yeah, he's quite impressive with that look," she said giggling.
Like—what the actual fuck. Don't tell me she approached us for boys? That's quite impressive of her. Hmmm… Let's see where all this sneaky gets her.
"Yeah, b*tch, you are wellllll informed. Carry on—I'll just go ahead and mind my business," I said, looking forward.
"Okay, maybe later you can take me around when you're not busy."
"Okay, that's not a big deal." I turned briefly to reply her with a fake smile.
"Okay people, settle down!"
Miss Helen's voice echoed in the room.
"You have only today to gist with friends and also make new ones. Max and Chanel, you're welcome. School will officially start tomorrow, but lessin' the noise, people—we'll see again tomorrow."
She hadn't even reached the door yet when the classroom erupted in joyful noise. That's just the best thing about the first day of school—pure freedom.
"Hello people!"
A voice came from the school speaker connected to all the classrooms.
"It's the school's favorite person, the DOS—Steven!"
The whole school cheered.
By the way, DOS stands for Director of Socials—a student-led role at Rosa High for whoever handles events, announcements, and school vibes.
And Steven? He acts like a full-time celebrity around here.
DOS: "Are you guys ready?"
Students: "Yessss!"
DOS: "It's time for…"
Students: "NOMINATION!!!"
There's this thing we do every beginning of a new class year—the Perfect Boy and Best Boy… Same goes for girls—the Perfect Girl and Best Girl.
And yep, you guessed right—I've never even made it to the nomination level.
But it's different for Jessy.
He gets nominated every time. He's won Perfect Boy more than once.
Jenny has been nominated a few times and actually won Best Girl once.
As for Jessy? He wins it effortlessly every single time.
It's not even exciting anymore. Just expected.
DOS: "If you haven't signed into the Rosa High School group, please do that now to be eligible for nomination! The voting process is the same—top 10 male and female students with the highest votes move to the final round. And hey, ladies—I hope I win too. It mustn't always be Jessy!"
Everyone burst into laughter.
"Hey, Lucy," Chanel called.
"What's up, Chanel?" I turned back.
"Can you like… help me with the signing?"
"You mean help you sign into the group?"
"Yeah." She nodded.
"Okay."
She handed me her phone and I did my thing. Tsk.
"Here, fill in the information and add a pic." I handed her phone back.
"Okay."
After a few seconds—
"Here, I'm done." She handed it back to me again.
"No need—just press send and you're in."
"Hmmm, yeah—I'm in. Thanks, Lucy." She smiled.
"You—are—welcome, Chanel." I replied slowly.
"Lucy." Jenny tapped me on the arm and leaned closer.
"Why is Chanel clinging to you?" she whispered.
"She's weirdly suspicious, J. Maybe she has some bad intentions too… or maybe she's just trying to make new friends in a new environment. You know."
I blinked at Jenny with a fake innocent smile.
"What the fuck, Lucy—stop that." She laughed out loud.
"I know you like it." I blinked again, slowly.
"Yoo, b*tch!" She hit my back so hard.
"Ouch! That hurts, J!" I screamed.
"Oh my baby, I'm so sorry." She said, patting my back gently.
"Not that side… go down a little bit." I made a baby face.
"Awww, you're such a baby." She caressed my hair.
"J, I'm kinda hungry. Let's go to the cafeteria."
"Yap, me too." She rubbed her belly dramatically.
"Can I tag along? I'm kind of hungry too." Chanel said, smiling.
"Yeah, sure," I replied.
On our way to the cafeteria, we met Jessy and Max tossing a ball down the hallway.
"Hey, Jenny, I feel like you don't want to give me a warm welcome to the school," Max teased.
"What do you mean, Maxie? Come here!" Jenny spread her arms to give Max a hug.
Honestly, they looked close. And what's with that Maxie nickname?
I was deep in thought, staring at them playfully hugging—
but at the same time, not really seeing them…
Because in my head I was screaming:
Why the fuck do they look so close?
And then—
WHAM!
A ball hit me out of nowhere.
"Ouch!"
I looked up and saw Jessy smiling like it was the funniest thing ever.
By the way, I'm not short short—I'm 5'5"—but Jessy is 6'4", so yeah… I have to stretch my neck just to give him a proper death stare.
"Jessy—what?"
"Nothing. It's just that your eyes might shoot fireballs if we're not careful."
He laughed, and that pulled Jenny and Max out of their warm greeting.
Jenny came and put her arm around my shoulder.
"Jessy, can't you let Lucy breathe?"
"No, no, no. That's my way of showing Lucy how much she means to me."
He looked at me with a playful smile.
I was just about to smile back—
"And of course, that was a joke." He burst out laughing.
"Jessy, if I get to you—you're dead meat."
I chased after him as he ran toward the cafeteria.
The rest—Max, Jenny, and Chanel—walked behind us, laughing.