The next day, as I was driving to school, the radio blasted a throwback hit.
"Ridin' - Chamillionaire.
They see me rollin', they hatin', patrollin', tryna catch me ridin' dirty…"
This was Dana's favorite song, and we'd play it every time we hung out.
As I pulled into the school parking lot, I switched off the radio and searched for a spot. I spotted Kiera stepping out of a sleek blue Bentley. (Total Barbie moment!)
I quickly maneuvered into the space right next to her, which was perfectly located across from the school entrance.
SCORE!
She didn't see me at first, so I honked my horn.
She turned her head sharply and shot me a look.
I turned off the car and got out. "What?"
"Clara, I wouldn't park there if I were you," she warned, shaking her head.
"Why not? It was open," I replied, confused.
She shrugged, "Never mind."
I shrugged it off and made my way over to her.
"Nice car," I said with a smirk.
"I know what you're thinking: 'This is such a Barbie car,'" she replied, rolling her eyes.
I chuckled.
"To be honest, I actually love this car. I even gave her a name."
"Really? I named my car too. Right over there is Dill," I said proudly.
Kiera laughed. "I like it! This girl is Frankie."
We both giggled. It was nice to find something in common—we both were a bit quirky and named our cars.
"We're such weirdos," she said, chuckling as she got out of her vehicle.
We made our way into school.
"So, what did you get up to last night?" I asked while walking to her locker.
"Not much, just binge-watched *Grey's Anatomy*. What about you?"
"Not much really; I went to the diner in town and met this guy who says he goes to our school."
"Really? Who?" she asked, shutting her locker. I motioned for her to follow me over to mine.
"I think his name was Mason Young."
"Mason Young? Oh my god, I haven't seen him and his family since ninth grade! What does he look like? Was he with anyone?" she asked, her eyes wide with excitement.
"Well, he was kinda tall, and I didn't see him with anyone else. Do you know him?"
"Clara Mason and his family are in trouble. I heard they all went to juvie for gang involvement," she said quickly.
"Oh my god, really?"
"Yeah, and they're kind of odd too; they're all related, but some seem a bit too close, if you catch my drift." She shot me a sideways glance.
"I don't," I responded, puzzled.
"Last year, this girl Jordan was running late and saw Mason kissing his cousin."
"No way! That's disgusting," I said, scrunching my nose in distaste.
"I know, right? That's beyond gross! But that family looks like they walked straight out of a Greek mythology book. They're all stunning."
I approached my locker, and Kiera continued,
"They're really intimidating. At least that's how I remember them. They stick together, and if you mess with one, you're messing with all of them."
"You make them sound like a gang," I said, grabbing my planner.
"They are!" she exclaimed, her excitement rising.
"And you should see the leader. Luce, I know I said the others look like Greek gods, but Ben is like the god himself."
"Really? I want to see him!" I said, shutting my locker.
"We will! You said they're coming back today, right? Maybe we'll have a class with them."
"Oh, that's right! I'm curious to see this so-called gang," I said, chuckling.
"I wouldn't get too interested in Ben; Loren Win, the head cheerleader, claims she's been seeing him for a while."
I was about to respond when the bell rang.
"See you at lunch, Luce. Text me if you spot them!" Kiera called as she backed away.
"Okay, same goes for you."
With that, I headed off to calculus.
The day flew by, and before I knew it, I was back at my locker, getting ready for lunch.
I still hadn't seen Mason or the rest of the "gang."
While putting my bag away, someone suddenly tickled me.
I screamed at the top of my lungs. I'm extremely ticklish, and I can't stand it.
I spun around to find a laughing Kiera.
"DON'T DO THAT, Kiera! I HATE BEING TICKLED!" I yelled at her.
"Luce, you just jumped like a rocket! That was hilarious," she cackled.
"Not funny," I said, my face turning red. Kiera simply shook her head, still smiling, and began walking away.
"So have you seen them yet?" I asked, jogging to catch up.
"Nope, no sign of them. Maybe he was lying."
"Probably."
Once Kiera and I entered the lunchroom, we made a beeline for our usual table in the back. As I was unpacking my lunch, someone suddenly plopped down next to me.
"Hey, I'm Aaron Xan." I turned to see a cute guy with brown hair and warm brown eyes.
"Clara Crest," I smiled back at him.
He extended his hand, and I shook it. "Nice to meet you, Clara. I haven't seen you around here before."
"Yeah, maybe because she's been busy getting to know Aaron," Kiera chimed in, looking annoyed.
"Ah, Barbie O'Grady, my favorite doll!" he said with a smirk.
"Listen, if you want to keep your pretty little mouth, you might want to stop calling me Barbie," Kiera shot back.