Chapter Twenty-Three

      “I don’t want to!” I whined.

      “Jules! Shut up!” Owen sighed.

      “No! That’s seriously animal cruelty, I will not participate in this experiment!” I said, crossing my arms firmly over my chest. Cutting a frog open? No way. I know, I know, I’m Jules- I’m supposed to be tough, and strong, and able to do sick stuff like this; but no, not today. I don’t really feel like ripping a poor little froggy apart just so can I “learn something about anatomy” or some shit. That’s just awful in my opinion. Don’t worry, I’m not going to turn into an animal activist or anything, but right now, in 10th grade biology, I will not cut open that frog.

      “Suck it up, or go over to the girls table where they’re doing this with a plastic model,” he said.

      “You know what, I think I will. Bye Owen,” I said, lifting my binder off the gruesome lab table.

      “Bye Jules,” he said, probably thinking I’m just as wimpy as the others… which to be fair, I totally am.

      “Your girlfriend’s over there, right?” I said.

      “Who? Charlotte?” he questioned, his cheeks flushing with the embarrassment at the mere mention of the word ‘girlfriend’. Owen’s a quiet guy, and from what I’ve heard, he hasn’t dated a lot, and Charlotte’s his first real girlfriend. I think he likes her a lot. Love- I don’t know, but he definitely likes her.

      “Yes Charlotte! Unless of course you have another girlfriend we don’t know about…” I smirked. Owen wouldn’t do that. But then again, I thought Josh wouldn’t either, and he disappointed me, so you never know.

      “How about you just leave now?” he pleaded.

      “Alright.”

      “Goodbye Jules,” he said.

      “Bubye Owen!” I said, skipping over to the last table in the corner of the room where a group of girls were seated, all of whom had a combination of boredom and anxiety splashed across their faces.

      “Hi Julia!” Charlotte said, glancing up from a worksheet in front of her.

      “It’s Jules, and hey,” I said, dropping my stuff down on the floor beside the table.

      “So, why exactly are you over here?” she asked, carefully writing something down in her scarily neat hand writing.

      “I didn’t feel like cutting open a frog today,” I said.

      “Well that’s understandable, it’s pretty gross,” she said, smiling politely at me.

      “That it is. So what exactly are we doing over here?”

      “Studying the model,” she replied, picking up an artificial organ belonging to the frog.

      “Oh. Sounds… boring,” I said, looking around at the other girls who were all either sleeping or doodling. “I’ll be right back…”

      “Where are you going?” Charlotte asked.

      “I don’t know,” I answered, quickly walking away from the table, and excusing myself from the room.

      As I entered the locker lined halls, I quickly grasped the realization that they were bare. There was no one there. It was a weird feeling; being alone in such a big school, and yet knowing that behind a door lay twenty some kids in class. I don’t like being alone. I like to be near people.

      “Jules!” I heard someone whisper-yell. I turned around, and waved at the source of the voice.

      “Hey Kim! What are you not doing in class?” I asked quietly, as I approached her.

      “Logan made me skip,” she mumbled.

      “Fun.”

      “What about you?”

      “Science was boring,” I said, as she quickly walked ahead of me.

      “Cool,” she said, pulling a door open for me. Where were we? I still hadn’t quite cracked the code to deciphering the puzzle that was this building. It was so big! I had some background knowledge on the building due to Adam’s one year here, but not a ton. Sure my school in California was big, but this one was… different. The one in Santa Monica was big student wise, whereas this one the physical space was so commodious!

      “Julesy!” Trent said, as we entered the dark room. My eyes slowly adjusted to the light tone, in the room I believed to be the auditorium.

      “Trenty!” I said, running over to him.

      “Now why is a good girl like you skipping class?” he smirked.

      “Because I feel like it,” I said, noticing Logan from the corner of my eye. “Hey Logan.”

      “Jules,” he said, “Why are you really here?”

      “I didn’t feel like dissecting a frog. It was yucky,” I admitted.

      “You? Scared of tearing open a frog? You’ve got to be kidding me!” Trent laughed.

      “Afraid not,” I said, sitting down next to him in one of the seats, and putting my feet up on the row in front of me.

      “It’s not that bad,” Kim said, sitting down on Logan’s lap. “I mean, yeah it’s gross, but it was kinda fun.”

      “No… it’s nasty,” I said, making a mental note of the way the two of them were interacting.

      “Well did you have another option?” Logan asked.

      “Yeah, I could go look at some dumb plastic frog thing,” I said, as I let out a surprising sneeze.

      “Bless you,” Kim said as a standard response.

      “Thanks,” I replied. “So what are you guys missing?”

      “Algebra two? Or maybe three? Whatever,” Logan answered.

      “Learning how to throw ball,” Kim shrugged. Okay, gym- not the biggest deal. It’s physical activity, and isn’t really a real class. I don’t even understand why it’s “required” to take gym just to “graduate” or something.

      “And you Trenty?” I asked.

      “I couldn’t even tell you,” he said. Oh Trent... Not knowing what class you’re missing! Classic!

      “Do you guys want to leave?” Logan asked.

      “As in this room?” I asked.

      “No, as in this school. Trent can drive, let’s get out of here,” he said, as Kim got up from his lap, and he stood up. I gulped. I still wasn’t too keen on the idea of cutting class… even if it was what I was doing right now. Just chilling, and not attending any real academic classes is okay with me, but leaving the building, feels like cheating to me.

      “What’s happening?” Trent asked.

      “Apparently we’re getting out of here TJ,” I said.

      “How?”

      “Uh… you’re driving…” I said, rolling my eyes.

      “Oh, cool. Let’s go,” he said. And that was that. We left the auditorium, and reentered the unfilled halls. In an instant there was the distinct sound of a bell, and students flooded the vast passageways, leaving the three of us caught in a sea of chaos. Someone grabbed my hand, and led me through the commotion going on around me. I recognized the place we were headed as the back entrance. Trent.

      I don’t know why I’m scared of this place, I just am. Stoners aren’t scary, I mean most of them are the most peaceful, chill people you’ll ever meet; it’s something about drugs that I hate. The idea that some simple herbs have the potential to kill you doesn’t sound too appealing to me. I don’t know, drugs aren’t something I plan on experimenting with.

      “Scared?” he asked.

      “Yup,” I said.

Trent’s POV

Amazing. Jules is scared of the back entrance and splitting open a frog. This girl is truly incredible. The four of us left the building unnoticed, and raced to get into my car. Jules sat next to me in the front, and Kim and Logan in the back.

      “Where the fuck are we going?” I asked, starting up the car.

      “Skate park,” Logan answered instantly.

      “Anywhere but here,” Jules said.

      “Okay,” I said, turning the wheel, and quickly (but safely) speeding out of the school’s premises. My hands glided along the steering wheel, as my feet pressed on the gas. Kim and Jules were talking, as Logan kept silent, and I focused on the road. I’m such a responsible driver!

      After a few minutes, I pulled into the parking lot of the place I could almost call a second home, and stopped the car. We all filed out, and I went around to the trunk to take out my skateboard. Skateboard. That’s such a funny word to me. Two years ago, if someone had told me I’d be using that word to help fill a void of emptiness, I wouldn’t have believed them. Now, that single noun is one of the only things in life I can really rely on to be there for me.

      “Trent!” Jules said.

      “Yeah?” I said, looking up, as my arms clung tightly to my board.

      “We’re going,” she said. I nodded, and followed them to the land of concrete and scraped knees. I opened the rusted gate, which has probably given typhus to at least one unlucky civilian, and dropped my board to the ground. Logan, who had somehow managed to take his own board with him, followed my lead, and skated away.

      “Have fun!” Kim said. I think I like that girl. She seems nice, and chill. She’s not as annoying as most of Jules and Logan’s other friends. There’s something about her that I like. Like Jules, she’s different.

      “Will do,” I said, smiling at her.

      “Don’t trip,” Jules said.

      “Jules! That’s the only thing I wanted to do!” I whined.

      “Okay Trenty…”

      “Bye guys,” I said, winking, and gliding away.

Kim’s POV

      “So, what’s up between you and Logan?” Jules asked. That question had been roaming my mind all week, until today.

      He pulled me away from an agonizing gym class of hell, brought me into the auditorium, and… KISSED ME! Logan Evans kissed me! I was stunned! I didn’t know what to do! I mean, I’ve always thought that he was cute, but him kissing me clarified all the uneasiness I felt. Then, he asked me a question one would have to be an idiot to say no to: Will you be my girlfriend? Five simple words that made my day.

      “Uh… I think we’re dating,” I said, swiping a piece of my jet black hair away from my eyes.

      “Really?! That’s so great!” she said. Huh. She seemed genuinely happy for me. I always thought that she liked Logan; guess not. But then again, Jules is pretty hard to read, so any of the signs that she portrays, I could be completely interpreting wrong.

      “Yeah…”

      “I’m so happy for you Kim!” she said, smiling brightly at me. The smile was real and sincere; I’ve faked one long enough to know.

      “Thanks,” I said, watching as Logan flipping his board over on the ground, only to have it pop back up into his hand.

      “You two make such a cute couple!”

      “Thanks,” I repeated. I think that being with Logan, might actually make me happy. On the outside, sure I have a tough shell that many don’t break through, but underneath, I have normal feelings like any other girl.

      “If he breaks your heart, then I will personally break him.”

      “Thanks J-” I began, but was cut off by her sneezing. “Bless you.”

      “Thank you. I think I might be sick.”

      “Feel better.”

      “Eh. If being sick gets me out of school, then bring it on germs!” she said, confidently placing her arms over her chest. That’s something I envy about Jules- her confidence. No matter what, she always appears to be calm with the situation, and sure of herself. Sometimes I wish I didn’t have to pretend not to have insecurities, and that a high self esteem was actually a trait that I possessed. It’s hard.

      “Do you think Logan really likes me?” I asked, slumping down, and leaning against the wire fence.

      “Are you kidding?” she asked, sitting down beside me. “Kim, you are one of, if not the, coolest girls I know, and you’re asking if someone like Logan likes you?! You’re dating, and he would be an idiot not to,” she said, putting her elbow on top of my shoulder.

      “Thanks Jules,” I said, weakly grinning at her. If only I believed her…