Every family has that one person who constantly takes charge when it comes to packing up for a trip. It doesn't matter if they are going on the trip or not they still feel like it's their responsibility to make sure the person who is going has everything they need packed up. In my family, that person is my dad. 

"Are you sure you have everything packed?" my dad asks me for what I am sure is the hundredth time in this last hour alone.

"Yes, Dad," I grumble rolling my eyes.

Ever since I told him that I'd be spending the weekend with the girls he has been hounding me to make sure I have everything I need. Now don't get me wrong I do appreciate him helping me but there comes a point where it drives a girl insane. We passed that point over an hour ago. Now I'm fighting the urge to pull my hair out or scream at my dad.

He points to the closed bag on my bed. "Why don't you just check your bag again?"

"Bu—" I start to object, but my mom interrupts me before I can say much.

"Honey, you're doing it again," she says as she wraps her arms around my dad's waist.

He nervously chuckles and plants a kiss on her head.  Smiling down at her he says, "Sorry, I just can't help myself."  He reaches his hand up and brushes a few strands of her hair behind her ear.

I smile at them, not only because my mom ended my father's rain of terror but because I love seeing them interact like this. I can see the love they have for each other, and it's a kind of love that I can only hope to find one day. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to find a man who showers me with gifts and who is always there when I need comfort. A man who makes me laugh excites me and pushes me to do the things I'm scared of because it will help me. I want someone who will help me enjoy my life but also help me focus on serious things. I want a man like the prince I used to dream about when I was little, the one who I loved so much that I was willing to die for him.

"So, who are you going with again?" my mom casually asks me.

"Jade, Nicci, and Kimone," I reply with a sigh. This is the thousandth time I've had to remind them of my new friends' names. 

"Just the three of you, no boys?" 

"No, Dad, there will be no boys nor will there be alcohol or drugs. We will be at Jade's house watching movies, talking, and stuffing our faces with junk food," I explain as I fight the urge to roll my eyes.

He smiles and nods in approval. He gives my mom a quick kiss and then heads down the stairs probably to get started on that design he mentioned at dinner last night. 

All thanks to my dad's content badgering a sliver of doubt enters my mind and I decide to check my bag one last time.

"When is your friend coming to pick you up?" my mom asks, not moving from her spot by the doorway.

"She should be here in about," I look at my phone, "five minutes."

After I finish checking my bag I take a seat on my bed and look at my mom. With a beaming smile on her face, she walks over to the bed and sits down beside me. Without even thinking I lean against her side and rest my head in the crook of her neck.

"I'm so happy you've made friends so quickly." She warps an arm around my shoulders and gives me a comforting half-hug.

Like me, my mom was worried about the possibility that I wouldn't make any friends when we moved here. Growing up I was never the best at making friends, honestly, I was lucky that I met Lola and Rose who up until this point have been my only friends.

"So am I." 

A car hoots loudly outside and not even five seconds later my phone beeps, which can only mean Jade is here.

"That's her." 

My mom and I get off the bed and before I leave she gives me a quick hug and kisses my cheek.

"Have fun, honey!" she calls out to me as I run down the stairs with my bag. 

"Bye!" I hear my dad from the dining room. 

"Bye!" I yell back as I rush out of the door and toward Jade's car. 

As soon as she sees me she turns the volume of the radio higher and starts doing some sort of dance while she shouts, "Girl's weekend!" 

The unexpectedness of her actions is met with my dead silence, but not wanting to make the situation awkward I mumble, "Yip." I reach out my hand to open the door, but upon seeing that my excitement isn't as profound as hers she leans over and holds the door shut, denying me entrance to her car. "Seriously?" I cross my arms over my chest and give her a death glare, which only makes her chuckle. 

"Okay, listen. If you want to get in this car you have to promise me that you will act a bit more excited than you are right now." 

"I promise now will you let me in the car."  Raising an eyebrow she gives me this look that I instantly recognize because my mom used to look at me that way all the time when I was a child. It's the what's the magic word look. "Jade, please let me in the car. It may be the fall but it's cold out here," I laugh.

"Well, since you said please," she says with a coy smile and releases her hold on the door. "And don't worry I've got the heater on," she adds. 

With a beaming smile that could light up New York City, I hop into the toasty car. The warmth that is radiating throughout the car instantly brings life back into my numb fingers and I sigh with relief.

"You ready to go?" 

I turn my head to the side so that I can look at her

"Girl's weekend!" I cheer and pump my fists in the air like an excited child. 

Laughing, Jade turns the key and the car starts with a roar. She presses her foot lightly on the gas and we drive off down the street singing along to the Ariana Grande song that started playing on the radio.

After we picked Nicci up the three of us decide to stop at a Starbucks to get coffee for all of us before heading to Kim's house. 

"I don't care how expensive Starbucks is the coffee will always be worth it." Nicci moans as she takes another big sip of her pumpkin spice latte.

Jade, who doesn't drink anything pumpkin spice, looks at Nicci in disgust, which nearly makes me choke on my drink. 

"I second that," I giggle when I finally manage to force the sip I was choking on down my throat.

We turn a corner and a few houses down we stop outside a condo where we spot Kim sitting on the stairs to the porch her bag beside her. Even from here, I can see her eyes are puffy and she looks like she has been crying.

As Jade reaches up to press down on the horn two loud voices echo from inside the house.

"You told me you would stop drinking!" a female voice yells.

"Woman, I told you to stop telling me what to do!" a man bellows.

"Not again," Nicci sighs, and Jade hits the horn alerting Kim to our presence.

Before I can even blink Kim is at the car. She frantically opens the door and practically jumps in loudly slamming the door closed behind her.

"Let's get out of here," she sniffles wiping away a fresh set of tears that had started trickling down her cheeks.

I look over my shoulder at Nicci who is wrapping her arms around Kim and pulling her into one of the tightest hugs I have ever seen. I have no idea what is going on but it looks like this has happened a few times before.

"Looks like we're gonna be eating the ice cream sooner than we thought," I hear Jade mumble as we drive off. And I couldn't agree more. 

 
"So, where will we be sleeping this time?" Nicci asks as we pull up at Jade's house. 

Glancing out of the window I take note of every feature of the house. There isn't much to it, it's your normal two-story home, but I can tell that they have lived here for a while and have put a lot of love into it.

"I've set up some blow-up mattresses in the living room so that we are right by the new TV."

"You got a new TV," Kim gasps. She did cry a bit during the ride over here, but Nicci managed to help her feel better and now the puffiness around her eyes is starting to go away and her voice doesn't have that sad tone to it anymore.

Jade smirks. "Come see for yourself." 

Together we all follow her through the house toward the living room. As soon as I see the TV my heart skips a beat.

"It's glorious," I say.

"How many inches is it?" Nicci asks as she sets her bag down beside her and sits in the nearest chair.

"Seventy," Jade responds with the smirk still on her face. 

"How did you guys afford this?" Kim asks.

"My mom won it at a raffle at her work."

"I need a job like that," I laugh. "What kind of work does your mom do?" 

A look of pure fear shadows across her face and she brings her finger to her chin as she starts to think. "Oh, she um... she... I don't know what she does." 

Kim snorts back a laugh, and I struggle to do the same. 

"And the award for the most attentive daughter of the year does not go to..." Nicci dramatically points to Jade as if she's doing some presentation

The now annoyed Jade shoves Nicci. "Shut up and unpack whatever you need to unpack."

"The only thing I need to unpack is my feelings," Kim sniffles, a small tear trickling down her cheek and dripping onto the floor.

Ever since we left her house I've been thinking about the things we heard. I am assuming those people who were yelling were her parents, however, there is still a bit more to the situation that I need to know and this is the perfect opportunity to do it.

"What was happening at your house when we got there?" I ask her making sure to keep the tone of my voice as comforting as possible. 

It was like my words had opened a floodgate that was on the brink of overflowing, Kim burst into tears crying loudly as she collapsed onto the couch.

"Is it as bad as last time?" Jade asks as she takes a seat beside her.

"It's worse, my dad lost his job two weeks ago and now he's drinking more than ever," she sobs into her hands that are now covering her face.

"I'm so sorry." Nicci gently rubs her back.

"That's not all. Yesterday I heard my mom on the phone with my aunt and she was asking her if she knew any divorce attorneys."

The room fell silent for a moment, both Jade and Nicci calmed Kim down and now her sobbing was reduced to the odd hiccup here and there. 

I feel bad for her because I know about what she's going through, well, at least from a spectator's point of view. I saw a case similar to this a few years ago, and I know how hard it can be for the child involved. Even though I haven't known her or her situation as long as Nicci and Jade have I still feel like I can help.

I move over the to couch she is sitting on and sit beside her. Reaching out I take her hands in mine and make her look up at me.

"I know I don't know much about your situation but don't you think that maybe a divorce will be better in the long run."

I know that they are shocked by what I said, Kim looks at me like I might be insane, and Jade and Nicci give me concerned looks like they are trying to warn me to be careful with what I say to her.

"What do you mean?" she quietly asks, her red puffy eyes looking at me with desperation. 

"Well, seven years ago my friend Lola's parents got divorced. They fought like cat and dog every day and the only reason they were still together was because of her which made her feel bad. Eventually, it got so bad that Lola was the one who contacted a divorce attorney for them. She couldn't handle the fighting anymore and even though she didn't want her family to split up she felt that it was for the best," I take deep breaths as the memories of watching Lola struggle with her parents surfaced in my mind. That was a hard time, not just for her but for her entire family. "Anyway, her parents got a divorce and now everything is better. She still sees both her parents and on the holidays they all get together, but not for too long or else someone is going to be killed."

Silence grips onto us like a monster as she takes in everything I've said. I watch her face for any signs that I've said the wrong thing. Suddenly, the hiccups stop and a small smile appears on her face. I breathe a sigh of relief, and Nicci and Jade seem to be as relieved as I am. 

"That does sound a lot better. Maybe you're right, maybe everything would be better if they got a divorce. But it's still hard." 

I wrap my arms around her and give her a tight hug.

"It will be, but one day you will wake up and feel better," I lean away from her and smile. "For now, all you can do is eat ice cream."

The three of them chuckle which makes me smile even more.

"Yeah, I'm just gonna go wash my face," she says and then leaves. 

Jade smiles at me. "Thanks for doing that." 

I shrug. "You don't have to thank me you guys are my friends." I let a moment of silence settle over the room again before asking, "I have to ask, are things always that bad at her house?"

They look at each other as if mentally debating if they should let me in on some big secret or not. This silence only confirms what I thought, things are normally this bad at her home, or maybe it's worse.

Eventually, Nicci speaks up, "It was worse a few months ago. Her dad got so drunk he hit her and her mom." For the first time since I met her, I can hear the anger in her voice. 

I can see Jade getting angry at the memory of this and as crazy as it sounds I can feel the room getting colder. It was like someone was messing with a thermostat but instead of turning the heat up, they were taking it away. This only lasts a few seconds though.

"That's horrible," I gasp.

"Her dad promised to cut back on the drinking but obviously he was lying," she hisses, her body writhing in anger.

Jade suddenly claps her hands which startles both Nicci and me.

"I'm going to go get the ice cream so that we can move on from this depressing shit," she says.

"I second that," Nicci quickly says, there is still a bit of anger evident in her voice, but I can tell she is trying to tone it down and it's a good thing she does because a few seconds later Kim walks in from the bathroom.

"What's going on?" she asks probably noticing the new chill in the air. 

"Ice cream?" I quickly respond. 

She sighs with delight and eagerly nods. "Yes please." 

"Coming right up." 

Jade disappears into the kitchen for a while and then comes back carrying a tub of ice cream and some spoons. She uses one of the spoons and opens up the tub revealing the minty chocolate goodness within. We each take and spoon and scoop up some of the ice cream but before we can eat it Jade raises her spoon into the air like she is about to make a toast.

"To Vega surviving her first week in the living hell that society calls school. May she survive the rest of the year, and then we can all go and do whatever we want. To Vega!"

"To Vega!" Nicci and Kim yell in unison.

"To me," I laugh. "And to great friends," I add.

After gorging ourselves with ice cream and then some really good pizza we put on a movie called After that Jade had been wanting to watch for a while. We were all focused on the movie our eyes occasionally drifting away from the screen but only to look down and decide what snack we wanted to eat when Nicci suddenly decided to reach over and pause the move.

"What the hell," Jade exclaims but her mouth is filled with popcorn so she just sounds muffled.

"Sorry, I just... I don't get this Tessa girl at all," Nicci mumbles.

"What don't you understand?" I ask, popping another skittle into my mouth.

"She had a boyfriend who loves her and who she loves but she still ditches him for this bad boy Hardin dude."

"There's your answer," Kim chuckles.

Nicci looks at her confused. "What's my answer?"

"He's a bad boy and a large majority of girls will ditch the good guy for a shot with the bad boy. Bad boys have this charm about them that just lures girls in," Kim explains.

"Okay well, I've never had a bad boy come for me so that must be why I don't understand," Nicci sighs and throws her hands up into the air.

"Yeah you certainly haven't," Jade chuckles. "But Vega has," she adds with a smirk.

Within the blink of an eye, Nicci and Kim were looking at me with shocked expressions.

"What's his name?" they ask in unison which makes them sound like those creepy twins from The Shining.

"You guys are very creepy when you talk like that."

"Don't change the subject, what's his name?" Nicci asks more sternly this time.

"I think you mean their names," Jade says emphasizing the fact that there is more than one of them.

"Their names," Kim gasps.

"There's more than one."

I shrug. "Only two." 

Kim and Nicci start giggling like schoolgirls. 

"Now I have to know who are they?"

"Well—"

"Toby Samson and Seth King," Jade interjects but this time her tone is anything but playful.

Just like that Nicci and Kim's excited and curious faces shift to ones of disgust.

"Let me guess you guys are gonna say that I have to stay away from both of them," I sigh and roll my eyes.

I have a strange feeling that this is the only reason Jade brought them up. Maybe she just wants to reinforce the message that I have to stay away from them and what better way to do that than getting back up?

"You just read our minds," they reply once again in unison.

Super creepy.

I scoff and shake my head. "What do you guys have against them?" 

They look at each other. It's the same look as before, the one that shows they are trying to decide on something and trying to find a good enough reason for me to listen to them.

"Vega, you haven't been at our school long and you don't know our classmates as we do. So if you are going to take anything away from us tonight at least let it be this survival tip," Nicci says all serious. 

I raise my eyebrows. "A survival tip?" 

"Yes, and this tip is that there are three main people in our grade that you absolutely under whatever circumstances have to stay away from." 

I want to scoff at how ridiculous they are being but at the same time, I can understand where they are coming from. They are right, I don't know these people as they do.

"I'm guessing Toby and Seth are on that list who is the third person?"

Jade scoffs and her lips twist in disgust. "Carla Muchamore our head cheerleader and the woman who will win the world's greatest bitch award any day of the year." Even just saying her name seems to set Jade off and once again that unusual coldness sets in around us.

"I don't know who that is." I shake my head, her name doesn't ring a bell which shocks me considering how popular she sounds.

Jade looks at me with wide eyes. "Are you sure it's basically impossible to not notice her? Hell, I didn't even think it was possible to not notice the pure embodiment of evil," she says.

I want to laugh at her comment but I decide against it and bite my tongue to hold the laughter back.

Nicci takes out her phone and I see her scroll through her gallery.

"Here she is." She hands me her phone.

I look down at the picture my heart almost stops. I have met this girl just not at school. 

That will be easy, I never remember wannabe trash anyway.

Wannabe trash.

Trash.

"Vega, are you alright?" Nicci asks her hand resting on my shoulder.

Trash.

"Yeah, I met her the day before school started I went shopping and I asked her for some help. Let's just say she wasn't helpful." I try to smile and play it off as a joke but I can't.  I thought I would never have to see that girl again and now I have to go to school with her.

Wannabe trash!

Trash!

"Yeah, I'll bet," Kim scoffs and shakes her head.

"So yeah that's the three people you have to stay away from. Now I don't know about you guys but I'm getting tired so I'm gonna get dressed and get some sleep," Jade yawns.

I fake a yawn and even stretch out my arms. "Yeah, I could use some sleep." 

Trash!

You're trash!

No, Vega, breathe. Don't let this bitch and her false words get to you.

The others go to wash themselves up, but I don't want to go with them.

I need to get to sleep and I need to go now. It has always been one of the best things that helps tame my inner demons if I don't have a sketchbook near me so I make my spot on one of the mattresses and drift off to sleep and I can only hope my negative thoughts won't get to me.