"Your brother is dead?" Lucy asked me bluntly. I felt so exposed, my mind didn't know how to respond to that startling question. I looked at the clock hanging at the end of the hall to find it signaling that I was late to my next class with 10 minutes.

"Excuse me, I've got to head to my next class," I said so quickly and stormed off towards the class I hate the most, Chemistry.

Why did it have to be Chemistry? I thought miserably. 

As I reached the classroom I found the door closed shut with Mrs.Miller's strident voice penetrating it. I knocked on the door and rushed in to find numerous pairs of eyes blinking at me.

"You're late," She stated flatly with bored eyes. My cheeks wore all colors of the horizon from the unpleasant situation. 

"Sorry, Mr.Patrick requested me to stay to talk to me," I explained, hoping that my excuse was enough for her to let me join the class without any trouble. She glared at me for a few seconds, checking if I was telling the truth, then sighed in defeat.

"Take a seat," She commanded in a flat tone. I quickly sat down on the nearest seat I found.

"Now as I was saying, you need to work in pairs throughout the whole year; as our new school Principal believes that this is a better method to achieve the aim of each practical experiment we are going to make." She coughed in an extremely obvious fake way to add her personal remark.

"As if that will ever work with those half-brained students." She muttered under her breath, yet I heard it due to the fact that I was sitting close to her. I wanted to snap that woman's neck from the way she treated us.

Too much violence? Well, she deserved it for teaching such a cruel subject to me.

Everyone started to whisper to their best friend in excitement to work together in every experiment.

"But there's a catch, I am the one who is going to pick your partner." She smiled deviously at us, while all the students groaned in sync. I was slightly on edge about who was gonna be my partner.

Will he make me do all the work? Or, will he annoy me with his genius brain cells? Oh, this was so not gonna end well.

"Now I'm going to call out the names of each pair so, you'd sit next to each other silently." She stressed the word 'silently' as if it would actually make them shut up. She held a sheet of paper and called out our names while people were changing their seats. 

"Haley Smith with Tiana Murphy." Her eyes looked for Tiana among the students that were buzzing around. It didn't matter to me that I was assigned to be with her as I didn't hear her name before, which means that she likes to stay away from all empty gossip. 

Take it as a guideline, whenever your name isn't popular, know that you're staying out of trouble. 

"Well, it seems like she's not here today. So, let's replace her with Daniel Phillips." She yelled for him. I also didn't know who that boy was so I remained seated.

The newcomer who was with me in Math class came into sight. He sat next to me, reluctantly. I didn't even care to glance at him once. 

For all I know, I need to be distant from people till I become 'emotionally stable' or that's what my last therapist advised me to do anyways.

The noise of the class soon settled down as well as the students. The mental torture began with the first word of 'Our Today's Lesson' coming out of Mrs.Miller's mouth.

The moment the bell rang signaling that the Chemistry period was over, students fled even before our teacher intended to say "Class is dismissed!".

I shouldered my backpack, proceeded to my free period when I heard a fruitful voice calling out my name that made me wish to disappear into thin air.

"Haley, wait up!" I let out a sigh of irritation. As I waited for Lucy to catch up with me. 

"Hey there, I think I didn't introduce myself properly earlier. I'm Lucy Evans." She blinked innocently, and I took a few seconds to scan her face. 

She has ocean blue eyes, complementing her almost pale yet beautiful skin. In addition to her mid-length naturally blond straight hair. As can be seen, she is a head-turner for any boy, a rival for any queen bee who wants to be 'the girl'.

"I'm Haley." I plastered on a fake smile, hoping she got the signal of me that I do not want this conversation to last long. Her eyes darted left and right; checking if there was anyone nearby who could listen to what she was going to say next.

"I'm sorry about how I reacted earlier when I heard about your..." I placed my palm forward making her stop whatever she was going to say next. She froze for a second, and I put my hands in my skirt's pockets. 

"I don't care about your apology." I sneered then turned to walk to the library, not even bothering myself to hear her finish what she wanted to say.  

"But you have to listen to me." She pleaded in a desperate tone, and I just kept going without hesitating a bit.

The instant I entered the library, I was greeted by absolute silence, slightly mixed with the sound of the papers flipping over for the few peers, who actually were eager to find answers for what they were looking for during their free period. 

I looked for an empty table to be as far as possible from anyone who could make me go like a bear with a sore head.

I really hated the stares I constantly got due to the fact that my attitude didn't match the situation I was in. 

I put on my headphones then selected my 'studying playlist' to focus on the math homework I had to solve. 

While rocking my head back and forth like a mad girl, I suddenly felt a shadow covered the bright rays of sunshine that was giving me a better vision. I looked up to find Daniel barely holding his laughter by covering his mouth with his right hand. I removed my headphones with my jaws clenched, trying to calm myself before talking.

"What do you want?" I whispered and waited for a response. He cleared his throat and sat on the chair next to mine. His face turned all serious.

"We need to talk," He stated. I narrowed my eyes and tilted my head slightly with a smug.

"You realize that not only this isn't the best place or time to talk, but also we have nothing to talk about right?" I raised an eyebrow questionably at him. He nodded in agreement and said calmly "Yeah, you're right. Guess that crashing your lunchtime will be the only option." He stood up and gave me a military salute with his hand and faltered his way out of the library. My mouth stayed open for a minute, processing what happened. 

Did he just invite himself to sit with me for lunch? Nah, he'll probably forget it.

I spent an almost endless English class with Mrs.Simmons and her long-lasted speech about her life experience she gained during her 20 years of working at this school as a teacher. In addition to her watching generations come and graduate to take care of their life responsibilities, which, according to what she believes, is the last thing we are going to do for the 'spoiled kids' we are. Or that's how I remember calling us by.

The least thing I deserved after all that I heard from her was a proper lunch. 

The cafeteria was packed with all types of students you can imagine. The nerds, the bad boys, the queen bees, the geeks, and the hipsters.

Me? I belong to the 'non-existent category'.

I ordered what would quench my thirst and make my hunger cease to exist, then sat down. Rubbing my hands together, I devoured my sandwich in no time, while taking a few sips from my awesome chocolate shake. Lucy and Daniel came out of nowhere, they both sat down on the opposite chairs without uttering a word.

"I didn't say you're welcome to join me." I snapped then took a sip.

"We know, but you need to listen to Lucy," Daniel responded firmly. I shook my head in disbelief.

"Look, I know it wasn't right to eavesdrop on you and I'm sorry about that. I should have just given you some space instead of invading your privacy. I know how bad you must feel right and it's all because of me." Lucy apologized, with her eyes searching mine for a glimmer of hope to be forgiven.

 I found her words were coming from the heart, yet I felt something is missing. 

"Why do you care so much about how you made me feel? I mean you're not the only one who talks about it." I asked her while pressing my lips with a slight frown making its way to my face as if it would help me figure it out on my own before she tells me. She tilted her head downward, taking a deep breath, and opened her mouth to speak.

"Her mother passed away 6 years ago." Daniel interfered harshly in a defending tone. My eyes widened a bit from the unpredictable answer I got. 

"I..I'm so sorry, I d..didn't know." I stuttered and covered my face with my hands from embarrassment. 

"Hey, it's okay. I got over it," She replied with sweetness visible in her voice. I looked at her and found her smiling warmly at me, I smiled back, letting out an inaudible sigh of relief knowing that she was not hurt by my mean cover.

It was like no matter how long I act so rude to people, my instincts got ahead of me. I might wore a meanie mask, but I knew that respecting other's feelings was something that needed to be considered. 

Even if I lost my feelings. 

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After a long talk with Lucy and Daniel about why did they move here and left California, I found them not like the other people in here. 

"So, we're cool, right? " Lucy checked before leaving. 

"Yeah, don't worry about it," I responded without a second thought. 

I felt a little bit happy that someone cared about me. Just a little bit.

"The girl has a heart!" Daniel exclaimed. I shot him a death glare, which made him chuckle.

"See you tomorrow," He said cheerfully. As he balled his hand into a fist to bump it into mine.

"Don't get ahead of yourself. Forgiving Lucy doesn't mean I am okay with crashing my few moments of peace." I narrowed my eyes, challenging him to do it again.

"Where's the peace in rock?" He rolled his eyes backward.

"It's pop-rock!" I defended with a pout, he laughed at my reaction, as the bell rang again to separate the three of us to our different classes.

After getting my stuff from my locker, I headed to history class, which unlike most of the other subjects, made me lose track of the time. Taking the school bus home while reading my favorite book, made me get distracted from all the comments every bus partner says about everything.

About me feeling lonely.

About being a selfish loser.

About Henry

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"I'm home," I said loudly enough for my mom to hear me.

"In the kitchen, sweetheart," She replied back and I threw my backpack on the floor and went to the kitchen to find her drinking her coffee. I sat opposite to her and I was going to tell her about what happened today at school, but she interrupted me suddenly.

"How was school?" She asked excitedly while sitting up straighter. I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off again. 

"You know you can tell me anything," She said with concern in her voice. I nodded " I know..."

"But I don't want to push you so hard." She went on.

"Mom!" I said firmly making her stop rambling. She shifted in her seat and flipped her hair backward.

"Sorry, go ahead." She took a sip from her mug. 

"Well, there are two newcomers who moved from California. Their names are Lucy and Daniel." I paused for a suspense effect.

"I hear you, go on," She stated and I nodded.

"I'm a chemistry lab partner with Daniel for the rest of the year. I had lunch with him and Lucy. She seems like a good-hearted person." I shrugged, thinking whether should I tell her about what happened with Lucy or not. 

I'll just drop that part, it's not that important anyway.

"That's great, Hale. I believe your first day being a junior couldn't get better," She said with a proud look on her face. I nodded in agreement, just to go with the flow and for the sake of not ruining her mood.

Yeah, right. It couldn't get any better with all the looks I got from everyone. I won't bother her with mentioning this point though. She doesn't have to know I'm struggling even more at school than I was at home during summer.

Mom's phone ringtone brought me back to focus on her and push my thoughts aside. She looked at the number, furrowed for a second then picked it up.

"Natalie's speaking," She said, waiting for a response from the unknown caller.

"Yeah, that's me," She answered slowly. She looked at me several times then locked her eyes on mine with an open mouth as she heard who was on the other side of the line. I mouthed' what' as I felt it was huge news.

And not the good type of them.

"I'm coming right away, thank you so much, doctor." She quickly answered then hung up.

Did she say 'doctor'? Oh my god, I hope this isn't..

"It's your grandma," She told me as she stood up hurriedly and grabbed her keys. I didn't even get the chance to ask her what happened as she opened the door and asked me: 

"Are you coming with me?" I nodded immediately and closed the door in a rush.

The moment I entered the hospital made a lot of sorrow memories invade my mind. Our footsteps were loud enough for the girl at the front counter to notice us coming out of breath.

"How can I help you?" She questioned us as she rested her fingers on the keyboard, ready to search for who we wanted to go to.

"We are looking for.." Mom was about to complete her sentence when someone patted her shoulder. She turned around to find Sam pointing forward.

"Granny is in the last room on the right. Come on." He sniffled and removed the traces of his tears by the back of his hand.

Every step I took made me ask myself questions that I don't want to know their answers.

What happened to her?

Why is Sam here before us?

Does he have something to do with it?

Is Granny gonna be okay?

After walking a few meters, I find myself facing a doctor in his mid-thirties. His face was all serious as he studied the patient's report.

"Where's Frank?" Mom asked Sam.

"He's still on his way." He shrugged and talked to the doctor with hushed tones away from us. I couldn't hear what they said but the way Sam went all mad at the doctor didn't indicate it was something good.

The doctor reached us after sharing details about Granny's condition.

"Natalie, first I'm very sorry for what you will hear from me." He cleared his throat and continued.

"Mrs. Diana's condition doesn't favor her at all. I believe she stopped taking her medication for a while which explains how I found her heart issue had no improvement." He pauses for mom to ask him whatever she wanted.

"How badly is it?" Mom inquired and looked at me for reassurance.

"Bad enough to order you as her doctor not to tell her about your divorce. And ask you as your brother, to keep an eye on her even if it means her moving in with you." Mom sighed in a restlessness manner. 

"Can we see her?" I asked hoping for a positive response. Uncle Marcus nodded.

"Yeah, sure. As long as no one will stress her out." He warned us. 

Sam knocked on the white-painted door twice softly, not wanting to cause a disturbance for Granny. He opened the door slowly and sneaked a peek inside first, checking whether she's awake or not. When I saw him smiling, I knew she was awake and staring at him with her adorable eyes. The three of us entered to find our sweet Grandma beaming at us, her face didn't indicate any illness. 

"Hello there, dears." She welcomed us with her silvery voice that made my eyes store some tears just for the thought of losing her. 

Granny is the only person I didn't change the way I talk to since Henry's accident. The only person who tried to convince me that I shouldn't blame myself for what happened, besides my mother of course.

"Looks like you found a way to bring us all here." I winked at her and she chuckled. 

"Not all of you. Where's Frank?" She asked blithely. Mom locked eyes with mine, not knowing what to say.

"Dad is coming right away, he is just stuck in the traffic jam." I saved Mom from answering. 

"I want to get out of here as soon as possible, you know that I hate hospitals" Grandma requested and Sam nodded in agreement.

"Sure, I'll talk to Uncle Marcus and ask him if you can go home with us today." He assured her and I looked at him in disbelief. He excused himself and went to look for our uncle.

"I'm gonna make a phone call, it's not gonna take long." I lied professionally, or at least I thought so.

I searched the whole floor in an attempt to find Sam, but he was nowhere in sight. I sighed in defeat and decided to let what I wanted to say to him go or at least be delayed for a more proper time. I went back to the room to find mom laughing with grandma.

"What did I miss?" I was curious about what they were talking about.

"Natalie was telling me the time you decided to make a chocolate cake and ended up with a bitter black stone instead." She was so amused by that story. 

"Oh my god!" I stuck my tongue out of my mouth in disgust for remembering its horrible taste.

The door suddenly burst wide open, hitting the wall behind to reveal Dad out of his breath. Uncle Marcus followed his suit while trying to stop him.

"You have to listen to me first," He said violently, but dad didn't care and walked over to Grandma's bed.

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What a cliffhanger!

Frank seems out of his mind! 😨Will he mess everything up? I need to hear your expectations.🤔

Sam's is in the picture again😏

Natalie is trying her best to be close to Haley ( I love her😊 )

Grandma seems to be a new era in this book, considering the fact that the former couple should keep their divorce a secret from her. However, the whole thing might be blown up because of Frank's confusion😟. 

Looks like Lucy is such a cutie pie after all😇, but looks can be deceiving so watch your back😨.

Daniel was acting firmly for Lucy's sake, maybe she's his girlfriend😉. The most important thing is that Haley is starting to get along with them which is progress, right? I'm happy for her and you should be too! ☺️

Today's question is 🥁🥁🥁🥁

What's your favorite hot drink? 😋

My answer is without a second thought, it's the irresistible tea with milk😍 This is the best creation ever! Try it if you didn't or you'll be missing a lot! 

Comment, vote, and tell me what you think about the chapter.🤩

Share it with your friends and tag them here if you want😊