You and 6 others have been invited by Leo to the group chat
FRI3NDS 4 EVER

Leo: Hi guys. Welcome to our group chat. Let's each say our names so we can save each others phone number. I'm Leo.

Matt: I'm Matt.

Sarah: I'm Sarah.

Janin: I'm Janin.

???: I'm Diana.

Me: I'm Darwin.

???: I'm Bett.

???: I'm Varick.

Leo: What are your plans for the winter break?

Me: I don't have any.

Janin: Me neither.

Leo: What do you think about throwing a party at my house on Christmas Eve?

Me: Oh, I love the idea.

Sarah: Me too.

Janin: And you could come to mine for New Year's.

Matt: Yes! My family has a cabin in the woods. We could go there for in-between.

Me: Awesome.

Leo: So everyone agrees with these?

Sarah: Yes

Janin: Yes

Varick: Yeah!

Diana: Yes, I do.

Matt: Yes

Bett: Me too.

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A new day starts. A new day of going to school and meeting with my friends. I think this year is the first time when I am so excited to go to school and meet people. I had friends in the old schools too but I don't know why I never felt so excited. I was happy, but thinking about all the learning killed my mood. But now, even on an exam day, I am excited as if I've just won an award.

After eating and taking my backpack I leave the house together with my sister. Arriving at school, I meet Janin on the corridor.

"Hey. How are you?" I ask.

"I'm fine. And you?"

"Good as well. I was wondering what should I bring at the New Year's party."

"Just bring yourself, Darwin. Oh and those ham and cheese rolls that you had at the Halloween party were awesome, so some of that would be very welcomed."

"Sure."

---------

As I enter the classroom,  I think about what things will happen today, what will I and  Leo talk about and whether or not will I meet Diana. After placing my backpack on the floor next to the desk, I take off my jacket and place it on the back of the chair. Yes, we do have a clothes hanger at the back of the classroom but I prefer to keep it near me. First, it keeps my back warm as the chair is made out of wood. Second, there are fewer chances of me forgetting it at school. After that, I go to Leo. 

"Hi Leo."

"Hi Darwin. How are you?" he says.

"I'm good, thanks. What about you? It's getting colder outside, right?" I say.

"I'm also good. Well it should be getting colder as it already is the end of November." he answers.

"Woah, already. It's as if only yesterday we started school. One more month and it's Christmas." I say, amazed.

"Yeah, you're right."

Hearing the bell ringing, I go back to my seat and prepare myself for the first class of the day, English. After the teacher comes in, she takes attendance and then says that we will have to make a project in pairs, but there will also be a group of 3 as we are 27. I look at Leo and he looks at me. Then we meet halfway and go to the teacher to say that we are a team.

"Okay. So Darwin and Leo. What will your project be about?" asks the teacher.

"Can we do it about climate change?" I ask.

"Yes, of course. Let me write it down."

After ten minutes, everyone seems to have found a partner and went to the teacher to tell her about their project. One student was left alone. Looking more closely, I see that it's Matt. I ask Leo that we both go to him.

" Hey Matt. Do you have a partner for the project?" I ask.

"No."

"Why don't you join us?"

"Sounds good. Thanks."

"No problem. Let's go to the teacher and tell her."

After telling the teacher, she let's us do what we want until the break.

"Do you want to come to my house to do the project?" asks Matt.

"I'm okay with it." I say.

"Me too." says Leo.

"Is Saturday good?" I ask.

"Yeah.", "yes" are the answers that I hear. Then, I hear the bell ringing announcing the break. Matt goes outside to meet with some other friends, while Leo and I remain indoors.

"What movies did you last see?" I ask.

"I've rewatched the 'Fast and Furious' series." Leo says.

"Oh, nice movies. I've watched a few movies from the 'Saw' series." I say.

"Wow. I never took you as a guy who likes horror movies... It's not meant to sound mean or anything, I'm just surprised."

"You don't know a lot about me... No, just kidding. I love horror movies more because of their stories, not that much because of the blood scenes or so." I explain.

"Ah, I see. I don't hate horror movies, but I don't love them either. Yes, some are worth watching for their amazing stories, but when I know they are going to give me a heart - attack every minute, I prefer to avoid them." says Leo.

"What kind of horror movies have you watched so far that you ended up with that conclusion. Listen to him... Gets 'a heart - attack every minute'." I say smiling.

"Movies like 'Chucky', 'Annabelle'. Ah, even saying their names sends a shiver down my spine." 

"Oh, than it's understandable. Haven't you heard of 'Ghostbusters', 'Scary movie' series (R- Rated), 'Scream' series (R- Rated) or 'Goosebumps?'" I ask him.

"Well yes but I didn't think they are horror movies." he says.

"Although they are mostly comedy, they are labelled as horror movies as well. Why don't we watch one of these movies on Saturday, after we are done with our project?" I suggest him.

"Why not..."

---------

As Saturday came, I was very excited to meet up with Leo and Matt and to see what movie we were going to watch. After getting out of bed, I go freshen up in the shower. I eat some breakfast and wash my teeth afterwards. As we won't meet until later in the day, at 12 o'clock, I sit on the couch and watch some TV.

At 12 o'clock, I meet up with Leo so that we can go together to Matt's house. Getting there, we ring the bell and wait for him.

"Hey." Matt says.

"Hey" Leo and I say in unison.

"Please come in." he says, inviting us to enter the house. "On the right, there, is a small bench where you can sit to take off your shoes easier and some pairs of slippers. They are all kinds of sizes. Please choose the ones that are better for you."

After Leo and I take off our shoes and each gets a pair of slippers, which I must say, are pretty comfortable, we go to Matt's room. Entering, I am surprised to find Bett there.

"Hi guys" she says.

"Hi..." I say, still taken aback. "How come you're here, if you don't mind me asking?"

"I invited her as she also did her project on climate change last year." Matt says.

"Oh really." Leo says amazed.

"But, Matt, you know that I can't give you the project I did with the others, right?" Bett says.

"Why not?" Matt asks, slowly getting angry.

"Because it took us a lot of time and one of the people I worked with also did a drawing for it. And the teacher congratulated us very much on that drawing, so I am sure she still remembers it." she explains.

"It's okay. That's why we chose the weekend - to have time to do it right." I quickly say.

"On the other hand, I can give you the websites from which we took information." Bett says.

"That would be very helpful, thank you." Leo says.

---------

After working for three hours, we managed to finish our project. We send it to the teacher and to each of our email addresses just to have it in many places. In the meantime, Matt's mother also served us with some home-cooked food and also some apple pie, that were both extremely delicious. 

"Hey Matt. Leo and I thought about watching some light horror movies as Leo has only watched those kind of horror movies that, if you watch them before others, really makes you hate all the horror genre." I say.

"Light horror like 'Casper'?" he asks, teasing us.

"No. Like 'Ghostbusters'." says Leo.

"Ah. I haven't watched that movie either. Should I also make some popcorn?" Matt says.

"That'd be great, thanks." I say.

"Should I help you?" Bett asks Matt.

"That'd be wonderful." Matt says.

After a few minutes, we play the movie 'Ghostbusters' from the year 1984. Even though the movie was made a long time ago, it was still amazing. The story was excellent and the special effects were well done, for that time.

---------

After we finished the movie, we all said goodbye to Matt and each headed to their house. After getting home, I ate some dinner with my family, washed up and went to my bed, even though I wasn't planning on sleeping as I was not feeling sleepy and it was also not that late. I put my phone on the bedside table and stare at the ceiling, when I hear a loud Ding. 'Is there a ghost in here?... Oh, no, just my phone. Haha.'

I take my phone and look who wrote me a message. It's Diana. 

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A/N: The text (in brackets and in italics) is what they thought of writing, but did not.

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Diana: Hey. This is Diana. How are you?

Me: Hi. I'm fine, thank you. And you?

Diana: I'm good, too. You answered the same as when the teacher asks us how we feel. Ha ha ha.

Me: Haha. True. I guess I am used to answering like that.

Diana: Anyway, I texted you as it would be Sarah's birthday soon and I don't really know what to get her.

Me: Well, she likes a lot of handmade things (and I like you).

Diana: Ok, thank you.

Me: No problem at all. See you at school.

Diana: Yes. Goodnight!

Me: Goodnight!

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A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. If you have noticed any mistakes, feel free to tell me in the comments. Also, thank you for reading this book!