JULIE's POV

~Thursday~

My alarm clock beside my bed reads 8:25. I'm supposed to be in class, but I'm not. Sigh.

Yesterday was hard for me... maybe even the worst day of my life. I keep replaying the scene in the back of my mind; I even dreamt about it. Those hard glares from my ex-cheer squad, the room spinning, the feeling of being suffocated, Dana's laughter as she kicks me off of the team. I can't believe she would do that. Over some rumors? 

Speaking of the rumors, the cyberbullies are still blowing up my social media. I'm currently scrolling down my timeline, seeing people add more and more crazy stuff. Somebody said I had gotten an abortion; another claimed I slept with every single guy at school which is physically impossible. I just don't get it. Why me? Why now?

"Julie?"

I quickly hide my phone under the covers and grab a Kleenex, coughing into it and frowning. My mom quietly knocks on the door before peeping her head in.

"You alright?"

"No, mom. I told you I'm sick..." I cough.

"Poor thing. Everyone is coming down with the bug." She walks into my room and feels my forehead with the back of her hand. "I called the school and told them you won't be in today."

"I hate missing class..." I force a fake sneeze and pout.

"I know, honey. But your health is more important right now. One day off won't hurt. I set out some cans of soup in the kitchen with oyster crackers that you love. Keep drinking your tea."

I eyeball the half-empty cup of tea on my nightstand and nod.

"All right. I'm going to work now. Call me or your father if you need anything." She kisses my forehead before leaving the room. Once she does, I sit up in bed and resume looking at social media like before. My blood boils looking at the comments from random people I don't even know... why don't they just leave me alone?

DIGGY's POV

RINGGGGGGGGGG!!

"Have a good day, everyone," Mrs. Raymond, our Spanish teacher, says.

I gather my books and walk out of the classroom, heading to my next class. As I pass people in the halls, I catch a few that glance at me or snicker. I simply ignore them. I've sort of let go of the social media messages and rumors. I'm trying to put it in the past and forget about it, but I'm still curious about who started them.

"Yo, Diggy!" Chris surprises me and wraps his arm around me.

"Yo. Hey, Chris." 

He squeezes me and hits me on the back, smiling. "Yo! So are those little social media gremlins still bothering you?"

"Unfortunately, yes."

"Well, forget 'em. They're just haters. Plus, it's not like you and Julie are a thing anyway." Chris lets go of me.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"That it's not your problem. It's not like she's your girlfriend." He shrugs with a chuckle.

I stop walking and turn to him. "No, she's not. But she doesn't deserve to be slandered and called names. Nobody does."

"Whatever you say, Dig."

"Yeah, well, I gotta get to class," I reply.

Chris holds me back before I go anywhere. "Hey, wait! It's the first week back and I know it's already been stressful for you with the rumors and everything... but I'm having a party at my house tonight. I invited the basketball team, cheer squad, and a whole bunch of cool people. Are you down?"

"A party at your house? Tonight?"

"Yeah. There'll be a whole bunch of ladies there, good food..." He leans in and whispers, "And maybe some alcohol, too. It'll be fun, man."

I think about it and nod my head. "Maybe. See you later."

***

~Lunchtime~

Me and Khalil are standing in line to get our lunches when Dana walks by and rubs my arm. I look at her while grabbing a piece of fruit.

"Hey, Diggy," Dana coons.

"Hey, Dana," I reply with a friendly grin.

"You're looking good today. I see you're still staying in shape since basketball season stopped," Dana says as she gently squeezes my bicep.

I glance at Khalil who has a smirk on his face, then look back at Dana. I chuckle. "Yeah... gotta stay in shape. You know?" I awkwardly reply as we approach the cashier.

"I see you're staying in shape too, Dana. Them Zumba classes been working out for ya?" Khalil snickers while paying for his food.

Dana smirks and replies, "Yes they are. Every Tuesday at 7 o'clock. We get it in. Maybe you should join me sometime?" 

"I'll pass," Khalil says with a grin.

After paying for lunch, me and Khalil stroll towards our usual table in the cafeteria. Dana follows, taking a seat beside me and smirking my way. I focus on eating my food. She's been paying me a lot of attention, but I can't get distracted by these girls this semester.

"Did you hear about Chris's party?" She asks.

"Yep." I nod my head.

"Are you going? It sounds like everyone is gonna be there - it should be fun!"

I glance at Khalil across the table from me and look at Dana. "I'm not really sure."

"You should. Both of you." Dana looks from Khalil to me. "It'll be hot! Plus, I'm gonna be there..." She flashes a smile and flips her hair over her shoulder.

I grin, being amused internally at her flirting, and shrug my shoulders. "It's been a crazy week."

"Because of all those rumors about you and Julie? Don't worry about 'em, Diggy. Besides, I have a feeling she won't be around for too long anyway." She looks around the cafeteria, waving to some of her friends on the cheer squad who walk by, then turns her attention back to me. "It's not like y'all are together anymore. You should start some new beginnings - it's a new year! Have some fun!"

"Who says I'm not having fun?" I look at her while stuffing french fries in my mouth.

Dana chuckles and shakes her head. "If you say so."

"--and can you believe she told me I should work harder? Like, I'm getting a B in her class, how much harder do I have to work? Ugh, hate her," Sam's voice reaches the table before she does. She was walking with Becca talking about who knows what. They notice Dana sitting beside me before taking a seat themselves. Sam in particular doesn't look too happy.

"What's she doing here?" Sam instantly asks, rolling her eyes.

"Diggy invited me to lunch," Dana snarkily replies. 

"Uh, actually--" I begin to clarify but Sam cuts me off.

"How nice," Sam replies with a fake smile.

Dana rolls her eyes but then flashes a fake smile at Becca across the table. "Hey, Becca. How are you?"

"I'm okay, and you?" Becca responds, but without her usual upbeat tone.

"Amazing." 

There's an awkward moment of silence.

"So... have you heard about Chris' party? I think it's gonna be a banger," Dana asks Becca.

Me and Khalil share a quick look. He definitely feels some weird tension too, right? He chuckles silently and I shake my head, continuing to eat.

"I did actually," Becca replies.

"The cheer squad has to be there, especially the assistant captain."

"I don't know... after school, I think I'm gonna go check on Julie, you know? Since what happened yesterday," Becca replies, looking hurt.

I glance up from my food and crinkle my eyebrows in confusion. "What happened yesterday?"

"I'm sure she's fine," Dana's powerful voice interrupts, "Besides... she deserved it. The cheer squad can't be put in jeopardy because of one girl's shenanigans."

"Well, I didn't really agree with the decision. Especially since nobody was even aware of a vote occurring during that meeting--"

"Agree or not, I'm the captain. And my rules stay." Dana stands up in a huff, eyeing Becca. "If you don't like it, there's always someone willing to replace you." She walks away while switching her hips.

I watch Dana go, then look back at Becca who's shaking her head. I wonder what that was all about?

"She can be such a b*tch sometimes," Becca spits out.

"What happened to Julie?" I ask once again.

"Dang, babe. Why does Dana have her cheer panties in a bunch?" Khalil rubs Becca's back trying to calm her down.

"She kicked Julie off the team yesterday over some stupid rules that she made up."

"Why?" I ask, slightly concerned about Julie but not wanting to seem attached.

"It's stupid. Anyway, I was gonna go check on her after school since she's not here today. Oh! And I also heard that her grandma recently died. How traumatic, right?" Becca tells us.

"Dang..." Khalil replies.

"Oh, Becca... always the empathetic one," Sam remarks.

Becca frowns and looks at her friend. "What? Am I not supposed to care?"

"Maybe you should just... give her some space," Sam says.

"I can't. She's a fellow cheer squad member -- therefore she is my sister, and we have to look out for one another."

"Ugh, whatever," Sam rolls her eyes.

"That's why you're coming with me to her house--"

"No Sam is not!" Sam replies.

"Yes, you are! All I need are directions. I don't exactly know where she lives..."

"Too bad. Looks like you can't go. We need to go straight home after school like I promised my mom..." Sam glares at Becca dramatically.

I laugh and ask, "Since when do you follow the rules, Sam?"

She glares at me and flicks me off, and I wink at her.

"By any chance, do you guys know Julie's address?" Becca looks between me and Khalil.

"I do." I reply a little too quickly.

Sam mumbles, "Of course you do."

I roll my eyes at her then grin at Becca and say, "I can lead you there after school if you want."

"Thank you, Diggy! You're such a nice friend."

"Ewwww." Sam replies, once again dramatically.

I smirk and say, "No problem."

***

JULIE's POV

~After School~

"No, Mufasa, no! GET UP, GETUP!" I yell at my television as Simba's dad gets trampled by the herd of wildebeests. My eyes fill with tears every time. "Every time..." I whisper while shaking my head.

My cell phone buzzes. It's my mom. Again.

MOM: Are you okay? How are you feeling?

I reply back that I'm okay. She's texted me 10 times already and it's barely 3 o'clock. I was able to escape reality for a few minutes and it felt great, but now that I check my phone notifications and glance at the hate messages on my page, I feel sick to my stomach again. The trolls have sort of died down their trolling... but a few comments still pop up. Sigh. Might as well delete some of them. I scroll down my page deleting each negative comment... then I stop on one made yesterday. It reads: 

/Diggy Simmons: All y'all on here should mind your business and stop sticking your nose in everybody else's. You look stupid talking bad about someone you don't even know smh

My heart flutters slightly. It was from Daniel.

We don't talk like we used to so I'm surprised he would even stand up for me, or be lurking on my page. When I talked to him in class and in the hallways, he seemed like he didn't wanna be bothered. I mean that's understandable - I did cause him and his friends some drama. But, I can't deny that he's a really good guy and I'm glad that I met him. He was the first friend that I made since coming to Wesley High -- besides the girls on the cheer team.

Ugh, speaking of the cheer team makes me sick. Dana is as fake as her booty. 

Grgrgrgglglglglgl.

Oop. That was my stomach. Dang, I haven't eaten since 10. I throw my blanket off of me and pause The Lion King, then put on my pink fuzzy robe and matching slippers and walk downstairs to the kitchen for some grub. I open the fridge and find my mom's leftover meatloaf, a salad, and cold pizza.

"Pizza it is." I sigh as I take it out the fridge.

SAM's POV

Looking through the car window, we roll up in front of this huge white house with a long driveway. It has like three floors! It looks clean, too! There's no snow in the driveway either. All I can think is--

"Dannggggg. They got moneyyyyy."

"Uh, close your mouth and stop drooling." Becca giggles. "It is pretty nice though."

As we're still admiring the house, Diggy hops out his car and jogs to Becca's side. She rolls down her window and smiles at him.

"Thanks for leading me, Diggy."

"No problem." He sticks his hands in his jean pockets. "You know how to get back home, right?" He jokes.

Becca grins, "Yeah, I should. If not, I got Sam with me. My GPS."

"Yeah right," I mumble.

"She'll be the first to get you lost dealing with her," Diggy says.

I suck my teeth and whip my head around at Diggy. "Don't you got somewhere to be?"

"Bye." He grins and jogs back to his car and gets in, then pulls away.

Becca turns her car off and opens her door. "Let's go."

"I don't wanna," I whine.

"Suit yourself." She hops out and slams the door closed, making her way up the driveway. I watch her look back at me and wave at her. I check my phone and pretend to be busy doing something. Then I look back up and see that she's almost made it to the front door. I groan.

"Why does she even gotta be here," I mumble to myself.

I glance towards the driver's window and spot something tiny and brown wiggling in the air... ew, A SPIDER! I scream and quickly unlock the door and jump out. I sprint up the driveway and meet Becca as she's ringing the doorbell. "EW, EW, EW, EWWWWW!"

"What's wrong?" Becca looks at me crazy.

"There was a spider in your car." I make an ugly face.

She laughs. "Did you get it?"

"Heck no!"

She laughs even more. "You could've at least killed it."

JULIE's POV

The oven beeps, which means the pizza is ready! I'm starving!

I take out my two slices of pepperoni and pineapple, set them on a paper plate, then turn off the oven. Licking my lips, I grab a napkin and my food and walk upstairs.

DING, DONG.

Really? Who is ringing my doorbell? I'm not in the mood for any free pamphlets. 

I walk back downstairs and set my food on the kitchen table, groaning. I turn off the alarm system which hangs on the kitchen wall, grab my keys, and look through the peephole while unlocking the front door. I awkwardly open the door and then unlock the screen door. It's Becca and Sam.

"Hey..." I look between them.

Becca smiles and says, "Hi, Julie. It's good to see you!"

"...you too. Um, what's... up?"

"Sorry for barging in, but we just wanted to check up on you since you weren't at school today."

I slowly nod my head, still confused. "Oh, okay. Well, I'm fine."

"I also heard about your grandmother. I'm so sorry for your loss."

"My grandmother?" I frown. My grandmother didn't d-- oh! Oh, crap. The bathroom. Dana. When I was crying I told-- dang. "Oh, right! My grandmother! My grandmother... such a... wonderful soul. She will be missed." I sniff and look down pretending to be mourning. 

Becca nods her head, looking sympathetic. Hopefully, she bought that.

"Do you mind if we come in?" Becca asks.

I really wanna be left alone right now... but Becca is too nice to turn down.

"Sure. Come on in." I step aside to let them in.

They step inside and look around. Becca looks really mesmerized. 

"Your house is magnífico. Oh, I'm sorry. I mean it's be--"

"Beautiful. Yeah, I know Spanish." I grin. "Gracias."

"Ha, that's right. You and Sam are in Spanish class together." Becca grins and looks at Sam.

"Yes, we are. But I'm also half Mexican - on my dad's side. We don't really speak it too much though, but I've picked up a few words."

"Oh, I didn't know that. I'm half Puerto Rican." She smiles.

"That's good to know." I nod and smell my pizza waiting for me in the kitchen.

"Something smells yummy," Becca speaks up.

"Oh, I was in the middle of eating a snack..." I walk into the kitchen as they follow me, and pick up my plate of pizza. "I would offer you guys some, but--"

"No, that's fine. Go 'head... I haven't had pizza in a while. Actually, I try to avoid greasy foods like that." Becca looks at my pizza with scrutinizing eyes. 

"Yeah, well, I have nothing to lose..." I take a big bite of one slice.

Becca clears her throat and says, "So... I actually came here about the cheer squad situation. That's totally unfair what they did to you, and I don't agree with it at all. I wish there was something I could do to persuade Dana to let you back on the team--"

"No. There's nothing you can do. And it's fine. Stuff happens." I take another huge bite of my pizza, hoping to drown out any other mentions about yesterday.

"I mean... I still feel bad though," Becca continues, "Like, if you are pregnant, we should try to be there for you and help you out with whatever resources you need. Not judge you and trample you to the ground, figuratively speaking."

"Well, I'm not pregnant, okay? So don't worry. It doesn't even matter," I retort back.

"Girl, don't lie..." Sam mumbles under her breath. 

I raise my right eyebrow at Sam. "What did you say?"

"Nothing," Sam mumbles again, avoiding my eyes.

"Huh..." I huff under my breath.

"Look, we're just worried about you," Becca says. 

"I'm fine."

"Anything you need, any advice, a person to vent to... we're here."

Silence falls on the room. I sigh and check the clock on the wall. I'm over this conversation.

"My parents are gonna be home soon. Thanks for stopping by."

"Oh - okay. Will you be at school tomorrow?" Becca asks.

I shrug my shoulders and reply, "Maybe. Let me walk you guys out." I lead them to the front door, open it, and force a genuine smile. "Goodnight." 

Becca responds, finally leaving the house with Sam right behind her. "Bye, Julie."

I close the door and lock it behind them, then I put on the house alarm and sigh.