The bell signalling the end of last period, rings loudly throughout the school. So loudly, I could hear it from all the way across the street where I so happened to be standing, headed towards home. School was being a pain and I just couldn't handle Gracie's constant yammering so I ditched last period. I could've gone home but I knew i'd get the third degree from everyone if I headed home early on my first day, so I found myself sitting alone, leaned up against a wall, hidden behind thick lockers in an empty hall most students didn't pass until the day finally ended at 3:00 pm.

"How was your first day?" Mom greets me at the door. Her usual thick smile plastered to her face. Sometimes I wonder whether the smiling comes naturally or is constantly forced. The smell of chicken pot pie fills my nose like bees attracted to honey and suddenly, all I can think about is food.

"Fine." I mutter without even a slight glance, and head straight for the kitchen. "What do we have to eat?"

"Nothing." She says following me closely as if there were a priceless diamond in the kitchen worth stealing. "Have you eaten? I didn't see you this morning."

I shake my head and open a cabinet in search of food. "I skipped breakfast and lunch today. I didn't even realize I was hungry till' now."

I can practically feel mom roll her eyes as I stick my head in another cabinet. "Seriously? Who ate all the cereal." The tiger on the Frosted Flake cereal box I held upside down seemed to mock me as I kept shaking, hoping cereal would magically fall out.

"Sorry." Rydel smiles joining us. "I ate all of it last night at like two in the morning."

I stick my tongue out towards her disappointed. "Pig!"

"Hey!" She defends. "I'm a growing girl with hormones and needs."

If I had a quarter for all the times Rydel has given me that excuse, i'd be rich. "Now what am I going to eat?" I sigh turning towards Mom.

She gives me a look as in: "You should have had breakfast this morning." or "You should have bought lunch at school." But I didn't feel like telling her I used up all my allowance making bets and then losing.

Finally, my mom gave in and answered, her voice tired yet filled with love. "I'll see what I can do." she struggles to keep a straight face as I wrap my arms around her, peck her cheek, and rush up the stairs towards my room.

"Gracie!?" I half shriek and yell at the same time. There she is. My slightly annoying friend laying on my bed, belly down like it's the most normal thing in the world. "What are you doing here?!" I hiss closing my door quietly. "You can't be in here! how did you even get up here!?"

She flips through a few pages of the magazine she has in her hand before exhaling clearly bored. "I'm here to see you silly." Pushing her upper body off my bed, she sits upright facing me.

"You've never been to my house, so how do you know my address?"

"Have you forgotten i'm crazy rich?" I blinked for a few seconds not sure of what to say. "I have to admit," she continues looking around as if she were my camp councillor inspecting my room for cabin cleanup. "I thought your room would be more.." she looks to me for help, stumped on the word she was looking for. "roomy." she finally says settling on the word. "Never thought your room would be so small, not mention your house."

"My room is pretty normal sized." I sigh. "You just have a big house."

"And how would you know that?" She counters trying to outsmart me.

"Because you've told me. 54 times to be exact." From outside my door I hear the shuffling of feet and my eyes widen. "Hide!" I hiss towards Gracie. I run over as quietly as possible and half-heartedly push her into my small, messy, walk-in closet. She makes a noise similar to a squeal and I give her pleading eyes as if to say: "please don't say a word". And just as I close the door to my closet, in comes Riker and Ryland, either one pushing and shoving each other on the way in.

"How was school?" They yell towards me at the same time.

Eyeing them oddly, I do my best to divert the attention away from the closet behind me and find myself sitting on my bed, opposite to it. "Why?"

"You know;" Riker begins trying to seem nonchalant. "Meet any new friends?"

"Or perhaps old ones?" Ryland adds.

"Um.. nope. Kind of just spent the whole day to myself."

From behind Ryland, a small noise similar to a sneeze interrupts us.

"Bless you." Riker quickly says.

"Uh, that wasn't me bro." Ryland says glancing at me. "What was that?" He turns around, now facing my closet about to open it.

"NOTHING!" I yell surprising all of us. "Now what do you want?" This seems to distract him away from opening the closet, because he simply cuts to the point. "What happened with Laura is what we're trying to ask you."

"Laura?" I question as If the name slips my mind.

Who's Laura? I want to ask. Laura. I think back to the moment in the hall we had. The tiny moment we made eye contact before she quickly rushed off.

"Nothing." I finally say my voice cracked and quiet. "Absolutely nothing."

"Don't lie." Riker says eyeing me. He thinks because he's the oldest child, he has some kind of superpower over all of us younger Lynches but believe me: he doesn't.

"Seriously!" I raise my hands up in surrender, temporarily forgetting about Gracie in my closet. "I wish something happened."

"You guys didn't talk?" Riker asks scrunching his eyebrows together.

"Nope. I mean, we made eye contact but that was about it... she left immediately after that."

"Sorry bro." he simply says patting my shoulder.

"Whatever.." I sigh and stand. "It is what it is. Now I got a lot of homework so uh..." awkwardly gesturing towards the door I give them my best goofy: "i'm okay," smile. "Can you guys get lost."

The smile seems to satisfy them because they give me a nod and finally disappear out the door.

I look around the room, ruffle my hair tiredly, before walking over to the closet and opening it up. Gracie almost immediately bursts out like peas in a pod.

"I thought they'd never leave!" She yells, fanning herself. "Now what's this about a Laura? Why are your brothers asking you about her?"

"She's no one."

"She's not no one, if your brothers are asking you about her."

"Just let it go Gracie."

"You care about this Laura." She presses on. The one thing I really dislike about Gracie is her constant need to bud into peoples business. "I heard the conversation Ross. I also care about you. So tell me what that was about."

"Nothing.." My hands wrap around my neck tiredly and I pace my room trying not to get emotional. I always get emotional when it comes to Laura.

"Dammit' just tell me Ross! Why can't you tell me?!"

"BECAUSE SHE BROKE MY HEART!" I don't mean to yell. But I do. I don't even care if my family hear me. "Because I loved her." I continue more quietly. "I still love her, and I don't know how to get her back." And it might just be me and the emotional heat of the moment but I swear, at that moment, there was a flicker of sadness and hurt in her eyes that appeared and left as quickly as it came.

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