I awoke to a gentle dawn glinting through the window. I see Mari sit up, and brush the hair out of her face. She rubs her eyes lightly, and mumbles something. Em gets up next, sitting on her knees. I yawn before rolling out of bed. Mari throws her arms up in excitment.

"Cheers to the first day of winter break!" She declares. I fist up the air, and grab my phone.

I've been waiting for this day since the first day of school. I text them, smiling. Em laughs, looking over my shoulder a t the texts, and wraps her arm around me, squeezing tight. Mari looks up at me, and stands, climbing onto our bed. 

_-_-_

"Wanna go to the mall?" Em asks, as we lay on my bed. Mari mumbles a agreement, and I nod. "Okay then let's go." We all sink out of the bed, and hop into the backseat as Mom drives us, my purse sitting on my lap. I store out the window, cars going by. Mari hums along to the song on the radio, and my mom studies her through the rear-view mirror. 

"What's your name again, hunny?" Mom asks, and Mari looks at her, smiling. 

"Mari." She says sweetly. Mom bites her lip, and pauses to think.

"Have you two been in the same class before?" She questions, glancing at me. The three of us exchange a glance. 

"Yes, almost since grade. 7." Mari responds calmly, though I can tell she really doesn't want to talk about it.

"Huh. That was when you started getting bullied, wasn't it darling?" She glances at me, and my hands begin to get sweaty. I shot her a I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it look. Em sits in the middle of us, lost in thought. Mari looks back out the window, her fingers drumming on her leg. The car pulls up to the mall entrance, and I get out, saying a quick good-bye, and I quickly rush into the building.  

"Well, that was awkward." Em says, glancing at the stores near us. I nod, and Mari does too. 

"Oh! C'mon!" Mari pulls us towards a small shop, as we walk in, scents fill my nose. Mari instantly disappears behind some shelves and other people. I follow Em as she slowly walks to a near shelf, reaching for a small bottle labeled Peachy breeze, body mist. Em scoffs as she reads, Peachy. Soon, after a few more tests of different scents, Mari comes towards us, a small bag peeking out of her purse. We walk down the busy hallway, people coming in and out of stores, and stopping to gaze at storefronts. We soon reach a less busy hallway, full of small shops. One was a smoothie place, and we walked in. Em ordered a drink for each of us, and Mari and I found a round table to sit at. There were four chairs, as if we expected a fourth person, considering there were tables for three. Zeke. I glance over at Em, who stood in the line, gazing at the menu. 

Soon, Em comes over and we drink our smoothies in silence for a second. I hear a low, male voice from beside me.

"Fancy seeing you here." He says, looking at Mari. Mari freezes, gazing at the boy, and I studied his features. He had golden hair, a darker shade of blonde then mine, and a birthmark showing on his wrist, near the cuffs of his checkered shirt. 

"Hi..." Mari mumbles. 

"Your not the bold, rebellious girl I remember, are you?" He says, smiling. Mari glares at him, and frowns.

"Humph." Mari replies, without a comeback. Weird. Mari was normally sharp-tongued. He boy brushed the hair out of his face. 

"Heard your little boyfriend was dead." He says, raising an eyebrow. Em chokes on the smoothie she was drinking, coughing into her hands, then taking a deep breath. The boy stared at her. 

"He's not dead." Mari spits, her hands still on her clear plastic cup. She is looking back down, glaring at her smoothie. He huffs, then looks at me, studying my face.

"Your pretty quiet." He states. I shrug, and look at Em for help. Em blinks and looks over at him. 

"Back off, will you?" Em snarls. He snickers a little, and turns back to me. I sigh, though it's silent a usual. 

"Quite a pretty face.." He says, looking deep into my eyes. My eyes widen, and I feel my skin tingle. I glance at Em, who is glaring at him.

"Back Off." She repeats, and he looks over at her, but glances at Mari first, while she rolls her eyes. 

"Why? You jealous?" He says innocently. Em and Mari groan. 

"She's taken." Mari spits. I nod, and Em seems to relax a little. 

"Not surprised. If it doesn't work out, call me." He laughs, and I narrow my eyes.

"Oh, it'll work!" Em spits, raising her voice. She stands, looking him in the eyes, one of her hands on the back of the plastic chair. He smiles, and raised his hands like a surrender, and Mari huffs. 

"What makes you so sure?" He demands, although he's smirking. I rest my forehead in my hands, and Mari glares at him, rolling her eyes, again.

"Oh my lord.." Mari mutters, loud enough for me and him to hear.

"Because she's mine." Em snarls. The boy takes a moment to think.

"Oh." He mumbles.

I look at my folded hands that rested on the table. My feet were crossed, since I normally sit that way. I glance back up, Mari still looking angry, or perhaps upset? Em still glared at him, though she was sitting back down. The boy, who still hadn't introduced himself yet, glanced at the floor. 

"Gonna get going, Cody?"  Mari says, breaking the silence. I bite my lip. Cody sounded familiar, I heard that before. After a minute of thinking, I sat up in my chair suddenly, and everyone turned to look at me. Of course! Cody was the guy who cheating on Mari in gr. 8! I guess I shouldn't be so excited about that. I pull out my phone and text Em what I figured out. She looks at me, nodding.

"Sure. I'll see you guys later, hopefully." He says, walking away. 

"Hopefully not." Mari mumbles.