"Hey Vince!"

Her cheerful voice rang through the air as she suddenly came up behind me, a wide smile plastered over her lips as usual.

Except this time there were no dimples.

I felt more eyes beginning to fall on us as we walked through the hall, side by side.

Celvire students still haven't gotten used to the sight of "loner boy" and the "mysterious no-name girl" together. Although the typical icy glares have lessened, most people still didn't approve of our friendship.

But then again, to each their own.

"Hey," I replied lamely, shooting her my best attempt at a casual smile.

Judging by the way she bounced with each step, she didn't seem bothered at all by last night, or by anything in general. And admittedly, that's what scared me the most.

"Vince?"

Cautiously, I turned my head towards her, my eyes catching her gaze.

"Yeah?"

It didn't take long for my eyes to flick towards the bright yellow notebook that she held tightly in her hand, the giant red, white and blue patterned umbrellas sprawled over the cover catching my eye as she swung her arms back and forth enthusiastically, stuck in a rhythm with each of her steps.

But before anyone of us could open our mouths to ask the other anything, a bitterly familiar voice interrupted.

I took in a sharp breath as a feeling of unease swept through my body.

"You're still together?"

Slowly, I lifted my head, meeting a pair of icy blue eyes.

Her once auburn hair was now bleach blonde, tied up into a tight ponytail at the top of her head.

Quickly, I stole a glance at her. She seemed completely unbothered by the presence of Georgia, and an essence of her friendly smile still lingered on her face.

"Hey Georgia!" she chirped, letting a smile take over her lips yet again.

For a split second Georgia's eyes widened, but she quickly covered it up with an all too snobby scoff.

"Yeah, whatever. Too bad you guys only started becoming friends this week, you could've became the second biggest story beside the dead bird."

Awkwardly, I averted my eyes from her, gluing them down on the floor instead.

"Well thanks I guess," she muttered sheepishly in response, her lips parting into a straight line as she stared back at her with newfound confidence.

And at that moment, for once. Georgia seemed to show some sign of weakness.

"It's no wonder you're so popular around here. But I am surprised to see you with loner boy over there, although you guys can always make a good story for us."

Her lips curved into a slight grimace as she pointed a finger directly at her.

"Also," she added, "my writing team is large enough, you should go back to frolicking in daisy meadows with your boyfriend over there instead."

Without giving her a chance to respond, she walked away, leaving the two of us completely speechless as we stood in the middle of the hall.

Upon her leave, the students spectating our interaction burst into conversation. Some even going as far as making subtle glances and points in our direction, as if it wasn't clear enough that they were talking about us.

Through the commotion, I broke my silence.

"You asked to join The Daily Sparrow?" I murmured in complete bafflement. I could hardly grasp the idea that someone like her would even bother to ask the Georgia Romone to join her little clique of overdramatic writers.

She nodded her head in response.

"Why?" she asked casually, her eyes landing on mine.

I opened my mouth to say something but quickly snapped it closed after second thoughts.

"No reason," I murmured instead, holding back the bitter edge threatening to coat my words. "What's the notebook for?" I asked instead, reluctantly changing the topic.

"Well, I felt the sudden urge to write something, and I found this!"

She brought the notebook up to her face, leaving enough space between her forehead and the top of the book to let her bright hazel eyes peek through.

"Isn't it cool?" she chirped, proudly waving it around like a child showing off a medallion.

I let out a laugh.

"Yeah, it is," I declared, grinning.

Slowly, she lowered the notebook, and as she did, a surge of relief rushed through me.

Her lips curved into one of her signature smiles as two little dimples sat contently on her cheeks.

But as quickly as it had come, it vanished, quickly replaced by a look of subtle fear.

Her eyes seemed to widen in alarm for a split second as her head snapped to the side. Not too long after, she plastered a fragile smile over her face.

"I forgot I had to get home early today, but I'll talk to you later!"

Oddly calm, she turned her back towards me and rushed down the hall.

***

A/N

Hi guys...🙃

Sorry if I'm interrupting your reading but...

OMG, WE ACTUALLY HIT 1K READS!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

I am in a literal state of disbelief right now... (*-*)

But in all honesty, readers like you guys are FREAKING AWESOME.

Because of you guys, I'm stupidly grinning from ear-to-ear right now, so thank you for that! 😁

I CANNOT EVEN EXPRESS HOW MUCH YOU GUYS MEAN TO ME IN WORDS!!!

So, THANK YOU SO SO MUCH FOR SUPPORTING THIS BOOK AND TAKING TIME OUT OF YOUR DAY TO ACTUALLY READ IT!!!

And...

SPECIAL SHOUT-OUT TO ALL THOSE AMAZING READERS WHO BEARED WITH ME SINCE THE VERY BEGINNING...(you know who you are). You guys will never be forgotten ;)

Anyways, stayed tuned for more updates and I hope you enjoy the rest of "The Girl With Cherry Earrings"!

Have a wonderful day,

~Epiphany