"Ugh, finally, lunch time," moaned Annie. "I'm starving."
"Yeah, me too," Silver replied grabbing a cafeteria tray and loading it up. She grabbed a Caesar salad and some sushi. Annie followed suite, getting a garden salad, lasagne and fries. As they walked to an empty table, Silver eyeballed the fries enviously.
"Damn, I should have gotten fries," Silver said with a frown.
Annie sat down and laughed. "Don't worry, these are communal fries," she said putting them in between her and Silver, much to Silver's delight.
They dug into the fries. Annie held one up and said 'cheers!' They laughed as they 'clinked' their fries together.
Naomi walked past. "Hmm," she said looking down at Silver and Annie. "Loser convention is in town," she remarked as she kept walking. Her entourage giggled and laughed approvingly.
Silver's face darkened like a storm cloud. "Stupid bitch," Silver muttered.
Annie looked from Naomi's back to Silver. "Silver, can I ask you something without making you angry?"
Silver looked at her and said "Ask me and find out."
Annie twirled her fork through her salad. "I know she's a pain and all, but why do you hate Naomi so much?"
Silver's head snapped around to look at Annie. She considered not answering for a moment, but thought better of it.
Silver sighed. "Back in 8th grade, I caught my Dad having an affair with my Mom's best friend. I was… I was so angry. So unbelievably scared, that my Mom would find out… That she'd get a divorce, or start drinking again. So I didn't tell anyone, I, I kept it to myself. But it started eating away at me, you know?" Silver said shakily.
"Yeah, I know," Annie said rubbing Silver's arm sympathetically.
"I had to tell someone, so I told my best friend, Naomi," she continued icily.
Annie's eyes bulged.
Silver nodded. "Yup, who'd have thought? Anyway, she promised that she wouldn't tell anyone. So she told everyone," she said looking down. She took a deep painful breath before continuing. "Of course, my Mom found out, she confronted my Dad, and everything that I prayed wouldn't happen, happened," she concluded sadly.
"Woah, I'm sorry," Annie said solemnly.
"Yeah, me too," Silver agreed with a tight smile. "Anyway, it's ancient history. But that's why I have a firm commitment to hating Naomi Clark."
"A well justified reason," agreed Annie. *Poor Silver* she thought to herself as she squeezed Silver's arm affectionately.
The bell rang, pulling the girls out of their tender moment. "Off to Bio," Silver said with mock excitement.
"Fun!" exclaimed Annie. She linked arms with Silver as they left the cafeteria. Annie felt so sorry for Silver, so many of her friends parents were divorced, but she couldn't imagine what she'd do if it were her parents splitting up, her family falling apart.
The afternoon classes flew by and soon it was home time. Annie met Silver at her locker.
"Are you sure you want to take Dixon and I home, it's not too much trouble?" Annie asked.
"No way, it's totally fine," Silver assured her.
"Alright, cool. Thanks," Annie exclaimed.
They made their way to the car park and found Dixon sitting on the boot of her car.
"Dixon, get off!" yelled Annie, smacking his leg with her bag.
Silver laughed. "Its fine, it's nothing I don't do myself," she said.
Dixon laughed and got off the car. He patted Silver on the back and faced Annie. "Chill, sis," he said.
Annie rolled her eyes. "Just get in the back," she replied pointing to the backseat.
"Oh, what? I get the bitch seat? That's nice," he goaded her.
"Well Dix, you could always walk," suggested Silver with a smirk.
"Nah, nah it's cool. Annie gets automatic shotgun… I get it," Dixon backtracked as he climbed in the backseat.
"That's right," Annie said bumping fists with Silver. "Hoe's over bro's," she quipped with a laugh.
Silver laughed and nodded in the affirmative.
"You know, Silver, you might just have to let me drive this thing sometime," Dixon leaned forward and put his face close to hers. Silver gulped and turned her head slightly, her cheek nearly touching his.
"Mmm… We'll see how you play your cards," Silver raised her eyebrow suggestively.
Dixon leaned back, grinning. *Damn, this girl's got moves. I like it* Dixon thought to himself.
Annie watched the exchange, amused. She'd seen Dixon turn on the charm on many of her friends in Kansas, so she knew full well what he was up to. She wondered if he'd met his match in Silver, she was a lot spunkier than many of the girls he'd pursued in the past. It would definitely be fun to watch, that was for sure, Annie decided.
"Home, sweet home!" exclaimed Silver as she pulled into the Wilson's driveway.
Silver got out the car to say goodbye to Annie. She leaned against the bonnet of her car as Annie came around to meet her.
"Thanks again for the ride," Annie said gratefully.
"Would you stop thanking me! Really, it's my pleasure," Silver replied smiling.
Annie impulsively hugged Silver. Annie was a very affectionate, touchy, feely girl. At home, her friends jokingly dubbed her a 'hug slut.' Annie knew some people really didn't like to be touched and hugged and valued their personal space, and hoped Silver wasn't one of them. Luckily for her, she wasn't. And luckily for Silver, Annie put her arms around her neck, not her waist which would have caused excruciating pain. Silver returned the hug warmly as Dixon watched from behind. When the girls released each other, he stepped forward.
"Again, thank you for the lift," Dixon caught Silver's hand and brought it to his lips. Silver fought hard to keep a straight face and was just able to keep from smiling.
Annie put her hand on her hip and watched in amazement. Dixon sure didn't waste any time!
Dixon let go of Silver's hand, said goodbye and went inside the house.
Annie smirked and shook her head. "I can't take him anywhere," she said dramatically with a shrug of her shoulders.
Silver finally let a grin spread across her face, which turned slightly pink.
Annie laughed. "I'll call you later," she departed with a wave as she headed towards the front door.
Silver nodded. "Talk to you later!" She got back into her car and headed for home. There was really nothing for her to do to delay her arrival home today, she just hoped she could sneak in undetected and hide out in her room until her Mom fell asleep or passed out… Whichever came first.
