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I went a whole chapter without Dex! Inconceivable!
...
CHAPTER 6
"Sophie?" Keefe said. His eyes flickered between Tam and I.
"Yes?" I said.
"It's so crazy to see you here!" Said Biana.
"Who's this?" Asked Fitz.
"Oh! This is Tam. Tam, this is Fitz, Keefe, and Biana." I said.
"Hi." Said Tam, flipping his bangs out of his face.
I fought back a laugh at the look on Keefe's face. He looked really ticked off.
"Hey Sophie. Who's this?" Asked Linh, coming over.
"Hey Linh. This is Keefe, Fitz, and Biana." I said.
"Nice to meet you!" Said Biana, looking at Tam. She flipped her hair over her shoulder.
"Um, I should be getting back with Verdi." I said "Nice seeing you guys."
I got up and put Verdi on her leash.
"Um, yeah, we should go too." Said Tam, grabbing my arm.
"Ooh, can I walk Verdi again?" Asked Linh. Apparently, Linh was immune to the awkwardness.
"Of course." I said. "See you guys later." I said to Fitz, Biana, and Keefe.
"Bye! You should come over again sometime!" Said Biana.
Keefe was glaring at Tam's hand on my arm.
"Well... bye." I said.
I walked away with Tam and Linh.
"That was... weirdly awkward." I said once we were out of the park.
"Yeah... It was." Agreed Tam.
"So, do you go to school with them?" Asked Linh.
"Yeah." I said.
My phone rang.
It was Grady.
"Hello?"
"Are you okay?"
"Um, yeah. Why?"
"Just checking. You've been gone for a while, so I got worried." He sighed.
"Oh, OK. Well, I'm on my way home anyway." I said.
"See you soon. Stay safe."
"Ok. Bye, Grady."
"Bye."
He hung up.
"Who was that?" Asked Tam.
"My dad. He's just worries when I'm gone too long." I said.
Linh sighed.
"I wish our parents cared" She said.
"Don't answer if you don't want to, but what's up with your parents?" I asked.
"They just... we're embarrassments to them. 'The kids who got expelled'" Tam said.
"They want us to be perfect, and we can't live up to their standard. So, we mainly avoid them." Linh said.
"That makes sense. I had a foster family like that once. Boy, was I glad when I moved out." I said.
"It's good to have someone understand." Said Tam.
We reached our houses.
"Well, I've got to go. Grady is gonna flip if I don't get inside." I said.
"It was nice to meet you, Sophie." Said Tam.
"See ya around. Bye, Verdi!" Said Linh.
Linh skipped away down the sidewalk with Tam following close behind with his hands in his pockets. I laughed at how different they were.
I walked inside and let Verdi off her leash. She ran off, probably to chew on a shoe or something.
"Sophie!" Called Edaline, running to give me a hug.
"Hey." I said.
"Good to see you home safe. I was starting to get worried! By the way, Dex came by while you were gone. He's in your room." She said.
"OK, thanks." I said, running up the stairs.
I opened the door to my room, and there was Dex, putting bows in Iggy's fur.
I giggled. Dex looked up.
"Hey, Sophie." He said sheepishly.
"Hey Dex." I said, sitting on my bed.
"I just wanted to say... I'm sorry about the way I acted the other day. I just don't like the Vackers. We cool?" He asked hopefully.
"Of course! Just a question... why don't you like them?" I asked.
"They're just so perfect, and they act like snobby rich kids. At least around me." He said.
"I get that. Once they warm up to you, they really are great." I said. "Give them a chance."
"Okay. Oh, who's the new roommate?" He asked, pointing to Silveny.
"That's Silveny. I found her with a broken wing. We're waiting for her to heal, so that she can be released back into the wild."
"That's really cool!" Dex said.
"Yeah! By the way, completely unrelated, do you like Marella?" I asked, a thought that had occurred to me earlier.
He turned beet red.
"M-marella? Y-yeah. As a friend? Yeah. I like her. As a friend." He stuttered.
"I think we both know that I didn't mean as a friend." I said, raising my eyebrows.
"Ugh, I thought you were cooler than this." Dex mumbled.
I laughed.
"So... That's a yes?"
"Maybe?" He whispered.
"Yay! You guys would be so cute!" He glared at me. " But, I'm not gonna push it." I said.
"Uh huh." He said skeptically. " I see you crushing on Fitz anyway."
"W-what?!" I said, blushing beet red. "Am not! I mean he's cute and stuff but he's not my type- wait a second."
Dex was laughing at me.
"Hey!" I said.
"Doesn't feel too good, does it Sophie?" He laughed. "Besides, everyone knows you like Keefe."
I blushed. Did I like Keefe? No! Maybe... Pfft, I didn't even know him that well.
"Wait, really?" He asked, his eyes wide.
"I-I don't. I hardly even know him."
"Suuuuure, Sophie. Sure."
"Does anyone else think that?" I asked.
"Not that I know. I just made that up to tease you." He grinned.
Oh, thank goodness.
"Anyway..." I said.
"Hmmmm... It's nice out today. Do you want to go outside?"
"Nah. I was just at the park."
"Then... A movie?"
"That sounds fun." I said.
We went downstairs, and after much debate, decided to watch Lord of the Rings. We both could quote parts of the movie. About halfway through, Grady and Edaline sat down with us. Edaline brought popcorn.
When the movie was over, we got into a debate about which character was best.
"Obviously Legolas." I said. "Elves are super awesome!"
"Um no." Dex argued. "Frodo is better."
"Nuh uh!"
"Yeah huh!"
"Nuh uh!"
"Yea-" Dex was cut off by the doorbell.
I opened the door to find Alden standing there.
"Ah, Sophie. I was hoping to talk to you."
...
What does Alden want to talk about? I have no idea. I will figure it out eventually.
I am actually addicted to writing this story.