Monday arrived quicker than Dez and Charlie could spring a prank.
Which was good, because I knew they were planning one from the 'quiet' conferences they kept having in their room. I just hoped they wouldn't play it on me, especially since Charlie had got slime for his last birthday.
It was just like any other Monday; Cassie and Mike drove Cara and I to school and confirmed they'd give us a ride back. I got the feeling Cassie felt bad about Friday, and she was really apologetic, but I didn't blame her. It wasn't her fault she'd had to drop off her little brother at school.
Class flew by and all too soon I was walking towards our spot between the English and Art buildings. The asphalt was wet from an early morning shower and I wondered where we were going to sit.
To my surprise, Dee was the only one there. She was stood against the wall, focused on digging through her bag.
Seeing me, she looked up, "Sup."
"Hey," I said awkwardly, not sure how to ask where everyone else was without sounding rude.
"The others are by the lockers. You know, the ones on the other side of Art Block?" She said, somehow guessing my thoughts.
"Oh, okay," I mumbled, unsure if I was welcome to go with them. I shuffled my feet and finally decided to lean against the wall like Dee was doing. "Are they coming back?"
"I dunno," She said, and seemed to find what she was searching for because she turned her full attention on me, "you goin'?"
"Uh," I hesitated, surprised by her frank question, "Should I?"
"Depends," She shot right back, looking me straight in the eyes, "how d'ya feel about helping people?"
"What?"
Dee sighed.
"Look. Layla said you might want in."
"What are you talking about?"
Dee went silent, staring at the opposite wall with a look that could stop elephants.
Finally, she answered, "She's got good intentions. Ask questions before you jump to conclusions."
Which answered nothing.
So, I walked to the lockers.
No one really used the Art Block lockers, not even the art students. As I got closer, I could take a guess why; they were filthy. Covered in gum and littered with loose papers and plastic bottles, it didn't look like somewhere you could leave your stuff.
Layla was placing a can in one, though now I could see, it looked like the entire locker was full of cans. Soup cans?
I didn't say anything, but stood beside Oliver, who was leaning against the drainage pipe next to two shopping bags.
"Hey," He greeted neutrally, then went back to his book.
"Hi," I responded, trying to see past the enigmatic atmosphere to what was actually going on.
Come on Juliet! You're not getting anywhere by staying silent! Be brave! Ask questions!
Inner voice was right, but Oliver was intimidating, so walked over to Layla and asked, "What are you doing?"
I tried to make it sound curious, and not suspicious, but I'm not entirely sure I succeeded.
"Just storing some stuff," Layla said distractedly, "No one uses these lockers anyway, so I figured it was okay."
"That's a lot of soup," I tried to joke, "you hosting a food drive?
"Something like that," She smiled at me, and I felt the little seed of worry in my gut ease away. "We're going to give out some food after school with a charity. Want to come?"
I blinked.
"Ah, yeah. Um, okay."
She grinned, "You sound so enthusiastic! What did you think, we were trafficking soup?"
I snorted, "You make it sound so silly."
Her smile faded, "It's not easy out there for some people, and I want to help as much as I can."
Her golden eyes were so sincere, and I was glad I hadn't jumped to any conclusions. What else would a teenage girl be doing with soup cans anyway?
"Dee said she'd drive, so just meet us in the carpark after school." Layla said, closing the locker and locking it with an old rusty padlock.
"Hey, Cara!" I called, trying to avoid shouting as I rushed to catch up with her, "Cara!"
She turned, flicking up an eyebrow at me, "Yeah?"
"Uh," I hesitated, reaching for words now I had her attention, "Um, I just wanted to ask-let you know, um that I'm going with friends after school."
"Why are you asking me? You can text Aunty, you know." Cara said, reaching her locker and flicking it open.
"Oh. I forgot about that."
She smirked, "Unless you're planning on staying out past ten on a Monday night, it's none of my business. I'm not your keeper. Go where you want."
I walked away, pulling my phone out and texting Aunty.
"Going out with friends after school. I'll be back before dinner "
Scanning the car park, I found Dee's truck pretty quick. It was rusty red, but in fairly good shape. I wedged in between Layla and Jinn in the back while Oliver took shotgun and Dee, obviously, took the driver's seat.
Dee glanced back at us and turned the ignition, pushing the truck into first to get out of the student car park. Before she even got out, a guy from my year cut across her path in a hurry and zoomed onto the road. Dee just calmly stopped as Oliver sucked in a breath and Jinn swore at the dangerous driver.
"And that, my friends," Jinn scowled, "is why people think the government should raise the driving age."
Layla snorted, "I don't think people stop being stupid with age, they just get more experienced at avoiding accidents."
Dee drove out of the parking lot with a sigh, "Just be glad that I'm your driver and not him."
"Here here," mumbled Oliver.
"Agreed," Layla smiled.
Author's Note:
Yikes, so I just realised this was the end of my buffer...guess I need to get writing again! I've just been really busy recently so I'd been relying on the stuff I'd already written, but no longer.
Hope you guys are happy and healthy :)
Trix