Gravity - By Abigail Boyd Page 0,20
anymore. The walk, as I suspected, only took about fifteen minutes. I had opted not to use my bike; I didn't have a bike lock and it was clunky besides. Plus I'd feel like a dork on my bike, when in my not-so-distant future I would hopefully have a car.
I felt only a little out of breath when I arrived at school, and more energized and awake then I normally did. I'm not normally a morning person, but it felt as though I'd drank an entire pop and caffeine rushed through me. I walked into the commons in a more uplifted mood that I hadn't expected. There were ten minutes until school started, so the commons was packed and loud as everyone carried on discussions. But it wasn't as jarring as it had been yesterday. I didn't have the immediate urge to run anymore.
Sitting together at one of the rectangular tables were a couple of girls I'd been friends with for years, Becky Long and Sarah Abbot. We had often occupied the same lunch table, although it seemed like a different life now.
"Ariel!" Becky called out. I didn't know what she wanted, but I wandered over to their table.
"Hey, do you want to sit with us?" Becky asked amiably, gesturing to the unfilled seat across from her. The offer surprised me, but I was more than willing to comply. I couldn't stand feeling singled out anymore.
Pulling out the chair I sat down. The only spot for my backpack was in my lap, as the entire table was filled with girls I couldn't remember if I knew, and there wasn't a lot of room. It felt awkward, but I didn't want to protest.
"How are you?" Becky asked, clasping her hands together on the tabletop and tucking her pointy chin on top.
"I'm fine," I replied lamely, for lack of a better adjective.
"That's good," she said, smiling tightly. "I'm glad to see you. I've been wondering how you were doing. We heard rumors that you weren't coming back. Someone said your dad was going to homeschool you this year."
"No, of course not," I said, trying to play it off lightly and attempt a smile. I hoped it didn't look like a grimace, as my smiles lately too often did.
Awkward silence followed, in which the other girls avoided my gaze. It seemed like they didn't know what to say to me. But I was glad to be sitting there, even as I searched my thoughts for a suitable topic and came up short.
"Did you hear they're playing Loveless at the theater?" Sarah piped up, and the other girls jumped on the topic as if it was food and they'd been up in the mountains for days.
The girls started chattering away about the movie, which was apparently my least favorite kind, a romantic comedy. I didn't have much to say; I'd never heard of it. Even as they moved onto school gossip, I remained oblivious. Mostly I just hunched behind the backpack. I became a little irritated with myself, but I didn't have it in me to make the effort. What if I said something that came out wrong?
The day went faster than the first, and rather uneventfully. Lainey and Madison pretended I didn't exist in gym, which I greatly preferred to being teased or almost knocked over. I sat at Becky's table again at lunch, still only listening to what the other girls had to say. I'd lost my opinions somewhere along the way. They didn't seem to mind. It was easier for everyone to pretend I was wallpaper.
As far as classes themselves, I enjoyed Warwick's the most and not because he was Hugh's buddy. I knew I wouldn't just get a good grade because of that fact. But listening to him embellish the events that happened in our country with outlandish tales made the experience endlessly interesting. We were trying to get through the revolutionary war as fast as possible, and George Washington was crossing the Delaware today.
Henry seemed to be busy chatting with his new friends. The group of guys were all laughing like they had known each other for years, in the way that people like that seem to do. Sticking with their own kind. Several of them wore gold and purple school jerseys.
The brief thought that I'd lost him flashed through my head. He was never mine to begin with, I rebuked myself. It should have been easier for me, because I didn't have to try. It should have been