I look over at her. We’ve just parked at the back of the parking lot. I didn’t even realize I was frowning until she said something. I really need to work on not letting my feelings show on my face so easily.
“That’s good,” I say.
“There was that time last year when the school had this crazy competition to give away a car…” she says, shaking her head. “People weren’t entirely chill back then…”
“Your school gave away a car?”
“Oh yeah. It was this whole event. We had an app on our phones and we got points for doing good things and the person with the most points would win a new car. People went crazy for a couple weeks. My friend Abby ended up getting the car. She’s really sweet.”
“That’s cool,” I say. “My old school has never done anything fun like that.”
She unbuckles her seatbelt and sits up straighter. “Ready? We’re early enough that we can pick up your schedule and then I can show you around the campus. Did you download the app?”
“What app?”
“Brazos High has an app that you can use to find your way around the school.” She pulls it up on her phone and shows it to me.
“Wow,” I say. “Next you’ll tell me they have their own Starbucks inside.”
She grins and it makes little butterflies awaken in my stomach. “We don’t have a Starbucks, but we do have a coffee cart. Their coffee is amazing. You’ll love it.”
Moving across the state and being forced to leave my school and my football team just a month after my senior year started totally sucked. But now I’m starting to think it might not be the worst thing ever.
I smile and step out of my truck, meeting Zara in front of it. She sweeps out her hand in this grand gesture toward the school. “Follow me, Zane,” she says in this deep, announcer-style voice. “Your tour awaits.”
I smile, and she smiles back at me.
Zara is kind of a dork.
I like her even more now.
Five
Andrea
I’m not exactlysure how I found out my ex-boyfriend is attending my new school. It kind of all happened at once. It started with a barrage of texts and Snaps, then friends rushing up to me in the hallway. I couldn’t believe it at first. But then I saw him, looking tanner and hotter than ever, his dirty blond hair glinting under the fluorescents, and I nearly tripped over my heels. He didn’t see me, but I saw him. There is no mistaking someone else for Zane. Zane is… well, he’s almost perfect.
How in the heck is Zane Warren at my new school? We moved here over the summer to be closer to my Mom’s family, and I had been super annoyed that I had to leave my boyfriend. Not Zane, the boyfriend I had after him. Well… two boyfriends after. But Brazos High is a pretty lit school with a great football team that rivals Lake Conroe High. I haven’t told anyone, but I’ve been regretting breaking up with Zane ever since I realized my “upgrade” wasn’t exactly an upgrade. Zane keeps getting articles written about him, and he’s on every scout’s football watchlist. That boy is going to do big things. Luckily, I’ve been doing just fine without him, thank you very much.
I hold my head high and duck into the bathroom to check on my makeup. I always look my best, even though it means waking up two hours before school starts each day. It’s no surprise that I look amazing when I peer into the mirror above the sink. Someone has placed a “you are beautiful” sticker on the mirror. I have to say I agree with them.
I smirk at my reflection. My hair, light brown and sprinkled generously with highlights, looks shiny and silky, which is exactly what my extremely expensive conditioner promises. My makeup is pristine, but I dab a pit of powder on my nose just to make sure it stays that way. Two girls walk into the bathroom and I can feel their eyes on me. School has only been in session for a few weeks, so I’m not exactly the most popular girl yet. But I will be. I was top of the social pyramid at my old school, and I’ll easily take up that post at my new school, too.
That means it’s even more perfect for Zane and me to date again. Everyone is already talking about him, the famous football player who just moved to town and joined the Bears team.
Of all the high schools in the world, Zane just happened to show up at mine? This isn’t coincidence. It’s fate. All I need to do is win him back. Sure, we didn’t end things on good terms, but he’s the new guy right now. When I was the new girl, it sucked. I had to make new friends and do some serious social media stalking to make sure the new friends I made were popular enough to hang out with me. Sometimes people can be deceiving. The first girl I met here was named Jules. She had bangs, and she actually looked good in them, so I assumed she was cool. But after only a few days of hanging out with her, I realized her social clique wasn’t nearly cool enough. Plus, her boyfriend plays soccer. That sport may be cool in other countries but here, you’re a nobody unless you play football.
I run with the actual cool crowd now. Cheerleaders and football players. Zane will be welcomed to my group with open arms, and then he’ll realize I’m here too.
Or maybe he already knows? I grin as I apply some lip gloss and then twist the cap back on. Maybe Zane misses me so much that he found out where I moved to and then begged his parents to move as well just so he could be with me.
I can’t help but grin from ear to ear as I exit the bathroom, this thought dancing across my mind. Maybe his parents didn’t move—maybe he moved all by himself just to be near me. That is so romantic.
My next class is math, so all these nerds are focusing on their work instead of talking about what really matters. But as soon as the bell rings for lunch, I am back in the packed hallways where everyone is chatting about our new student. I meet my girls—Traci and Kati—at our meeting spot in the cafeteria. Their eyes are as wide as mine. Finally, someone to gush with.
Traci and Kati are Varsity cheerleaders. Traci is Captain. When I met them, I knew I’d found my tribe. I’ve been trying to get a spot on the cheer team but the cheer coach called my old school and found out that I’d been kicked off the team for poor conduct. “Conduct unbecoming of a school representative.” Ugh. I tried telling her that my old coach is a crotchety old hag who has no sense of humor, but the Brazos High coach wasn’t listening. She may be younger and nicer, but she’s a hag too as far as I’m concerned.
Luckily, Traci and Kati are still vouching for me, and with any luck they’ll get me a spot on that team. I’ve cheered my entire life. I should end my high school career as a cheerleader. It’s what I was meant to do.
