Tick tock, tick tock, tick… The minutes felt like hours. The teacher was still droning on about... I checked the book that was currently open in front of me… Calculus. It wasn't that I didn't like the subject... it was just that it was Friday. The bell would ring any moment, setting us free. I glanced outside the window. Tyler Harrison was chatting with his friends and with the girl whom I assumed he was currently interested in. He smiled at the girl. I could practically see her melt. She seemed nice enough.

I turned my attention back to the teacher. Oh, so we were doing fractions. I was just about to catch up when the bell rang. I looked down at my work. There was nothing except for an eye. I doodled it at the beginning of the lesson. It was decent. Too bad I could not use it for my portfolio.

I stuffed my book into my bag and trudged to my pick-up truck. It was powder blue and had a few scratches, but it was workable. At the bonnet, Tyler stood waiting for me. These days, we barely talk, so I found it strange that he was waiting for me. I observed him: dark blonde curls, beautiful blue eyes, tannish skin, and a stocky build meant for tackles. A few months ago, I would have felt flattered that he was waiting for me. Now, I was struggling with feeling much of anything but slight annoyance. He was wringing his hands. Trying not to make too much eye contact. I was waiting for him to say something. He seemed so nervous now... Gone was the bragging boy.

Maybe that's why he left me. I knew too much. Finally, he opened his mouth, and words started to spill out. "Hi, Vieve. So, the team is practicing a bit later, and I was wondering... " I finished his sentence for him, "Yes, I'll get Lauren from school, but you owe me... " He finished my sentence, " a chocolate milkshake and bowl of fries." That's the problem of knowing someone for as long as me and Tyler knew each other. You can predict what the other would do next. Or at least we thought so.

He nodded at me like I was an acquittance. Not the girl he had known since third grade. Not the girl he flirted with for months, maybe even years...

I watched as he walked away, joining his friends in their fun.

I looked away, lifted myself into my truck, and pulled out of my parking space. On the road, I connected my phone to my radio. Initially, it did not have Bluetooth. My dad helped me install it on a Saturday afternoon. I turned up the volume, singing along to the chain, pretending I was Stevie Nicks. She was so passionate. I wished I could feel like she did. I think the thing that bothered me most about the end of me and Tyler's relationship... was how little I cared that it was done. Sure, it had only lasted a day (at most a few hours.) Still, he was the first guy to have taken me on a date, my first boyfriend, my first kiss, and ultimately, he was my first breakup. Still, after all was said and done, I felt nothing. That was a lie. I felt irritation towards him for not being able to look me in the eye. For not being my friend. For throwing away years of friendship.

Before, I felt everything, the rosy cheeks, the butterflies, my heart beating wildly in my chest. After, it took me a few minutes to get over it. Since then, boys did not hold the same appeal. Boys left you after your first date, and boys ignored you after they broke up with you, ignoring that what you had was barely a fling. Boys were ridiculous creatures, scared to commit. I knew all that before. Before, I was just their friend. The boys were silly. They threw me with peanuts, they called me ridiculous nicknames, and they had no volume control. They were my friends, after, most of them did not know what happened. I did not tell them, and Tyler also did not tell them. He avoided me, and I drifted away.

These days, I made new friends, kids that used to drift in and out of my periphery.

I knew them. Had decent friendships with them before. Friendships forged by trading jabs under your breath at the expense of some jerk. It starts when you meet when the rest of the kids are not at school. When you call the other acquaintances. Later, you realize you have been spending more time with them than your so-called friends. These days, I barely think about the people I used to spend lunch with, the father I got from them. The more they seemed like a nest of vipers. I don't regret walking away when I did, but sometimes I miss some of them. My new friends cared, they were a bit strange… but so was I.

My sister's middle school came into view. I needed to get Lauren from the elementary school. Elysia clambered into the passenger seat, bag held in a death-like grip. I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She was beautiful in a way that intimidated and inspired at the same time. Her skin was a deep tan, her hair a bronze/gold-like brown, her eyes were a deep coffee brown, freckles smattered her cheeks in a mesmerizing constatation, and she was tall and athletic. At the cusp of 13, she was taller than me, who was 4 years older. I glanced at her. She seemed to have a scowl painted on. Now you see, me and my siblings were never the type to hold hands and sing kumbaya. We fought like cats and dogs. We also had each other's back. I'm older by a decent amount of years, so I don't always get them. "Hi, how was your day? " I greeted. She looked up, "Fine and yours? " I thought about it... it was decent, not good or bad. "It was decent, " she nodded. "We are fetching Lauren from school, " I told her. Elysia looked at me in surprise, "Why?" I thought about it. Why was I doing this? Maybe I wanted Tyler to see I was still his friend... "Tyler is practicing later than planned and asked me to fetch Lauren, plus she is way too young to be waiting at school. " My sister looked doubtful but said nothing.

We pulled up to the elementary school, and kids ran around. Pigtails, ruffles, dinosaurs, and light-up shoes. Those were the days. No one cared about dating, just about playing. I got out of my truck, and Elysia stayed put. I walked to the teacher in charge of pick-up. She seemed like a cheerful woman. Now exhaustion was hanging around her like a thundercloud. "Hi miss, I'm here to pick up Lauren Harrison," the teacher skimmed her clipboard. "Name?" she requested. "Genevieve Whitewood, " we added me to the pick-up list when I got my license. Tyler used to help me pick up my siblings. If he was busy, I picked up Lauren. I must admit it has been some time since I saw her last. The teacher was still scanning the list. Unexpectedly, I felt a warm mass impact my body. Looking down, I saw Lauren. She was a cut kid, a little slip of thing, tan, brown eyes, and the smallest kid I may have ever seen. Tyler's beloved sister, no one called her Lauren. Most people around town knew her as Tick. The teacher finally looked up, I thanked her and grabbed Tick's hand. We walked over the street, and she clambered into the back seat. She buckled her seatbelt. On pure instinct, I started a mental headcount/roll call. Elysia was here. Even Tick was here. There was one person who was missing. My brother Nate