Chapter 123
After a few days in Japan, I returned to Malibu. The jet lag was hitting, but home was home.
When I walked into the house, I found Alan and Charlie sitting at the kitchen table, both with mugs in hand.
"Hey," I said, tossing my backpack near the chair.
"Look who's back," Charlie said, raising his mug.
Alan smiled and added, "The trip must've been good. You're all smiley."
Charlie narrowed his eyes, staring at me for a second, then smirked. "He hooked up!" he declared.
I opened a wide smile and said, "You bet I did. She was amazing."
---
The next day, school started. Carly, Freddie, Sam, Regina, Cher, and I met at the cafeteria early in the morning. We had agreed to have breakfast together before classes began. The place was still relatively quiet, the usual school buzz not yet in full swing. We grabbed a big table.
"We are now sophomores!" said Carly, excited.
But four people at the table—Cher, Sam, Regina, and I—had their heads down on the table, not sharing the same enthusiasm.
Cher, Regina, and I said in unison, "We miss Laura."
Laura was a good friend
Sam, still groggy, mumbled, "I'm just sleepy..." but then quickly added, noticing the looks from the rest of us, "...and I miss Laura too."
The four of us returned to resting our heads on the table.
A girl walked past, and I instinctively turned to look, my gaze following her walking in front of us. "Over here, Pippa," someone called out to her.
Suddenly, I felt a smack to the back of my head.
"You are—" started Cher.
"Unbelievable," Regina finished in a mock voice.
"I was just looking," I defended. "There are these new girls from other schools."
"Yeah right," everyone said at once, followed by laughter.
Cher added, "There was some kind of murder involving a couple at a school nearby. And some students were relocated here."
Regina nodded. "Yes. I heard we're getting like four or five extra students in each class."
"Isn't that a little dumb to do that?" said Freddie.
"Our government was never known for brilliant ideas..." I replied.
The bell rang.
"Let's go to class," said Carly.
We all stood up, grabbing our things and waving goodbye to Cher and Regina, who still had different classrooms from ours.
---
When we entered the classroom, I immediately noticed four new faces—three girls and one boy.
"Let's say hello to them," I told Freddie.
"Nah, I'm good," he replied, still half-asleep.
So I went on my own.
"Hello, Jake Harper," I said, offering a smile.
The four of them responded in turn: "Pippa Fitz-Amobi, Cara Ward, Lauren Gibson, and Ravi Singh."
"Nice," I said, nodding. "If you need anything..." I continued, then pointed toward our group, "...just ask that girl. Her name is Carly. She's a good person and can help you out."
A couple of girls nearby chuckled quietly at my shameless redirection.
I smiled and then walked back to rejoin the group.
Carly narrowed her eyes and asked, "Why did you point at me?"
"I said if they need any help, to contact you," I replied.
"Why didn't you say to contact you?"
I gave her a weird look. "Noo. That would be too troublesome."
Carly started to slap me—playfully, but repeatedly—making several people around us laugh.
---
Anne approached the group (that she was already friends of) and smiled. "So, you met our Prince" she said, noticing Jake had already introduced himself to the four newcomers
"Prince?" Cara raised an eyebrow.
"Yeah, but don't call him that. He doesn't like it much," Anne replied.
"Understandable. It's kinda cringe," said Pippa, wincing slightly.
"So, who's the handsome guy?" Lauren asked, curious.
"Jake? He's the most popular guy in our school. Nice and funny. I talked to him a bit, and he's really easygoing," Anne said. "Let's see… Oh, and he's insanely smart. He's two years younger than us but still got first place last year."
"He doesn't look like the nerdy type," Cara commented.
"Not even close. He sleeps in class. Sometimes he skips entirely," Anne added.
Pippa made a disapproving face.
"Oh, and he's filthy rich. I went to his birthday party and the end-of-year one too. Both were insane. But the one at Santa Monica looked like something out of a movie."
"He has two houses?" Pippa asked.
"His parents are divorced, I think."
"And his parties are incredible. You do not want to be on his bad side, or you'll miss the most wanted party in the 10th grade. Even some upperclassmen try to get in."
"And speaking of parties, Carly, Cher, and Regina throw some too," Anne added. "But Jake's is the best one. Carly's are a little childish, and Cher and Regina's are… a bit too focused on themselves."
"So, rich, intelligent, and handsome?" Lauren smirked.
"He must have some flaws," Ravi muttered.
"Well… he's kind of a playboy. He fooled around a lot last year," Anne admitted. "But this year he was kinda dating this gorgeous actress. She transferred to our school at the start of the year, but left in August. I heard she got a role in some TV show."
"Wow," Ravi said under his breath.
"A total bastard?" Lauren asked.
"Not exactly. More like… the type who'll kiss you, but you know not to expect much else. He doesn't lie to girls or date more than one at a time. So if you go out with him, you already know it's just casual."
"So a gentleman bastard?" Pippa said, giggling.
"You could say that," Anne laughed with them.
"But seriously, don't talk bad about him," she warned, especially looking at Ravi. "He's friends with the football team and a bunch of other guys. I heard some people got beat up for badmouthing him."
Cara glanced in Jake's direction and murmured, "I wouldn't mind a kiss or two…"
The girls burst into giggles. Ravi just scoffed and shook his head.
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