Skylar snuck back in, and breathed out in relief when she found her mother still asleep. She went to her room and lay down. She felt fresh lying on her bed. She couldn’t stop thinking about her magical night with Hayden. It was something that she wouldn’t forget.
She was grinning from ear to ear like the idiot that she was.
Skylar couldn’t believe that their holiday was over and she now had to go back home. She sighed as she hugged Hayden, who, like her, didn’t want to let her go.
Hayden had come with them and the other tourists to the airport so that they could board their plane. Skylar looked at him one more time as she boarded her flight.
After a long flight, she felt tired and wanted nothing more than to rest. She got home, showered, and went to bed. She couldn’t help but feel sad. Why had time gone by so quickly?
“Why do you look so glum, Sky?”
“It’s nothing, Mom.”
“Are you passing by Lola’s, or do you want me to drop you off at school?”
“I am passing by Lola’s.”
Skylar took a couple of more bites from her apple and then went out the door. When she got out, she walked until she got to Lola’s.
They embraced each other, then they let go and started walking side by side.
“How was your break, Lola?”
“I needed the break, but it was okay. I went to see Skillet, and that has to be my highlight of the break. And you?”
Skylar told her everything that had happened in Hawaii and how she had met Hayden and their magical night.
“Now I’m jealous. Where do you get these guys?”
Skylar hit her. “Stop.”
“Wow, really, Skylar, stop. How will you guys see each other if he is that far?”
Skylar frowned, feeling sad. “I guess I won’t. It was just a short-span romance.”
Lola smiled at her. “Sorry.”
“It’s okay.”
“Are you ready for school?”
“What choice do we have, Lola, we have to be ready. Like it or not. And the sooner we finish, the better it is for all of us,”
“Strong point taken, or should I say points.”
“How are you feeling about school, Lola?”
“I’m numb to it, I mean, as you said, what choice is there? It’s not like our parents will let us drop out, you know.”
When they got to school, the bell had already rung, and she wasn’t surprised. She and Lola had spoken the whole way, laughing and slowing down their pace.
They missed Mateo, who had gone back and hopefully would come back to visit them just like he had promised.
Skylar checked her schedule and ran to science. When she got there, she was breathing heavily; luckily, the teacher wasn’t there.
“Skylar.”
Skylar looked up and saw Tyler calling her. This drew people’s attention. She walked over to him. She didn’t want to look up; she knew that there were two stares that she was trying to avoid that were boring into her.
Tyler got up when she got closer, and he opened his arms for her. She hugged him lightly, knowing very well that some might be watching; she didn’t want people to draw up conclusions that weren’t even true.
They both sat down. Skylar opened her bag to take out her books.
“How were the holidays?” Tyler asked eagerly.
“They were great.”
“What did you do?” Tyler replied.
“I went to Hawaii with my mom.”
“I’m jealous, you should have taken me with you, Skylar.”
Skylar laughed at his response. No way would she do that. She started to think about Hayden, but she brushed him off her mind. This wasn’t the time; she wanted to try her best to focus on school.
“How were your holidays, Tyler?”
“They were great. I know Lola already told you that we went to the Skillet concert together.”
Skylar was confused for a second, but she played it off, “Of course. Did you like it?”
“It was great, and besides that, I rested and went to a couple of parties. I know it’s nothing compared to Miss Hawaii.”
“Stop it, Tyler.”
They both laughed.
“Do you have any pictures of this marvelous journey?”
Skylar nodded and took out her phone from her bag. She made sure to go to the gallery where pictures of Hayden weren’t there. She handed him her phone.
“Woah, this is quite a scenery. I’m so jealous, these look amazing.”
“Thank you, Tyler.”
When the teacher got in the class, Tyler handed her back her phone, and she put it in her bag.
Skylar had thought that she was eager for school—the sooner she finished, the better.
Yet, science seemed to go on forever. She kept on trailing off and getting distracted. When she would look at the clock, only two minutes would have moved, which felt like an hour.
She wondered why she felt tired; she had just gotten back from holidays, so she didn’t have an excuse to slack off, yet here she was, barely focusing.
When the bell rang, she got up and went to her next lesson. She sat down, took out her books, and opened them. She had to act busy because she knew what was coming next. She tried not to fidget.
“Look who the cat dragged in.”
Skylar looked up and found Karly sitting down. Skylar wanted to roll her eyes but she stopped herself; that’s what Karly wanted from her. To agitate and annoy her, but she wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction.
“So, you are going to act like you didn’t hear me, new girl?” Karly carried on.
Skylar slowly turned to her. “What is it?”
“I was greeting you,” Karly replied in a snarky tone.
Skylar knew this was going to be a long English lesson. Not that the teacher helped at all; she didn’t bother whatsoever to restore order in the class, and she usually was late.
Skylar was brought out of her thoughts when she heard the chair next to her scrape backward.
“Reign.” Karly eagerly called out to him.
