''Welcome back to school, guys.'' Mr Jamerson says as we all troop in and find our seats. You know, with the new term, one would think that our schedules would be brand new too, but no, Adelaide doesn't work that way. We are still subjected to first period Maths.

Theo, Paris and I take our usual seats in the back and I slump into my chair with a sigh. I just have six months to graduation and Maths class would be a thing of the past. But for now, I really should concentrate if I want to pass my SATs.

''I won't give you a lecture today on how important this term is because you all know what's at stake.'' He paces up and down in front of the room. ''SAT's are in April which means you all have four months to prepare really hard and improve on your grades. I noticed that a lot of you are failing my class,'' I wonder why that is-note the sarcasm. Mr Jamerson is not a bad teacher, quite frankly, he's better than Mrs Ringwald, my Maths teacher back at Linkdale. She was a straight shooter and you were either on her train or you weren't. If you fall off the train, well, I'm sorry for you. It's either you get it on the first day or you don't because she would never revisit the topic again.

Like I was saying, he's not a bad teacher, he's just boring and I don't blame him because Maths is a boring subject. Also, he has bad students-rich bad students who unfortunately don't care about angles, shapes and permutations. The only Maths they care about is how much money is in daddy's bank account.

Eighty percent of them aren't even listening to what he's saying. I don't even know what he's saying because I've spaced out.

I feel a light buzz on my lap and I notice it's my phone. I take a quick peek at Mr Jamerson and see that he's not looking in my direction so I bend my head a little and tap the message.

J.B: 'sends a GIF.'

I load the GIF and almost giggle but I mask it with a clearing of my throat. No one pays attention to me.

Mel: A twerking bunny? Really?

J.B: I knew you weren't paying attention to Jamerson

Mel: You're distracting me

J.B: Oh, please. You spaced out long ago

That's true.

Mel: Stalker!

J.B: Only for you

Mel: Pay attention

J.B: You pay attention first

Jason is seated two rows in front of me, on the left, next to the window. I put my phone down and try to look straight ahead in a bid to pay attention to Mr Jamerson's lecture but I can't, not when a pair of tantalizing blue eyes are distracting me. I always know when he's watching me. It's like my body recognizes him and it responds in kind.

''Mr Blunt, please face forward and pay attention.'' Mr Jamerson calls out. The whole class turns in his direction but he doesn't seem fazed.

''Sorry.''

He angles his face forward and I giggle again. Theo looks at me weirdly but I shrug it off.

Mel: Told you to pay attention

J.B: Hush it

''Miss Jones, your head should be up and not down.'' Mr Jamerson says with his arms crossed. I nod vigorously and mouth a 'sorry' before slipping my phone in my bag.

At least he didn't seize my phone.

...…..

''That class was torture.'' Paris groans as we make our way out of Mr Jamerson's class. Forty minutes later and I can successfully say that I didn't note anything down. Why? I don't like Maths, that part is obvious.

Actually, that's not the main reason. I was busy daydreaming about Jason. Throughout the holidays, we were always communicating via texts. At first, it started out innocently: we were talking about random shit like our favourite songs or movies, then it started getting a little flirtatious. The flirtations are always initiated by him and I…well I play along.

Only for you

Does he like me too?

''To be fair,'' Theo starts. ''You did sleep twenty minutes in.''

''That's true,'' I affirm. ''How do you know whether it was torture?'' I joke.

''If I sleep in a class, then it's obviously torture. Plus, I highly doubt I was the only one that dozed off.''

Mr Jamerson lost half of his audience when he was going on and on about the importance of the SATs. I think he introduced a new topic or something like that although I can't be too sure.

''Theo, you did jot something down, right?''

He's not even a real student and I'm asking him if he took down any notes. The irony.

''Yea.''

''Cool, we'll copy from you.''

''You weren't paying attention too?''

''No, not really.''

He shakes his head. ''Unbelievable.''

''Not really,'' Paris adds. ''Jamerson is boring.''

''Maths is boring.''

I look at my watch. ''We have homeroom next but I need to use the bathroom. Meet you there?''

''Sure,'' they both chorus and I dash to the bathroom which is next to the janitor's closet. Drinking three cups of water plus lemonade early in the morning is an extreme sport.

After I'm done 'handling my business,' I walk to the faucet, pour some liquid soap on my hands and wash them thoroughly. Grabbing a tissue from my bag, I dry my hands and then I hear something coming from the stall next to the one I had come out from.

I close the faucet and listen again just so I'm not imagining things.

Is someone crying?

''Is someone there?'' I call out.

''No.'' Then it's accompanied with a sniff.

''Well it certainly can't be a ghost crying in the bathroom.''

''Go away, Melody.''

I walk to the stall and squat to peek under the door. Sure enough, my suspicions are right. I can recognize those tanned legs and blonde hair from a mile away.

Why is she crying?

''Mariah, are you okay?''

''I'm crying in the bathroom stall. Of course I'm not okay!'' she says in a snippy tone.

I withdraw my head and stand up fully. ''Want to talk about it?''

''With you?'' she laughs with a hint of sarcasm. ''No. Why do you care? You hate me.''

''Would you at least unlock the door so we can talk?''

Why am I being nice to her? Mariah has had it out for me ever since I got here. Hell, she even bullied me for a while till I started calling off her bluff.

''I don't want you to see me like this,'' she responds. ''You'll use it against me.''

I roll my eyes. ''I don't know what impression you have of me, but I don't hate you and I would not use your appearance against you. Remember, this isn't the first time you're crying in front of me.'' The first time she cried in front of me was back at the club when I pointed out that Jason was dancing with a girl that wasn't her.

Mariah may be a snake, but I don't hate her. I believe in forgiveness and letting bygones be bygones.

''Yea.''

I hear a click and the door opens. She walks out and I almost do a double take.

Okay, this is bad.

Where's the old Mariah I love to hate?

She looks like what a cat dragged in…literally. She surprisingly didn't wear a ton of makeup today, but her eye makeup was definitely something she put on judging from the fact that the mascara has run down her face so much to the point that it stained her cheeks. Her platinum long extensions are no more present, instead she's rocking what I believe is her natural hair colour-sandy blonde-and it's neck length.

Her eyes are red and puffy from crying and she has snot coming out from her nose.

Let's not even get started on her uniform.

She looks like a hot mess.

''What the hell?'' I exclaim. I can't help it. This isn't the picture perfect Mariah I know. Everything is so off. ''You don't look like you.''

''I don't feel like me either.''

Her heels click on the tiles and she walks to the faucet and washes her face. I grab some tissues from my bag and hand it to her. ''This won't do.'' I say. I always keep these tiny bar soaps in my bag because I have oily skin and my face needs to be hydrated at intervals.

''Here.'' I hand her the pack.

''Thanks.''

If Mariah is thanking me, then she really is in that sunken place.

She washes her face quickly and I grab some more tissues and hand it to her. When she's done, I have a good look at her and I realize that under the layers of makeup, she is really pretty, naturally pretty-cute hazel eyes, a button nose and shaped lips.

''I'm sorry you had to see me like that,'' Mariah starts. ''Truth be told I'm a little embarrassed.''

''You don't need to be. We all have our bad days.'' She adjusts her soaked white shirt. ''I'm not here to humiliate you and I won't run my mouth.'' I lock the bathroom door to give us a little privacy. ''You're secret safe with me.''

''Why are you being nice to me? I've been nothing but horrible to you since 8th grade.''

I shrug. ''Truth be told, I did resent you before.'' She nods in understanding. ''But I believe in the power of forgiveness.'' And female empowerment. Grandma Maggie used to tell me this when I was younger: you must always lift a sister's crown up not tear it down.

''Jason broke up with me,'' she admits. ''He really broke up with me.''

I thought they weren't together?

''We weren't really together, but we were, you know.'' Oh, I know. ''But he said we're through. At first, I thought it was a joke because we've been on and off for so long and we have so much history together, but this time, I know it's real.''

She leans into the wall. ''He said he likes someone else and it doesn't take a genius to know who it is.'' I look at her in confusion. ''Oh, don't act so confused, Melody. It's you. It has always been you.''

''What?''

''He likes you. He has always liked you and I could never compete.''

He likes me too?!