~Althia~

I followed Clay's directions and soon found myself in Monet's. I looked at the menu before deciding to order a hot chocolate. I found a table near the corner and sat there.

As I was waiting for my mom, I decided to start doing some research for the chemistry lab Zach and I needed to do.

"Hey! You're Althia, right?" A girl asked me after a few minutes of my research

She was gorgeous. Long curly brown hair, darker skin, nice eyes.

"Yeah, hi" I responded "You're Jessica?" I asked, making sure I recognized her well

I'm pretty sure she commented on my latest Instagram post

"Yep" She smiled "Do you mind if I sit here?" She questioned

"Go right ahead" I smiled

She set down her mug and took off her backpack before sitting down across from me

"So what brings you to Monet's?" Jessica asked me

"My mom is finishing work a little early so she asked me to wait here for her" I answered "You?" I asked back

"Meeting up with my boyfriend" She responded, taking a sip from your drink

"Oh, that's nice. Who's the lucky guy?" I wondered

"Alex Standall" Jessica smiled

"I have no clue who he is" I said

Jessica laughed

"Considering you're new and he likes to keep to himself, I don't blame you for not knowing who he is" She told me

"Is there anyone else that I might not know who I should know about?" I asked her

She thought for a moment

"There's Ryan Shavar who is an okay guy, but he can be an ass. Courtney Crimson who is the most annoying ass chick ever, highly recommend you stay the hell away from her. Tyler Down, who is a sweet kid but he's also really creepy so stay away from him too and Marcus Cole who seems to be so focused in his education and the school but catch him with Bryce or one one the boys and he's a total dick." Jessica spoke

I nodded

"Alright, thank you" I smiled at her and took a sip from my hot chocolate

We continued talking and Jessica is the nicest and sweetest girl, I swear. It also turns out that we both enjoy drinking hot chocolate on sunny days

"Are you coming to the game tonight?" She asked me

"Yep" I responded

"Sweet, I'll introduce you to Alex then" She told me and I nodded

I heard the bell of the door ring and I looked and saw my mom, waving crazily at me

"Oh god" I mumbled

"What's wrong?" Jessica questioned

"My mom is coming over here, if-" I was cut off by my mom

"Althia! Hi, how are you sweetie?" My mom asked once she joined me

"I'm great mom, thanks" I replied in a robotic tone "Let me just get my things then we can leave" I tried my best to hurry up

"Oh, and who is this?" Mom looked at Jessica

"That's Jessica" I told her, through gritted teeth

"Is she a friend? Look at you hanging out with friends already" Mom gushed and I rolled my eyes

"Hi, I'm Jessica. Nice to meet you Mrs-" Jessica smiled at my mom

"Call me Lydia please" Mom smiled back at her

"Alright mom, let's go" I grabbed my bag and mouthed a quick 'I'm sorry' to Jessica

"Nice meeting you Jessica" Mom said to her

"Same here Lydia, see you tonight Alt" Jessica laughed a little at how embarrassed I was

"See ya then Jess" I quickly said as I dragged my mom out of the cafe

"Ugh, mom" I groaned as we both got in the car and she started driving home

"What? What did I do?" Mom asked

"You totally embarrassed me" I cried out

"I didn't mean to! I was just trying to say hi to your friend" She protested

I rolled my eyes

"So what's happening tonight?" She questioned

"A baseball game" I answered "Tony is coming to pick me up and he's taking me back home afterwards" I added

"Ooh, is Tony another friend? Is he going to become more than a friend" Mom asked

I swear she's worse than me sometimes

"Yes, he's a friend and no I highly doubt he'll become more than a friend" I said

"Why not?" She looked at me

"Because he's totally gay" I told her

Mom made an oh face

"Mom, don't even think about making a comment" I warned her before she could open her mouth

"I will not have you talk to me that way Althia" She warned me back

"And I will not have you make a comment about one of my friends because of his sexual preference" I shot back and that kept her shut for the rest of the car ride.

//

Once I got home, I finished the research for the lab and texted Zach telling him that I was done and wishing him good luck. I did the same to Jeff.

I ate a quick dinner with my family before getting ready for the game.

Before I knew it, Tony was ringing the doorbell.

A bunch of questions from my parents and a couple of pictures for Instagram later, we were finally on our way to the game.