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Lucifer and Baylen fell apart early 7th grade, before Christmas break. And now, at their tiny, shared private school, they have new friends, new interests…new lives. They are happy with their new friends. Baylen and Morgan and Lucifer and Zoey. That’s how life is now. But Lucifer kind of misses Baylen. Not a lot, but she finds herself remembering the way Baylen used to call her “Lulu,” and how Baylen hugged her on first days of school, sometimes even Mondays because she missed her over the weekends, or how Lucy was willing to do almost anything for Baylen, because she knew they were friends. And friends helped each other when they needed it.
And now they’re classmates, seeing each other five days a week, and it has turned Lucy’s life into a living–
“Lucy.” Jessa, Lucy’s head teacher said. “Lucy, were you listening to anything I just said?”
“Yeah,” Lucy lied quickly.
“What did I say?”
“Um. Well. If the rest of the class heard it, and I heard it ’cause obviously I did, then why should I waste the time to repeat it when we could go on learning important stuff I was so paying attention to?”
Something in Jessa’s gaze told Lucy her mistake. “I was excusing you to get your snack. You can go.” She turned to excuse the people still sitting.
Lucy scrambled up and walked to her bag outside. On her way out, she bumped into Baylen running back in, who barely glanced at her.
That was their relationship now: Pass each other in the hallway, look away. Be – god forbid – paired up by a teacher, speak as little as possible, pray for a group of three. Start to sit down next to each other at snack or lunch, find one of your new friends to sit with so you don’t need to make awkward conversation.
It’s harder than you think to talk to someone when you don’t know them anymore.
Lucy took a bag of goldfish from her Market Basket bag and sat down in the classroom again. After a minute, Zoey sat down next to her.
“How’re you?” she asked. She would ask again through the day until Lucy answered. Lucy had taken to counting how many times she asked. The highest was 14 times in one day.
Lucy shrugged like she always did and lied, the same way she did every day. “Fine.”
Zoey asked again, “For real.”
“Still fine.” They fell into silence, Lucy fiddling with her watch band, not really hungry. Finally, Zoey grabbed the bag and plunged a hand into it, coming up with a fistful of the crackers. She started eating them, then asked pointlessly, “Can I have some?”
Lucy sighed and said, “Little late for that.”184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIvfjz7lLhL
“So…yes?”
“Yeah.” Lucy twitched and glanced around, hoping snack would end soon.
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*Recess*
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“Can I be excused?” Lucy asked Jessa.
“Yeah,” Jessa said, not looking up from the journal she was correcting.
“Thanks.” Lucy put her food away and was putting her crocs on when Baylen walked out into the coatroom.
Lucy had a feeling this conversation wouldn’t end well. Her instincts were right.
“Um.” Baylen said, apparently having no idea what to say. Very rarely was she at a loss for words.
“You going anywhere with that great thought, Baley?” Lucy asked, using the class’ nickname.
Baylen almost winced at the nickname, the distance Lucy chose to put between them. But that’s not how it was. Baylen had chosen to separate them. She had moved on first. She had found Morgan. Chosen to hate Zoey, and dissociate with Lucy for talking to and befriending Zoey.
“Nevermind,” Baylen said. “I was gonna say– it doesn’t matter.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Yeah. See ya, Lucy.” And there it was again. The class nickname instead of the personal one. Maybe Baylen had been trying to reach out to Lucy again, but you can’t rebuild a bridge when it’s still on fire from when you burned it down.
Maybe it was Lucy, shoving Baylen away, but maybe it was Baylen, not really trying or caring to be friends again. Lucy said, careful not to let her regret show in her voice, “Bye.”
Baylen waved and trotted off. Minutes later, Lucy leaned against the coatroom door and watched Baylen talk animatedly to Morgan. That was cold of her.
Her motto must have been something like, “If one friend pushes you away for ghosting her, let’s talk to my new friend while my ex-friend watches.”
’Cause that was just what she was doing.
Lucy scoffed and turned away, saying under her breath, “Nice knowing you, Bay.”
Baylen didn’t look back, but Lucy realized…she didn’t care. She didn’t need Baylen in her life. And Baylen was making it painfully clear that she didn’t want or need Lucy anymore.
And for the first time in what felt like forever, it didn’t hurt when Lulu chose not to look back.
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hey. its Cam. I don't know what to say. hope u like it. only one more chapter after this. isn't much of a story, but. yeah. cool. thanks. ✌184Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDQNouU3KV
