Chapter Text
It didn't matter that most of the group was over sixteen or at least turning sixteen soon, they refused to get their licenses. Everyone had their own reasons, but it was nice to think that it was because they enjoyed sitting in the passenger seat. Bonnie drove Alice, Keekee, and Lily to school as Keekee sat in the front because she wanted to; Lily and Alice didn't have the heart to say no. Plus they got to sit in the front when going some place else later in the day.
Fynn and Amber lived within walking distance of the school, and Amber liked to imagine she was the main character of a coming-of-age film while walking, so they wouldn't disturb that. Alina and Alivia were usually in their own little world at the back of the school bus, and the rest of the group was a little scared to find out what they were doing. The only con of this was that the two were forced to go to class as soon as the bus arrived, unlike the rest who'd go in when they wished.
Although out of the four of them carpooling Lily lived the closest to the destination, Alice would always get picked up last because of how long it took her to get up in the morning. Sometimes they'd show up fifteen minutes later than usual and she'd still be late. They used to complain about it when it first started, but quickly realized none of them were that eager to make it there. Besides, the first ten minutes of going anywhere, regardless of what time it was, were dedicated to what they called "Recharging".
Recharging would take place once in the morning and once before going out in the evening. This meant something different for each of them, it was essentially whatever they needed to mentally prepare for the rest of the day. For Amber and Bonnie, it was having a joint in the back. For Keekee and Alice, it was sitting in silence and almost grounding themselves into the moment. Lily and Fynn could usually be found with a pair of headphones and their head down. Alina and Alivia's social batteries were limitless, they'd separate themselves and talk until everybody else was ready.
Sitting on the benches outside the school, Lily noticed Fynn crossing the street towards her. "Did Amber make it here before me?" he asked.
"No, you beat her again," Alice said while looking around.
"Almost as much as Alice beats Keekee," Bonnie interjected.
She shoved her arm and went to defend herself when all the crows flew away from a nearby tree. Amber walked to them with no sense of urgency despite the fact that class had started two minutes ago. She took out her phone from her over the shoulder bag, she refused to wear the same dark blue backpacks everyone else did, and paused the music playing in her ears. "You guys look miserable."
"You should, too, we have that math test right now," Keekee said.
"Imagine still having to take math," Alice laughed.
"Oh, we are all so very happy for you."
"Don't blame me because you were asleep since 5 and didn't study."
Just as Keekee was probably going to tell her to harm herself, the tardy bell rang. "I don't know about you guys, but I recharged on the way here," Amber said.
"I did too, in the car. Is anyone here not ready to go to class?"
The silence was answer enough.
"Lily, Alice, late again," Ms. Rose yelled as the two tried to sneak into their seats.
"You know us, ma'am, I have no respect for the English language and Lily couldn't spell with a gun pointed to her head."
"This is your third tardy this week and it's Wednesday," the teacher interrupted. "You need to go down to the office."
With a deep breath, Alice turned to walk out while tugging at Lily's arm, who was devastated. "If they call my parents I'm gonna get grounded again," Lily muttered.
"They won't call them, I'll do something-"
"What the fuck could you do to convince her to let us go."
"I'll just say something really bad so she calls mine, instead. My mom hates her, too, so she won't get mad."
Before Lily could knock on the office door, it flung open, showing Olive, Alina, Fynn, Amber, Keekee, and Bonnie already inside. Keekee sat with her head in her arms as Alina tried to comfort her. Olive and Fynn stood by the door on their phones, talking to their parents. Amber and Bonnie, who failed to notice the newcomers, were arguing with the student volunteer, Nana.
"I told you guys a million times, you can't just be waiting outside until after class has started. A lot of effort is put into those morning announcements, not just by me but by the staff here!" the annoying voice yelled.
"And we told you we don't want to hear your rendition of the national anthem at eight in the morning," Amber yelled while Bonnie shook her head and muttered "Bitch."
"What did you just call me? Don't think I didn't hear you."
"I said you're acting like a bitch!"
"I think calling my parents might be the least of her worries," Lily whispered, which caught everyone else's attention.
When Keekee lifted her head up to look at the pair, it was obvious she had been crying. Alice rushed over to sit beside her and asked what happened, Amber called them something under her breath. "She wouldn't let us take the test, she said she's gonna give us zeroes," she crode.
"It's okay, I can talk to her I was her favorite last year. You'll take it," Alice put her arm around Keekee and Alina got up uncomfortably.
"Maybe she should have gotten to class early if she knew she had-"
"Maybe I should smack you in your fucking mouth," Bonnie yelled, pointing her hand into Nana's face.
"Nana, how do you make the time to keep up your grades and still be a piece of shit?" Alina spoke up.
"Because she clearly doesn't spend any of it with friends," Alice said, still rubbing Keekee's shoulder.
Before Nana could try to defend herself, Olive hung up her phone and spoke, "My mom said if you try to send me home one more time she's gonna complain to the principal, so I'm not leaving."
"None of us are leaving, can you tell Fynn and Lily that before they go into cardiac arrest," Alina said.
"You guys can't just overrule my decisions-"
"Nana I promise you have better things to do than keep us in here arguing all day, just give it up."
She looked around at the eight, five of which were ready to get into a physical altercation, and sat down.
"So, how did the rest of you end up in that office, again?" Alice asked as she sat down in between Lily and Keekee during lunch.
"The teacher said we couldn't take the test today because we were tardy, so I... tried to convince her," Amber stated.
"No, I almost had her convinced before you called her a cunt under your breath. We're lucky Alice talked her into letting us make it up tomorrow," Keekee said as her knee brushed up against Alice's, neither of them doing anything to remove the contact.
Alice tried to continue but her voice faltered, clearing her throat, "What about the rest of you?" she looked across at Bonnie, Olive, Alina, and Fynn.
"Fynn and I were in gym when we heard Keekee crying as she walked past, so we asked if we could go outside for a moment," Bonnie replied.
"And Ms. Ina just let you leave?"
"We're too old for her to care about keeping the two of us in class."
The group laughed but quickly changed the subject, it was only funny if you didn't think about it for too long.
"Me and Alina saw the four of them walking outside the window and tried to sneak out of class to see what was going on, but ironically enough when the teacher noticed she just sent us down anyway," they laughed.
The group sat in silence for a majority of the time when eating. Maybe the others around them would think it was an 'awkward silence', but to them it was nothing of the sort. Sitting in each other's presence was a communication of its own, soaking in the moment and how lucky they were to have found each other in such a large community. Sure, college was next year and they'd all move far away from one another, but those things were easy to overlook in such situations. A bond that was built entirely on mutual trust and understanding, of knowing exactly which line couldn't be crossed, and what made each person laugh. Of course they'd never say these things to each other, the words 'I love you' rarely left their mouths, but it could be felt from thousands of miles away and heard in the silence of having each other's company.