5
Even though we were just fine on the way to school. Whatever changed between then and now was an absolute mystery to me; maybe an accountant had screwed his family over or something?
“Well, thanks again for the save,” I said, inspecting my phone with a sigh of relief. There was a bit of a chip out of the case, but the screen itself was fine.
Glasses offered me her hand as I stood up, getting a closer look at her appearance. She really had the cliché petite body with baggy clothes covering her small frame, her saddlebag practically dwarfing her body. Platinum-blonde hair had been left to its own devices, somewhat tamed by a few colorful clips and bobby pins. “Y-you’re the girl Aiden met, right? Aria?”
I nodded, somewhat taken aback. “You know Aiden?”
“Hard n-not to know the mayor’s son.” Glasses grinned nervously. “I didn’t know M-Mr. Harvey had a daughter.”
“He kept me hidden in the basement,” I joked.
Glasses’ face paled slightly.
“Oh, no,” I reassured. “I lived with my mom in the city. Just moved in at the end of summer.”
“O-oh!” Glasses laughter was a bit too forced. “Yes, of c-course! That was a joke. R-Right.”
I couldn’t help but smile, relieved to have found someone somewhat normal. “So, I’m Aria, but your name?”
Glasses blinked, as if surprised I even bothered to ask. “L-Laura. Laura Lim—my aunt runs the local library.”
“Ooh, the coolest place to hang,” I said. “Bet you throw a lot of parties in the fiction section.”
It took Laura a second or two before she began to giggle. “Oh, th-that’s another joke! Yeah, n-no, it’s usually pretty quiet. Not that I mind,” she added. “It’s nice to have a p-place to myself.”
“Well, hopefully you don’t mind sharing with me,” I said.
“N-No, not at all!” Laura insisted. “I don’t—I-I mean, my aunt runs it, but we don’t own it. It’s open to the public. Well, it has to be, since the town technically owns the land, and—” Her face flushed pink as she pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. “S-sorry.”
“Hey, I like someone who knows their stuff,” I reassured her. “Speaking of which, you wouldn’t happen to know where Room 406 is, do you?”
Laura’s face lit up immediately. “Oh, M-Mr. Johnson’s room? Yeah, I was just on my way there, actually.”
Go, Universe, go. “Mind if I walk with you, then? I’ve got homeroom there.”
“O-oh! That’s wonderful!” Laura exclaimed. “I mean, I-I’d be happy to walk with you. If that’s okay.”
“I mean, I asked first.” I chuckled, relieved to have made a friend so quickly. She was a bit skittish, sure—not a ‘Hazel’ in any way, shape, or form—but at least Laura was nice. Maybe a not-Hazel was just what I needed this school year.
Chapter Four
L
aura was an absolute Godsend. Even if we only shared homeroom together, she was nice enough to walk me around and point out all the rooms on the rest of my schedule. It was nice to have a slight idea when and where I had to go next, meaning I could take time to visit my locker and not carry everything with me.
I couldn’t help but keep a lookout for Aiden, though, hoping we could bump into each other and have lunch. I hadn’t seen the guy all day, even with the small spaces we had to work with.
Maybe he just has special classes, I thought to myself. Besides, if he was the mayor’s kid, I already knew where to find him, if need be.
Once lunchtime came along, I was feeling pretty confident about navigating Ayersville High, though it probably helped that the entirety of the senior year was regulated to one floor.
“H-hey, Aria!” Laura waved me down from one of the corner lunch tables, another new guy sitting right beside her. I took my sloppy joe tray in hand and made my way across, careful not to bump into anyone before finally taking a seat on the opposite side. “This is Noah. He, um, is also f-friends with Aiden.”
“I’m friends with you, too,” Noah insisted.
Again, a tinge of blush crossed Laura’s face. “N-Noah, this is Aria. She’s Mr. H-Harvey’s daughter. She didn’t live in his basement,” she added hastily. “She lived off in the city.”
I gave her a strange look, shaking it off with a smile. “Nice to meet you, Noah.”
“Same,” Noah said. “Hey, lemme ask you something, Aria. You got any interest in basketball?”
Basketball? It was a bit of a left-field question, but maybe it’d been the conversation before I came over. “I mean, I guess. Why?”
“Oh, d-don’t bother Aria with this,” Laura insisted. “It’s my fault I didn’t pick someone yet. “
“They’re all just doing it to stare at guys, anyway,” Noah replied, his full attention now on me. “Would you say you have adequate knowledge of the game? Maybe enough to help me coach?”
I blinked, surprised at the offer. “You… just met me.”
Noah simply shrugged. “You’re already doing better than my other applicants.”
That got a laugh out of me. “Well, truth be told, I used to run a division at my old school. But—”
“Save the ‘but,’” Noah begged. “Just say yes? I don’t know if I can handle another interview where the main interest is getting the point guard’s phone number.”
Man, but he looked desperate. “I have no idea if my schedule would even allow it,” I began.
“Oh, it’s all after school!” Laura reassured me. “And, um, s-students here have to pick at least one extra-curricular for a semester. C-clubs count for filling that spot.”
“And it would be an every-other-day situation,” Noah added. “I’d only really need you when we get close to actual games. Plus,” he grinned, putting an arm around Laura’s shoulder, “you’d be getting Laura here out of trouble with me.”
Laura’s face paled. “I-I’m in trouble with you?”
I shook my head, unable to hold back a smile. “Yeah, alright. You’ve caught my interest.”
“Great!” Noah beamed, still hugging Laura as he slid his phone across the table with his free hand. “Just put your number down in my contacts and I’ll shoot you a text later today. We meet up at the gymnasium right after school lets out, but don’t be afraid to call if you get lost.”
“Oh, because this campus is so expansive,” I teased.
Noah’s smile only widened. “Yeah, I think we’ll get along great. Glad Laura got to you before anyone else did.”
“Like Clyde and his girlfriend?” I quipped.
The two of them exchanged looks, Laura nervously pushing at her glasses. “Y-Yeah. They’re not really, um, together like that.”
I hated how much relief that gave me.
“Well, not recently, anyway.” Noah chuckled. “You’re probably talking about Vanessa, right? Crazy-blue eyes, permanent scowl on her face?”