There are a few things to note about my new school. I have only been here for a month and I love it. There is no hierarchy. The cheerleaders sit with the nerds. The jocks sit with anyone. The sitting arrangement has more to do with friendship than a ranking. Broadway Heights can learn from them.
I join the queue waiting for lunch. They have a great lunch too and I’m already friends with the lunch lady. It is a bit sad but I am having a hard time making new friends. Mum says it will take a while but I haven’t made much of an effort to socialise.
Someone nudges my arm. Annoying Calum. I am starting to get used to him. But today, I am extra sensitive. It’s our four months anniversary. I wanted to forget it like I did with our third month but Fazebook reminded me with a memory of us. Stupid Fazebook. Just when I was trying to move on from him.
I disabled my account. I will create a new one when I think I can handle the little reminders about him. After seeing those memories, I spent the next hour stalking his page. Unlike me, he’s doing fine. He is okay but I am not.
Until my heart stops racing at the thought of him and every blue-eyed boy doesn’t remind me of him, I will never be fine. I guess that’s okay too. It has to be okay since it’s my new normal. I gave him my heart and he broke it.
“Hey, sexy,” Calum says. This is one of the reasons I find him annoying. “How can I annoy you today?” Another reason I dislike him. I am not sexy or anything, I am just Tessa. I like it that way but he takes pride in annoying me. “No deep comeback?”
“I’m not in the mood, Calum.”
Maybe it’s the way I say it but Calum takes the hint. My heart skips when he pushes his hair out of his forehead the way Ben would have done. Why can’t he cut the fucking hair so he doesn’t have to run his hands through it every fucking second. What’s wrong with people? Why can’t I be left alone?
The queue continues moving until it gets to my turn. Calum doesn’t go away but he lets me order without interruption. I don’t know who made him my knight in shining armour but he has escorted me to all my classes and sat by me during lunch. He doesn’t want me to be alone. Lame excuse. Like being alone is the worst thing that can happen to anyone.
I grab my tray after getting my order and march to my table. There’s no use running from him, he will catch up to me but I still try. One day, maybe today, he will finally take the hint. I stop halfway to my table, it’s occupied.
Mira, the girl with spiky blue hair and goth makeup is on my seat with a dark-skinned girl beside her. They have a band, Calum is in the band but I have no idea what role he plays. They haven’t disturbed me since I came here but why are they on my seat? If they need a new band member, they can count me the fuck out.
I walk briskly to the table and stop beside her bench. She looks up and goes back to chewing her gum. If I could, I’ll slap the gum out of her lips and fix it in her hair. Mira needs a makeover. That hair and jacket need to go.
“You’re on my seat,” I finally say. She rolls her eyes and motions to the empty bench opposite her. I don’t want that spot, I want mine. But to avoid an argument, I move to the other side of the table and claim it. “What are you even doing here?”
“Calum thinks you’re sad sitting by yourself.”
Speaking of the idiot, he appears beside me with his tray. He sets it down on the table and slides in right next to me. If he didn’t have icy blue eyes like Ben, we might have gotten along but he reminds me too much of my first love.
“Those were not my exact words,” he says.
He steals a chip from my plate and I slam my fists on the table. This gets the attention of Mira’s friend, she looks at me for the first time with something akin to amusement. If the bitch wants funny, I can give it to her.
“I don’t care about your exact words, Calum,” I tell the grinning doofus. He finds everything funny. “I like sitting by myself, Mira. I like being alone.”
To support my point, I grab my tray and stand. Where the fuck will I sit? The other tables are occupied. Mira chuckles. Calum stares in shock.
“Sit your ass down, Theresa.”
So she knows my name? Mira has stuck to calling me new girl. It might be partly why I don’t like her. The other reason is because she reminds me of Olivia with that air of superiority hanging over her. I won’t tolerate her.
“Don’t call me Theresa.”
She scoffs. “Or what, Theresa?”
The mockery in her voice sets me off. I might have tolerated Olivia but I won’t tolerate her. Noting the change in my mood, Calum taps my knee in an attempt to calm me but I am not the one who needs to calm down. It’s Mira. I lower my tray to the table and punch her right in the nose. Mira curses. The whole table gasps. That’s what will happen if they mess with me. I might be the new girl but I wont’t be bullied. This is a new school and a new Tessa.
I smirk at Mira’s stunned face, her friend is too shocked to move. The bitch is not such a talkative anymore. “Don’t call me Theresa or I’ll punch you.”
Calum snorts. He hurries over to his friend to help her and I make a show of dropping my bag where he was seated. Good riddance. Blood drips down Mira’s nose, her friends hold a handkerchief to her nose to stop the bleeding. The bleeding subsides, she fixes me a stern gaze I repay with a grim smile.
“Bitch, you broke my nose.”
“You called me Theresa,” I say quietly. “Don’t call me Theresa. My name is Tessa.” Calum gives me a look of disapproval, the other girl too. I guess they have picked their sides. It’s fine since I am used to being alone. “Sorry,” I tell Mira. “Look, I just don’t like being called Theresa. I don’t want to fight you.” She rolls her eyes and Calum laughs. “Whatever.”
“Whatever,” Mira mutters. Her eyes lower to my can of soda, I offer it to her as a peace offering. She snatches it from me and takes a sip. I cringe when she belches but the others at the table don’t bat an eyelid. “So, Tessa...” She dumps the can on the table. “What are you doing in Crescent High?”
“What the rest of you are doing. Studying.”
Calum slumps over with laughter. He finds every single thing I say funny. He throws his arm around an unimpressed Mira’s shoulders. She shrugs his hand off. I give her a mental applause, we might get along if she finds Calum as annoying as I do.
Taking the hint that he is unwanted by Mira and her friend, Calum returns to my side. He removes my bag and plops into the bench with a wide grin. He is not so bad but he smiles way too much.
“Her parents were moving,” he volunteers seconds after I say nothing. I step on his foot and he groans. “You didn’t want me to tell them? You should have said that earlier. We don’t keep secrets from each other here.”
Good for me then since I don’t belong here.
“Is that the real reason?” Mira asks.
I don’t know what she hopes to hear. “Before then, I was suspended for fighting.” The table shares a look. Calum claps me on the shoulder. “What about you, what’s your story?” The question is directed to all of them. My finger points at Mira. “You first, Mira.” She shrugs. “Fine. You first, Calum.”
“No story,” he says. He steals another fry from my plate. I pass it to him and he winks. Him and Ben have a lot in common, they will make good friends. “We are a new band. Lucas and Sam are not here.” I don’t know those two he mentioned but I nod. Holding a hand to his chest, he starts the introduction. “You already know my name.” Against my will but he doesn’t need to hear that. “I’m the lead singer. Mira is the backup singer and drummer.”
I gesture to the girl on bangs beside Mira.
“Leah sounds like a frog when singing so she’s not allowed anywhere near a microphone,” Mira says with a straight face that makes it harder to tell if this is a joke. She turns to Leah and kisses her on her lips. “Sorry, Leah. I still love you.”
“That’s how they are, they kiss everywhere,” Calum whispers in my ear. “You will get used to it.”
I almost smile at his words. If he were at BH, I would have said the same thing. Only that it would be me and Ben doing the kissing. I fist my hands under the table when the pangs of loneliness hit me. I am not missing him.
“I don’t sound like a frog,” Leah says when she is done mauling Mira’s lips. It’s my first time hearing her speak. She has a lovely voice that’s fit for a band. “I sound like a cricket.” Yeah, they are weird. I’ll fit in with them quite alright. “Do you sing, Tessa?”
“Nope.”
“Good. We can both be in the band for moral support.” Leah retrieves a pamphlet from her pocket and stretches it to me. “Here. We have our first gig on Wednesday. You can come, right?” I don’t think no is an option with Leah. Mira shrugs. “You should totally come. My baby needs all the support.”
“You mean the band,” Calum corrects.
“My baby.” She pecks Mira. “Deal with it.”
Calum covers the gap between us, he puffs his cheeks and pushes his face close to my lips for a peck. I laugh for the first time since sitting with them. “Not in your dreams.” To Mira, I ask, “What’s the name of the band?”
“Mending hearts,” Leah answers.
Mending hearts. I love the sound of it, so much that I am considering it. Mum will let me go. She will agree to anything I ask her at this point because she believes I’m depressed and an outing will do me some good. Seeing Ben will do me some good but that is a chapter I’ve decided to close. We are over.