I was one of the last people to walk into morning home group – without getting noticed – I glanced at Simon getting along with our home groups guy tribe. He was now one of them and no longer needed to force himself into conversations. Besides the class loner, all the guys in our class were basically one massive mob broken up into looser groups. The girls were a different story, split into three cliques, the loud ones, the quiet ones (Saskia, Chelsea and myself) and the inseparable four, a group of gossip girls with their days of virginity already numbered.
Saskia and Chelsea saved a seat for me.
“Last day, last day” Saskia sang. “And we have a chunk of the school to ourselves.”
That was true. The year twelves were long gone and the year elevens finished last week. Most of the year tens chose to wag the last half a week of school – A Calleford tradition – so the lower half of the school was set to roam free.
S.O.S.E was an absolute bludge; we watched a stupid tape on the digestive system. We are in the twenty first century and are still using tapes. The dodgy tape stuffed up halfway through. In Italian we had one final test and while the class begged for the teacher to let the test slide, she knuckled down like a jack hammer and made us do the test anyway. After lunch was only one period of school, it was usually two but on the last day of term or the year they liked to shorten things the school day.
Chelsea and I bit our lips staring at the clock,
“C’mon,” Chelsea heaved.
A short beep was followed by the principal’s voice over the speaker.
“I wish all students a safe and happy holidays...” The speaker announced.
“Ring already!” A boy yelled at the speaker frustrated.
“Please leave the school in a safe manor using the crossings” The speaker continued.
“Shut the hell up!” He screamed throwing his art books to the floor.
The class laughed at his frustration.
“The bell will ring shortly.”
Many little groans united as one big impatient moan.
“Ring, Ring” Saskia begged.
“Oh Mr Bell, if you ring I’ll give you my left over M&Ms” I bribe the speaker.
After five seconds a heavenly bell sang out of the speakers, it was the best ring of the year purely because it was the last.
The whole class beamed in joy and rushed out of the classroom, Saskia, Chelsea and I got swept up with the pack.
“Guess the bell likes chocolate” Chelsea mused.
After being at our lockers for one last time and taking a few photos on Chelsea’s camera, Saskia and I said goodbye to Chelsea and walked up to the year eight area. On a daily basis, we made a detour at the year eight lockers to catch up with Bayley’s group before heading to the buses together. Mark had already gone home but Greg, Chuck, Damien, Xavier and Bayley hung around the empty hallway. Damien and Greg sat on top of the hard metal lockers watching something on Damien’s ipod, he had all day to show Greg this funny thing but chose now to watch it. Chuck’s spiked up hair was a polar opposite to Xavier’s – Everyone called him Xave – shaggy honey brown afro with blonde streaks.
“Hey Rhi, Sassi” He waved.
“Xave” I smile.
“Damo, Greg get off you’re a**es we’re going” Chuck barked in his newly deep voice.
Bayley laughed between his lips.
“Shut up Bayley, just ‘cuz you don’t know the meaning of puberty” Chuck barked.
I backed away.
“Don’t be shy,” Greg assured. “Chuck’s just getting used to his new voice along with his brand new pit hairs”
“Yeah, all two of them” Xave joked and burst out laughing.
Chuck frowned.
“Screw you guys, I’m out of here” He dramatically announced and walked around the corner.
“You still coming to my place on Sunday?” Damien called out to Chuck calmly.
Chuck’s head appeared behind the corner, no longer frowning.
“Yeah, Mark and I we’re gonna come over together” He replied.
I gazed at Xave, the moment he eyed me I looked away.
“Think I’m gonna go home too” Greg added.
“We should probably go catch the bus” said Bayley to Sassi and I.
The three of us all made our way to the front of the school to catch the bus. Xave snuck up on us.
“I’ll come this way too” He mentioned.
“You don’t have to tell me” Bayley replied and continued his conversation with Saskia. Xave shrugged and walked on Bayley’s left, away from me. I cursed in my head wondering why he did not come to stand on my side, probably to join in on their conversation.
“Anchovies are gross, want me to pack you in an air tight container?” Was the only fragment of conversation I heard from a disgusted Saskia.
Every time I tried to join in on the conversation, my comment was ignored as if I wasn’t there.

In my room, I finished unpacking my bag for the last time this year and checked my phone for any messages.

0/46 messages

I sighed, expecting something but did not know what. All afternoon something had been blocking my train of thought and it was impossible to figure out and it was becoming
Difficult to ignore. There was an itch in my brain that needed to be scratched and it wasn’t head lice. I racked my brain for answers reflecting on what triggered the thought to the point I remember Sassi and Bayley talking and Xavier coming out of nowhere and wanting him to stand by my side. A light flickered in my head. Was Xave the blockage in my head? No, he’s Bayley’s friend I couldn’t possibly like him before October he was just a familiar face in the hallway and nothing else. He did not even have a name, Chelsea and I just referred to him as ‘Afro-man’. His hair bounced in my mind. No Riana, it’s not him it was probably Chuck, wait Chuck Dickson my history teacher, Mrs Dickson’s son? No I hated that a**hole. Mark and Damien were the next people I thought of, we had our moments and were gradually becoming closer but there was nothing special there after all, Damien was a pizza face and Mark looked eleven, not almost fourteen. Well what about Greg? Gotta admit he was pretty hot and him and Bayley were best friends. That bought Bayley – what am I saying? Harlo – onto the hit list. NO!!! Ewww, behind that black haired disguise was a stocky purple beast that none of Bayley’s friends would ever know about. But – and I really mean but – If I didn’t know what Bayley really was and only knew the human side of him, we may of had a chance, we are best friends after all. But the cold truth was I knew both sides of Bayley and he is someone I could never date without breaking every ethical law in the book. After conquering that massive selection of thoughts I flipped my phone open and flicked through my contacts list. Not through the search menu but from A and down, the list went on and on from Chelsea to Greg to Jackie and Saskia, Simon’s name came after Sassi’s then Taylor and Wilbur’s name with no numbers underneath it. Who knows why I had just Wilbur’s name he was probably getting his first phone this Christmas and when the time comes I would need his number. I pushed the down button and saw ‘Xave’ on my phone screen. I put my finger over the call button but could not dare press it. Instead, I pushed the down button again and since Xave’s name was at the very bottom of the list, it restarted to A again, the first contact for ‘A’ was ‘Ask Andy’. Ask Andy was a dodgy mobile application, unlike most phone apps; it did not cost money to subscribe. The main idea was you could ask the so called ‘Andy’ absolutely anything for the simple price of three dollars per text. At the start of the term, Chelsea and I asked Andy ‘Who was Riana Leah?’ after a minute the he texted the reply; ‘Riana Leah is an easily influenced girl who lives at a foster home. She currently misses her friend Sarah’. That message was scaringly accurate and Andy had dirt everything and anyone. Yet another devious idea squirmed its way through my ear and into my head.

What is Xavier O’Donell currently thinking about?

I impulsively texted and directed the message to Ask Andy all that was left now was pressing the send button. I hesitated for a moment, was this right? Wrong? Irrational? Was it really worth three bucks? Stuff asking questions, screw all my thoughts. I put one hand over my eyes and pressed the send button. A soft buzz provoked my phone as it sent the message.
“Whoops,” I giggled awkwardly.
Now all that was left was to a couple minutes for a reply. I squeezed my phone and flipped it open.

0/46 messages

Damn it after a few more seconds I flipped my phone open again.

0/46 messages

Grrrr. The wait is unbearable.
I pulled my ipod out of my bag and manically and put the headphones into my ears and put it on shuffle with trembling fingers. I jumped up and down like any nutcase to a fast paced song before, then the most beautiful ring came from my phone.

1/47 messages

Yes! Ripping into my inbox I immediately clicked on the message, my eyes tried to read the whole screen at once but nothing made sense as my brain began to feel like it was pulsing.
Breathe. I told myself and read the message slowly.

Xavier O’Donell has a lot on his mind at the moment. He thinking about what he wants to do for the summer and is also having sexy thoughts about Riana Leah

Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Oh my god. Either Andy wants me to waste my all my credit texting him back and forth by
Telling me what I want to hear or he is really accurate but wait. If he is telling me what I want to hear then maybe I want Xave.
Then the obvious came to me, I liked Xave.
I liked Xave.
I really liked him.
God damn it.