With the quick departure of Dominique and Tris, it was like the party immediately died down. People found it being no point being at the party when the host herself was gone, so soon they began leaving. Alone, in pairs or in groups, it didn't matter. By the time the sun had set, the beach was almost entirely empty.
It was eerie, how the party almost completely vanished after one person decided to leave, but that's how the world works. Or, something like that anyway.
Classes weren't to start until the following week, where students were instructed before in the assembly to gather their new timetables from the office that Monday morning. Surely that was going to be chaotic for the office, but they asked for it.
The last week off before the official first day of high school had been akin to a rollercoaster ride for Analise. She couldn't stop reliving each and every second of the kiss with Jackson. With each passing day, Analise would pick up her phone, her thumb hovering over Audrey's contact but hesitating. What could she have said anyway?
"Hey, I kissed your ex, hope things are okay!" Well. If Anna wasn't an idiot, she would've done it. She still considered Audrey her best friend, but she wasn't sure whether Audrey would've felt the same if she ever found out.
'It's not like I kissed her boyfriend or anything...' Anna would try to reason with herself. But then she'd remember the Salazar scandal.
And boy she didn't want to incur Audrey's wrath.
Analise definitely kept in touch with Jackson though, a lot more than usual. Each morning she'd send a good morning text, followed by a couple of funny images or jokes she'd find scrolling through Facebook or Instagram that following afternoon or evening, before they'd talk about anything and everything. Life, school, the works. Well... not
everything.Everything but the kiss.
Yeah, sounds about right.
Anna wasn't embarrassed by the kiss, she sure wasn't. But she wanted to know exactly where she stood with Audrey and Jackson before making things official. The last thing Analise wanted to do was lose her best friend just for some guy.
'Not that Jackson was just some guy' Anna would think bitterly. On Sunday morning, Analise woke up and decided. She
had to tell Audrey, it wasn't fair on Jackson to keep him waiting, nor was it fair on Audrey for keeping a secret. It was eating Anna from the inside and there was no way in hell she'd be able to sleep for another day unless she knew that Audrey knew.
And was hopefully okay with it.
Now, over twenty-four hours later on Monday, Analise stood in front of Audrey's classroom, twiddling with her thumbs. Her heart was hammering - it felt like Anna could pass out from terror of Audrey's wrath, but Anna stayed put.
'I'm not talking myself out of this.'Slowly, Anna could see people standing up from the inside and gathering their stuff, readying themselves for lunch break. She watched carefully, peering at each passing figure until she found the one person she wanted to talk to.
"Audrey!" Anna called, putting on her
happiest voice. Her voice cracked anyway, but she could only hope that Audrey didn't notice the tremour over the loud background chatter from the other students. Waiting until Audrey approached her, Analise smiled.
"Ready for lunch?" She asked, gesturing towards the lunch hall.
'She will find out, Anna,better she hear it from you than from someone else.'"Ah... A? Before we have something to eat... I need to tell you something."