Category: The Teenage Monologues: Season 2

If there was one thing I was good at, it was constantly getting myself in trouble at school to the point that I seemed to always be grounded. For my mom, the best punishment was sending me off to my dad’s house for the weekend not because he was the stricter parent by any means, but there was absolutely nothing I can do at his house for entertainment. I always kept to myself whenever I was at my dad’s house, so I guess my mom knew where to send me for my punishment.

I heard a light knock on my bedroom door before it slowly opened. My dad enters my bedroom to check on me.

“Hey, Mollie; you’re feeling okay?” he asked, bringing in a plate of food. I don’t answer him, I just watch him out the plate on the small desk located next to my bed. “Gina made dinner if you’re hungry.”

“I’m not hungry,” I said, picking the nail polish off of my fingernails. “I don’t like pork chops anyway.” My dad put the plate on the desk before sitting at the edge of my bed, letting out a sigh.

“Mollie, I’m not here to make your time a bad one,” he started to say. “Your mom just thought it was best if you stayed here for the weekend, cool off from everything that’s been happening at school.”

“I’m fine,” I said, annoyed to still be having this conversation with my dad. He sighed loudly, which is what he did when he ran out of ideas to try to make me feel better.

“You know you can always come out of your room if you don’t want to stay in here,” my dad said before getting up. “You’re grounded, but not a prisoner.”

“Aren’t those the same things?” I said under my breath. He doesn’t hear it, thankfully. He closes he door behind him and I flop back onto the bed, annoyed that I have nothing to do and cant do anything about it. I guess the only reasonable thing to pass the time is my homework, I guess. I stared to take out my books from my bookbag until I heard something hit against my window. I quickly turned around, seeing someone outside on the fire escape. I quickly noticed it was Aaron as soon as he began waving at me. I walked to the window and opened it. Aaron had a huge smile on his face.

“Aaron?” I asked as if he wasn’t actually sitting on the steps out here. “What are you doing here?”

“You know, I’m starting to believe you’re more of the Rockstar than me,” Aaron began to say. “True Rockstars are badasses.”

“Being grounded does not make a Rockstar,” I debated. “It makes me a person that got caught doing bad things.”

“About that,” Aaron pointed out. “Thank you for sticking up for me in vocal when Kamalani was trying to call me out. No one has ever stood up for me like that before.”

“He was being an ass,” I said as I rolled my eyes. “He can get like that.” Aaron looked more annoyed than anything at this moment; it made me wonder if I said the wrong thing.

“Why are you even still friends with him?” He finally asked me. “I feel like he doesn’t even treat you like a friend.”

“It’s complicated,” I simply said, shifting in my spot. “Me and Milo’s friendship is complicated, to say the least.”

“That doesn’t sound convincing,” Aaron noted, sighing afterward. I didn’t want to get into it with Aaron; all I wanted to was for Aaron to just let it go and talk about something else with me. “Is he, like, an ex-boyfriend or something?”

“Ew, no,” I quickly said, swallowing the bile that came up.

“Then why is he so hung on you being with me?” Aaron asked himself more than me at this point. I was getting annoyed. It was bad enough I was already grounded because of Milo, and it was even worse that I couldn’t spend my weekend hanging out with Aaron and rehearsing with the ban. “Like we were supposed to have band practice for the show in two weeks and it just sucks that you’d let him just–“

“For fuck’s sake, Milo isn’t just some random ass guy who I befriended,” I shouted without being too loud. “Milo and I are related, Aaron. Like my sister is married to his dad type of related.” Aaron doesn’t say anything back as if he’s trying to find the right words to say. “Are you satisfied now?”

“That makes it even worse, Mols,” Aaron finally said, scrunching his eyebrows. “He treats you like shit because he knows that no matter what, you’ll be at family gatherings and all that stupid shit. Just because you’re family doesn’t mean you have to respect them when they don’t respect you back.” This time, I don’t say anything back; I just let Aaron talk. “You know he accused you for ‘stealing’ his sheet music for me when he didn’t have it in class the other day?”

“What?” I simply said being caught so off-guard. “He said that to you?”

“He did,” Aaron confirmed. “I didn’t understand how someone who calls themselves your best friend would accuse you of stealing. I don’t understand how someone can say that, and then a couple of periods later pretty much call you a bitch. That’s not cool.” I felt myself caving in. I thought maybe Milo just had a problem with Aaron, but for him to also talk shit and accuse me of stealing… all I did was borrow Milo’s music for Aaron, but he didn’t have to know that.

Aaron reached for my hand, closing his palm into mine. I looked at him, trying to keep a strong face on. I am suppose to be the true rockstar in this relationship.

“Thank you, Aaron,” I said through a tiring smile. “For even coming here to see me when I’m grounded. No one has ever done that before.”

“I’m a certified Mollie Advocate,” Aaron teased and smiled. “I’ll always be on your side.” As soon as I leaned in to kiss him, I heard a knock on my bedroom door.

“Fuck, I gotta go,” I panicked, going back into my room and closing the window. I quickly closed the curtain and hopped into the bed, trying to look as miserable as possible. My dad walked into my room and I looked up, pretending I didn’t realize he was there. He stood there with a small dessert plate and fork.

“Don’t tell your mom I gave you this,” he said, putting the cheesecake down on the desk. I looked up at him as he turned around to leave my room.

“Thanks, dad,” I said. He turned around and smiled at me before shutting the door behind him. Once he did, I turned around toward my window to pull the curtain away. I was hoping Aaron was still there. He wasn’t.

It’s been a week since Sophie has been in school. I’ve tried texting her phone to ask if everything was alright, but didn’t get any answers. After the first 3 days of radio silence, I tried calling her phone. Still, no answer.

I walked towards the vocal room for my last class of the day, hoping the period will go by quickly. All of the other vocal major in my grade enter the room, including Mollie. She walks in with Aaron; no surprise. I look down at my notebook, waiting for the disgust to bypass my body. My dad walks into the classroom which quiets down the class. He puts his binder of sheet music on top of the piano before facing the class.

“Good afternoon, all,” my dad addressed the class. “As you may know, midterm season is upon us, and here at Waverly, we take this time to check in with our students by assigning them a midterm project to focus on. You will be graded based on your creativity, technique, and of course; passion.” As my dad was talking to the class, I see Aaron looking down at his phone, smiling as his fingers pressed against the screen. I looked over at Mollie, and it didn’t take a genius to figure out that se was texting Aaron. I as so aggravated and wanted nothing more than express that out.

“Yo, Serrano; get off your phone, man,” I shouted towards Aaron. The class looked over at Aaron as he shot his head up. “It ain’t that serious.” The class laughed, but my dad immediately got the class back in order.

“That’s enough,” my dad shouted to the class. “Mr. Kamalani, your assistance is not needed–“

“Yeah, because he wouldn’t do that in any other class besides the one that his dad teaches,” Mollie added, which made everyone turn their heads towards her.

“Nobody asked you, Mollie,” I snapped back at her, trying to maintain my composure.

“And nobody asked you to be your dad’s guard dog; woof woof!” Mollie teased as everyone in the class began to laugh again.

“Alright, class,” my dad began to say, but at this point I didn’t care whether or not I was being disruptive.

“You would know being Aaron’s bitch, woof woof!” I responded back. This made Mollie get up from her seat. I wasn’t afraid of Mollie; I got up from my seat as well. “Yeah, learn to mind your business, Mollie!”

“Fuck you, Milo!” Mollie yelled out.

“That’s enough!” my dad screamed, which made everyone in the class go quiet. “Mr. Kamalani and Ms. Castro, grab your things and leave my class now!”

“He started it!” Mollie argued.

“And you decided to get involved!” I snapped back.

“If the two of you don’t grab your things and leave my classroom, I will make sure to have both of your majors suspended for the rest of the year; do I make myself clear?” my dad demanded. I rolled my eyes, knowing I had to get out of the classroom. I couldn’t jeopardize losing my dual major status for the rest of the year.

Before I was able to grab my stuff and get up, Mollie storms out of the class. She doesn’t look at my dad or at me when doing so. I watched her leave and then looked at Aaron; clearly pissed off.

“Mr. Kamalani,” my dad called out. “Go.” I rolled my eyes and began to get my stuff together and finally leave the classroom.

…

Mollie and I sit outside of my dad’s classroom; she sits on one end of the bench and I sit at the other. We don’t say anything to each other, and it honestly kills me. Mollie has been my best friend for as long as I can remember. Some of my first memories were us hanging out in her mom’s backyard pool during the summer with her family. My dad and Jennifer would hang out together while Mollie and I played in the pool, and Mollie would always try to show off her swimming skills when I use to sit in a floatie, terrified of going underwater. The smell of the barbeque in the air and the chlorine mixed with the sun on my skin was something I remembered vividly. I missed my best friend, and something told me that this was going to happen as soon as she began to get all boy crazy. It’s like she stopped believing in herself and only cares about what boys think about her. I sighed at the thought.

“Mol,” I gently said. She shook her head, immediately dismissing me.

“Don’t talk to me,” she quickly said, not looking in my direction.

“Mollie, I’m sorry,” I said, not listening to her. “I didn’t mean to say those things in front of the class-“

“But you did,” Mollie said, side-eyeing me. “You said it like I was your biggest fucking enemy on the planet. Like I was Laurie or something.”

“The way you’ve been acting towards me, you feel like you’re becoming Laurie,” I admitted. Maybe there was some truth behind that, but the way Mollie spat out at me during class was something that Laurie would’ve done to either one of us. Plus, she’s dating the male version of Laurie.

“That doesn’t give you the right to treat me like I’m Laurie though. I’m suppose to be more than just that.” I wanted to be sympathetic to Mollie, but it was bothering me that she was not taking any accountability for what she is doing.

“And you’re treating me like I’m your enemy too, Mol,” I pointed out. “We’ve both been treating each other like shit.”

“You’re treating me like shit because of Aaron-“

“Just how you’ve treated me like shit because of Sophie?”

“I don’t give a shit about Sophie!” Mollie raised her voice, which echoed throughout the empty hallway. “I got over that way before we got to Waverly. But you seem to keep punishing me for the way you feel about another person. That’s not fair-“

“What’s not fair is you throwing me out like I’m disposable whenever a new boy comes into your life,” I began to raise my voice, trying to make Mollie understand where I was coming from. “Seriously, Mol; first it was Theo, then it was Jake, Deangelo, Kyle; now it’s Aaron. It’s like you need these guys to find your purpose for you.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, and I’m done talking to you,” Mollie said, getting up from her seat.

“You know I’m right, Mol,” I continued. “Instead of getting these guys to do it, why don’t you let your friends tell you how awesome of a person you are, huh?” Mollie doesn’t say anything back; she continues to pick up her things to walk away from the bench. “What happened to Ronnie? Huh? She was your girl best friend and now I don’t even see you hang out with her anymore-“

“Fuck off, dude!” Mollie turned around and faced me. “Seriously; instead of worrying about my life and Aaron, worry about your own! Why don’t you call your little girlfriend and see where the fucks she’s been all week?” Are you fucking serious, Mollie? “Seriously, I don’t give a fuck what you do, so stop giving a fuck about what I’m doing.” Shortly after, I see Jennifer walking up the stairs towards the main office, looking in our direction.

“Mollie?” she called out. Mollie turns away from me, walking toward her sister. Before I could get up, I hear my dad open the door from the main office.

“Milo,” he said. I got my things and walked toward the door, not before looking back at Mollie. She doesn’t turn around.

“You’re ready to learn the drums?” I hear Milo call out from down the hall. I shook my head and smiled; Milo would always remember everything he had his mind set on.

“I’m not playing the drums,” I answered, folding my arms across my chest. “We have to rehearse; the show is too close to be messing around.”

“We have time to have some fun,” Milo insisted, opening one of the rehearsal rooms in the West Wing. Most people tend to reserve rehearsal space during lunch period a lot these days; it seems like when there’s a show of some sort coming up, all the rooms are reserved.

“One drum solo isn’t going to hurt,” Milo teased, finally reaching up to me. “You already have the piece memorized and perfected; what more do you need to rehearse?” I rolled my eyes, listening to Milo talk. For someone who focuses on two majors at once, he was always so laid back about rehearsal time. Sure, he knew his music, but I felt like he didn’t take it as serious as I did. Milo doesn’t have to constantly prove himself and his talents; his status already does that. For me, I needed to constantly prove myself being in the section that was looked as a major joke at Waverly High.

“You can’t hurt getting more practice,” I simply said, walking into the rehearsal space. Milo walked in after me, setting his bookbag down on the ground and sitting on the chair next to it. I looked at him, wondering why he’s acting so… relaxed. “Are you going to practice?”

“I’m so over this piece,” Milo sighed as he said. “I just wanted to hang out with you, help you if you need it.” I scrunched my eyebrows, feeling a little bothered at Milo’s attitude.

“I’m fine,” I answered, taking out my violin from its case. I was glad that Milo had his dual major status back, but something definitely changed in Milo when he did. He still did his work and would go to all of the rehearsals needed, but the way he would act when in those rehearsals felt as if he was better than everyone else.

“Do you need me to count you into your section?” Milo asked. I looked at him, visibly looking annoyed at the situation. He definitely took notice of it. “What?”

“I said I’m fine, Milo,” I snapped back, looking down at my sheet music and placing the violin on my shoulder. I hear Milo sigh and get up from his seat.

“I really just wanted to hang out with you, Scout,” Milo admitted. “Like yeah, we hang out, but we only ever rehearse and practice for class and… I just don’t feel like doing that today.” Before I can say anything back, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I take it out quickly to see it’s my mum. I ignore the call to look back at Milo.

“Milo, we can literally be written up if we’re casually hanging out in a rehearsal room,” I began to say. “Just because you’re not in the mood to practice for the show, doesn’t mean I have that same luxury.”

“Luxury?” Milo reacted. “You think I have a luxury?” Once again, I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket; it’s my mum once again calling me during school hours. I ignore it, putting the phone back in my pocket.

“Whether or not you practice, your dual major status has its privileges,” I said, upset now. “You’re not in the joker section of band class, so you don’t know how it feels to never feel like to be in my shoes.”

“Are you really listening to what Serrano said?” Milo said, laughing after asking the question. “Since when do you listen to anything that douchebag says?” My phone vibrates in my pocket once more; this time I actually picked up.

“Mum, I’m literally in school right now, what are you–“

“Ya,” my mother said, stern. “I’m in the main office. I’m taking you home.” I scrunched my eyebrows together.

“What? Mum I have a very important rehearsal today for the show, I–“

“I’m taking you home; no if’s, and’s, or but’s,” she said before hanging up. I looked at Milo; he looks more worried now than before. I began to pack my stuff up, which then made Milo start asking a million questions.

“You’re leaving? Why is your mom here?” I don’t answer Milo. I began to shove things in my bag to get out of the room faster. “Sophie?” I don’t answer him; all I can think about is why my mom is pulling me out of school all of sudden. So many things were circulating on my mind and I didn’t have time to be bothered with Milo.

I walked out of the rehearsal room; Milo quickly followed me, walking fast behind me to try to reach me.

“Sophie? Sophie?” I hear Milo continuously say behind me. You don’t have time for this, Sophie. I entered the main office in hopes that he’d get the memo and leave, but I turned around and looked at him opening the door to the main office.

“Milo, what are you–” I began to whisper at Milo, but it wasn’t log that my mother called me out by name; my Korean name.

“Soojin,” my mom said as she got up from her seat. “We have to go.” She spoke to me in Korean, which is something she only ever does when something serious is happening. It’s like she didn’t want the rest of the world to know of her issues, or hear the panic in her voice when she speaks.

“What happened?” I asked back, in Korean to keep the secrecy. My mom doesn’t answer me back, she looks over my shoulder, realizing she is looking at Milo.

“Leave,” my mom said to Milo. I quickly turned around to look at Milo; he looked terrified. He swallowed hard, but he didn’t move.

“Mrs. Lee, is Sophie–“

“Leave,” my mom said louder now, clearly getting angry. I looked back at my mom now, trying to understand what was even going on.

“Mom?” I said; it was all I could say. She grabbed her things and grabbed my hand, escorting me out of the main office, walking past Milo. “Mom! Mom!”

I turned back around to look at Milo. I wanted nothing more than for him to comfort me in this moment.

Today, I decided to go to the lunch room to grab lunch instead of going to a rehearsal room to practice the choreography from my dance academy. Jennifer has had me working overtime in the studio learning this dance for this showcase; I didn’t realize that the time of year for Jennifer’s annual open house showcase was here. I feel like I had at least a couple of months before that showcase performance. On top of that, Mr. Kamalani had us doing some after-school rehearsals for the show coming up. I felt like I had no time to actually sit down and enjoy some down time.

I sat at the table I would normally sit at lunch whenever I went; usually, Milo and I would sit together and talk about anything that we could possibly think of. I sometimes miss those days. Sometimes, I wish I had my best friend back; the one that made sure we always hanged out at lunch and after school. I don’t remember the last time I even spoke to Milo outside of being at some stupid family gathering.

I see everyone sitting with their friends at different lunch tables, which reminds me why I don’t come here in the first place. I threw out my lunch tray and walked out of the lunchroom.

I figured I’d practice this dance routine before rehearsal tonight; I was tired of Jennifer constantly outing me in the rehearsal because I was one or two steps behind everyone else. I put my headphones on and begin to play the music to the dance. I immediately begin to dance and allow the music to take over my body. For someone that hasn’t been in rehearsals regularly, I was able to memorize the dance really quick. As soon as I engulf myself into the dance and music, I hear a knock on the door through my headphones. I jump up, looking towards the door. I sighed when I realize that it was Aaron looking into the small window of the door. Gosh, how much did he see?

I opened the door for Aaron but he doesn’t say or do anything. I felt nervous, and quite sick to my stomach after dancing on a full stomach of lunch food.

“Everything alright?” I quietly asked. Aaron still didn’t say anything, but he walked into the rehearsal room and closed the door behind him. “Aaron?”

“Mols,” Aaron finally said, still looking as if he was shocked. “You can dance?” Fuck. He did see me.

“How much did you see?” I asked, hoping he says only a little bit.

“I was going to sit with you at lunch until you walked out,” Aaron began to explain. “I saw you came into the rehearsal room and that you just started dancing. I didn’t want to disturb you, or even stop you.” He smiles before he continues with his thought. “I didn’t know you could dance like that.”

“Dance like what?” I asked, beginning to feel a bit exposed and overwhelmed at the attention.

“Dance better than the actual dance majors at Waverly,” he answered. “Seriously, why didn’t you tell me you could dance?”

“It never came up,” I said, turning off my headphones and placing them back in my bag. “Dance is something I do outside of school. I don’t like doing it other than on my own timing.”

“Why didn’t you apply for the dual major program? You would’ve would’ve been the best of the best at Waverly.”

“I didn’t want to,” I said, not wanting to go into detail about this anymore. “I chose vocal.” Aaron sits me down on the bench against the wall.

“I’m not saying that you aren’t a good vocalist; you know I think you’re the best, but what I just saw you do just now… it was completely different than what you do in vocal.” I look at Aaron, taking in everything that he’s telling me. It meant a lot that Aaron thought I was a good dancer and that he was being genuine about it. Aaron’s opinion mattered to me, not because of how I felt about him, but he was also very talented himself… and of course because I liked him.

“How long have you been dancing?” Aaron asked.

“Since I was very little,” I said, loosing up a bit now. “I danced before I sang, that’s the crazy part.”

“So, why did you pick vocal as your major?” He kept questioning me. I know Aaron is trying to understand the situation as much as most people try to. I couldn’t bring myself to tell the truth to them; instead I would lie and say that I like to sing more than dance. My knowledge of vocal is what really saves my ass; I at least know what I’m talking about and know what I’m doing. Thank that to Milo.

“The truth?” I started to say, facing Aaron on the bench now. “I couldn’t afford the program. The dance program is the one program that costs the most to be in because of the constant competitions and costume changing.”

“Did you audition for the program at least?”

“I auditioned for both vocal and dance,” I admitted. “I got accepted into both.” No one knows that; not even Milo.

“Wait, what?” Aaron reacted, shocked by the news. “You were gonna be in the dual major program, but—“

“Couldn’t afford it,” I finished Aaron’s sentence. “So, I settled with vocal. I hate putting it like that, but it’s the truth. Like I love vocal, but—“

“Your heart is in dance,” Aaron was now the one finishing my sentences. I simply nodded, confirming the fact. Aaron sighed, readjusting in his seat. “Sorry for forcing you in the band. I didn’t know you had your heart set on something else.”

“Are you kidding me?” I quickly said. “I love being in the band. It’s different and—I don’t know—I have so much fun being free like that.” Aaron smiled at me; it has to be the biggest one I’ve seen on his face.

“I’m glad you feel that way,” Aaron said. He leans in and gently kisses my forehead. “So do I have the pleasure in seeing your dance routine in full?” I smiled sweetly at him, tilting my head as I tasseled his hair with my hand.

“Of course; at the showcase next week,” I teased Aaron. Aaron playfully rolled his eyes as I laughed out loud. Thank you for saving me from my own thoughts.

The show was less than two weeks away, and I was already feeling the pressure of being the only person in the percussion section learning the piece. It was technical and I haven’t been able to grab the hook the way I would normally do on a piece. I felt my stomach tie itself in a knot when Mr. Harrisburg had us set up for this particular piece.

I don’t hear anything or anyone besides the sweet, soft voice of a girl. I look up and see Sophie standing there, watching me tune the drum set for this particular piece.

“Hi, Milo,” Sophie said and smiled. I couldn’t help but smile back.

“Scout,” I said and leaned back in my chair. “And what do I owe for this surprise visit in Percussion Paradise?” Sophie immediately laughed.

“Percussion paradise?” Sophie questioned.

“Two tickets to paradise,” I said in a sing-song melody. Sophie laughed and shook her head as she took a seat next to me. “What’s up, Scout?”

“I was going to ask you if you wanted to practice for the show after school,” Sophie stated, picking at her fingernails.

“Why so nervous?” I questioned, noticing her hands fidget on her lap. She immediately stops.

“Well,” Sophie began to say. “I’m usually never the one to ask to hang out, and I don’t know if you’re busy doing other things like being a dual major.” I rolled my eyes at Sophie, but smiling to let her know I wasn’t serious.

“You know you can always ask to hang out with me,” I said. “And you know I will always say yes.” Sophie smiled and immediately cleared her throat.

“It’s always fun practicing with you,” Sophie pointed out. “Plus, it gives me an excuse to practice anywhere else but my house.”

“Another video visit from your dad?” I asked. Sophie nodded her head.

“My mom is supposed to see him today,” Sophie said. I nodded my head as she spoke. I know how hard it was for her to talk about her dad. I cant imagine not being able to see or be with someone you loved every single day. “And knowing my mom, she is going to take away all of my practice time to sit in this call and I just don’t have the energy today to do that.”

“It’s cool,” I reassured Sophie. “I’m down to distract you with music.” I smiled at Sophie, which makes her smile. Finally. “You know, you should just permanently switch your seat next to me; it’s not like he comes into class anymore.”

“But I don’t play the drums,” Sophie said.

“I’ll give you another drum lesson when we hang out,” I insisted. “And then you can teach me a couple of things on the violin.”

“If you learn the violin, I’m out a spot in the strings section,” Sophie commented. “You’ll be so good, you could be a one-man string section.”

“Well I guess you’re going to have to take my drum lessons seriously,” I teased. Sophie nudged me on my shoulder. Mr. Harrisburg clears his throat, in which Sophie immediately gets up from the seat and rushes to her section.

“Good afternoon, class,” he addresses the class. “As you may know, our mid-winter showcase is two weeks away. This show is a very important one as there will be some special people watching in the audience.” The class begins to softly chatter in excitement. My dad had told me that potential colleges scout freshman for these specialized programs; they basically work with you for the time you’re in high school and pay for your college when you graduate. It was something that my dad did when he was a student at Waverly all those years ago. I can understand why he’s been so pushy about me being good at both of my majors.

In true fashion, the classroom door opens, and in walks in Aaron Serrano. Mr. Harrisburg turns his head and looks at him.

“Aaron,” he addresses him as he tries to sneak past him. “Please see me after class today.” The class snickers to themselves before Mr. Harrisburg quiets the class. Aaron sits in his seat, next to mine, taking out his notebook and sheet music. I slightly shook my head; how can he get away being absent for so long without getting his status suspended?

“I would like to start with percussion today,” Mr. Harrisburg said as he looks in my direction. “Milo, Aaron; please flip to the last four measures of your section.” I couldn’t help but grin a the fact that Aaron has no idea what we’ve been working on and that he’s about to make himself look like a fool. Payback’s a bitch, huh? I quickly open my book to the song that Mr. Harrisburg is referring to and I immediately panic. Where the fuck is this sheet music? I look at Mr. Harrisburg, who is looking at me. “Are you ready, Milo?”

“Uhm, yeah,” I answered, trying to play it cool. Mr. Harrisburg counts us into the piece in which I nervously wait to start playing. I look over at Aaron, flipping through the pages of the music before we come in to play. How the hell did he get this music?

One, two, three, and–

To my surprise, Aaron and I begin to play at the same time, and for the first time actually sound like one section. I tried to not look in his direction, but I was genuinely curious how he knew the piece just as good as I did.

“Okay, okay,” Mr. Harrisburg stopped us. “This is the best I’ve heard you both play together. Well done.” I finally look over to Aaron, sitting in his seat like what he did wasn’t a big deal. How did he learn this piece so quick? How did he even get the sheet music? Aaron looked at me and rolled his eyes, making notes on the sheet music as the rehearsal went on. Something is hella weird.

…

The bell rings and everyone begins packing their bags to leave. As I started to put my books away, I see Aaron walking past me to leave. I don’t know what possessed me to say anything to him; I just do.

“Yo, Aaron,” I called out. Aaron stops to look at me; clearly he’s confused that out of all people, I’m the one calling for him. I’m just as confused. “Got a minute?”

“For you?” Aaron asked. “No.”

“Sorry,” I quickly said. “Don’t mean to take up your precious hallway time with Mollie.”

“Yeah, my girlfriend,” Aaron emphasized. The sound still makes my skin crawl.

“Yeah,” I played along, trying to not him get the best of me. “Tell her that the next time she needs to steal my sheet music in order for you to learn it to let me know in advance.”

“The fuck are you talking about?” Aaron asked, annoyed now.

“Just admit it, dude,” I said, now directly looking at Aaron at his face. “How the hell do you miss all these classes, yet you have the sheet music for a song we just started to learn, and you knew perfectly?”

“It’s called being good at your major,” Aaron scoffed, trying to walk away from me.

“Sure,” I continued to say. “But it’s a coincidence that my sheet music just magically disappeared the day you finally show up to class with the music and knowing how to play it already.”

“So you’re accusing Mollie of stealing your sheet music?” Aaron asked before laughing. “Damn, that’s suppose to be your best friend, dude.”

“Damn,” I mocked. “That’s suppose to be your girlfriend; why would you have her steal my music?”

“Listen, jerk,” Aaron spat out, getting close to me now. “I don’t need to steal your fucking sheet music.”

“So where is it?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” Aaron started to get louder. “But I don’t need to be stealing your shit, and I wouldn’t tell Mollie to do some shit like that.” He points in Sophie’s direction, which startles her. “Now go bitch about it with your band-filler violinist girlfriend.” Mr. Harrisburg immediately calls out our names to stop arguing. The class quiets down and everyone is now walking away from Aaron and I.

“Aaron, I told you to see me after class; Milo, keep it moving and go to your next class.” I grabbed my backpack from the ground and look at Sophie. She quickly puts her head down and walks towards the exit of the classroom. Just when she was getting more confident in her craft. I sighed, leaving the classroom as well.

Life at Waverly High was so much different than it was when I first started back in September. For one, it has been one of the coldest winters to date, and traveling to and from school have been one of the bigger challenges. Long gone were the days that I was able to simply walk a couple of blocks to school, barely feeling the cold hit my skin. Maybe it was because the city had all these big skyscrapers covering the little sun that comes out these days; it just felt colder whenever I had to go to school.

Thankfully today was just a little warmer than usual, and the school day was going by quickly. It was already lunchtime, and I was sitting at the usual table I always sat at, eating the lunch that my mum packed for me the night before. And right on cue, I see a lunch tray placed in front of me; it’s Milo.

“Hey, Scout,” Milo greeted as he sat across from me at the table. He immediately gave me the muffin off of his tray while I gave him the bag of chips my mom packed for me. It was our thing; I don’t really like potato chips, but I don’t tell my mom because the chips always go to Milo. She just thinks I really like them. “How’s your day going so far?”

“Surprisingly quick for a Monday,” I said, eating the muffin in front of me. “I have this huge chemistry exam next week though. I’m afraid that I might not pass it.”

“Of course, you’ll pass it,” Milo reassured as he continued to eat the chips. “It’s the seniors in that class that have to worry about passing.” He leaned forward before changing the subject. “You need a study buddy?”

“How are you going to study chemistry with me? You don’t even take chemistry,” I laughed, thinking it was cute.

“I could study something else, like math or biology,” Milo insisted.

“Something tells me that you are not going to be a good study buddy,” I teased, ruffling his hair before laughing. Milo huffed and leaned back in his seat in a defeatist way. “What we could study is this new song we have to play for the banquet in a couple of weeks.”

“Don’t remind me,” Milo sighed. “The vocal ensemble is also performing that day.” Knowing Milo well enough meant that he never really meant what he said when it came to performances as a dual major. I know Milo enjoyed the work and the performances, but I also knew he enjoyed having the title of being a dual major. I will let him vent about the hard work behind being two pleases at the same time, but I know he wouldn’t trade his title for anything.

“I feel like Mr. Harrison and Mr. Kamalani are always collaborating on performances,” I joked, trying to be the one to make Milo laugh now. Instead, Milo rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Vocal doesn’t have to do everything that the band does,” Milo responded, clearly not looking forward to the vocal performance. “It’s like my dad knows when to put more work on me.” I scrunched my nose at Milo’s response. Sometimes, I didn’t agree with Milo’s belief about his dad. His dad is only doing what he’s supposed to do to further support Milo and his dreams.

Some of us have fathers who only think for themselves, not being around to even know our dreams to support them in the first place.

“You’ll do great,” I reassured Milo, keeping my thoughts to myself.

…

During passing, I walked down the hallway with all of the other students going to their next class. I had enough time to use the bathroom before my band class; the bathroom was close to my class anyway. I walked in and looked at myself in the mirror. I took my brush out to comb my hair after it got messy being in a bun for gym class.

A couple of other girls came and went into the bathroom to use it, but one girl walked up to the mirror next to me, looking at herself in the mirror. It was Mollie.

Mollie still made me extremely nervous whenever she was around. These days, she doesn’t bother me; or maybe I don’t bother her anymore. Needless to say, there are days that she exists since she and Milo don’t talk anymore. That’s another different type of normal these days. I couldn’t understand how someone that you’ve known for most of your life would just cut you off because of someone they were dating. You hear things like this happening in those cringe TV sitcoms about best friends. I always thought Milo and Mollie were different.

I snap out of thought when Mollie rips the paper towel from the dispenser in front of me. I couldn’t help but jump in place. I look at Mollie who immediately rolls her eyes.

“S-sorry,” I said nervously, not even knowing why I was apologizing to Mollie. She didn’t say anything back. Her phone started to ring and she immediately picked it up, a smile now on her face. I tried to not look at her or not have her notice I was looking at her as I washed my hands.

“Hey babe,” she greeted over the phone. It must be Aaron. “Yeah, after school I’m free for practice.” Mollie laughed over the phone as she washed her hands. “I’ll see you in vocal.” She hung up the phone and noticed me looking at her. “Why are you all in my business?”

“I’m just washing my hands,” I said, looking down at the water hitting my hands. Clearly, she didn’t believe me.

“You looking at me like you’re lost,” Mollie said as she fixed her hair. “Sorry to break it to you, but you’re not gonna find Milo in the girl’s bathroom.”

“What?” I asked, not really understanding where Mollie was going with this.

“I’m just saying you look a little lost,” Mollie said. “I’m assuming it’s because you don’t have a mind of your own and need Milo to guide you around like a puppy.” I finally looked at Mollie, annoyed at her comment. I wasn’t Milo’s “lost puppy”, I was his friend; something that she clearly hasn’t been for quite some time now. I looked down at my bag before closing it with the zipper.

“At least I’m not on the phone with him the second he walks away,” I said under my breath but loud enough so that Mollie knew what I was saying.

“What did you say?” Mollie spat back, now directly looking at me with her body facing toward me. I didn’t say anything back; the warning bell rang and a hall monitor was already shouting in the girl’s bathroom to go to class. I walked passed Mollie, not wanting to deal with her anymore. I didn’t understand why Mollie still had issues with me being Milo’s friend when she clearly wasn’t being one to him.

I looked up to see Mollie walk out of the bathroom and toward Aaron. She smiled at him as he put his arm around her as they walked down the hallway. I couldn’t help but feel jealous at the way Aaron wasn’t afraid to show how much he liked Mollie. He showed his affection no matter where they were in the school; I can only imagine just how good that makes Mollie feel. Why do I feel so jealous of Mollie and Aaron’s relationship even after knowing it ruined Milo’s friendship with his best friend.

These were the different types of normal we had at Waverly High these days, and I’m not sure if I like it.