CHAPTERTWO
1534 Words
At 7:37, Marisa pulled up to Meadow High. Nora had insisted on going alone or with the school bus, as always, but ever since her 4th grade when she poked a boy who wanted to take her lunch with a fork on the school bus, Marisa never allowed her to take the school bus without a chaperon which was usually Ruby. Ruby was her best friend who lived three streets from the Bennetts and they went to school together most mornings. Nora wasn’t sure why her mother assumed Ruby was the responsible one. Ruby was as much a trouble magnet as she was, if not more.
Nora, in the passenger seat, reapplied her nude lipstick in the mirror while her mother watched her with a mixture of worry and amusement.
“Is there a boy?” Marisa teased.
“Very funny, Mum.”
“I wish there was. You’re gorgeous. If anyone should have boys chasing her—”
“Not interested,” Nora cut in. “Just because I don’t want to date boys who can’t even shave doesn’t mean I can’t give them something to drool over.” She fluffed her hair playfully.
“Oh, God,” Marisa groaned. “Please don’t say you’re not interested in boys.”
Nora grinned.
Marisa’s gaze shifted. “Isn’t that McKwosiki?” She squinted at the large, greasy-haired boy.
“Yeah.”
“Still a bully?”
Nora laughed. “Not since I put him down.”
McKwosiki had been three times Nora’s weight. When she’d challenged him to a fight two years ago, everyone thought she was insane. They were certain he’d crush her without effort—everyone except Nora. He landed a few punches, sure, but she refused to back down until she finally put him on the ground.
The memory made Marisa scoff. “You earned a month’s detention for running a fight club. Proud?”
“Those were good times,” Nora sighed. “School’s boring now.” She could still recall sitting in Mrs. Holmes’s office afterward. The principal had looked her square in the eye and said, “Your cause might’ve been right, Nora, but your execution was wrong. You attract trouble wherever you go.” What did Mrs. Holmes know? Nora didn’t go looking for trouble. Trouble just had a way of sniffing her out.
She tugged at the hem of her denim jacket, smoothing it over her teal top and black jeans until every line sat just right. Finally satisfied, she turned to her mother with a smile that said mission accomplished.
“Thanks, Mum.” She pushed the door open and swung her legs out. “Bye.”
“Love you.”
“Love you.”
Nora was halfway down the path when her mother called out.
“Norabel!”
She turned, already bracing.
“Please, don’t fight today,” Marisa said firmly, pointing a finger.
“Fine.” Nora raised both hands in surrender.
Marisa wasn’t entirely convinced, but she smiled anyway as Nora shut the door and headed off. Her daughter was tough as nails—too stubborn to ignore what she believed was wrong. It often landed her in trouble, with Marisa making more trips to the school than most parents ever did. Nora always insisted it was “for a good cause,” and usually, it was. Her methods could use some work, but at least she never fought to hurt anyone. That, in its own way, made Marisa proud.
Nora adjusted the strap of her bag and walked toward the entrance of Meadow High. The building loomed with its tired red bricks and banners peeling from old pep rallies, but the halls inside buzzed with life. Students spilled from every corner—laughing, arguing, gossiping—the cliques dividing themselves neatly like colors on a palette. Jocks claimed the middle stretch, nerds huddled by the lockers, goths sprawled across the benches, skaters leaned against walls, and the glittery mean-girl squad practically sparkled under the fluorescent lights.
Nora slid through them all without belonging to any. She wasn’t a follower. Not really a leader either. Just… her own orbit.
A lanky boy shuffled down the hall, head buried in his phone as his thumbs flew across the screen. He was so focused he nearly collided with a skater in a black beanie who zipped past on his board.
“Hey! Watch it!” the skater yelled, swerving out of the way.
“You’re not supposed to skate in the hallway!” the boy shot back without even looking up, thumbs still tapping furiously.
He kept walking, oblivious, until he was seconds from plowing straight into Nora. She caught him by the shoulders just before his face nearly smacked into hers.
The boy blinked, finally looking up, and recognition lit his expression.
“Nora!” he said, grinning sheepishly.
“George,” she said, steadying him. “Still trying to multitask?”
He grinned wider. “Sorry. But I’m almost at level forty-five. Bet Will I’d hit sixty before graduation.”
“What’s the bet?” she asked, amused.
“Five hundred bucks,” he said proudly. “And if I win, Will has to run n***d around the school.”
Nora burst out laughing. “Please tell me you’re recording when that happens.”
“Of course,” George said with a wink before disappearing back into the stream of students.
“Hey Nora!” another student greeted as she walked past her.
“Hi Heather,” she waved at the cheerleader.
At her locker, Nora found Rakesh glaring at his combination lock like it had personally wronged him.
“Five-six-seven-eight,” she said, passing by without breaking stride.
His head snapped up. “You’re a lifesaver. Again.”
She smirked, swapping books into her bag. Same old Rakesh—brilliant in math, hopeless with locks.
“Nora!” a voice sang from down the hall.
She turned just in time to catch Ruby barreling toward her, curls bouncing, energy bright enough to light the whole hallway.
“Hey-you!” Ruby squealed, throwing her arms around her.
Nora laughed into the hug. Ruby wasn’t just her best friend—she was her ride-or-die. They’d been inseparable since eighth grade, back when Nora staged a sit-in to protest the school’s rule that barred girls from wrestling. Most classmates had joined under pressure, but Ruby? She was the first to sit beside her, no convincing needed. She didn’t even want to wrestle—she just hated hearing that a girl couldn’t do something because she was a girl. From that day forward, their friendship was sealed in stone.
Ruby’s petite frame and natural golden locs had earned her the nickname Goldilocks around school, but Nora knew better—underneath that sunshine exterior was steel.
“What’s with the sunshine mood?” Nora teased when Ruby finally let go. “Don’t tell me you snuck out to see Chase again.”
Ruby replied with a giggle that told Nora everything she needed to know—yes, she had.
Chase went to Bliss High, the only other high school in town, a sleek private academy that always seemed a world away from Meadow High’s faded lockers and buzzing hallways. Their relationship wasn’t exactly convenient. With different schools and busy schedules, they only managed quick meet-ups after classes, rushed moments before Ruby’s strict 7 o’clock curfew kicked in.
The curfew had been her father’s idea, a punishment after Ruby once staggered home so drunk she couldn’t find her house key and ended up asleep on the porch until sunrise. Since then, her nights were tightly policed.
But Nora suspected her best friend didn’t actually mind. Ruby seemed to savour the adrenaline of sneaking out—slipping from her room under the guise of homework or an early bedtime—just to spend an hour with her bad-boy boyfriend. Sometimes Nora wondered if Ruby loved the thrill of rebellion more than she loved Chase himself.
“How many times now?” Nora asked, arching a brow.
Ruby twirled a strand of her golden curls, pretending to count. “Lost track after six.”
“Impressive. I’m shocked your dad hasn’t caught you yet.”
Ruby smirked, unbothered. “Please. I’m good at what I do.”
“Just don’t break a leg climbing out a window,” Nora warned.
“Says the girl who dove off a cliff just to prove a point,” Ruby shot back. She snickered, “Yeah I will be careful.”
Nora grinned. Fair.
The first bell shrieked overhead. Students groaned, shuffling toward class, and the hallway chaos melted into the rhythm of slamming lockers and hurried footsteps.
By the time Nora and Ruby slid into their seats, Mr. Roy was already at the front of the room, clapping his hands.
“Books open, page seventy-two!” he barked, voice like a whip.
Nora sighed and flipped her textbook open. Biology was her favourite, but lately even the things she loved couldn’t keep her focus. Her thoughts drifted—past the page in front of her, past the dull walls of Meadow High, toward something she couldn’t quite name.
Something bigger. Something waiting.
- Writer
