HIGH ON SCHOOL

TWO HOURS EARLIER GRRRRRR! The school bell rang, signaling the end of Drama period. The classroom immediately came alive. Chairs scraped against the floor. Bags zipped. People started talking over each other like they'd been trapped in silence for six hours. I stayed seated for a moment, waiting for the noise to die down. I wasn't in a hurry. Okay, maybe I was. I needed to figure out what I was wearing tonight. I was already mentally going through my wardrobe when— "Miss Chris." I froze. Slowly, I looked up. Mrs. Palmer was standing beside her desk, watching me. "What are your plans for the practical assignment?" she asked. "I will be expecting something big from you, especially being one of my brighter students." ... Practical assignment? I blinked. Which practical assignment? I hadn't exactly been paying full attention. I glanced around the classroom as discreetly as possible. Nothing. Then my eyes landed on the blackboard. Written across it in huge white chalk letters was: COLLEGE & CAREER RESEARCH PROJECT Oh. Oh. That. I immediately put on my most convincing smile. "Well, Mrs. Palmer, I assure you, it'll be..." I paused. I needed a word. "...impressive." She smiled. "That's what I'm expecting." Of course it was. "And you'll be working in a group," she added. A group???!!!! My smile disappeared. "I'm in a group?" "Yes." I stood up and grabbed my backpack. "May I confirm the members of my group?" Mrs. Palmer walked toward her desk and picked up a sheet of paper. I followed. She handed it to me. I scanned the list. GROUP A Emma Sanders Bruce Parker Joseph Ryders Xang Hongxiu GROUP B Reina Chris Zack Sneider David Shipmann Katie Hart GROUP C Riele Downs Madison Belle Cree Chance Charlotte Paige GROUP D Jasper Wheele Paxton Hall Piper King Xander Knight I stared at Group B. Then stared again. No. I checked the other groups. Maybe my name was duplicated. It wasn't. I looked back at Group B. Reina Chris. Zack Sneider. David Shipmann. Katie Hart. Fantastic. Just fantastic. I wasn't exactly friends with any of them. Actually, I barely spoke to them. Everyone knew who they were, though. Katie, Zack and David were basically the high-school royalty. They knew everyone. Everyone knew them. They were invited to parties, surrounded by people during lunch, and somehow always seemed to know what was happening before everybody else did. And then there was me. Reina Chris. I had friends. I wasn't friendless. I just didn't have the energy to know the entire school. I liked my little circle. My routine. My peace. And now Mrs. Palmer had decided to throw me into a group with three people who seemed to have an entire social universe of their own. I looked down at the paper again. "This is..." I paused. Mrs. Palmer raised an eyebrow. "...interesting." She laughed. "You'll be fine, Reina." I wasn't convinced. "Your group will be researching college and career opportunities. I want you to choose a career field together, research universities or colleges that offer the necessary programs, look into admission requirements and career opportunities, and interview at least one person working in that field." She pointed toward the board. "At the end of the project, you'll present everything to the class." I nodded slowly. "And everyone has to participate," she added. Of course. Because apparently hiding behind three other people wasn't an option. "You'll have several weeks to complete it, so don't leave everything until the last minute." Several weeks? I suddenly felt slightly better. At least I didn't have to deal with this immediately. "We'll discuss the groups tomorrow," Mrs. Palmer said. Tomorrow. Perfect. I could survive one day. I folded the paper and slipped it into my notebook. "Thank you, Mrs. Palmer." "You're welcome." I turned toward the door. Finally. Freedom. I stepped into the hallway and immediately pulled out my phone. 12:47 PM. I had approximately one thousand things to do before tonight. First: cafeteria. Second: find Dan and Cassie. Third: figure out what on earth I was wearing. Fourth: pretend I wasn't already stressed about a project that wasn't even due for weeks. I walked down the hallway, passing students who were already talking about the rave. Apparently, everybody had been talking about it all week. I heard someone arguing about who was going. Someone else was showing their friend pictures of an outfit. Another girl was complaining that her mother had changed her mind about letting her go. Typical. I wasn't usually interested in school events. But this one felt different. Maybe because graduation was actually getting close. We'd spent years complaining about school. Now that it was almost over, everyone suddenly wanted to make memories. Including me. I reached the cafeteria and spotted them almost immediately. Dan was sitting backwards on a chair, talking animatedly to someone at the next table. Cassie was beside him, scrolling through her phone with the expression of someone who had just discovered extremely important information. The second she saw me, she waved. "REINA!" Half the cafeteria looked over. I stopped walking. "Could you be any louder?" "No." Dan grinned. "She could," he said. "Trust me." I dropped my bag beside Cassie and sat down. "You two are already annoying me." "We missed you too," Cassie said sweetly. Dan leaned toward me. "So." I narrowed my eyes. "So?" "Are you ready for tonight?" I sighed. "Don't start." Cassie immediately sat upright. "Wait. Did you find an outfit?" "No." "REINA." "I had other problems." Dan gasped dramatically. "What could possibly be more important than your outfit?" I pulled out my notebook and dropped it on the table. "School." Both of them stared at me. Then at each other. Then back at me. Cassie slowly opened the notebook. "Why does that look like a death sentence?" "Because it might be." She read the first page. Her eyebrows rose. "Oh." Dan leaned over her shoulder. "What's that?" "Group project." "On what?" "College and careers." Dan's face fell. "That's not a project. That's a threat." I laughed despite myself. "Exactly." Cassie flipped the page. "Who's in your group?" I hesitated. Then gave her the names. Her eyes widened. "No way." "Exactly." Dan looked genuinely entertained. "This is going to be good." "It is not going to be good." He smiled. "Reina, you have weeks to work with them." "Unfortunately." Cassie closed my notebook. "Look at it this way. Maybe you'll actually get to know them." I gave her a look. "I already know enough." "No, you know of them." I hated when Cassie made sense. She smiled. "And who knows? Maybe you'll make new friends." I picked up my phone. "Let's not get carried away." Dan laughed. Cassie shook her head. "You'll see." I wasn't worried about making friends. I wasn't worried about the project either. At least, not yet. There were still weeks before the presentation.Tonight was the rave. Tomorrow was tomorrow. And college. Well...College could wait. For now, I had an outfit to find.