"It's been a few weeks now." Mom reminded carefully. "Do we have a verdict?"

"The school's nice, some really good classes." I told her, mouth half full of cereal. "I've made a few friends. Actually, they're trying to set up a time for all of us to hang out if that's alright."

"Of course it is, you dumbass." Mom laughed. "You should invite them over here at some point."

Swallowing the food in my mouth, I smiled softly. "I kinda wanna spend time with my friends before my crazy mom scares them off, you know?"

Mom glared playfully at me. "You son of a bitch..."

"Hey, you said it, not me." I chuckled, getting up and running out the door. "Have a good day!"

The bus pulled up just as I made it over to its stop, letting me on and closing the door just as Mike came into view.

"Wait, open the door!" He shouted, trying to find a way in. "Come on man, I'm going to be late for school!"

The bus driver shrugged, slowly pulling out to the road and leaving Mike swearing his vengeance back at the stop.

James and Pete met up with me when I got off the bus, Pete actually saying hi when I said good morning to him. I'd say that's progress.

"How are you dorks doing?" Mary asked, leaning on the bench Amanda was sitting on.
She looked between us for a moment, then turned to me. "Where's blondilocks? Don't you two get on at the same stop?"

It didn't seem to be possible to stop my rolling eyes. "He got left behind by the bus driver. I'm pretty sure they have a history."

The fury I saw in the girl's eyes in that moment was probably one of the scariest things I've ever seen. "They left him?"

"Y-Yeah..." I stuttered out. "He'll be fine, just a little late."

"Imma go kill a bitch." She growled, starting off past me. "Collect my notes for me."

We all watched her leave before I finally turned to James. "Does she do that a lot?"

"She's the only one allowed to mess with Mike like that." He laughed, smiling to himself. "Just don't tell her that or she'll get pissed."

"Got it, I'll keep that in mind."

The day was pretty quiet after that, the only thing of note being when Mike finally showed up again, the side of his face showing off a purple bruise.

"So I figure we need to got down to business." He started, sitting down at the lunch table. "Tonight we're all going to Wang's."

Roger noticed my confusion before I could ask, quickly giving clarification. "It's a crappy Chinese restaurant."

Mike put a hand to his chest and look offended. "Crappy? Crappy?! My dear friends, its the greatest place on earth!"

"It's alright, but I prefer the buffet on Franklin Dr." James commented, Pete quickly nodding in agreement.

Mary shrugged. "I think it's more about tradition at this point." She added.

I raised a brow in question. "This the usual place you all go to hang out?"

"Yeah, we go once a month or so at this point." Amanda laughed, smiling over at me. "Mike really loves the place."

"Wang is a family friend. Plus, his egg rolls are to die for." The dirty blond chuckled.

I thought it over for a moment. I really did want to take some time with the group, but would today be alright? Mom would probably be fine with it, but I still need to make sure she knows I'll be out.

My hand reached over to my pocket and a sigh escaped my lips. "I left my phone at home, so I'll have to run over and grab it before I go."

"I'll send you the address." Mike told me, pulling his own phone out and throwing a text over. "It isn't hard to find."

"I'll go with him just in case." Amanda quickly added, smiling to cover up her thoughts.

She wasn't very sneaky about her feelings towards me, but... I don't think I mind it very much. It was nice to know that she felt that way about me, and given time...

Maybe I could feel the same for her.