The Forsaken Key

In just a few minutes, Jaymee had pulled up into the black tar driveway of a tan, medium sized, two-floor house next to a black truck. At the hood of the car, Jaymee’s boyfriend, Kenneth Greene, was standing with his back to us fiddling with the motor.
Silently jumping out of the car, Jaymee snuck up behind him and then threw her arms around his waist, hugging him and giggling. Kenny straightened up quickly and tried turning around to see whom it was. Then, realizing it was Jaymee, he pried her off his back and lifted her off her feet in a kiss on the lips.
“Awww!” Kayla and I moaned in unison, smiling at the happiness in both of Jaymee and Kenneth’s faces.
Unfortunately, the windows had been open still, and hearing our remark, Jaymee broke out of the kiss and gave us a questioning look.
“Oops. We ruined the moment,” I called.
“Our bad!” Kayla bit her lip to keep from cracking up.
“It’s okay guys,” Kenny grinned, and turned back to Jaymee to kiss her on the forehead and hug her.
“Okay, show’s over!” Kayla shouted. “Into the car, you two lovebirds.”
Jaymee and Kenneth walked over to her car and sat down.
“How’s the car doing, Kenny?” I asked, striking up a conversation.
“Pretty bad,” he replied, grimacing from where I could see him in the front seat next to Jaymee. “The engine’s all messed up. I might have to buy a new one.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” I sympathized.
“Nah, it’s all good,” he grinned, turning around to face me as the car turned onto the main road. “But thanks, Amber.” He turned back around to look at Jaymee and give her a smile.
“Turn up the music, I love this song!” Makayla exclaimed. She began dancing around in the backseat next to me as “Tik Tok” came on the radio.
“Yeah, too late,” Jaymee laughed as the car suddenly stopped. “We’re at school already.
I looked out the window and gave a little smile when I saw our school, Tennergreen High. Sure. The school was old, out of date, and not the best, but I loved it. I had to; I’d been living here since 4th grade, after I had moved with my grandma out of state.
My smile faltered a little as I remembered my old friends, my old home, and my old life. That was a life I missed. However, I didn’t have time to mope for long, because Jaymee opened my door, letting the sunlight pour through.
“Are you coming or what?” she grinned.
“Yeah, I’m coming,” I replied, the smile returning.
“What are you, in la-la land again?” Kayla teased, walking along next to me on the cement sidewalk.
“Just thinking,” I half-lied, putting on a reassuring smile on my face. “C’mon Kayla, we’d better hurry up. See you guys!”
I waved at Jaymee and Kenneth, who were walking slower than humanly possible. Then, I grabbed Makayla by her arm and quickened my pace up the small hill and then through the large metal doors and into the school.
We both maneuvered around little groups of students strolling along the hallways and passed the royal blue lockers that lined the hallways. I eventually got to my locker and opened the door. Usually, I didn’t have any time to go to my locker between classes, but I kept a few books inside from time to time. After placing two books of mine in my locker, I closed it and walked a few paces farther down the hallway to Makayla’s locker. I leaned against the locker next to hers as she took out a textbook.
“So, what’s new?” I asked her.
“Eh, nothing much,” she shrugged. “I’m going to my mom’s house this weekend. Like that’s going to be any fun.”
“Sorry,” I grimaced.
Makayla’s real mom wasn’t pleasant. I’d met her once and only once, and I could tell that to her, Kayla was a waste of time. The truth was, (and only Kayla, Jaymee, and I knew this), Kayla’s mom hadn’t wanted a child. Never did, never would. Yet somehow, Kayla was born, her mom divorced her dad, and Kayla’s dad remarried. And Laura Walldoff was the best mom compared to anything Makayla’s real mom, Shirley, could have been. We didn’t talk about this topic much since it made Kayla upset though.
“You know, why do I even have to go visit her?” Makayla wondered out loud. “I mean, she’s got partial custody, but she doesn’t even care. I don’t know why I even bother. All she does lately is drink and go clubbing.”
“You know what?” I turned her to face me. “Don’t even think about it right now. You have a ton of other things to think about.”
“Like what?” she asked.
“Like the dance coming up soon!” Jaymee enthused, popping out of nowhere. “You have to be excited!”
“There’s no one to take me,” Kayla shrugged.
I nudged Jaymee. “Way to go,” I muttered. “What about the 100% you’re going to get in the English test? Huh?” I asked Jaymee then.
“But we didn’t get it back yet!” she exclaimed.
We began walking down the hall to my homeroom, shouldering our bags.
“Don’t think about it Kay,” I told her reassuringly. “If you want, I’ll go with-”
“No,” she protested, her eyes wide. “It’s fine, don’t. I can deal with it.”
“Alright…” I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Don’t think about it, okay?”
“Yeah,” she replied, giving me a small smile. “See you later.”
I walked into my homeroom alone but spotted some other friends on the other side of the room. On the way, I passed peers I’d known for years and gave polite smiles on my way by. Then, I sat down next to my friends Alicia, Tori, Megan, Rob, and Jake.
“Hey guys,” I grinned as I settled into a desk.
“Hey Amber. Happy birthday!!!” Megan smiled brightly. “You should have been here this morning, it was hilarious.”
“What happened?” I asked.
“So Jake was drinking some Sprite on the way to school, right?” Tori began.
“Wait, wait, I want to say!” Alicia interrupted. “And when we were driving, Meg drove over this bump and Jake inhaled his drink!” Reminiscing, she cracked up and gasped for air.
“It wasn’t that funny,” Jake protested.
“Dude,” Rob put in, “Sprite went up your nose. It was hilarious!”
Despite my pity for Jake, I laughed along with the others.
“Ooh, here’s Mark,” Tori smirked, and I hit her on the arm.
“Hey guys,” Mark Westroll greeted us, taking a seat next to me. Tori stifled her laughter.
Mark and I had been best friends since we’d been born, especially since our parents had been good friends. Tall and 17 years old like me, he had sandy brown hair tan skin, and stormy gray eyes. You could say that we were together, but we made sure nothing changed our friendship.
“Do you need a ride home today Amber?” Mark asked.
“Uh, yeah, thanks Mark,” I replied, smiling.
“You guys are the most pathetically pathetic best friends ever,” Megan sighed. “It makes me want to cry and laugh at the same time!”
“Shut it Meg,” Mark teased as he tucked a piece of my hair from my face.
When the bell had rung, we all headed off to our different classes. The morning and the rest of the afternoon were the typical school day for me, so I was glad when the school bell rang and I headed out of the school towards Mark’s car.
“Hey, you okay?” Mark asked concernedly as I quietly sat down in the front seat.
“Yeah, yeah I’m fine,” I smiled. “How was today?”
“It was fine. My presentation was weird, but I guess I did okay. Are you coming over today or do you have plans?”
“I might not, but I’m not sure,” I admitted. As Mark’s car pulled up to my house, I turned to him. “Bye Mark.”
“Bye,” he whispered, and leaned over to kiss me on the cheek.
Feeling the color rising in my cheeks, I turned, stepped out of the car, and headed towards my house.