Much Ado Part 1

The first day back to school was always the most interesting of any year. Three long months had kept many of the students separated but with the start of term came a grand reunion for Messina High School and her students. The hallways were littered with students, scrambling from locker to locker before the first bell and attempting to reconnect with friends before the monotonous day of algebra and physics ensued. Freshman nervously meandered through the thick crowds, just trying to find a familiar face or a classroom on their schedule without being knocked to the ground.

The seniors were far from nervous, though, as they entered those halls for the last first time, heads high and confident as they moved easily from place to place, hardly having to think about it, just knowing where to go instinctually. One particular group of boys had a couple of underclassmen staring, the carefree attitudes practically contagious amongst their older peers. They held their books lazily under their arms, laughing and talking loudly as they moved down the hall, waving or shouting a quick “Hey!” to friendly acquaintances every now and again. The underclassmen staring were envious, hoping they would someday feel that at ease in this strange place.

“I’ll have to take you guys out there some time,” a tall boy with blond hair and a far too charming smile laughed. “Seriously guys, my uncle’s ranch was amazing. He has so much land. We could go hunting or paint balling or camping or horse back riding, you name it.”

His two friends just shook their heads and laughed.

“Please don’t tell me you’re going to go all ‘horse lover’ on us now, Chris,” said another boy, shoving Chris a little, who shoved right back.

“Oh, leave him alone, Ben. It’s cute that he likes horses so much.” The third boy was grinning. He was taller than the other two and held himself a little differently. He was clearly the leader of their little pack.

“I’m just messing with him, Pat,” the one named Ben grinned, messing up Chris’ hair with his hand, which made Chris recoil and glare at him disapprovingly. Pat shook his head with a grin.

“You two are worse than my brother sometimes, you know that?” Pat said. They all stopped, stepping up to their lockers.

“Hey now, let’s not play dirty,” Ben said suddenly, leaning on one of the lockers and pointing his index finger in Pat’s face. “Immature, maybe. Creepy and insane? Not so much,” he frowned.

“John isn’t that bad,” Chris said, and they all laughed a little.

“Hey, Pat!”

A new voice entered the conversation and all three boys looked up.

“Leo! Hey man, it’s good to see you!” Pat sat his books down in the locker and then moved toward the newcomer, embracing him in a short ‘manly’ hug with a firm pat on the shoulder and all.

“How was your summer? I didn’t get to see much of you,” Pat said.

“Yeah, I know. My dad hooked me up with a job a few towns over, so that pretty much consumed my life,” Leo laughed. “Hey, you haven’t seen my sisters have you?” Leo asked, looking at the other two as well. All three shook their heads.

“No, haven’t seen any of the girls yet. I’m sure they’re around here somewhere,” Pat shrugged.

“Probably gossiping in front of a bathroom mirror,” Ben chimed in. Chris hit him in the arm with a book.

“There they are!” Leo said suddenly, stepping around Pat. A group of three girls and one guy walked up to them. The tallest of the three girls was Stella, Leo’s twin sister. As Leo approached her, the two siblings exchanging smiles, it was obvious that they were related. She was holding hands with a tall dark haired boy whom Leo began talking to immediately and it was instantly clear that the two were close.

“I still can’t believe you haven’t gotten sick of her yet, Tony.” Leo smirked at his sister, and Tony laughed. “You are either the most patient guy in the world, or the dumbest.” Leo grinned again, and Stella made a face at him.

“I’m just still surprised you haven’t tried to kick my ass for dating your sister,” Tony said with a chuckle, and Leo nodded.

“Yeah, well, what are best friends for if not to dump their annoying sisters on?”

The conversation continued and the other two girls stood awkwardly against the lockers, talking in hushed voices and glancing back and forth between the other two groups. Pat, Chris, and Ben had gone back to their own conversation, discussing what they had done with their summer and comparing schedules. The groups weren’t separated for long, though, when Leo suddenly spoke up.

“Hey, guys, we’re having a party next weekend, sort of a back-to-school thing. We have a Saturday game for football, so we’re just going to do it Friday night. You guys are gonna come, right?” Leo asked. The groups moved a little closer together, forming a more solid unit than three separated entities.

“Yeah, of course,” Pat replied.

“Awesome. It’s actually a masquerade theme, Hannah’s idea,” Leo went on, grinning at the shortest of the three girls, who blushed and looked away. “But hey, my little sister is pretty creative, I know it’ll be great.”

“Masks, huh? Oh that’s a great idea, just what we need, to not be able to tell all those girls apart,” Ben said with a loud laugh.

“The bigger problem is how will the girls be able to avoid you,” the third girl said with a hint of bitterness, making everyone stop. They were all quiet as Ben stepped forward, looking around Pat and Leo to see Becca. She was thin, pretty, sandy hair, the exact look that Ben would normally drool over. However, there was a certain disposition to Becca that gave her a rather menacing vibe. Perhaps it was the scowl on her face, which didn’t seem at all fitting with her otherwise pretty features. Everyone was holding their tongues, watching with anticipation. In Pat and Leo’s cases, they were trying not to laugh.

“Still as bitter as ever I see,” Ben said with a sarcastic grin.

“I’m not bitter, well, except for when you are around, but then again, who can blame me for that?” she replied quickly, standing up straight and looking him in the eyes.

“You are the only girl in this school who feels that way, Becca. Not that it matters, it’s not like I find any of the other chicks in this school worth my time,” he laughed.

“We’re lucky then, aren’t we? You’re not exactly the best catch yourself.”

“I feel bad for any guy that dates you. You’d probably scratch their face just for looking at you wrong.”

“It wouldn’t be your face I scratch, so why do you care? Then again, some scratch marks might make it look better,” Becca retorted, cocking her head to the side as if examining the possibilities. At this point it was impossible for the others not the laugh. Ben scowled, his face turning red and glaring at his friends.

“I wish my car was as fast as your replies, though speed has little to do with true value,” said Ben. “Keep practicing, maybe someday you’ll actually be able to compare to me.” Ben grinned and with that he turned around and to the other side of Pat, grabbing up his books and slamming his locker shut. Chris and Pat were laughing. A moment later all three had their books and were headed back down the hall, laughter ringing from their mouths. Chris and Ben were pushing each other again while Pat just led them on carelessly.

Becca was frowning, turning to the rest of the group that remained, who quickly stopped their laughing and tried not the smile.

“Oh, don’t let him get to you, Becca. He’s a moron, it’s not worth it,” said Hannah in a small voice, smiling reassuringly.

“My sisters right, Becs. Don’t stress it, alright? We better get going. I’ll see you guys at lunch, okay?” Leo said next. The girl nodded. Tony gave Stella a quick kiss before the boys took off together down the hall. Becca was still frowning, though the two sisters were smiling.

“Stop worrying about him. C’mon, we have Mr. Jonsen for homeroom again, that should cheer you up,” Stella laughed, and Becca finally cracked a smile.

“That isn’t fair. How do you two get the only good looking teacher in the school, and I get stuck with Ms. Shaffer again?” Hannah sighed and the older girls laughed.

“Maybe you’ll get him next year,” Becca shrugged.

“Hope so, it’s my last chance,” Hannah said with a half-hearted smile. “I’ll see you two later.” Hannah gave a small wave as they started in opposite directions. As she walked alone she smiled to herself, unable to get the face of a certain blond-haired boy out of her head.