p class="p1"span class="s1"After yet another vaulting practice, I walked back to the dorm room where Cassidy sat waiting for me. She had brought me a cheese omelette for breakfast and had it waiting for me on our coffee table. I guess we weren't actually supposed to eat breakfast in our dorms, but we did it every weekday and Madison was okay with it./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I was munching on my eggs when I checked my phone. I had about twenty alerts from Instagram and they were all comments from the picture I had posted last week. I read a few of them and typed back some responses./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Catrina_xxHarper: Ophelia_Aimery Awesome! Love a good summer look./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: Aw, thanks!/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Yumboat87: Ophelia_Aimery It's okay. You should check out my account!/span/p
p class="p2"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: I'll take that as a compliment, but I respectfully pass on that second bit :)/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I didn't know all the people who followed me, but I tried to respond to most of the comments I got. I loved the fact that I could post something on Instagram and share it with my family and stuff so they know what I'm up to and what I'm interested in now days. My aunts are always complaining how they never hear from me, but now they can't because they get updated on me at least once a month./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I looked up from my phone and at Cassidy only to notice that she was already getting ready for school and I hastily began to follow her example. I wore a brown faux-leather mini skirt and a tucked in black camisole. I wore my hair up in two stylishly messy buns and rocked some black booties. I added a black choker that tied the boots and top class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy left for English class at then same time and the first half of the day went by as normal. We had class and all of the professors gave us a butt-load of homework and I knew I would be up late tonight. I sighed as I walked down the hallway to meet up with Cassidy in the cafeteria for class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy was already waiting for me in front of the cafeteria. When she saw me, she came over and linked arms as we walked toward the lunch line./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ugh. I got sooo much homework. How is your day so far?" I asked Cassidy looking stressed out. "I'm fine, but I have lots of homework too. I think it's because progress reports are coming out next week," She grinned and rolled her eyes./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" As I grabbed a lunch tray and turned my attention back to the food, I felt somebody grab around my waistline, andspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanI turned around, ready to karate-chop the crap out of whoever it was. The first thing I saw was the mess of shaggy dark brown hair. It was class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, hi!" I said. "I didn't think it was you," He gave a half-smile (different from a smirk) and looked at me./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Nice reflexes, though," He smirked and I cringed. "I honestly just came to see if you wanted to sit with me today. I wasn't trying to be fast or anything… I promise." And I saw it again. His genuinely soft class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Where are we sitting?" I asked looking out at the cafeteria as an employee slapped my garden salad onto my plate along with my side of grilled chicken and diet Coke./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just over there," Lincoln motioned over to where he Jack, and Ethan usually sat. This would make it less awkward because I rode with Ethan. I figured it would be okay to invite Cassidy, so I class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy gave a small smile but shook her head. She said she wanted to sit with Elise, Victoria, and Juliette today. I was totally okay with that since Elise was still her friend and I definitely wanted them to be able to patch up their relationship. I invited Olivia next because it would be kind of weird if it was just me and Lincoln's friends. Olivia smiled at the invite and came to sit with me./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I sat in between Ethan and Olivia, but I was across from Lincoln and Jack. I had a great view of where Cassidy so I gave her an encouraging smile before she asked Elise if she could sit with her. Elise looked from Cassidy to Cassidy's lunch and back again but rolled her eyes and motioned to the seat next to her./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I tried to focus all my energy back toward the people I was sitting with. "Ophelia, are you listening?" Ethan laughed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, yeah!" I said awkwardly. "I was just starring off into space," I smiled and turned all of my attention onto Ethan./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I asked if you wanted to practice after our lesson today. Olivia already said yes, but I was asking if you wanted to come too. You can ask Cassidy if you want to." I gave a sheepish smile but told Ethan that I'd come practice and that I'd ask Cassidy as well./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I can tag along and play Mr. Davis if I need to," Lincoln joked and I rolled my eyes. "Like we need a second Mr. Davis!" I threw my arms up in mock exasperation and everyone giggled. I took the opportunity to look over at Cassidy./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy sat with her hands in her lap and her food tray across the table next to Elise. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion and realized what was happening when I saw Juliette laying into Cassidy. Cassidy had ordered pepperoni pizza for lunch that day and the trio of girls was totally shaming her for it. How could they have the nerve?!/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I stood up and Lincoln did too. "What's wrong?" He asked and it was made me smile for half a second before my frown came back to my face./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Juliette, Victoria, and Elise are being emtotal /emjerks to Cassidy. I can't believe it. Elise and Cassidy were such good friends last year. I just don't get it," Lincoln's face softened and mine tensed. He told me that they weren't people with actual feelings and that they were total jerks, but that I should just leave it alone./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I cannot just LEAVE IT ALONE!" I whisper shouted and my throat tightened up. What was happening was not okay. I looked over again and a tear escaped Cassidy's eye. That was the last straw./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I got up and walked over to the table. Lincoln sat down because he saw I should probably go alone and Olivia looked concerned but she stayed seated too. I marched over to the table and Elise slid her salad in front of Cassidy so the untouched pizza was in front of Elise./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Cassidy, are you okay? I'm finished with my lunch and we should go get ready for class. I know you always like to retouch your hair after lunch,"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy pursed her lips and looked across the table at Juliette and Victoria before looking at me with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "No, I'm actually okay. I want to spend a little more time with these three," She said motioning to the girls around her. I was bamboozled. They had made her cry only a minute earlier!/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think they're really trying to be my friends after Elise and I drifted apart a little bit. Isn't that right?" Elise smiled sweetly and nodded at me. I rolled my eyes and walked back toward my table in a daze. Did that really just happen? How can they just criticize her for liking pizza then make her love them? Heck, pizza is probably (after cucumbers) my favorite food and I eat it at least every other week. There was nothing wrong with Cassidy's stupid pizza yet she takes their class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I exhaled and sat down with Olivia, Lincoln, and his friends. Olivia reached out and grabbed my hand. "You tried," She said. "That's all that matters," I nodded my head and tried to believe her. I told myself that I was going to go apologize to Cassidy after riding practice and that she can totally hangout with them more if she wants. I didn't really like the idea of Cassidy getting beat on by the mean girls, but if she was happy I guess I should leave it alone./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I was munching on my eggs when I checked my phone. I had about twenty alerts from Instagram and they were all comments from the picture I had posted last week. I read a few of them and typed back some responses./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Catrina_xxHarper: Ophelia_Aimery Awesome! Love a good summer look./span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: Aw, thanks!/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1"Yumboat87: Ophelia_Aimery It's okay. You should check out my account!/span/p
p class="p2"span class="s1"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Ophelia_Aimery: I'll take that as a compliment, but I respectfully pass on that second bit :)/span/p
p class="p2" /p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I didn't know all the people who followed me, but I tried to respond to most of the comments I got. I loved the fact that I could post something on Instagram and share it with my family and stuff so they know what I'm up to and what I'm interested in now days. My aunts are always complaining how they never hear from me, but now they can't because they get updated on me at least once a month./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I looked up from my phone and at Cassidy only to notice that she was already getting ready for school and I hastily began to follow her example. I wore a brown faux-leather mini skirt and a tucked in black camisole. I wore my hair up in two stylishly messy buns and rocked some black booties. I added a black choker that tied the boots and top class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy left for English class at then same time and the first half of the day went by as normal. We had class and all of the professors gave us a butt-load of homework and I knew I would be up late tonight. I sighed as I walked down the hallway to meet up with Cassidy in the cafeteria for class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy was already waiting for me in front of the cafeteria. When she saw me, she came over and linked arms as we walked toward the lunch line./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Ugh. I got sooo much homework. How is your day so far?" I asked Cassidy looking stressed out. "I'm fine, but I have lots of homework too. I think it's because progress reports are coming out next week," She grinned and rolled her eyes./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" As I grabbed a lunch tray and turned my attention back to the food, I felt somebody grab around my waistline, andspan class="Apple-converted-space" /spanI turned around, ready to karate-chop the crap out of whoever it was. The first thing I saw was the mess of shaggy dark brown hair. It was class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, hi!" I said. "I didn't think it was you," He gave a half-smile (different from a smirk) and looked at me./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Nice reflexes, though," He smirked and I cringed. "I honestly just came to see if you wanted to sit with me today. I wasn't trying to be fast or anything… I promise." And I saw it again. His genuinely soft class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I shook my head and rolled my eyes. "Where are we sitting?" I asked looking out at the cafeteria as an employee slapped my garden salad onto my plate along with my side of grilled chicken and diet Coke./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Just over there," Lincoln motioned over to where he Jack, and Ethan usually sat. This would make it less awkward because I rode with Ethan. I figured it would be okay to invite Cassidy, so I class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy gave a small smile but shook her head. She said she wanted to sit with Elise, Victoria, and Juliette today. I was totally okay with that since Elise was still her friend and I definitely wanted them to be able to patch up their relationship. I invited Olivia next because it would be kind of weird if it was just me and Lincoln's friends. Olivia smiled at the invite and came to sit with me./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I sat in between Ethan and Olivia, but I was across from Lincoln and Jack. I had a great view of where Cassidy so I gave her an encouraging smile before she asked Elise if she could sit with her. Elise looked from Cassidy to Cassidy's lunch and back again but rolled her eyes and motioned to the seat next to her./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I tried to focus all my energy back toward the people I was sitting with. "Ophelia, are you listening?" Ethan laughed./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Oh, yeah!" I said awkwardly. "I was just starring off into space," I smiled and turned all of my attention onto Ethan./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I asked if you wanted to practice after our lesson today. Olivia already said yes, but I was asking if you wanted to come too. You can ask Cassidy if you want to." I gave a sheepish smile but told Ethan that I'd come practice and that I'd ask Cassidy as well./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I can tag along and play Mr. Davis if I need to," Lincoln joked and I rolled my eyes. "Like we need a second Mr. Davis!" I threw my arms up in mock exasperation and everyone giggled. I took the opportunity to look over at Cassidy./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy sat with her hands in her lap and her food tray across the table next to Elise. I knit my eyebrows together in confusion and realized what was happening when I saw Juliette laying into Cassidy. Cassidy had ordered pepperoni pizza for lunch that day and the trio of girls was totally shaming her for it. How could they have the nerve?!/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I stood up and Lincoln did too. "What's wrong?" He asked and it was made me smile for half a second before my frown came back to my face./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Juliette, Victoria, and Elise are being emtotal /emjerks to Cassidy. I can't believe it. Elise and Cassidy were such good friends last year. I just don't get it," Lincoln's face softened and mine tensed. He told me that they weren't people with actual feelings and that they were total jerks, but that I should just leave it alone./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I cannot just LEAVE IT ALONE!" I whisper shouted and my throat tightened up. What was happening was not okay. I looked over again and a tear escaped Cassidy's eye. That was the last straw./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I got up and walked over to the table. Lincoln sat down because he saw I should probably go alone and Olivia looked concerned but she stayed seated too. I marched over to the table and Elise slid her salad in front of Cassidy so the untouched pizza was in front of Elise./span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "Cassidy, are you okay? I'm finished with my lunch and we should go get ready for class. I know you always like to retouch your hair after lunch,"span class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" Cassidy pursed her lips and looked across the table at Juliette and Victoria before looking at me with a hopeful glint in her eyes. "No, I'm actually okay. I want to spend a little more time with these three," She said motioning to the girls around her. I was bamboozled. They had made her cry only a minute earlier!/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" "I think they're really trying to be my friends after Elise and I drifted apart a little bit. Isn't that right?" Elise smiled sweetly and nodded at me. I rolled my eyes and walked back toward my table in a daze. Did that really just happen? How can they just criticize her for liking pizza then make her love them? Heck, pizza is probably (after cucumbers) my favorite food and I eat it at least every other week. There was nothing wrong with Cassidy's stupid pizza yet she takes their class="Apple-converted-space" /span/span/p
p class="p1"span class="s1" I exhaled and sat down with Olivia, Lincoln, and his friends. Olivia reached out and grabbed my hand. "You tried," She said. "That's all that matters," I nodded my head and tried to believe her. I told myself that I was going to go apologize to Cassidy after riding practice and that she can totally hangout with them more if she wants. I didn't really like the idea of Cassidy getting beat on by the mean girls, but if she was happy I guess I should leave it alone./span/p
p class="p2" /p