Unexpected Friends

The guys continued to practice for about 20 more minutes. Matty, Johnny, and I listened attentively, nodding our heads to the beat. When the guy were finished, they packed up their instruments and we all headed outside to the driveway, dragging along chairs. We arranged the chairs in a circle, sitting down.

"You guys sound really good!" I said, smiling.

They all grinned and nodded in thanks.

"So, what's your band's name?" I asked.

"Well," Matt began, leaning back into his chair. "We actually haven't come up with one yet."

I raised my eyebrows in surprise. "Do you guys have any ideas?"

Matt shook his head. "Nah, not at the moment."

"But," Jimmy said. "Whatever our band's name is, it's gonna be awesome!"

I chuckled and nodded. "I'll take your word for it, Jimmy."

"So how was you kids' first day of school?" Brian asked, looking at Johnny, Matty, and I.

We all shrugged.

"Mm, it was pretty good." I answered, thinking about it. "We all have a bunch of classes together."

"That's good," Brian replied. "Do you guys like your teachers so far?"

We all nodded. They didn't seem so bad right now.

The rest of the guys talked about how their first day of school had gone. Matt talked about how he already knew his science class would be his nap period. Brian told us about boring his health class seemed. Justin talked about a fight at his lunch and Jimmy told us how he had almost been sent out of one of his classes because he had decided to do a handstand against the wall.

We all laughed. "Why did you do a handstand during your class?' I asked.

"Because, he dared me to!"Jimmy explained, pointing at a grinning Brian "Plus, I was bored, so it seemed like a good idea at the time."

I chuckled and shook my head. It seemed like such a Jimmy thing to do. I turned to Zacky.

"How was your first day, Zack?"

"Pretty good." He answered. "There's this really cute girl in my English class and I got seated next to her."

I grinned. "Aw, Zackys got a crush!"

He blushed a little. "I didn't say I like her, I only said that she was cute."

"Oh sure." I said, giggling when Zacky put me in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles on my scalp.

"Zacky's got a crush! Zacky's got a crush!" I sang underneath his arm.
"JJ, I swear..." Zacky said, covering my mouth with his hand.

The rest of the guys laughed as I continued to sing/mumble into Zacky's hand. Zacky removed his hand from my mouth and began to tickle my side. I shrieked and began to squirm, dying of laughter.

"Zack!" I gasped. "Let me go!"

"Are you gonna keep being an annoying little kid?" He asked, grinning as he continued to torture me.

"No, no, I''ll stop!" I said, screaming of laughter.

Zack finally let me go and I gasped for air, still laughing.

"Dang, someone's ticklish." Brian remarked as I warily scooted my chair away from Zacky.
I grinned and nodded, putting up my hands in protection as Zacky scooted closer to me. He held up his hands in mock surrender, leaning back into his chair. Our group continued to talk for about twenty more minutes, stopping when Matt's mom called him for dinner. Zacky looked at his phone, checking the time.

"Yeah guys, it's about time to go." Zacky said, standing up.

We all returned our chairs to the garage and said goodbye to each other. I followed Zacky, Matty, and Johnny to the Baker's house while Brian and Justin went the opposite direction, heading to their places. The walk was a short one, arriving at the house in a couple of minutes. We walked inside and I grabbed my backpack, slipping it on.

"Well guys, today was a blast." I said, heading outside. "I'll see ya'll tomorrow."

"Hey, me and Johnny will walk you home." Matty said, following me.

I grinned. "Sweet, thanks!"

We waited for Johnny to grab his backpack and then headed to my street.

"So you'll ride with us to school tomorrow right?" Johnny asked.

"I'll have to ask my parents, but I'm sure they'll say yes." I said. "I'll text you if it's a go."

Matty nodded. "Sweet! If they say yes, just be at my house by 8:15. That's the time we usually leave."

I nodded. "Alrighty, I'll be sure to do that!"

We stopped on my porch and I pulled out my keys from my backpack.

"Well guys, today was awesome." I said, turning to Matty and Johnny. "I'll see ya'll tomorrow!"

They waved goodbye and began to walk back to their street. I unlocked the front door and stepped inside, the aroma of dinner meeting my nose.

I closed and locked the door, then headed to the kitchen. My mom was in front of the stove, cooking some fried rice. She looked up from her cooking.

"Oh hey J!" She said, coming over to me and giving me a hug. "I'm cooking your favorite: fried rice!"

I smiled and hugged her back. "Thanks mom!"

"Can you go call your dad? Tell him it's time to eat."

I nodded then headed to the hallway.

"Dad?" I yelled. "It's time to eat!"

"Coming!" I heard him yell back. He stepped out of my parent's bedroom.

"Hey J!" He said, ruffling my hair and giving me a hug. "How was school?"

"Good," I answered. "I'll you and mom all about it at the table."

He nodded and we walked to the kitchen. I set the table while my parents washed their hands. My mom placed a bowl of steaming fried rice onto the table. I washed my own hands then got the cups. We all sat down, then began to help ourselves.

"So how was school J?" My dad asked as I put some fried rice onto my plate. "Your mother told me that you made some new friends already."

"Yup!" I smiled. "I have friends in all of my classes."

Mom and Dad both smiled. "That's good." My mom said. "We were worried about how you would feel starting high school in a different state."

"So was I, but I met some really cool people and the majority of them live nearby!"

I proceeded to tell my parents about my new friends and how we had all gone out to lunch together. My parents chuckled when I told them about Brian's spiked drink and how Matty had scared me when we had arrived at the Chik-Fil-A. I told them about Alex and how she also played Clarinet. I talked about the older boy's band and how they sounded really good. I could tell that my parents were happy and relieved that I had adjusted quickly to being in a new school in a different state, especially with me usually being very shy around people I didn't know.
We finished dinner and then cleared the table. I washed the dishes, then headed up to my room to shower and prepare my clothes for tomorrow. I picked out an ACDC shirt and some blue skinny jeans, then placed them on top of my dresser. I then walked to my bathroom, took off my contacts, then stepped into the shower.

I finished, then got dressed into my PJs quickly. I put on my glasses, then headed downstairs. I walked to my backpack and opened it up, taking out the drawing I had made in Art class. I walked to my parents' room, where they were preparing their stuff for work tomorrow.

"Hey mom, hey dad?" I said, causing them to look up at me. I held my drawing out in front of me. "I made this in art today."

Mom smiled, taking my drawing and looking at it. Dad looked over her shoulder.

"It's really cool J!" He said, smiling.

"Can I keep it?" My mom asked, still looking at my drawing.
I nodded. "Oh sure!"

My mom nodded in thanks and placed the drawing on top of the dresser. She looked at the clock, which showed that the time was 8:30.

"It's getting late J," She said, turning back to me. "What time does the bus come tomorrow morning?"

I then remembered I was supposed to ask if I could ride with Matty, Zacky, and Johnny.

"Oh, I was actually gonna ask you something." I said. "Is it okay if Zacky drives me to school tomorrow? Matty and Johnny will be with us."

My mom nodded. "Sure, that's fine! Is Zacky driving you home too?"

I nodded. "Yes mom."

"Alrighty, that's fine. Just be sure to thank Zacky for the ride."

"I will mom. Thanks!" I said, heading upstairs to text Matty that I could ride with them.

I picked up my phone from my nightstand and texted him. He replied quickly, reminding me to be at their house by 8:15. I texted back that I would, then put my phone back down. I went downstairs and said goodnight to my parents, then headed back up to my room. I turned on my bedside lamp and turned off the main overhead light. I climbed into bed and set my alarm. As I lay in bed, waiting for sleep to overtake me, I thought about how great of a first day I had today. I smiled when I remembered lying on the floor of Matt's car and Zacky tickling me. My eyelids became heavy and I fell asleep with a smile on my face.

Notes

Hey guys! Sorry it's been a while since the last update! School has been kickin my butt these last few weeks. Thankfully, school ends for me next week!

As always, thanks for reading! :D

~JJ