CHAPTER 1

I sighed as the last bell of the day rang. It has been a rough month with my parents filing a divorce. I gathered my books and headed towards the door. "Camilla", my teacher called. "Yes sir" I said changing my direction, I stood in front of his desk as he packed up his things. "I've noticed that your grades are slipping and if you fail again you'll have to attend summer school" he said concerned. "Are things okay with you?" "Yes they are, it's just stress. I'll do better, I promise" I said hurriedly. He nodded and left the class. As I sighed heavily walking towards my locker my phone buzzed. I took it out of my bag and saw a text from Michelle.

 Michelle: Where are you?

Camilla: Heading towards my locker, what about you?

Michelle: I'm at the library with Michael. We'll meet you at your locker. :D

Camilla: Kk, see you there.

       I smiled to myself and put my books in my backpack. I looked at a picture of my parents and I sniffled at the happy memory then I heard a locker open. I looked towards the source of the sound and saw Raymond. Raymond has been my crush since I was a freshman. I'm a senior now and I still haven't gotten over my crush on him. Rumor has it that he's gay but he isn't. I confirmed that when I asked him the day I went to see my dad at his office. He seemed quite shy in front of me. We waved at each other as we went back to what we were doing. I popped a piece of chocolate in my mouth as I saw hands grab some chocolate from my little jar. I looked up and saw Michelle and Michael. They smiled sheepishly at me as I smiled at them. "Sorry we're late", Michael said "Michelle over here bumped into a bunch girls who are having a party in a few days." "It's okay," I said, "I know the kind of person she is. A Party Animal!!!" Michael and I shared a smirk while Michelle ignored us. "Guys," I said in a serious tone "I gotta go soon. I'm sorry but I can't make it to the party. Plus I wanna spend time with my mum before she moves out."

"Hey, hey, hey… Where's Camilla Anderson, the strong girl who stood up for me a few days ago over a small tub of ice cream?" Michelle said. No offence but she's never been good with consoling people.

"She's here," I said with a small smile. "Don't worry, whatever happens you can always move in with us," she said. "I love you guys." I said pulling them into a hug. "We know you do. We're the three musketeers." Michelle said loudly. A few students even glanced our way and gave us weird looks.  I heard my phone ring and pulled it out of my backpack. "It's my mom." I said to both of them. My mom told me that she was in the parking lot waiting for me and I told her I'd be there. I put my phone back in my backpack and bade my friends goodbye, promising to call them before I go to bed. Thank God it's a Friday so I don't have to do my assignments this evening.

                                                                        X X X X X X X X

                      My parents are now legally divorced. My mom already moved out to an apartment still within town so I can visit anytime. It's been a week a week since the divorce and I can tell you two things:

 I miss my parents (Yes, parents). My dad's hardly home anymore and he's planning for his wedding which I unfortunately have to attend and I don't get to see my mom as much as I would want to.

My dad doesn't miss my mum one bit and that part's breaking me.

                   My alarm surprisingly woke me up this morning. Usually I just sleep through it but okay. I got out of bed and went straight to the bathroom. I stripped out of my pajamas and entered the shower. I let the steaming hot water ease me and soak into my hair as I applied my strawberry scented body wash. I also added my matching strawberry shampoo to my hair as I lathered it in while massaging my scalp. I washed it all off, draped my towel over me and went to put on my outfit for today. I wore a light blue top under my white woolen sweater with some slightly washed out blue jeans and my black flats. I put on light makeup with a nude Smokey-eye look and applied my favorite strawberry chapstick. I too my pre-packed school bag from my desk and slung it over my shoulders as I headed towards the kitchen. I went to the fridge to get something to eat then I saw a note on it from my dad. It said:

Dear Cami,

I left early to get some extra work done around the office.

I won't be back until late at night. I'm also going to see the wedding planner with your stepmom. Go to school and stay safe. There's leftover lasagna in the fridge if you're hungry.

Love Dad.

Funny thing is, I've never met my stepmom or even heard her name. My dad kept it a mystery. I heated up and ate the leftover lasagna as my breakfast. I then made myself a chicken and turkey sandwich and packed it for lunch with a cranberry juice box.

I locked the front door behind me and started my walk to school. Along the way, I saw Raymond and he decided to tag along. The next thing that I heard made me freeze in both excitement and sadness…