Red Herring ✔️

47. Snitches Get Stitches

Cont.

Drawing in a shallow breath between gritted teeth, Mazie lingered at the entrance to the school so that her friends could catch up. She forced a smile that felt as genuine as it was going to get at this point. Amelia gracefully strode up to her best friend, looping her arm with Mazie's, while her eyes not-so-inconspicuously studied her face. Immediately, Mazie started drumming up a list of plausible lies in her head that she could feed Amelia because she knew that her friend would ask her what was wrong as soon as they had a second alone.

"Nope," she purposefully popped the 'p' for emphasis to her casualness. "Just almost ran out of gas on the way here. Made me nervous."

Blake poked Mazie in the ribs, sidling up on her left. With both friends flanking her sides, Mazie felt trapped. She just needed a second to clear her head. "Maze, that's not good for your car! You shouldn't do that!"

Behind her, Noah sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "Oh please. I'm sure daddy would come bail her out."

Mazie planted one foot and kicked her other leg behind her, aiming for one of Noah's shins. He always was particularly crass at the worst of moments. "Shut it, Noah."

He laughed and Blake humored his best friend with a chuckle of his own which he silenced once he received a firm glare from Mazie. "I'm not wrong!" Noah held up his hands in surrender. "We can't alllllll drive Range Rovers."

"She didn't ask for it," Amelia defended, siding with Mazie against the boys.

"GOOD MORNING, HOLDEN HIGH. It's Mindy with your morning announcements!" Everyone collectively shirked when Mindy's high pitched nasal voice echoed through the halls, originating from the speakers in the ceilings. "Once again, the hockey team has a game this Thursday that everyone is invited to attend. If you need a ride to the game, you're welcome to sign up in the office to ride the bus!"

"Who the frick let Mindy do the morning announcements?" Noah dramatically shoved his fingers in his ears to block out Mindy's voice. He had an knack for over-exaggerating, over-complaining, and over-emphasizing every little thing in his life. They were 2% milk friends. She didn't necessarily trust him because he had a loud mouth, but Noah was always down to do something fun. So the four of them shared a lot of good memories that she would hold dear to her heart for a lifetime.

Amelia reminded them all that it wasn't a choice at all. "She's our class secretary. It's one of her very important duties for student government."

"Was I hungover when we voted for her?" Noah asked.

Blake looped his arm around Mazie's shoulders and tugged her close to his side. Mazie and Amelia separated when they reached her locker and she spun the dial to unlock it. "High, I think," Blake mumbled, recalling the day.

"We're nearing the end of this year's football season! And as Halloween quickly approaches, we're running out of games to dress up! Don't miss your chance to wear your favorite witches costume this Friday for the game! We expect to see you all there with hats, brooms, and potions!"

"If I dressed up as a real witch from Salem, do you think Mindy would get it?" Mazie sarcastically inquired to her friends.

Blake tossed his head back and laughed jovially. Though she forgave him for his inappropriate behavior yesterday, she still felt uncomfortable leaning into his side. She'd rather be snuggled under someone else's arm in someone else's chest smelling someone else's cologne. "Not a chance."

"Maze, did you take notes in Anatomy yesterday? I think I left mine at home," Amelia complained, sifting through her backpack in search of her notebook to no avail.