I almost break my phone when the alarm sounds next to me. After making sure the phone still works, I yawn with a stretch then get up. Going to the bathroom, I brush my teeth before taking a shower.
Another Monday to get through.
Sighing, I step out of the shower with a towel around my waist. As I dry my hair, I look in the mirror reveling in the fact that I got top surgery over the summer. I had to miss the last week of school because of it but it was worth it. The red of the scars stand out against my pale skin, still prominent due to them only being a few weeks old.
After drying off I get dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. I don't have to worry about anyone seeing a binder under my shirt anymore. Once I'm dressed and my brown hair is combed, I go to the kitchen where I find Dad making pancakes and bacon on the stove.
"Morning, TJ," he smiles.
"Morning, Pops awake yet?" I ask as I sit at the bar across from where he's cooking.
"He had to go into work early. He'll be back a little after you get out of school," he sets a plate of bacon and pancakes in front of me as he finishes cooking.
My golden retriever, Sarah, comes running from her dog bed as I start eating so I take a small piece of my bacon and split it in half before giving it to her. Her little tail wags as she eats the bacon. We don't know exactly how old she is, but we guess that she's around twelve weeks. We found her two weeks ago, towards the end of my recovery.
Pops and Dad both work, but Dad always has time to make breakfast in the morning and he gets more time off than Pops does. Pops works for the only big company in the town. All it does is make plastic bags but it's very successful and pays enough for us to keep the house we have.
It's not huge but it does have three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a nice kitchen and living space. The basement has a flat-screen TV that matches the one in the living room, but the basement has the gaming systems and computer while the living room just has the TV and the couch. "The school called last night. You were already in bed so I couldn't tell you but you're showing a new student around this morning. They said she has a few classes with you so they thought you could help her navigate." Dad informs me.
"What's her name?" I ask as I eat.
"They didn't say," he shrugs and moves to sit next to me. "You're gonna start taking the truck soon, right?"
"Probly, why?"
"It's gonna be getting cold soon and I don't want you to ride that motorcycle in the snow." He explains.
"I've told you a hundred times that I won't ride it in the winter. We already agreed on that when I talked you guys into letting me get the license for it," I smile at his protectiveness.
"I just want to make sure you're being safe. You're lucky I let you and James talk me into agreeing," he points out.
"I know," I smile. "I promise I'll be safe."
"Alright, and you have everything in your noggin under control?"
"Yes, I'm not going to go full-blown dragon on the new kid," I laugh lightly at the thought.
"Okay," he put his hands up in fake surrender.
"I better get to school. Don't want to make the new girl wait with Mr. Cane too long," I stand up and put my dishes in the dishwasher.
"Alright, drive safe," Dad tells me as I throw my denim jacket on after my black work boots.
"I will," I grab my bag and throw it over my shoulders as I leave the house.
My clean black motorcycle sits where I left it last night. The sun shines on it as I put my helmet on.
I rev the engine to life and start heading to school. On the way, I pass my friends' houses and they each follow with their vehicles.
Dani rides her dark red bike next to mine on the road while Riley and Jackson follow in Jackson's silver pickup.
Once we reach the school Dani and I park next to each other in the parking space and Jackson parks next to us. Dani fixes her brown hair to fall to her shoulders after taking her helmet off. I just mess with mine slightly.
"Did you guys know there's a new student today?" Jackson asks as we start going inside. Dani and I, carrying our helmets.
"Yeah, I'm showing her around today," I nod.
"Really?" Riley questions.
"Yeah," I confirm. "I'm gonna put my stuff in my locker and go to the office. You guys can go do whatever while I show her around."
"Alright, see you in class?" Dani inquires.
"Yup," I pop the P and head to my locker.
I put my helmet and the books I don't yet in my locker before heading to the main office.
"I'm supposed to show someone around?" I question as the secretary looks at me expectantly.
"Oh yes, she's in Mr. Cane's office. Go right in," she smiles and I nod before going past the desk. I crack the door open and peek in.
"Mr. Jackson. Come in," The man says from his desk. Mr. Cane has a deeper voice as he speaks. "This is Elizibeth James. She's new," he motions to the girl sitting in the chair across from him
She has dirty blond hair reaching her shoulders and it seems like she plays a sport of some sort.
"One of my dads' names is James," I point out with a smile.
"One of?" She asks as she stands to shake my hand. She's a few inches shorter than me and I notice she has ocean blue eyes.
"They're gay," I shake her hand and she nods in understanding.
"Travis, if you would show her around the school before class starts?" Mr. Cane makes it sound like a question but I know it's not.
"Yeah, no problem," I nod.
"Alright, you two may go."
We leave his office and I hold the door open for Elizibeth.
"So, Elizibeth, what's your first class?" I ask as we leave the main office.
"Algebra," she says after looking at her schedule. I nod and lead her around as she tells me about each of her classes.
"So is your name Travis or Jackson?" She asks as we reach where her fourth class is.
"Both. Travis Jackson," I answer. "People call me TJ."
"Oh, okay," she nods. "Normally people call me Lizzy or Liz," she shrugs.
"Is that your way of telling me to call you Lizzy or Liz?" I smirk.
"Yeah. It is," she nods slightly.
"Okay," I nod. "What made you move here?"
"My mom decided to move out here. Let my brother and I live somewhere smaller than the city," she hesitates as if she's thinking about what to say before speaking.
"Then you've come to the right place," I smile. "The only big thing here is Gale Plastic Bags. That and Leo's giant ego."
"Who's that?" Lizzy gives me a confused look.
"They make all the plastic bags in this place. And Leo is the founder's son. He brags about it all the time," I explain.
"Oh," she nods. It only takes a few more minutes to show her the rest of her classes.
"You can come meet my friends if you want," I offer.
"Uh, okay," She hesitates but follows me.
I find everyone sitting on the bench outside of the cafeteria.
"Hey, guys," I nod to them. "This is Lizzy, I just finished showing her around.
"'Sup," Dani nods.
"That's Dani, she'll fight someone for taking her food," I try to make that clear.
"Don't do it," Lizzy nods with an intimidating look in her eyes.
"Hi, I'm Jackson. You can call me Jack," He smiles, an excited glint in his green eyes as short strands of blond hair bounce along with him.
"Dude, chill out for a minute," Dani tells him.
"What? We never get new students here," he defends himself causing Lizzy to smile slightly.
"And that's Riley, they're more relaxed than Jackson over there," I motion to Riley who runs a hand through their short black hair.
"Hi," Riley smiles.
As they shake Lizzy's hand she seems to notice how dark the brown in their eyes are.
"So-" the bell cuts Jackson off and we all head to class.
Lizzy and I go to algebra while the others separate.
At lunch, I put my stuff in my locker and meet my friends in the cafeteria.
"After school, we should go up the mountain again," Jackson suggests.
"How about we don't," I counter. "It takes forever to get up and down that thing. We wouldn't make it back in time for school tomorrow."
"Aww, but it was fun," He complains.
"How about this weekend?" I offer.
"Fine," Jack eats his food.
"We could go to the park after school," Riley suggests.
"Sounds good," Dani nods.
"Is that Lizzy?" Jack nods to the entrance of the cafeteria.
I turn to see her looking around for somewhere to sit.
"Lizzy!" I call over to her. She looks at me and I motion for her to come to sit with us.
"How's your first day so far?" Riley asks as she sits between us.
"Not bad," she shrugs.
"That must mean you haven't met Leo and Kayla yet," Dani chuckles.
"Speak of the devils," Jack rolls his eyes as he looks behind me.
I sigh and turn to see Leo and Kayla smirking as they walk over to us.
"I see you're infecting the new girl already," Leo has his usual snarky tone and look.
"What do you want?" I ask, trying to get to the point faster.
"Nothing," Kayla shrugs. "Just thought we would stop by."
"Well, can you stop by someone else?" Dani asks.
"You should think twice before talking to her like that," Leo pushes Dani's foam tray onto the floor. The half-eaten slice of pizza falls flat.
"You should think twice before touching my food," Dani stands up before anyone can stop her and gets inches away from Leo.
"Should I?" Kayla hands him a slice of pizza and he stamps it onto her forehead.
"That's it!" Dani and I both go after Leo.
As I kneel on Leo's chest Dani throws the same piece of pizza at him until Jackson and Riley pull us out of the cafeteria. Lizzy, surprisingly, follows us as we walk to one of the science rooms.
"What are you guys doing here? And please tell me that's not blood." Ms. Rogers says as we enter.
"It's pizza sauce," Dani says before grabbing some paper towels from next to the sink.
"What happened this time?"
"Leo thought it was a good idea to put pizza on her forehead," Jackson sits with Riley on one of the tables.
"Wait, this is a usual thing?" Lizzy asks as Dani hands me a piece of paper towel and points out that I have sauce on my jacket.
"Normally it's just arguing or vague insults but once in a while, they'll do shit like that," I nod.
"At my old school there was a fight once a week," she comments.
"We have a fight at least once every three months," Jackson hops off the table as Dani and I throw paper towels away.
"And they come in here to use the sink to clean up the aftermath," Ms. Rogers rolls her eyes.
"Ms. Rogers is great like that," Dani smiles.
"Yeah, you guys need to find a way to end that stupid feud. Or one of these days that door won't be open," she warns.
As the bell rings we all sit down. We all have this class after lunch so we don't have to worry about being late to class when we come in here. And fortunately, Lizzy has this class too.
After school ends Dani and I meet Jackson and Riley where we parked.
"How long do you guys think we're gonna wait for you?" Jackson asks as we set our helmets on our seats.
"It's your fault for not walking with us," Dani states.
"Yeah, you choose to come out here while we get our helmets."
"Whatever, did you tell your dads that we're going to the park?" Riley asks.
"Yeah," I nod. "I just have to be home by seven."
"I have to be home by six." Jackson shrugs.
"Lets-"
"Wait," I cut Dani off as she reaches for her helmet. "We should invite Lizzy."
Lizzy's walking out of the building when I notice her.
"The more the merrier," Dani shrugs.
"Hey!" I wave to Lizzy as she comes over. "We're going to the park, wanna come?"
"Uh, can I bring my little brother? I have to watch him," She hesitates to ask.
"Sure," I nod.
"Wait, how old is he?" Jackson buts in.
"Ten," Lizzy answers.
"Okay, I approve." he nods.
"Do you have a ride?" I ask.
"No, I was gonna walk," she shakes her head.
"Here, you can ride with me," I offer her my helmet.
"Are you sure? Don't you need a helmet?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. I know what I'm doing,"
"Alright," She hesitates to take the helmet and comes closer. Jackson and Riley get in the truck while Dani puts her helmet on.
I tighten the helmet's strap to make sure it fits Lizzy before I swing my leg over the bike and she gets on behind me.
"Where am I going?" I turn slightly.
"Grocery store," I can barely hear her through the helmet with how quiet she is.
"Why the store?" I question.
"You'll see."
I shrug and rev the engine before noticing that Lizzy's barely holding on.
"You might wanna hang on tighter," I warn.
She wraps her arms more around my stomach but her grip is still pretty loose.
I slowly leave the parking lot before picking up more speed, causing her to wrap her arms fully around my stomach as she grips each of her arms.
As I pull into the grocery store parking lot a mobile home that I've never seen before is parked on the corner. Out of the way of anyone trying to park.
"Right there," Lizzy lets her grip go enough to point at the mobile home before gripping back onto me as if her life depends on it.
I nod and slow down as I get closer to the vehicle. When I fully stop and turn the bike off a few yards away from the door Lizzy gets off and takes the helmet off as a woman opens the door.
"Liz?" the woman questions, looking confused. She's wearing the shirt store employees wear and black jeans that make her look as if she's barely eaten. Her light brown hair is pulled into a short ponytail and she looks tired already.
"Hi, mom. This is Travis," as she speaks a little boy comes past Lizzy's mom.
He's short and has shaggy blond hair that falls in front of his smiling face. He's in jeans and a blue long sleeve shirt with a pair of dirty old sneakers.
"Is that yours?" The boy points to my bike with a shy smile as Lizzy and her mom watch.
"It is, you like motorcycles?" I ask in return.
"They're so cool," he nods. "I'm gonna get one someday."
"You can sit on it if you'd like," I put the kickstand down and stand next to it.
"Can I?" he turns to the girls behind him.
"Are you sure?" The woman asks me.
"Yeah, there's no chance of it starting," I jiggle the keys before stuffing them in my jacket pocket.
"Alright," she nods, and the boy comes the rest of the way over. I help him onto the bike and the smile on his face grows as he looks at the bike.
"Thank you," I nod and he doesn't even mess with the handlebars, he just sits on the seat and looks at it.
"Why is it so shiny?" He asks.
"Because it's clean. I washed and polished it last night," I answer.
"Cool," he whispers.
"Mom, Travis invited Caleb and I to go to the park with his friends," Lizzy says after a moment of smiling at her brother.
So his name is Caleb. Got it.
"You know my rules," her mother eyes her.
"I know-"
"But, since you'd be stuck in this thing, I'll let you guys go this time," her mother interrupts. "If you're riding that you have to promise to be careful," she looks at me.
"I always ride carefully," I nod.
"Alright, have fun and be back by seven-thirty," Lizzy nods. "I'm Jane," she comes closer to shake my hand.
"Travis Jackson." I smile.
"You guys stay safe. I need to get to work," she gives Caleb and Lizzy each a hug before heading toward the store
"I'm assuming you don't have helmets in there," I nod to the RV.
"Definitely not."
"Okay, you'll wear this and I'll get another helmet soon," I hand Caleb the helmet.
"I get to ride this?" He asks as the helmet sits on his lap.
"Yeah, we're going to the park," I nod.
"Can you help me?" He holds up the helmet and I nod before helping him get it on and as secure as possible.
"It's not the right size but it will work for now," I comment.
"Thank you," Caleb smiles.
"No problem," I smile back. "Scoot up some."
He does as I say and I get on. Lizzy gets on behind me and I make sure Caleb is not going to fall off or get hurt before starting the bike and revving it a little before starting toward the park.
On the way, I stay at a steady pace as Lizzy keeps a strong grip around my stomach and holds her brother's shirt.
I can hear his giggling once in a while. Mostly when I rev the engine after stopping at a stop sign.
Once I've parked next to Dani's bike Lizzy gets off and I help Caleb get the helmet off.
"Hey!" Jackson yells as Caleb gawks at Dani's bike.
"I'm guessing you guys will be borrowing my helmet when we leave," Dani smiles as the group comes over to us.
"That'd be safer," I nod.
"You have one too?" Caleb's jaw drops.
"Yeah, they would too but their parents said no," she whispers gesturing to Jackson and Riley.
"Hey, the truck isn't that bad," Jack tries to counter.
"Yeah, it can fit some bikes in the back too," Riley points out.
"What do you think?" Dani turns to Caleb. "Is the truck better than the bikes?"
"Well, the truck can hold more stuff and people but the bikes are so cool," he smiles as I help him off my bike.
"So it's a tie?" she questions. Caleb nods. "Understood."
"Why don't you play on the equipment?" Lizzy points to the playground equipment set up.
"Okay," Caleb runs off and starts playing while we sit at one of the picnic tables.
"He's nice," Dani comments.
"He's amazing," Lizzy smiles proudly.
"I could give him a ride before we leave if you want," I offer.
"If you do that he won't stop talking about it for a week," she chuckles. "He's obsessed with motorcycles."
"We can tell," Dani smiles.
"He's mature for a ten-year-old," Jackson notices.
"Yeah," Lizzy looks a little sad about it.
"So, how was your first day?" I change the subject.
"Fine," she nods. "This place is less chaotic than where we used to live."
"Where did you live before?" Riley asks.
"L.A," she answers.
"Really?" Jackson asks, causing Lizzy to nod.
"Why would you move from L.A to Kartsmon? Even the name is stupid," Dani questions.
"Mom thought it would be better to live in a small town. Less chaos and stuff," she fidgets slightly.
"Liz!" Caleb calls as he runs over. "Look what I found," he stands in front of Lizzy with a small grey stone with little blue spots on it.
"It's pretty," Lizzy smiles.
"The blue matches your eyes," he points out.
"That means it matches yours too," I add.
"Yeah," he smiles before turning to me. "Can I ride your motorcycle again?"
I look at Liz who nods.
"Sure," I smile and we go to my bike.
"Use my helmet!" Dani calls after us. I give her a thumbs up and take the helmet from her bike.
Caleb uses Dani's because she has a smaller head than me so it fits him slightly better than mine does.
After making sure both helmets are secure we get on the bike and I decide to just ride around the block a few times.
I go a little faster than I did on the way here and he seems to enjoy it.
After going around the block for a while I park the bike back where it was and take the helmet from Caleb.
As I turn back from putting our helmets in Jackson's truck I nearly fall as Caleb wraps his arms around me. He lets go after a minute and I let him jump on my back as we go to the table where his sister and our friends sit.
"Have fun?" Lizzy smiles as Caleb's face is almost bursting with energy and he nods.
We all talk and play with Caleb for a while before the time turns to six and Jackson and Riley leave. After another half hour, Dani leaves but lets us use her helmet.
Lizzy, Caleb, and I go to my bike and they put on the helmets before I take us back to the parking lot. I stop in the same spot as I did earlier.
"Thank you," Caleb smiles as he hands the helmet back to me.
"No problem," I ruffle his hair a little and he giggles a little.
"Get inside, I'll be in to start dinner in a minute," Caleb nods and runs inside with a big smile.
"Is he going to school?" I question curiously. He should've still been in school when I picked him up.
"He starts next week," Lizzy answers and I nod. "Thank you, for being so nice to him. And me,"
"Of course," I smile. "I haven't seen anyone smile so much in only a few hours."
"Yeah, he used to wave at all the motorcycles when they drove by. Which was a lot," she smiles.
"I used to do that when we went out of town," I chuckle. "Do you have a ride tomorrow?"
"I'm supposed to walk to and from school all week," she answers.
"I can drive you if you want. It's supposed to be getting cold soon so walking isn't really the best idea."
"Are you sure? If it's out of your way you don't have to," she answers.
"It's okay, this is as out of the way as my house is," I assure her. "I live almost an hour out of town, I think I can take an extra five minutes to pick up and drop you off."
"Okay," she nods. "Thank you."
"Of course," I nod.
She goes inside and I make sure Dani's helmet is secured to my bike before I start the bike back up.
I notice Caleb watching from the door so I do a wheelie on the way out.
On the way home I drop off Dani's helmet before finishing the trip home. When I get home Pops' SUV is parked next to Dad's Sedan. I go in and set my helmet down before taking my boots off and setting them aside.
Sarah comes running as I come further in and jumps at my feet with a small bark. I pet her fluffy, golden fur with a smile
"Hey, kiddo!" I hear from the kitchen.
"He,y Pops!" I call back as I find him and Dad in the kitchen getting dinner ready.
"Can you set the table?" Dad asks.
"Yeah," I nod and get stuff ready.
"Your sister's going to be coming with her friend to stay with us while they find somewhere to buy, so if you have any friends over you can't use her old room," Dad says as he puts a pot of mac'n'cheese on the table. It's shaped like characters from Frozen.
"Awesome, I was wondering when she would be coming around again," I smile. Olivia hasn't been around since I first had surgery at the beginning of summer. I put some food in Sarah's dish so she doesn't try to beg for our food.
"We haven't met her friend yet so make sure you don't change around here," Pops adds a bowl of potatoes to the food on the table.
"I promise I won't scare the shit out of her," I nod.
"Good," we all sit down and start getting food onto our plates.
"So, how was school?" Pops asks.
"Fine, Leo got hit with pizza," I shrug.
"Why?" Dad asks as we eat.
"He messed with Dani's pizza and shoved some in her face. We both kind of lost it," I explain simply.
"Should we be expecting a call?" Pops questions.
"No, we left before any teachers got there," I shake my head.
"Good job," Pops high-fives me.
"Can't you guys try to ignore each other or something?" Dad asks.
"I try to ignore him but he and Kayla have egos the size of Russia," I defend myself.
"Just, try not to get into a fight with him again," I nod.
"So, does the new girl have a name?" Pops changes the subject.
"Lizzy," I answer. "Lizzy James."
"See, why does that last name sound familiar?" he questions jokingly.
"Maybe it's because your name is James?" I joke.
"Oh, yeah," he smiles and I chuckle as Dad rolls his eyes at us.
We talk throughout dinner and after cleaning up we watch TV on the couch. Before bed, I brush my teeth and change into a t-shirt and shorts before laying down for a while before actually falling asleep.