Page 12 of I Always Will

Of course, she was also happy to see the rest of their friends. They hadn’t really seen the others over the break, what with it being Christmas and New Year and everything. So, deciding to postpone giving Alexandria the tape until they were alone, Hailey kept the spring in her step and wandered over to her friends with a big smile.

The minute Alexandria saw her, she relaxed just a little. It made Hailey’s heart pound in an unusual way.

She was used to the way Alexandria was a little uncomfortable around people, especially those she didn’t know well, but even with her friends, she was always just a little bit formal and stiff. Except when she was around Hailey.

It wasn’t as though Hailey didn’t understand where it came from. She’d spent more than enough time around the Daley family to know that it was a learned behaviour, but she still couldn’t help feeling a little bit fizzy inside when she saw Alexandria relaxing around her in a way she didn’t with other people. It made her feel special.

She felt even more special when the two of them found thirty seconds alone on their way to their respective form rooms and Hailey pulled her briefly into the alcove of a seldom-used doorway.

Alexandria looked at her in confusion. “Is everything okay?”

“Yeah,” Hailey replied, smiling even as her heart pounded in her chest. She reached into her coat and pulled the tape out, handing it to Alexandria. “I made you this.”

Alexandria looked at her with wide eyes before looking down at the tape in her hands reverentially. Her eyes ran over the tracklist multiple times before she whispered, “Thank you.” She looked up at Hailey with an expression that made Hailey feel a little dizzy. “You know you didn’t have to do this, right?”

“I know. I wanted to,” Hailey said, unsure why she felt herself blushing. It was just a nice gift for her friend, she didn’t need to make it weird. “I thought we could listen to it together later?”

“Absolutely.”

A warning bell sounded above their heads and Alexandria jumped adorably before pulling her bag around and placing the tape inside carefully.

“I guess I’ll see you after form,” Hailey said, feeling giddy and excited.

“Yes,” Alexandria beamed before turning and running off to class.

Hailey watched her go for a moment before realising she needed to get a move on too.

She went to form. She tried to pay attention to all of the welcome-back notices and conversations. She got her planner signed by her form teacher, as was customary. But all she really wanted to do was run up to Alexandria’s bedroom together, kick off their shoes, and collapse onto the bed or the floor to listen to the tape she’d made.

School might give her a good excuse to be out of the house all day but the holidays were way better, even if she had to explain why she needed to go over to Alexandria’s houseagain. They could do what they wanted, they didn’t have classes keeping them apart, and they didn’t have to concentrate on anything other than having fun together.

Well, Alexandria had made them do their homework together—Hailey would have gotten it done, she’d just have waited for the last possible day to do it. But, other than that, it was just fun and music and laughing and hoping for snow. School was routine and classes and not being able to talk to Alexandria at every given second. And that was boring.

Her already waning bubble of joy was further deflated when she arrived at their History class and Alexandria reminded them that Mr. Fenrow was changing the seating plan.

Hailey groaned. “I forgot about that horror. I still don’t get why he wants to. It’s such a waste of time. The seating plan isfine.”

“It’s so we learn to work with different people and so that we don’t get too comfortable and start chatting too much. Apparently,” Alexandria said and her tone told Hailey that she was basically repeating what Mr. Fenrow had told them when he’d pitched the seating changes before Christmas.

“I don’t need to work with other people. We work great together.”

Alexandria pursed her lips, furrowed her brow, and nodded. They both knew she didn’t like having to sit next to someone new. She knew everyone in their classes, of course, and had sat next to or worked with most of them at this point, but she liked sitting next to Hailey. She liked that their names were so close alphabetically that they got to sit together so much.

And so did Hailey. She didn’t want a new seating plan either.

But, inevitably, the door opened, and Mr. Fenrow stepped out. He was an old guy with a kindly face, even if he could switch on stern teacher mode at the drop of a hat, and, in the case of seating plans, he made really very silly choices.

Not the one he’d made in September that had sat Hailey and Alexandria together, but this one. This one for sure stunk.

“Come on in, everyone,” he called to the queue of students waiting to enter the room. “Welcome back. Happy New Year. New seating arrangements are up on the projector.”

Hailey grumbled but followed along with the slow shuffle of people entering the room, stalling to see where they were now sitting, and then making their way to their new home in the room.

She stared at the seating plan. It wasn’t fair. She wasn’t even close to Alexandria anymore. At the very least, she’d been hoping they’d be on tables next to each other, so, when they had to work in groups of four, they’d be able to team up. But no. She was smack bang in the middle of the room and Alexandria was in the far front corner.

Mr. Fenrow clearly hated her.

As Alexandria walked away from her, she wanted to cling on for dear life to her best friend. She knew, deep down, that she was probably being silly, but she didn’t like this.

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