Best Friends Forever? by thepurplebutterfly (acx book reading TXT) 📕

desk where she was sitting. She called out the rest of the names in the roll before she turned to me.
"Name?"
"Jasmine Cartwright," I said pointing to me on the roll.
"Thank you." I smiled at her and took a seat beside Becky.

Ms Smith went on about the absentee sheet, but as usual in roll call I pay no attention and just gazed out the window. Zoe, Sammy and Holly came around the corner of the hall. Zoe smiled and waved. Her hair was pulled back in a loose bun. I smiled but didn't wave because Ms Smith would get up me.

The bell rang and picked up my bag and swung it onto my back. I exited L2 and entered the cool crisp air that gave me chills. I saw Tom standing by Zoe, Sammy and Holly awkwardly. walked over to them with a warm smile spreading over my face.
"Hey guys." I said hugging Zoe. "Tom, meet Zoe. Zoe, meet Tom. Holly, Tom. Tom, Holly."
"Oh my god.. This is Tom?" Zoe whispered beside me.
"Yes." I whispered back. "Off to maths we go! Bye Holly! Bye Sammy!" I waved good bye and pulled Tom and Zoe along behind me.

We turned into a single file line as we squeezed our way through the enormous crowds of people, we charged up the steep stairs that led us straight to L13. I dumped my bag on the rack and went through the painfully complicated method of opening my bag just to get my pencil case out.
"Put your bag down Tom." I said.
He placed his bag next to mine and got out his pencil case as well.
"Do you have a maths book?"
He got that out as well. We exchanged smiles and he stepped out of the crowd of swarming 7-2ers. I went to enter the classroom but almost tripped over Jack.
"UGH! Jack! Why do you have do that in the doorway?" I whined.
"Because its a free country." He said.
"Really last time I checked you had to pay money to travel here. Wow, I didn't know that had changed." I smirked and heard Tom stifle a laugh behind me.
I placed my pencil case in a middle table in a row. Tom placed his stuff on one side of me and Zoe put her stuff on the other side.
"I'm going to get my stuff out of my locker. You two, get acquainted." I said waving my hands around and started for the door.

On my way out I walked straight into someone with A LOT of muscles that were hard.
"Watch where you're GOING!" Cam snapped.
"Oh geez sorry. My fault won't happen again." I apologized.
"You better make sure of that." He mumbled.
"You do know we all make mistakes everyday all the time." I said.
"Oh and you must have been one of them then." He quipped.
"Excuse me!? Did you really just say that?" I asked.
"Yeah I did. Is that okay?"
"No. Don't ever tell anyone their life was a mistake. EVER! You got that? Or are you to thick to get that?" I snapped.
"You can't tell me what to do."
"What is your problem with me?" I asked.
"Stop poisoning Jess's mind with ideas that I'm all about the ego and reputation."
"You want me to lie to my best friend? I can't do that, sorry." I retorted.
"Stuff you."
"Wonderful insult. Really cuts me you know?" I said.
"STFU!"
"Another brilliant insult. You are on roll there!" I mimicked his wink and absolutely failed. By now a mini crowd had gathered and I could see Tom and Zoe in my peripheral vision making their way to the front of the crowd. I saw Jess appear at the edge of the crowd, watching with confusion on her face.
"SHUT UP BITCH!" He shouted.
"Now that's taking it a bit to far don't you think?" Off in the distance I heard the door open and close.
"That's it." He said. The next thing I knew a hard force hit me square in the cheek bone and I fell to the ground. Tom and Zoe came rushing over to me. Just then I realized that it was my brother and his friend Jessemine who had just come through the door. Ash pushed his way through the crowd. Zoe knelt down beside me and Tom and her helped me to my feet.

"What is your problem?" I heard Ash shout at Cam. My vision was a still a bit fuzzy but I made out the figure of Jessemine making her way over to me. Not long after I felt another pair of hands support me as I started to lean towards the floor again.
"What's your problem? She made me do it." Cam spat in my direction.
"I don't care what she did. You don't hit a girl. No matter how mad you are. You got it?" Ash said.
"Ash, I'm okay." I said. I began to taste a weird salty flavour on my lip. I realized it there was something sliding down my cheek. "Um, is there something on my cheek?" I asked.
"Jasi.. Your cheek is bleeding. He split the skin." I heard Zoe say.
"I spun my head in the direction I heard her voice come from. Bad idea. I stumbled a bit but tried to stand up, "Really? I think its time for me to go down." With that I just fell down onto the floor.
"JAS! JAS!" I heard Ash yell.
"YEs Ash?" My voice started to slur. "Is this what it s like to get concussed?"
"Jasi, get up. Its okay. Come on." I heard Tom come down beside me and I felt his arm support me as I sat up.
"No I just want to lie down. JESS! WHERE IS JESS!" I shouted. My head started to ache more and more. Every time I tried to say something I felt a shooting pain going from my cheek to my brain.
"JASI! I'm here." Jess pushed her way through the people and ran to my side.
"Alright everyone. Nothing to see here. Go to class." I heard Mrs Crether ordering the students. "You with me." I heard her say.
"Tom, can you help me get her to the office?" Ash asked.
"IccaanwalllK!" I stumbled on to my feet and fell into whoever was standing beside me. I suspect it was Zoe.
"Jasi, please don't resist help." I heard Jess's voice.
"Jessie! I'm okay." I said searching for her. My vision was getting blurrier and blurrier.
"Jasmine, listen to me, okay. Stop moving and we are gonna get you to the office." I heard Ash order.
"Okay." I said and leaned against the lockers and kept as still as could. I felt two strong arms wrap around my waist and they assisted me down the stairs.
"Jessemine, Zoe and Jess go to class." Ash said.
"NO! I'm not going back in there!" Jess yelled.
"Come on Jess. It's okay." Zoe soothed.
"JESS! NO! I'm ffinne." I yelled over my shoulder.
"JASI! NO!" She screamed. Her screams slowly softened until they were just echoes in my mind. I stopped trying to look over my shoulder because the pain in my head was getting worse and worse.
"Ash.. What is happening?" I mumbled.
"You just got punch in the face. You're gonna be okay." He said.
"TOM! I'm sorry for ruining your first day!" I said. I must have looked like one of the poor old people mum worked with that had dementia. I always how thought how sad it must have been to see them freak out all the time.
"No Jasi, its okay. Just relax and calm. Remember calmness is the key." Tom winked at me.
"Don'ttt goquotting me!" My speech was getting worse and once we entered the office everything had faded into pitch blackness.
My trip to the hospital

I woke up to the steady beeping of a machine beside the bed that I mistook for an alarm and hit.
"Ouch!" I sat up in the bed to see I was in a hospital. I looked over to the thing I had just hit to see if I had damaged it. Luckily I hadn't. I glanced around the room to see if there was a clock. I found one and I had to squint to see what it said.
3:45
Damn. I studied the room and noticed there was someone in a seat beside the bed. Whoever it was I couldn't recognize in the darkness. I couldn't see their face and whoever it was was clearly sleeping. Better not disturb them, I thought. I looked at my clothes and saw I was still in my sports uniform. I looked over to the other side of the room. There was another bed there but it was empty. There was an uncomfortable looking sofa beside the door and another chair on the other side of the bed. I saw three figures outside the room. The door clicked open and I saw Ash come into the room.
"ASH!" I said softly.
"Jas, are you okay?" He asked creeping into the empty seat beside me.
"My head hurts and I'm tired." I replied truthfully.
"Well DUH! You were punched in the face."
"Hey Ash.. who is that?" I whispered pointing to the slumped sleeping figure beside me.
"Oh that's your friend Tom. He didn't want to go home." Ash explained.
"He stayed here?" I crinkled my nose in confusion.
"Yeah.. I didn't get either." He leaned further back in the seat.
"Where is mum and dad?"
"Outside talking to the doctor."
"So what happened? I remember Cameron punching me and you coming in and stumbling around like a drunk."
"We took you to the office but you had just passed out by then. We carried you to the sick bay and waited for mum and dad to come. I had to fill out an incident report and so did he. We came into the hospital and you had to stay here over night." He gave an obviously shortened version of what happened.
Tom moaned and re positioned himself.
"What happened with Jess?" I asked. Ash just shrugged his shoulders. "Zoe?" Another shrug. "Jessemine?"
"Oh um she had to fill out a report as well and she is worried about you." He answered. I nodded my head when the door open again.

Mum's face was stained with tears and her eyes were red from crying. Dad came in behind her and his eyes were red as well. As soon as they saw me attempting to smile at them their faces lit up.
"SWEETIE!" Mum exclaimed rushing over to me.
"Hey mum." She started to shower me in kisses. "Ah ah mum! that part hurts!"
"Oh sorry." she gave me a weak smile and blew her nose. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"So am I. SHH! You'll wake