“NYC here we come!” I whooped as the bell rang for third period.

“Sonya!” I turned to see my friend Lauren. “Sign up for group 4!”

But just as I went to the sheets, Hans beat me to it. “You and Elizabeth are going into group 4? Okay!” And he signed up his name and some of his friends on it.

“Hans!” I rolled my eyes.

“Sonya!” I turned to see Kris. “Wanna be part of our group?”

“Who’s in it?”

“Fei, Xiu Min, Kristin…that’s like it.”

“Okay! I’ve got Elizabeth. How many slots do we need to fill?”

“What about Jeanine?” Kristin asked, popping up besides Kris.

“Yeah! And her dad is chaperoning, so we also got a chaperone.” I signed all of us up.

Of course, Hans had to appear behind me AGAIN. “What is this? Elizabeth is in this group now?”

“Hans, go away!”

“But I want to be in the same group as her!” Figures. Somehow obnoxious clueless people were also romantically hopeless.

“I’m sorry Hans, but there’s no more room, and we have to wait for Jeanine to see if she’s bringing someone else,” I replied, pointing to the sheet. There was only one line left-no room for Hans to bring his friends with him.

“You’re mean Sonya!” he yelled as he stormed away.

“Anger management issues much?” Fei asked.

I shrugged. “He acts like the world should revolve around him, but he doesn’t know how to interact with the world. As a result, people try to pay as little attention as they can.”

“Hi guys! Sorry, I had to explain to my third period teacher,” Elizabeth panted as she ran up.

“Hans tried to sign up with us,” I told her.

“What? Really?” She groaned. “I’m sorry guys. I try to be a nice person but sometimes it doesn’t come out well.”

“Jeanine!” Kristin called as she was spotted in the crowd. “We signed you up! You’re in the same group with us!”

As Jeanine joined us in a row of seats we snagged down, I noticed that Shinee and some other friends had taken the row in front of us.

Elizabeth elbowed me as she noticed too. I made a slashing gesture at my throat as Mrs. Hairston the mike.

“Okay listen guys! We’re going to be heading onto the buses now! Make sure your group sticks together!”

As I sat next to Elizabeth, I slept through the whole bus ride. Hey, that’s what happens on a Friday in high school. You’re so sleep-deprived that you become a zombie looking for pillows.

But anyway, that’s not the important part. The important part was the bus ride back home.

When we got on the bus, Xiumin had taken my seat.

“Um, so I guess I’m sitting you?” I turned to Kris.

“No, Xiumin! Get out of her seat!” Elizabeth said at the same time, freaking out a little.

“Why? This seat is comfortable,” Xiumin replied.

I rolled my eyes and sat in Xiumin’s seat.

“So, guys, wanna play would you rather?” Kris asked as he leaned over in the aisle.

“Hey, I want to play too!” I protested in the inner seat.

“Here.” Kris made room for me so that I could lie down close to the backs of the chairs. I wriggled through and ended up with my head facing the aisle.

After a few rounds, everyone was exhausted to the point where sleep seemed to be the only option.

The last thing I could remember before falling asleep was Kris’s arm on my back as he tried to find a comfortable place to rest.

“Alright guys!” The lights on the bus . I blinked the sleep from my eyes as I quickly sat up. “

“Oof!” Kris replied as I hit his back.

“Sorry!” I squeaked.

“It’s okay. I was already up.” He stretched.

“Gather all your belongings and make sure there’s no trash on the floor,” Mrs. Hairston continued. “And have a safe night!”

“Why do we get along so well?” Kris asked me.

“Hmm, because I’m your fake sister?” I replied, as I got my bag and my pillow.

I was rewarded with a laugh as we stepped off the bus. But all I could think about was how Kris had protectively put his arm around me.