LOCKWOOD: EPISODE 3

    

NOA POV ❤️

As we got into the entrance of the yard I saw a lot of people, people I'm sure Claire didn't even know, most of them co-workers of her mum judging from the look of things, but as we walked further I saw the people I dreaded to see, but I knew it was inevitable, eventually we would have seen each other today anyway, there was no avoiding it but I didn't think it would be so early.

There they were acting as if they were actually her friends when all they cared about was the popularity, they didn't even know Claire the way I did, none of them knew anything about her. I don't think I've felt hatred worse than the one I felt for Claire's inner circle, they were just a bunch of wannabees, they thrived off the popularity and power they had at school, I saw how they treated people and how they treated themselves too, Claire was the only decent one in that group, she would often yell at them when they went out of line. The only reason Claire hung out with them was because they were one of the best in the cheer group and she needed them to win cheer competitions and if I'm not mistaken, even though she never said it straight to my face, she needed them to feel relevant, to stay relevant. 

Megan, I hated her the most among the three, their crew comprised of Megan, Aria, Stacy and then Claire but Claire was gone now, Megan was supposed to be cheercaptain currently but when Claire went for tryouts she impressed everyone. She made a name for herself and then she became cheercaptain as soon as we entered 12th grade and Megan hated her. They both knew they hated each other and everyone knew they hated each other. Megan was my first suspect, with Claire out of the way she could finally get everything she wanted. Cheercaptain and everyone's respect including the one thing Claire had that she could never have. Kahlil hernandez. It wasn't a secret that Megan was desperately in love with the guy, shamelessly flirting with him every single chance she could, including in front of Claire. I could see the anger in her eyes everytime they would kiss and act all lovey dovey in the hallways. Like I said I'm very observant and jealousy is not hard to detect. 

But the one thing I was sure of, was that she would never get Khalil no matter how much she tried because he only had eyes for one girl and that was Claire Parker. Even though they were having problems these past few months I knew he loved her, I could feel it everytime I saw him look at her, it was like she was the only person he ever saw. Speak of the devil and the devil appears, there he was sitting at a secluded area away from everyone, he looked worse than I did this morning honestly. His brown hair was messy but it still looked good, his blue eyes weren't as bright as they usually were, He looked worn out and just remotely tired of everything. Khalil was very fond of jewelery so he would usually wear tiny earrings and a single nose ring, he was very good looking I'll give him that, as I was scrutinising him with my eyes Khalil raised his head and his eyes met mine, he noticed me looking directly at him like a creep. My hazel eyes took a broader width and I removed my eyes instantly, I was so happy when Claire's mum came towards us to save me from my embarrassment.

"Anna, Henry." Claire's mum said while hugging my parents, she definitely looked miserable, like she had been crying all night, poor woman. "Thank you for coming, I really appreciate it." then she turned and looked at me, I smiled at her politely Claire's mother knew me but she didn't know I was friends with Claire, the only reason she knows about me is because she often comes to mums bakery to buy pastries and I helped mum out as much as I could when I wasn't at school.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Claire was a good person In the short period I got to know her." I said to her, mum looked at me wondering why I said that, she knew how close Claire and I were but she didn't protest when I said this, I'm sure she'll have loads of questions about it later, I didn't have to worry about dad, he hardly knew anything that went on in my life.

"You knew my daughter Noa?" She asked 

"Yes, we attend the same school but I met her at summer camp." I paused before adding, "we were classmates too, but I can assure you this, your daughter was the best person I have ever met in my entire life." I said smiling a little, I think she got emotional because as soon as I said that she gave me a hug and I hugged her back. 

After the flurry of emotions we all took our seats, naturally during the wake people who were close to Claire would all come and talk about her, but nobody here was close to Claire like I was. I dreaded what Megan was going to say, I just hope I could control myself enough not to react. Claire's mum didn't go first, I actually expected that. The woman was hurt enough already. Facing a crowd of people at her state would have made things worse, so Megan went instead, I could hear half of lockwood high murmuring about this, the girls at my left were the loudest. "How could they even call her to speak, it was quite obvious she hated Claire." The first girl said.

"Well, she is second to Claire, it's only natural she would be the one to speak. Besides, out of the girls she was the one who hung around her more." The second girl said.

"Shush already, she's about to talk" the third one said quite irritated with the two girls already, I'm sure this was like some drama series to her, I rolled my eyes at the thought. I focused my attention on Megan as she started speaking.

"Good afternoon everyone, my name is Megan, I was one of Claire's closest friends" my ears perked up at this, she was such a good liar, she even had the tears to back it up.

"Claire was the best cheer captain we've ever had, I speak for the cheer group as I say this. She was emm, a very dedicated student and a nice human being".  It was clear she didn't know what to say, for someone who claimed to be Claire's closest friend she was really flopping at talking about her and this irritated me, I promised I wouldn't talk but I couldn't hold it any longer.

"Excuse me". I said standing up, everyone looked directly at me but I didn't care and I didn't want anyone remembering my bestfriend as boring.

"Yes, Claire was a nice human being, she was dedicated but that is not all she was. Infact, forgive me for saying this Megan, even though I'm not even remotely sorry but Claire hated cheerleading. Megan's face visibly got red when I said this, mum tried to tell me to stop but I wouldn't be controlled, dad just had a look of disappointment but Claire's mum looked like she was paying close attention to me and that gave me the confidence to continue.

"She only did it because she needed an extracurricular activity and let's all admit she was a bad ass at it, exceptional. You know what Claire actually loved, she loved writing, poetry, music, she loved junk, all types of junk you name it; burgers, fries, pizza. She wasn't a vegetable girl. She was a visionary, an amazing personality, a light brighter than anything, she was... " I couldn't continue, I had a lot to say but I just couldn't continue, the pain was unbearable, I lost her, she wasn't here anymore, I lost my bestfriend. 

At that moment I ran out of the yard crying like an uncontrollable child, not caring if mum was calling me, not caring about the disappointment on dad's face, not caring about the wandering eyes, I ran, but not before noticing a set of eyes glaring at my back, and they weren't just any eyes, they were blue eyes.

The eyes of Khalil Hernandez.

To be continued.