"Have you got your things?"

"You're not my mother," rolling her eyes won't get me out of here as she lowered her head.

"Elle," he softly lowered his voice. "You're supposed to know these things."

Tony's right; I should know these things. Alliah may hate her mom forever through the grave, but she does grief over her death. For whatever reasons she hasn't told me yet, her hatred toward her mother doesn't always last. She does love her for the happy moments they do share, and I'm glad that they have those. I myself don't know my mother; I only have my dad like Alliah.

My dad never left me unlike my mother; she left me and him after she was able to get out of the hospital. Wherever she is now, we cannot find her. However, it doesn't mean my dad is always there for me; that's where it's different with me and Alliah's dad.

"So which club should we start with," Alliah's spirit has came back from the grave.

"First turn is yours this time around," we never give her the chance.

"Okay, then writing club it is!"

Alliah pointed toward the writing club's booth as Tony and I follow her behind with grins on our masks. If there's one thing she's really passionate about, it would be writing. It's how she also communicates when her emotions gets the controls from her. To be honest, the only things she need to worry about is school and nothing else. That then changed my mask; I quickly grew worried and concerned.

"Hi there," her enthusiasm interrupted my thoughts.

"Well, hello." I know that voice.

I suddenly look up and see familiar brown curls, her skin still the same tone as her beauty. Her physical beauty hasn't changed, but she sure changed her style.

"Noelle," she exclaimed. "How've you been?"

"You guys know each other," asked Tony.

"Her name's Jodi," I introduced my friends to her. "Jodi, meet Alliah and Anthony."

"Pleased to meet you, but I think introductions should be later if you're all planning to be in this club."

We all nod in agreement and signed the sign-in sheet. Looking at the sheet of paper, it listed Jodi as the president of the club. I wonder what made her be into writing. If anyone can crack that kind of code, all bets are on Alliah. She loves helping people of all kinds of trouble; she can do anything like leading our group.

There used to be two other members to our small entourage. However, they went their separate ways on their choices of universities. There's Claudia Bhundi, our African-American co-leader of the group. Then there's our sleeping beauty Georgia Jackson; somehow she thinks that she came from an ancestral line where her far away ancestors hated Claudia's ethnicity. We usually don't bring them up unless someone knows them and asks about them.

"You know our friend Claudia would've loved you," Alliah mentioned to Jodi.

"Really," Jodi gave a surprising tone. "How so?"

"I'm sorry for the assumption, but you're probably like her, being Africian-American." There's Alliah assuming, obviously.

"I'm part of it, yes."

"And the fact that she would love your outfit right now."

"Oh, thank you."

"Alliah," I grab her attention and gestured her that we still need a move on.

Alliah excused herself the most out of the three of us as we make way to other clubs. I gestured toward Tony and make him have the second choice. We walk around the campus for a little bit longer as we searched for a club. We have already passed by the anime club, chess club, sports club, STEM club, acting club, and the after school choir club. Tony then made his decision and pointed us girls to the one that we thought we'd never be in: the school band recruitment. It technically isn't a club, but it could be how we all can spend our time together.

"Oh no," Alliah is the first to react. "I don't even play an instrument."

"Yes you do," Tony exclaimed. "You play the keyboards."

"And you don't have to play one," I admit to her. "You can just be a lead singer."

"You're agreeing to this?" She's made up her mind.

It's two against one, but I play it fair by looking around a bit more for others to join. I don't think joining the debate club would be good for us, neither is acting club. I see fashion club, but I don't think Tony would be seen in that.

"You girls take your time," Tony excused himself. "I'll be at the sports club."

"Yeah, same here."

"You too, Alliah?" I don't see her as the sporty type.

"Well, not for the same club, no. I'm going to the anime club and book club."

"Both of you come to me when you're done," I state my command clear as day.

"Copy," they both chimed at the same time.

I walk away opposite of their direction. I turn my back against them, and saw more on the center quad. I see them more as of the popular clubs that pay more attention to. I caught a glimpse of one club that bought just interest me, but also another club that would interest all three of us.

There's a choice between Find Your Voice club, which is technically a music club but involves you singing, playing an instrument or both. I stride to the club on the quad close enough to hear their speech.

"Especially those who need to channel their emotions into something," the blonde girl is trying to rally people from their club. "Anger, heartache, whatever it is! You can channel that into music. So come here and sign up!"

I then hear the one next to my right on their left side chanting their speech after. Without a doubt, this screams filmmakers and movie actor wannabes.

"You can show your emotion instead through acting," the guy with the black beanie now grabs my attention.

"Inexperienced or not, we'll show you how! Who knows? Maybe there'll be directors watching our movies during the screen play, and maybe they'll be trying to find you and be casted in their movie."

Uh, basically acting club then. Except this involves directors being wanted and welcomed here, too.

"Hey," Alliah made me jumped. "Oh, sorry."

"You need to stop sneaking up on people like that," noted Tony, "especially on your own friends."

"Whatever," was her only response to him. "So, what last club are we joining then?"

I take one hard look between the three. The three of us love our performing arts, but we do limit our choices to stay in our comfort zone. There's still the band recruitment, but I think that's a close second.

"Lady and gent," I turn around facing them. "Find Your Voice Club is officially our main and default club."

They both look at me like I'm crazy. They probably took their time in their own individual clubs before heading here. I don't doubt that since we're supposed to be in clubs. In that case, I have to explain them just a tad bit, or maybe less.

"Alliah, you can find your voice and your ways to the keyboard without actually joining a band and not feel afraid." I tell her.

Alliah is the most outgoing person I've ever met, but she is an ambivert. She can be shy from these opportunities, but at the same time she would really love to join.

"You can feel comfortable," I reassure her. "We can tell them to start in small groups."

I then look at Tony. He might already read into my mind what kind of speech I'm giving him. Though, knowing myself, I do it anyway.

"I'm a musician, and you're a songwriter," he really needs to show off his talents. "We can both work together to help Alliah find her voice."

Alliah and Tony give each other looks. They know something that I don't know about. Whatever it is, they need to include me in it eventually. I don't want to force on them as always. They say that I can be bossy, that I'd better off be a teacher.

"On one condition," and there goes Alliah ruining the fun. "There can be no funny business."

"There also can't be anything that'll tear us apart," added in Tony. "I don't want the last time to be a repeat."

"Okay, harsh," disappointed filled the air yet remained controlled, "but okay, deal."

The three of us held hands together as Jodi appears in my line of sight. She smiled at the three of us before moving into our group. Something tells me that she has changed. I don't know what nor why, but whatever it is I see good in her. She didn't push or piss me off earlier. I just hope what happened between me, her and Jasmeen in our first high school never comes up during our years here.