26: The Practice Test

TAYA's POV : “Something’s happened! Help me! It’s an emergency!” Those were the words I said to Hallee as soon as she picked up my call. “Dude, what happened? Did someone die?” was her response. Okay, okay, maybe I was being a little dramatic. But this is an emergency. My heart is on the line! So the next day, I asked Hallee to meet me at the mall to discuss my situation. Clearly, I had picked the wrong time and place since the mall was packed as people were doing their Black Friday shopping. But still, we were already here. And so I went off, spilling the tea to Hallee about our Thanksgiving dinner last night. "So let me get this straight, first it's just practice kissing, then you guys started skipping school together, and spending more time with each other. Then y'all are having Thanksgiving dinner with the family. And now you're catching feelings for him? Go figure. I mean, what's next, Taya? Seventeen and pregnant?" Hallee snorted a laugh and people all around us were giving us a