My Peaceful High School Life is Completely Off the...

Your jaw drops so fast it almost hits the kitchen linoleum.Before you can lunge across the counter to yank the Coke can out of her grasp, *Bam!Bam!

* rapid-fire knocks rattle your front door hard enough to make the magnet holding your grocery list shake."Hey!It's Valerie!I brought that algebra study guide you begged me to lend you yesterday!

" her sharp voice calls through the wood.*Wait, I did text her to come over.I completely forgot Chloe was crashing my place today.

This is going to be a three-car pileup of chaos before we even manage to turn the stove on.

* You fumble with the lock to yank the door open, and Valerie steps in, her uniform perfectly pressed, a stack of crisp textbooks tucked under one arm.

She pauses mid-step, nose crinkling like she just smelled rotten milk, as Chloe waves wildly from the kitchen, the Coke can held aloft like a championship trophy."Wait.What is she doing in your apartment?

And why is there a can of soda anywhere near your pancake mix?" she demands, already sounding like she’s one wrong move away from calling the fire marshals.

Chloe cackles, popping the Coke tab with a loud fizz that makes you flinch back."We’re making ultimate pancakes!This secret ingredient is gonna blow that boring algebra study guide right out of the water!

" Valerie’s eyes blow wide, and she dumps her textbooks on the entryway table with a heavy thud, marching toward the kitchen like she’s about to disarm a live bomb.