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blondemoment22

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Sun poured in through my window way too early and woke me up. My hair wasn’t dirty, just slept in, twice, but I let my hygiene issues take over and ducked into the bathroom for a quick shower and more teeth brushing. Refreshed, clean, impatient; excellent way to start off the week. I didn’t want to think about that, though. Two packages of strawberry frosted Pop Tarts entered my digestive tract in record time, and I sat tapping my foot on the clock’s offbeat.

            Kaelyn was late again. That was the one flaw to the rest of her perfection.

            I left the house before Alexis could stamp in, whining about her hair or her mascara. Kaelyn lived a couple blocks in the opposite direction of Tom and Jared’s, in the slightly-richer-but-not-stuck-up-about-it neighborhood. I rang the doorbell and she tumbled out forty-five seconds later with only half of her hair straightened.

            "Gorgeous. You're a trendsetter," I teased. "Let's go."

            "No! Just give me—like—five minutes!" she screeched and ran downstairs. "OUCH!" I heard her yell, probably from burning her ear on the flat iron. I hummed tonelessly to myself, drumming on my thighs. I poked at the magnets and notes attached to her fridge. Her scary perfect report card was centered on the freezer door. Is it possible to get a 4.3 GPA? Apparently, because Kaelyn managed it. She hurried back up the stairs and pulled me out to her car. She was all happy-grin-grin-skip-to-my-loo because her boyfriend Caleb was planning to take her to some expensive restaurant that weekend.

            All that romantic stuff is overrated. Get me some good Thai take-out and a Johnny Depp movie on your plasma screen and I'm as romanticized as Cinderella.

            I fought my way through the piles of swimming gear blocking the passenger seat of her Audi and crammed myself in. I could sense chlorine and some other sour, rotting stench rise from her duffel bag.

            I coughed and said, "Clean all this crap out of here, please, before someone dies from an infectious mold virus."

            "Shut up," she laughed.

            She pulled out of the driveway, away from her super clean house and down toward the pounding speakers on the other side of town.

            I popped Something Corporate into the CD player and cranked up "Straw Dog." Kaelyn moaned, "This again?"

            "They're better than the weird mushy stuff you listen to. Celine Dion?" I said incredulously, pulling a CD out from under my seat.

            “No, that’s my mom’s,” she said.

            “Sure, whatever you want to believe.” I grinned with all my teeth and she narrowed her eyes. We went through the daily routine of parking in the free lot and shoving through the idiot savants with footballs in hand to our lockers. Giggles closed in around behind me, and my posse of girls who sit in the back of the room sniffing sharpies started whispering incoherently.

            I turned around slowly to 4 serial killer smiles. “What?” I asked.

            “Gavin?!” Missy squealed.

            I winced. “Shit, no...”

            “Cock, yes!” Aspen cried.

            I did a double take at her. “Did that make sense?”

            She flipped her bright purple hair. “No. But what happened? Tell us!”

            I glared at Liza. “How much did you already tell them?”

            “Nothing,” she answered innocently. “I missed it all.”

            I watched their faces and then said, “Later.” A loud whine assaulted my ears at their protest. “I will tell you all later!” I promised. “Now, be gone!”

            “Bitch,” Aspen hissed, pinching my cheek. “Kidding! I love you!” She wrapped her spindly arms around me and squeezed hard. I choked.

            “We’ll be in the cafeteria,” Sarah called as they disappeared around the lockers.

            I exhaled in relief, and gave my locker a good hearty kick to pop it open. Kaelyn gave me her motherly glare and crossed her arms. After a minute she asked, "Are you and him… together now?"

            “No,” I replied. “It wasn’t really anything.”

            I could feel her eyes rolling. “Whatever. I need something to eat.”

            I finished shoving my backpack into the tiny space and followed her graceful stride down the hallway. Aspen pulled me away from the line to the nearest table and plopped me down across from her. She batted her eyelashes.

            “So. Is it later yet?” she asked.

            Grimacing, I nodded.

            “Confess, woman!” Missy commanded from next to me.

            “We made out,” I answered.

            Aspen didn’t look convinced. “There’s more.”

            “And?” I said.

            “I wanna know!” she whined.

            I exhaled. “Alright. He came over yesterday and we made out again.”

            “Were you sober?” Liza asked.

            “Well... sure, sort of.”

            Two seconds of knowing glances and then a deep, “Ooh” rose around me.

            “You didn’t need to drink to accomplish that,” Kaelyn informed me tiredly.

            She was right; I couldn’t respond.

            “I think you have a problem,” she continued.

            Whatever. I ignored her.

<<<>>> 

School was hell that day; guys I hardly knew snickered and flashed me their chests in the halls all day, but Liza refused to tell me why.

            I met up with Gavin at lunch when I had finished printing my paper and dropping it on Ms. Larkin’s desk.

            “What did I do at your party?” I asked, although I was already pretty sure.

            He didn't try to avoid it; I could tell he was dying to let me know. “You got very drunk,” he said in his silky voice.

            “And?”

            He chuckled to himself. “You stood up on the coffee table and showed your breasties to all the boys and girls.”

            “Fantastic.” I wilted to the floor beside his locker and started screwing with my hair. “Why didn't you stop me?” I finally whined.

            He quit putting books in his locker to look down at me.

            “Why would I stop you?” He raised his eyebrows mischievously. “You have very nice breasts, Jane.”

            I kicked his ankle feebly.

            “Almost everyone had left, and I made Jared delete the pictures off his cell phone before he went home, so don't get mad at me. You should lay off the booze.”

            “That’s the second time I’ve been told that. I only do it socially,” I said. He shut his locker and reached his hand down toward me. I took it, and he pulled me up, right into him.

            His breathing rushed through my ears. “How would you like to skip the rest of the day with me?”