Dismissed

by Kirsty McManus

  Nick approached her at recess when she was sitting alone down near the trees where she and Gabe used to meet.

  ‘School can be rough, huh?’

  ‘You can say that again.’

  ‘This year has been a lot harder than I expected too.’

  ‘I’m sorry to hear that. I thought you, Gabe and Josh were good friends?’

  ‘Not really. Gabe and Josh hang out a lot, but I’m not really into the same stuff as them.’

  ‘And none of the other guys were?’

  ‘I guess I never really tried to find out. This is the final year of school, so I figured there wasn’t much point in getting too attached to anyone. Everything will change next year anyway.’

  ‘Well count yourself lucky you didn’t end up being friends with someone like Taylor.’

  ‘Girls can be pretty horrible to each other,’ he agreed.

  ‘So what’s up?’ she asked.

  Nick suddenly seemed nervous. ‘Um, I was just wondering, seeing as you’re probably not going with Gabe anymore, and if you didn’t have anyone else to go with, would you like to go to the formal with me?’

  She smiled kindly. ‘That’s sweet, but I don’t know if I want to go now. But if I did, I would totally go with you.’

  ‘Oh, OK,’ he said, looking crushed. ‘No worries.’

  Lizzie felt bad. ‘Hey, maybe I’ll think about it. Can I give you a proper answer next week?’

  ‘Sure,’ he replied, perking up slightly.

  ‘But if anyone else asks you in the meantime, please feel free to accept.’

  He laughed. ‘I highly doubt that will happen.’

  ‘You never know. There might be a few girls out there who think your red hair is as cute as I do.’

  He blushed. ‘Stop it.’

  ‘I mean it.’

  ‘Thanks Lizzie. I hope you decide to come with me.’

  As he walked away, Lizzie smiled. Maybe she would go after all.

  ***

  Lizzie was washing her hands in the girls’ bathroom when Zoe walked in. She glared at Lizzie and went into a cubicle.

  Lizzie called out to her. ‘Zoe, I’m so sorry about my birthday. You do know that I had nothing to do with that, don’t you?’

  Zoe flung the door back open and stared at her.

  ‘Is that what you think this is about?’ she asked incredulously.

  Lizzie wrinkled her brow. ‘Isn’t it?’

  ‘No, you idiot. I know what Taylor, Heather and Cara are like. I knew you had nothing to do with ditching me.’

  ‘So what’s going on?’

  ‘It’s how you treated Gabe.’

  ‘What?’

  ‘Going behind his back and flirting with Brandon.’

  ‘Hang on, I wasn’t flirting with Brandon. And why do you care so much about Gabe’s feelings?’

  ‘I can’t believe you haven’t figured it out by now,’ she said pityingly.

  ‘Figured what out?’ Lizzie asked, exasperated.

  ‘I’m CC.’

  Lizzie’s stomach dropped. And before she had a chance to ask how she knew that Lizzie knew, Zoe filled her in.

  ‘Taylor told me you saw the text.’

  ‘But I’m confused. Why would you be so nice to me if you wanted him for yourself?’

  ‘I thought if I couldn’t be with him, then I could still get close to him through the girl he was dating. And I really did start to see you as a good friend. I even thought well, if he has to be with anyone else, at least he’s with someone nice. But then you broke his heart, and that made me mad.’

  ‘I assume Gabe was the guy you lost your virginity to?’

  ‘Yep. And it was good.’ She seemed to enjoy rubbing this fact in Lizzie’s face.

  ‘He didn’t know you were a virgin, you know.’

  ‘Yes, I do know. In hindsight, maybe it would have made him stick around longer if I told him, but at the time, I didn’t want to look like a loser.’

  ‘He said you started stalking him.’

  ‘I wasn’t stalking! We were in love.’

  ‘You stole some of his clothes.’

  ‘I borrowed a t-shirt one time and forgot to bring it back.’

  ‘Forgot on purpose?’

  Zoe frowned. ‘Whatever. You humiliated Gabe, so you deserve to suffer. I’ve already talked to him and we’ve sorted everything out. We’re even going to the formal together.’

  ‘How did you pull that off?’

  ‘None of your business. Although, one thing you should have learned is how to get his mum on side.’

  Lizzie wondered if Gabe’s mutterings about his parents interfering in his love life were actually referring to Zoe. It all kind of made sense now. Especially if Zoe’s family was loaded.

  ‘Well good luck to the two of you. I hope you guys have a lovely life together.’

  ‘Oh we will.’ She gave Lizzie a fake smile and then locked herself in the cubicle again.

  ‘Hang on. Why CC?’ Lizzie called through the door.

  ‘It’s my middle name and last name, Chai Carmichael. Gabe always called me Chai as a private joke.’

  ‘Ah.’

  ‘Oh, and just to let you know, Gabe and I talked nearly the whole night on the phone on your birthday.’

  Lizzie didn’t want to dignify that with a response, and wandered off in a daze. Things were so complicated now. It was such a shame that her friendship with Zoe was pretty much a lie. She’d actually thought that they might hang out next year, but clearly they wouldn’t be now.

  Zoe was crazy. Who tried to be friends with someone, just to get close to a guy? At least Gabe’s reaction to finding out Zoe was her friend made sense now. Jeez.

  And if that was true about her talking to Gabe on her birthday, then things were more fucked up than she thought.

  Had the whole world gone insane? Maybe Nick was against her too. What if they were planning a horrible prank like in Carrie where they were going to tip a bucket of pig’s blood all over her as she walked into the dance hall?

  She shook her head. She couldn’t start getting paranoid now. Just because a few of her friends had turned against her didn’t mean everyone had.

  ***

  It took two weeks for Brandon to be transferred. He accepted a temporary spot filling in at a school on the north side, with a possible permanent position opening up in the New Year.

  Mr Jenkins had talked to all the students in Year Twelve about the dangers of gossiping without knowing all the facts, and had advised everyone to delete the photo of Lizzie and Jason from their phones on threat of suspension. He explained that it was a private matter which had already been dealt with, but if any of their parents had concerns, they could talk to him directly.

  Lizzie knew there were still a few whispers about the place. Some of the kids she hardly knew were the worst, making up stories about how she was having an affair with Brandon and that she’d had an abortion after getting pregnant with his baby.

  But she dealt with it as best she could. She was just amazed that no one seemed to realise that the real story was about Taylor and Jason. Lizzie wasn’t even sure they were still together, but she suspected the whole pregnancy thing would have put a strain on their relationship.

  Lizzie watched Brandon walk up to the car park and pack his stuff into his Kombi for the final time. She wondered if she would ever see him again. The thought that she might not made her sadder than anything else she’d experienced lately. Even breaking up with Gabe.

  She wondered if she somehow deserved all of this because she’d never fully committed to Gabe in her head. It was like she was being punished for something that she had hoped would happen, rather than what actually had.

  Brandon glanced up and saw her leaning against the fence. It was the same place she’d been standing with Taylor on the day they’d met Jason.

  He waved and smiled sadly. She waved back. She didn’t even care if anyone saw. She might as well make the most of the vilification.

 
; After he drove away, a single tear dripped down her cheek.

  It was all over.

  CHAPTER 22

  Lizzie was glad that no one from school worked with her at McDonald’s. It was the one place apart from home where she could pretend life was still normal. She’d even asked for more shifts so she didn’t have any time to sit around feeling sorry for herself.

  Tonight she was working a late shift. It was Saturday, so there were a few drunk people coming in after clubbing, ready to devour a couple of Big Macs.

  Lizzie was on the drive-thru, which meant she took orders and money from the first window and then sent people on to the next one to collect their food.

  Most of the drivers were polite and sober, but many of their passengers weren’t. Lizzie found herself at the centre of many jokes about hot waitresses and uniforms. Half the time she couldn’t tell if they were being mean or serious.

  During a lull, she reflected on the past few weeks. To keep herself busy when she wasn’t working or studying, she had downloaded an electronic music program and started dabbling in dance music production. With her natural affinity for rhythm, she’d found it a great distraction from reality. Plus, she had actually put together a few decent tracks. Not that she would ever show them to anyone, but it was a personal achievement she was actually quite proud of.

  An old Commodore pulled up, and she snapped out of her reverie.

  ‘Hi, can I take your order please?’ she asked politely.

  ‘Sugar Lips!’

  Lizzie peered down into the car. ‘Oh, for heaven’s sake! Jason, what do you want?’

  ‘I want some food! Can I get a Double Quarter Pounder and a large Coke? Oh, and a sundae with caramel in the bottom and chocolate on the top.’

  ‘Fine.’ She typed in his order and accepted the twenty he handed over.

  ‘We should hang out, Sugar Lips.’

  ‘Nope. Not gonna happen. I thought you’d be mad at me anyway for ruining things with Taylor.’

  ‘You didn’t ruin things with Taylor. She did.’

  ‘What do you mean?’

  ‘She dumped me.’

  Lizzie looked at him, surprised. ‘She dumped you?’

  ‘Despite what you may think, I’m not a complete dickhead. I actually really liked Taylor when we first met. Seriously. If it was anyone else, I would have ditched her after the first night.’

  ‘That’s all very sweet, but I’m not particularly interested. As you probably know, Taylor and I are no longer friends. Plus my boyfriend ditched me because of that night.’

  ‘Oh. Sorry about that.’

  ‘Yeah, you sound it.’

  ‘I am! But you don’t understand my side. After Brandon told me about the baby, he thought I’d be so freaked out that I would call things off. But what you might not know is that Brandon and I are orphans, and I’ve always wanted a big family. So when he didn’t clarify whether Taylor was actually pregnant or not, I texted her, and then went straight over to tell her I’d be cool either way. She completely flipped out and told me things were getting too serious.’

  Lizzie gaped at him. ‘You actually want a baby?’

  ‘Yes. I mean, with the right girl, but yeah. I want a bunch of kids and I want to start young so I can enjoy them.’

  A car pulled in behind Jason.

  ‘You’re going to have to move on,’ Lizzie told him.

  ‘They can wait.’

  ‘You’ll get me in trouble,’ she warned.

  He studied her for a second. ‘I can see why he likes you,’ he said suddenly.

  Lizzie stared.

  ‘Who?’

  ‘My brother.’

  Lizzie felt a flutter in her chest.

  ‘What do you mean? As a friend?’

  ‘Nope. It’s definitely more than that.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Because of the song he’s writing at the moment. I can tell it’s about you.’

  ‘What makes you say that?’

  ‘You’ll just have to wait until we release it. Or come to one of our gigs and listen to it. You’ll see what I mean.’

  The car behind honked.

  She shooed Jason off. ‘Go.’

  He winked at her. ‘It’s been good seeing you Sugar Lips. If you ever want to put that mouth to good use…’

  Lizzie glared.

  ‘I meant for beatboxing! Anyway, maybe see you at one of our shows,’ he said and drove off.

  Lizzie went back to work.

  That night she listened to Orion’s Head as she went to sleep.

  And then she dreamt of Brandon.

  ***

  After changing her mind half a dozen times, Lizzie finally decided to go to the formal with Nick. She figured that she didn’t want to look back on high school and regret not having participated in one of the most important events of her final year.

  She spent the whole day preparing. It almost felt like a wedding, and she wished she was more into her date than she really was. In an alternate universe where she wasn’t distracted by Gabe and Brandon, she might actually have been quite open to a relationship with Nick. But for now, she didn’t want to complicate her life more than it already was.

  In the morning, she had a manicure and pedicure booked at Indooroopilly, where the technician painted her nails a pale shimmery pink colour. After that was the hairdresser, where she had her hair straightened, and then set into perfect waves.

  The last stop was makeup, which she splurged on and had done at Napoleon Perdis.

  When she got home, there was just enough time left to slip into her dress. She’d bought it second hand at a vintage shop, but it was still in immaculate condition – a strapless pinky beige gown with diamante detailing on the bodice and a delicate ruffled skirt that draped to the floor. Normally she would have designed her own dress, but she’d left it too late after making her final decision to sew one in time.

  She then stepped into strappy silver sandals and waited for Nick to arrive.

  Her dad had been in the garden for part of the afternoon, but when he came in to get a glass of water, he did a double take.

  ‘Wow! Stay right there! I have to take a photo.’

  ‘Don’t make a big deal,’ Lizzie said, embarrassed. ‘It’s just the formal.’

  ‘But you look great!’ He found the camera in the cupboard and ushered Lizzie over to the living room. ‘Stand against that wall.’

  Lizzie obeyed. She turned slightly to the side and pulled an exaggerated pouty face over her shoulder.

  Robert lowered the camera.

  ‘You look exactly like your mother when you do that,’ he said softly.

  ‘I wish she was here.’

  ‘Me too.’

  He looked through the view finder again and took a few shots of Lizzie in various poses. Lizzie tried not to think about how her mother would never see any of these important life events. It was too sad. She could tell her dad was thinking the same thing. He seemed to go all gruff, and suddenly became preoccupied with the different settings on the camera.

  ‘Are you upset you’re not going to the dance with Gabe?’ he asked, changing the subject.

  ‘I don’t think so. Maybe a little. But ever since I found out about Zoe, I wonder if he really did like her all along and I was just a distraction.’

  ‘Sweetie, I talked to Gabe on a number of occasions, and you were not a distraction. It’s a shame how things turned out, but I assure you, his intentions seemed good at the time.’

  Lizzie smiled. ‘Thanks Dad. Well, Nick is really sweet, so I should have fun tonight anyway.’

  At the mention of his name, the doorbell rang.

  It turned out that Nick was quite well off. Maybe even more so than Gabe. His dad had rented him a BMW Roadster for the evening, which he told Nick was a model used in one of the James Bond movies.

  Nick greeted Lizzie, showing off a white suit with a black bowtie, and he exhibited a confidence Lizzie had never seen at school.

  �
��You look amazing!’ he said, looking her up and down. ‘Which Bond girl are you supposed to be?’

  ‘No one in particular. I’m just channelling the general vibe.’ She held up a little beaded clutch and opened it, showing him the contents. Inside was a tiny fake pistol.

  He laughed. ‘You’ll have to be careful you don’t get stopped by the cops tonight. That thing looks real.’

  ‘I found it at a garage sale.’

  ‘Well it’s better than this,’ he said, opening up his jacket to reveal a brightly coloured Nerf gun.

  ‘That will be more fun to play with though,’ she reasoned.

  ‘OK, you two kids go and have a good time,’ Robert said as he followed them down the stairs. ‘And Lizzie, don’t worry about curfew tonight. Just come home whenever you’re ready.’

  Lizzie kissed her dad on the cheek. ‘Thank you.’

  Nick and Lizzie jumped into the BMW.

  ‘Top up or down?’ he asked.

  ‘I vote leave it down,’ she said.

  ‘I kind of hoped you’d say that. And I brought you this, just in case you did,’ he said, handing her an expensive looking scarf.

  ‘Is this Hermes?’

  ‘Yeah. I thought you might like it instead of a corsage.’

  ‘I can’t accept a Hermes scarf! They cost a fortune!’

  ‘Don’t worry about it. My mum has a friend in Paris who gives them to her. She has dozens.’

  ‘Wow. Well maybe I could just borrow it for the evening. Or until we arrive at the formal, so my hair doesn’t get ruined.’

  ‘Please keep it.’

  Lizzie tied the scarf gently over her hair and vowed to take care of it. She was definitely giving it back later.

  They zoomed off down the road and into the city. A valet took the car once they arrived at the Hilton. Nick held out his arm so Lizzie could loop hers through, and they went up to the ballroom together.

  Lizzie had to hand it to the girls. They’d done a really good job of converting the space into a faux casino. When she walked through the door, a waiter handed her a champagne flute full of something exotic looking. There was a roulette table in one corner and a blackjack table in another. Both looked like they had real poker chips, although Lizzie suspected there would be no cashing them in for real money. A bar was set up beside them, but Lizzie noted that everything on the menu was non-alcoholic.