Trailer Park Princess
By Delia Steele
Copyright © 2013 Delia Steele
All Rights Reserved
Cover Design: Stephanie White
www.stephscoverdesign.com
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in any form, in whole or part, without written permission from the author; except in reviews or shares for the book.
License Statement
This e-book is for your personal enjoyment only. This e-book may not be resold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book please purchase an additional copy for each reader.
This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events, or locales is purely coincidental. The characters are products of the authors imagination and used fictitiously.
Dedication:
This book is for every girl who has ever had that epic puppy love, only to be let down when reality set in and you found out he was a big ole douche nozzle. That guy who you loved with every fiber of your heart, even if just for short time and he went hero to zero in 2.2 seconds. If you ever had a jealous jerk that you never really trusted or were picked on, due to social status.
This book is for you girls who grew up taking care of kids that weren’t yours but pulled out that superwoman mojo and tore it up. The ones who stood tall handled the dang thang and turned out being the best you that you could be. This book is for all the little girls who grew up in an ugly gray world. The ones that somehow came out on the other side smiling and still looking for rainbows! Because when you stop searching for love, it will find you.
Prologue
My granny use to say “No sense in complaining, no one cares Rory” I miss her so much, especially days like today. Moms gone off with who only knows, doing who cares what. Thaxton is at friends, where he tends to stay, who could blame him. Then there’s Toby my lifeline, he of course is at football camp. And me, poor ole pity party, Aurora Danyale Wilde, stuck in my mansion, smack dab in the middle of the magical trailer park. My palace is beautiful. Slimmer green rusted tin siding with a holy tin roof, cardboard covered windows, well the ones not covered in tin foil. Hey at least my sweet tea is the bomb! Do people even say bomb anymore? Oh heck who knows! OR CARES, I sit on my upside down 5 gallon bucket staring out at my neighbor’s yard. Not sure which is worse the fat blob passed out half way up the steps covered in puke, I wonder if he is dead, or the old toilet that has grazed the front lawn so long it has weeds and ant beds growing out the bowl! Hurry up 3:00 o’clock I want my prince to come whisk me away and feed me yummy chocolate heaven in cup.
I’d love to sit here and tell you my life is awesome and fabulous, but I would be lying and that’s one thing I don’t do, or at least I try not to. I am only human though and sometimes it’s called for. Like when Carol doesn’t show up for days and Thaxton wants to know where his mother is. I could spit every time he calls her that. I know she is out drunk at some loser’s trailer a few lots over. She may have got lucky this time and it be a real trailer instead of the camper on blocks, this place is a joke. All the men here look like Jabba, sound like Charlie Browns teacher, and smell like they are from the eternal bog of stench! I don’t see how she does it yuck! Of course with her looking like a mowed over super whore on a bad day I guess she is lucky they even look at her. It’s not all bad though. The old lady in lot B-2 is pretty awesome. She makes sure every Saturday we have breakfast. She claims she doesn’t worry about us Monday-Friday because she knows we get that yummy free lunch in the school cafeteria. I pretty much choke on my sucker when I hear Toby’s truck crunching down the gravel. I jump up from my bucket o throne and grab my purse throwing it across my shoulder as I jump off the porch in a full out run. He lays on the horn before he sees me because he never makes a full stop. I jump up grabbing the oh Shit! Bar, and crash down face first on the passenger seat from the fit of giggles. It’s always a hard jump in his MAN truck. He is 18 and refuses to drive a small truck, saying they are for boys and he is a man. And he is right! He is very mature to be a senior in high school and he already has a 5 year plan, which includes me. He never comes to a complete stop when he gets me because he says if he stops it may suck him in and he plans on getting me out of here. He really is my knight on a white horse. In this case the white horse is a brand new Chevy extended cab Red z71. It’s an early graduation gift from his parents and he loves it. Not to mention deserves it. Caption of the football team full scholarship to Louisiana State is expected, honor roll, and a good church going citizen of our town. He is the catch of Monroe Falls. I bet your dying to know how I got so lucky. Or is it all in my head like a dream? It’s only fair to warn you Toby isn’t the only guy trying out for the role of my Knight in shining armor!
Chapter One
Picture this, starting off in a dreamy haze …HA, yea right! Unless you’re on the same drugs as my mom, no way is this a dreamy haze kind of life. Ok, so seriously. We have always moved around a lot from town to town; park to park. Where ever my mom could transplant us for a while, in a pay by the week dump. We moved here, to Monroe Falls, a month before school let out my 10th grade year. (Which should be my 11th year, thanks again Mom.) All the moving the last few years wrecked havoc on my attendance record and no matter how good my grades were, it wasn’t enough; leaving me a year behind and yet, I'm still smarter than 90 percent of the graduating class. It’s the worst time ever to start a new school. Plenty of time to get picked on, but not enough time to become part of the school or a click, so come next year, it’s like restarting, all over again.
I walk in on my first day and the halls are lined with posters for prom and game schedules. (GO TIGERS!) Everyone is wearing blue and gold, ready for tonight’s basketball game. I pass a few people, nobody I know of course but they all stare. I'm not much on the eyes. I'm a small framed girl, weighing maybe 107 pounds, kind of scrawny really. I am right at 5 ft tall, fair skinned, (couldn’t get a tan to save my life) I have weird fiery red hair, and my best feature, I think, are my overly huge almond shaped eyes that are the same color green as Yoda. They sparkle but they are the palest green you will ever see. This always causes a scene. At least I know they aren’t looking at me because I'm plastic material. I hold my head down, with my wild, barely brushed hair, hiding my freaking super nerd eyes. My worst feature would be the light spray of freckles over the bridge of my nose.
I hear the hustle of boys being boys, but not soon enough. Next thing I know, I'm face first down in the hall, with my trig book sprawled out and of course, my newest Star Wars graphic novel is laying there with the front half ripped off. This alone is enough to send me into a girlie tailspin of freaking out. I had to save for weeks to get that, now it’s ruined. I have to hurry up and find a job so it can be replaced, like yesterday. I make a God awful snivel and start picking myself up, along with my books, when a hand reaches to help me. I slap the hand away, wipe my tear stained face and my snotty nose, but just like in the movies, my world stands still the second I look up and catch his eyes. This warm, beautiful guy is trying to help me. His amazing, coffee colored eyes are like a Star Bucks espresso and his skin, ahhh, his skin; it’s like the sun lives there. He is beautiful. Yum Yum, eat him up! I think I am in love! I may even be drooling at this point. As I get a grip on myself, I push myself up the rest of the way. “I am so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I didn’t mean to slap at you," I say, barely above a whisper, all while trying to clean my face up. He just stands there smiling at me. "I run you over and knock you down, yet you're apologizing to me?” His voice is like music for my soul. I think I may need it to survive from now on. He hands me back my graphic novel, letting his fingers graze mine, as we stand there like 2 idiots sta
ring at one another. "Hi, I’m Tobias West. You're new here right?” Not giving me time to answer, “Of course you are, I wouldn’t forget a face like yours. Welcome to Monroe Falls High.” He smiles and leans in really close, "Be careful beautiful, an animal as gracious as yourself will get ate alive in this tiger pride," he winks and turns from me. And of course, the nerd in me has to correct him. "It's Lion Pride.” He turns to me, looking confused. “Lions, they live in prides. Tigers are loners but if grouped they are called steaks, or ambush, but not prides." I kind of lose my voice at the end, realizing he doesn’t really care. He winks with that smirk and turns away. Seriously, I am crazy. By far, the hottest guy in school just spoke to me and I corrected him. Kill me please!
I know who is behind me before I turn around because she’s the only person I know, thanks to us both being from the same row at the park, well kind of. “Dear glorious God of night Rory, were you seriously just like two inches from TOBY MOTHER EFFING WEST?” She pretty much screeched the whole sentence. "Who? Oh, that guy. Yea, he knocked me down while horse playing and was just being nice." She is smiling like a wild hyena when she says, "Toby doesn’t just talk to people, Rory. Like, I mean, he is a nice guy, but he just minds his own business. Unless you're in his circle, he doesn’t just talk to anyone.” Now she’s jumping up and down with her big ole Mexican eyes bugged out of her head. She makes me sick, in a good way. She’s everything I’m not. The only thing we have in common is our height, or lack thereof. But she has a figure, like hips that dip and thighs that make guys cry. Her eyes are a perfect fit on her perfect head. She has skin and hair that are the same color chocolate, except the few purple streaks in it. She's a wild girl when it comes to fashion, always sporting a mix of new age, with a 90's twist. Today she's in black tights, layered with a ripped up blue jean skirt and an awesome pair of vintage purple Chuck Taylors. Her top is a tank top, but not the tight kind; the ones that flare and its splatter painted. She has huge hoops in her ears that are lime green and seriously rocking a teased ponytail. I can’t help but giggle looking at her. She doesn’t follow fashion, it follows her. I know this because it’s the one thing she is proud of. She’s not really from the park but her granny refuses to move in with her parents (who hurt for nothing) and opts to stay independent, so Amandolette comes over a lot to check in on her. I find myself stopping by as well. She was my saving grace when I moved here, (a whole 3 weeks ago) and she’s my only friend. We were an instant and she’s been over every day since I met her. Luckily mom wasn’t around at first, so I skipped and got my humble abode live in worthy, before I actually started. Then I figured, I better get going and get the first day over with, if I wanted to pass this year, which was never an issue. I pull straight A’s. Always have. It’s my one achievement and I am damn good at it. Amandolette’s parents also own the local diner, which is where I plan to start working soon. Per Mando, they need an afternoon waitress, and per my bank account, (an old pickle jar in the bottom of my closet) I need a job.
A week has passed and today’s my third day on the job. I haven’t seen Tobias, or Toby, as the rest of the school calls him. And trust me, I have looked. I guess he was a fluke; a blip on my radar. I busy myself filling drinks and grabbing condiments. I like the job, it’s a cool diner. Fashioned like an old time soda shop, we even wear outfits that have a poodle skirt feel to them, in red and white. I hear the bell above the door ding and without looking, I blurt out, " Welcome to the, The Diner. Grab a booth and I will be right with ya." As I make my way down, I grab out my note pad. Looking up to be courteous, my eyes lock with those dripping chocolate eyes and it’s what I assume an LSD trip is like. I feel like I'm skydiving or more like free falling towards rainbows and sparkles, all the while, a black and white maze spins behind me like a jacked up version of the yellow brick road. I am just standing their staring like a freak of nature. “Hi Yoda," he croons, while melting my panties without even knowing it. After a forever long pause, I find my voice. “Hi Tobias, what can I get for you," I turn my head to the other seat, and you? Know what’cha want yet or y’all going to need a minute?” Before I can even finish my sentence, Tobias says, “Give me a number one with a strawberry shake." I write it down and the other guys order as well. “Give me just a minute and I will be right back with your shakes." I turn to walk off, giving him that extra shake. While I'm getting his milkshake, I hear the other guy, “Dude, seriously, don’t be slumming with that chick. She's a park whore. I've seen her around there a few times and even with an ass like that, she isn’t worth pissing your folks off over.” And then they giggle. I figure Tobias agreed with him. I mean, I don’t have a chance and I know that but shesh, a girl can dream. When I return with their plates, Toby asks for a bottle of ketchup, which I believe was just an excuse to get me back over there again. Nothing else really happened. I looked over once to check their waters, which were untouched, and decided to clean the counters till they left, then I could finish my nightly clean up. The guy with Toby walked out first and a few seconds later, so did Toby. I made my way over to clear the table. I picked up the ticket and $20they left and gave it to Nancy at the counter. I haven’t learned the register yet. Upon returning to the table, I notice a piece of paper sticking under Toby’s plate. At the same time I pick it up, head lights flip on outside the diner window, blinding me. I shield my eyes and look up squinting, stupid huge Chevy, uhhhh. Turning my back slightly, so I can see the paper without a glare, I open it. –Go out with me Saturday? I will be here to pick you up at 2. -T- I looked up, outside the window and pulling out slowly, Toby is watching me with that sideways panty dropping smile he always has. I couldn’t do anything but stand there and catch flies with my non working body malfunctioning. (Close mouth now Rory) I finally regain control of myself and sprint to the back to check the schedule. Fist pumping like a wild Jersey girl, going into a full on light saber swing and stance, I can’t help but get excited. I HAVE SATURDAY OFF! The rest of the night was a blur. Two days till Saturday. Would I go? Should I go? Of course I would, my crazy dancing already proved that much!
Chapter Two
I can’t help but wipe my sweaty palms on my shorts while I wait on Toby to pull up. I sat at the same booth where he left the letter, drinking my employee discounted soda, thinking about how long it took for today to get here. I had the hardest time taking that history test but I aced it like always. It just took a little longer than usual. And now, here I am, watching the window like Spider Man is going to come swinging up. Well, maybe not Spider Man swinging, but my very own super hero is going to come driving up. It’s now 2:07 and I am starting to really get nervous. What if it was a joke? I hadn’t seen Toby at school but I never really did, him being a grade above me put him in a different hall. I watched the hands on the clock above the register tick by way to slow. The tick, tick, tick was getting louder and louder and the world around me drowned out like it tends to do a lot when I space out, when Toby spoke, I about jumped right out of my skin. “Aurora, I am so sorry. I swear I didn’t mean to be 15 minutes late. My mom was being, well, herself. She's so nosey." I gave a shy smile. I couldn’t be mad at a guy with a face like that. “It’s no biggie. I’m not done with my Root Beer yet anyways." I go to shake my cup and stick the straw in my mouth, only to find I am slurping because actually I was done. My eye brows shoot up to my hairline and I burst out laughing. "Okay, maybe I am. Where we headed?” He pushes me through the door and I smile when I hear the bell ding. I'm not sure why but I love the sound. It's a reminder I think, like time to start over, since when I hear it I start with a new customer.
After about 10 minutes in the truck, which included a 4 minute wait at cross-town for that stupid annoying train, we were sitting at another locally owned BBQ place. Elrod’s is famous for its Gator Tators and pulled pork. I hate to admit it but I've been dying to try this place since Mando told me about it. It wasn’t something I could afford so I silently hoped it was something that would end up as scraps in her grandmother’s fridge. Toby was
like the sweetest thing ever. He set across from me downing his sweet tea; I had ordered the same this time. We chatted while we waited for our lunch. "I hope you didn’t mind an afternoon date. I have a thing tonight I couldn’t get out of. I wanted to spend some time with you but after I ran into you, I couldn’t seem to find you. I didn’t even know your name. I mean seriously, it took me days to figure out who you even were. Ha, it was like you’re a ghost or something.” I wasn’t sure to say anything, was he done? “Um, yea, it’s cool. I, uh, I am for sure not a ghost. I just haven’t been there long so no one knows me but Amandolette. I am a fly on the wall to everyone else.” He stares at me with those delish eyes. Uh, I want to touch his smooth face. He looks so soft. “That’s where you’re wrong Aurora, every guy in the school knows who you are. They just don’t know what to call you, and being the douche bag teacher’s kids they are, they won’t ever even speak to you because they are too worried about their social status.” I'm not offended. I knew this much. “Well Tobias, why are you talking to me?” I couldn’t help but ask. I figured he would ignore the question when the food being brought out gave him the out he needed, but as soon as the waitress was gone, he simply stated, “My mom’s not a teacher," with a Cheshire cat grin spread across his face. OMG he has dimples, someone alert the media. I just melted. The rest of the date went well. He told me about his mom being in a ladies church group that pretty much takes care of everyone and everything. He adores her. I was instantly jealous, I couldn’t help it. And his dad, a super lawyer, travels a lot but from the way he spoke, I assumed he adored his wife, Mrs. West, the same as Tobias. He made it clear I could call him Toby like everyone else. He wasn’t really sure why he'd called himself by his given name when he plowed me down at school that day. We laughed, exchanged numbers, and promised for more dates. School was out in 2 weeks and outside of football camp, he was free any day I didn’t have to work.
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