by Sarah Tork
Not that it had stopped her before.
I was about to look away when Donna, the old master and commander of the “hot” girl table came rushing to it with her second–in-command, “just” Stacey, right behind her. They were trying to seize back their ship, taking full advantage of Latisha’s absence.
How scandalous.
I took a bite of my cheeseburger and almost choked. Across from the swim team’s table sat Gabe with Tina, cuddled closely, sharing a plate of fries like they were sitting at a café in Paris at night, enjoying a croissant in front of the Eiffel Tower.
I wanted to throw my inedible, overpriced cheeseburger at them.
From across the room I could hear the baseball team discussing their fight with the soccer team a few weeks ago.
“So, I was like, bro! Stop trying to hug me!” James’s douche bag laugh echoed through the cafeteria. I glanced up and he was up on his feet, happily high-fiving his bros with Annabelle seated on the bench next to him.
Yep… back to hating him. And while I’m at it, I’m over everyone in the cafeteria too.
I got up and announced my departure to the table. I tossed the barely eaten cheeseburger into the garbage and headed toward the exit. Yesterday I said I hated smelling like chlorine sometimes, but right now, that’s all I wanted to smell.
“Oh, good, Jenna, you’re here,” Coach Donaldson said, walking toward me in the hallway.
“What’s up, Coach?” I asked, stopping in front of her.
“There seems to be a problem with the pipes around the swimming pool. Practice is cancelled for today,” Coach explained, horrifying me in an instant.
Practice couldn’t be cancelled… we had a meet coming up. I needed all the practice I could get.
“Is the school going to fix it?” I asked, hoping the answer was “yes, as soon as possible.”
Coach didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “I just came from the Principal’s office. They’re going to try and get someone to look into it.”
“How long is it going to take though?” I asked, feeling dizzy.
“Who knows? These things are really expensive for the school to take care of quickly. Could take a couple of days, or a couple of weeks,” she explained, seeming defeated. “I’ll have more news hopefully by the time school lets out today.”
*~*~*
*TOM*
People were watching everywhere, so I chose where it might be quietest. I was in the hallway at the end of lunch; Jenna had blown past me a second ago, marching back inside the cafeteria like a girl gone mad. I wish I could find out why, but I had my own problems: a disturbing and traumatizing phone call. Whoever said being a teenager was the best time of your life didn’t have an alcoholic/mental head-case as a mother. But I should have expected her to do something like this, that ruining my day would be the least of her worries, because at the end of the day, it was always about her.
“I am your mother. The next time I call you, you’d had better pick up or else I’ll drive back to Orlando and take you away!”
My grip tightened over my phone. If I got angrier, I’d need a new phone. I counted to five and then let her have it. “Take me away? I turn eighteen in January. You’re out of time trying to do the whole mother thing.”
The whole mother thing, a concept I wasn’t too familiar with. Dumping your child on family and leaving was not the definition of being a mother. I loved my uncle Rodney and his family, but being the over extended guest at his house despite him never ever making me feel like that was messing with my head.
“You’re so selfish!” she screeched. “But that shouldn’t surprise me now should it. You are exactly like your father!”
My heart pounded, bongo drum style. My breathing, sporadic and painful, like I was drowning, like I was stuck deep inside the ocean and no matter how far I swam to reach the surface, distance grew wider while the devil laughed, playing the joke on repeat, because I was the joke.
You need to take a chill pill…. I ordered myself, meaning it was my cue to get off this phone before I self combusted.
“I’m hanging up.” I told her.
Following her signature-wounded routine to a T, the woman who gave birth to me gasped out another a shrill cry, piercing my ears. “Why are you treating me like this? After everything I’ve been through_”
“Mom, I can’t talk anymore, I’m at school and I’ve got to get to class.”
“But, but, I’m your mother and you have to_”
The bell rang and I hung up, deciding then and there that her number would be blocked – for the day – and depending on my mood, maybe the whole weekend too.
CHAPTER 4
*JENNA*
Coach encouraged us to train at our local swimming pools in the meantime. The rest of the team seemed calm, not as affected as I was upon hearing what should have been the worst news of their lives.
It looked like second place was where I was headed. There was nothing amazing, nothing good about being a silver medalist. University scouts didn’t give the silver medalists a scholarship. We weren’t the winners, so what would be the point in rewarding that?
All because a freaking pipe burst.
The car door to my right slid open.
Mom gently tugged my shoulder. “Hey, let’s go inside. I’ll make hot chocolate, just the way you like it, with four big marshmallows on top.”
The carpet in our minivan needed a deep cleaning. I sighed, not looking up. “If you don’t mind, I’d like to stay inside the car.”
Mom left me be, and after a few minutes, I found a bundle of tiny rocks hiding underneath the driver seat. Another five minutes, and I might find some actual treasure. If I couldn’t get a scholarship, finding a few quarters might not be so bad. I stretched my arm underneath each seat up front and pulled out a gum wrapper, a nickel, and a crumpled receipt.
I was keeping the nickel.
I pocketed the nickel and grabbed the straps of my swim bag with my unused swim gear. The bag made a sound, as if it had feelings too. Realistically, I knew a bag did not have feelings, but in my disgruntled state, I was convinced another soul was crushed today besides my own.
I smelled chocolate as soon as I stepped inside the house. I kicked the front door closed and smiled.
Chocolate was a depressed girl’s friend, right?
Following the scent of chocolate, I headed to the kitchen where Mom was stirring a small pot of hot cocoa powder and boiled milk. I stood behind her, salivating like a drooling idiot contemplating a name change.
Call me Chocolate Zombie!
My sedated self didn’t go unnoticed by my mom. She chuckled, leaning over the counter to grab a huge mug. She poured hot chocolate into the mug and it was hypnotic. Don’t feel sad anymore, I will make you feel better. Don’t feel sad anymore, I will make you feel better. Don’t feel sad anymore, I will make you feel better.
“Give me that mug, please.” I held both hands out and Mom placed the hot mug carefully in my grasp. First sip in, my problems slowly took a back seat. After finishing my hot chocolate and gaining a tiny high for about ten seconds, I went up to my room with my unused swim bag. We needed some alone time to decompress, to feel the moment and let it all out.
I was officially losing it!
Was there a hotline for people like me? Because I needed it… like now!
I plunged onto my bed and screamed in my pillow. “Why! When did my life become target practice for Satan!”
Using the back of my hand, I wiped my face of a few tears. “If you’re listening, whoever you are, why me? I’ve worked so hard and now this is happening?”
My door opened and someone entered my room. Whoever it was, they stopped in front of my bed.
“Get up,” my uninvited guest ordered, tugging my shoulder.
Despite feeling horrible, I smiled. Only one person right now had the gall to tug my shoulder. The state I was in, the entire human species was at risk for disturbing me. But that was the thing about Annabelle, s
he clearly wasn’t of this planet and did have the gall to try and snap me out of it.
“And if I don’t, ya ho?” I mumbled in my pillow.
“Don’t make me hurt you,” she threatened, making me laugh. Like she could. All of a sudden, the floor began to shake, and before I had a chance to turn around, the wind was knocked out of me.
“You just crushed me, you hippo!” I screeched, turning in the midst of her tackling me. I gasped for air and tried to push her off me. I didn’t have to try very hard because she jumped off right away.
I’d made a mistake.
Crap.
This was not good. I’d messed up and called her a hippo. In Annabelle’s current state of mind, and even though I was not a hundred percent sure what she was going through, it wasn’t the best thing to call her.
“I didn’t mean it, I was just kidding.” I snapped into a sitting position and faced her. Her face spoke a million different conflicted emotions. I waved bad energy away. “Forget I said that. Just get over it. I’m the sad one here, remember that.”
The ruthless approach was my only option. I’d guilt her out of this mood if I had to.
She inhaled a long breath before saying anything.
“I know, you’re right. I am not a hippo.” She said it slowly, like she was trying to convince herself of it. She sat on the floor in front of me. “I’m sorry. I’m not even here for like five seconds and I’m making this about me again. My issues, they don’t matter. You matter. I’m here for you. I don’t want you feeling depressed anymore.”
I snorted. “How are you going to do that?”
She smiled timidly at me and reached for my hand, which I gladly gave her. “You want to be best friends?”
I bit my lip because I felt a sting in both my eyes and biting seemed like the only logical way of controlling the tears. It felt strange to hear those words again. She squeezed my hand and a tiny smile stretched from the frown on my face. “Okay,” I answered.
She gave me a look. “And?”
“And,” I sighed, rolling my eyes. “I’m a champion swimmer, princess.”
She grinned big. “And I’m a banana.”
“You got that right, you are definitely fruity!” I grabbed my pillow and swung it at her. The pillow hit her firmly but not harshly on the face and we both laughed, because that’s what best friends were for, after all.
*~*~*
*TOM*
Sunshine blinded me for moments. Pain from the pinch of blurriness followed and when my vision cleared, my living room was empty and my favorite blue shoes with Velcro were covered in mud. I panned over to the front door and it was open all the way. My dad stood there wearing his old college hoodie. Light framed him, sparkling like Christmas lights. It got brighter and then one quick flash erased him.
I cried loudly. “Don’t leave!”
Hardwood creaked and I panned over to my parents’ bedroom doorway where my mom stood in her silk nightgown, crying mascara tears. “You promised me!” she yelled, running into the light and disappearing.
Everyone was gone.
“No!” I gasped awake and held my chest where my heart raced.
Side effects of my nightmares ruined any chance of sleeping straight through the night. Naps during the day were no different. Sweat dripped down my face and parts of my bed felt cold and wet. It’s not comfortable, but most importantly it was a reminder that my past would always haunt me.
My phone vibrated and it’s Peter calling. Seeing his name broke last bits of fog, erasing temporarily that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach.
I cleared my throat and answered. “Bro,”
“Bro, where are you?” Peter’s voice was impatient. “Remember, party at my house tonight?”
Shit, the party!
“I’ll be over in ten.”
“Make it five,” Peter hung up and I got ready quickly.
Living two blocks from his house meant not needing the car tonight. It was a chill night for walking anyways. The whole walk over I kept my mind on baseball and punch. If I thought about Jenna, it was only for a second. All that drama was over now and I had to move on with my life.
I heard music before turning the corner to Peter’s block. I chuckled, shaking my head at Peter playing with his luck again. Any louder, cops would show up and bust us for doing what kids our age did almost every weekend.
Party and get drunk.
People were driving up and looking for parking, but the street was packed already. The front yard began to fill up, and nobody was allowed inside until all things were in place. Peter’s rules. I was allowed inside though, but that’s because I usually helped with the set up unlike our other bros who liked making an entrance well into the party. I walked by impatient people and entered his house. My presence was noticed right away.
“Big Tom’s in the house!” Peter hollered, pushing his huge couch back. “Bro, get over here and use those giant muscles to push this thing back! Chop – chop!”
Duty called. I pushed back both his couches against the wall, leaving a lot room for a dance area in the middle.
Peter filled his mom’s crystal bowl with frozen fruit punch, water and vodka, and mixed tonight’s party favor.
“Bro, I can’t believe you’re using that for tonight.” I smirked, pointing at the crystal bowl. “She got that for her birthday last month. Wasn’t it expensive?”
Peter’s parents were newly rich, and this weekend they’d gone to Miami. He was an only child so the house was all his until they returned, none the wiser. Puke stains, alcohol stains, dents and scratches in the furniture and around the house, none of it fazed my best friend. Last party he had, there’d been a fight which ended in punch everywhere. Peter hired two cleaners and rented a steam cleaner and by Monday morning the house looked pre-vacation.
“Very expensive.” Peter smirked, shrugging like he didn’t care. “But she’ll be too busy planning her next vacation to some spa in Switzerland to notice what I did or didn’t do to her precious crystal.”
We finished last touches before Peter cranked up the volume and opened for business. Mostly seniors and some juniors charged inside, screaming like they were drunk already. Soon enough the place was packed and there was a line for the punch bowl.
“I gotta start charging, oh wait a minute, I already do.” Peter sneered, pointing to Rex, a left fielder on the baseball team on punch duty, handing out red plastic cups for a buck each. Charging was a new thing, but it was only fair since Peter had parties regularly that he’d recoup some of the cost.
“Is Becky coming over?” I asked him as we moved by the dance floor.
Peter shook his head and handed me a drink. “I don’t know. She won’t text me back.”
“Brutal, bro.” I took a sip, drinking half the cup. I needed chill vibes tonight, the faster the better.
“You’re telling me.” Peter grunted, taking a drink. “But check out the view though.”
Ladies showed up in packs. One hotter than the other, but I wasn’t interested. Deep down I knew what I wanted – and that was – a girl I could be bros with. But options were limited and my heart was taken. Not that coming to terms with that changed anything between Jenna and me. She wanted nothing to do with the disingenuous, brainless jock who called her “ice cold”.
So in simpler terms… Jenna Sabini was the sky and my feet were glued to the ground.
For fucks sake… I’m a poet now? My mind turns into mush when it comes to that girl! Now excuse me while I hurl chunks….
Peter punched my shoulder, snapping me out of it. “Stop thinking about her. She doesn’t want you, bro. She’s on this solo ship with no plans on stopping. In her mind, nobody’s good enough for her. Bro, I told you, she’s ice cold.” Peter nudged my shoulder roughly. “And case point, she froze you solid after like one conversation. You need to break that ice; you haven’t been the same since the dance. Live life to the fullest and show the ice princesses of the world they can’t do you like that.
I got your back. Have no fear; Peter the Great is here and I’ve got the antidote to your sickness.” I followed his gaze over to the dance floor where ladies in short dresses were dancing provocatively. “Check out the fresh hunnies at casa de Morris this evening. They’re staring, bro, practically eye fucking you. Look at them. They’re waiting for the beast.”
That sounded so douchy. He couldn’t see me cringe because someone had lowered the light switch all the way down. Nightclub vibes were chill, but making matters slightly more complicated, the front door opened and in walked Jenna and Annabelle. My heart raced systematically as I sucked in my breath, feeling nervous. It was pointless being nervous. I already made a decision not to bother her anymore, but in case she wanted to flirt with another guy, there was no way I could stay and watch without losing my shit. Forcing myself to look away had been a testament to my strength. Jenna looked beautiful tonight. I nudged Peter’s shoulder; interrupting the not so private show he was getting from this blonde junior doing all kinds of moves on the dance floor, eye contact included.
“Huh? What?” Peter stuttered for a second before shaking it off with a sly grin. “Well, what’s it going to be?”
“The beast is dead, bro. I’ll catch you later.” I told him and then left the house through the patio doors.
CHAPTER 5
*JENNA*
The punch tasted sour and it was obviously spiked. Tonight was about relaxing and forgetting, but thirty minutes into Peter’s party, it was becoming obvious that was not going to happen. If anything the “magic” juice was making me angrier and wanting to do something about it.
About my frustrations.
I drained my cup and threw it into the trash. I was on a mission now that my two favorite people had just entered the large crowd of partiers. Those girls and I needed to have a few words, seeing as they were a little too calm upon hearing the news of our beloved swimming pool falling ill. If anything, they needed to be just as devastated as I was.
