by Nick Rossi
“You’ve got a point there”, she laughed. “Wanna fill them up and bring to the prom? I can’t believe it’s, like, 3 days away”.
Bennett grew silent and took another sip of her diet coke. She, too, was very full from the ludicrous amount of Pizza the girls devoured. “Totally. Any special requests? And, no, Peach Shnapps is not an option!”
Both girls fell into a fit of laughter. Peach Schnapps was the one drink that she always drank wherever they went and whatever house party they found themselves at. It was the only drink that didn't give her a headache the next day.
“Fine – you win this one, Bennett,” she said, and soon enough they began chatting incessantly about the costumes they rented. Like with Charlie, the girls agreed not to show each other what they had selected for their big night. The excitement was killing them but they held true to their promises.
Chapter 31
All she could think about was how cold it was in that tiny cabin room. There was no way she could have foreseen that it would be nearly freezing in the middle of June, but she should have clued in that being in the north, in the literal middle of nowhere, and in a room made of wood, the cabin was bound to be cold. Even a blanket would have been useful at this point. There was a draft that was hitting the top of her head, even when she pulled it under the thin sheet.
Frustrated, she sat us with an audible sigh and looked at the room around her. The small window that looked outwards toward the lake seemed to have frost on it, and she thought she saw her own breath as she exhaled. In the bunk across from her, the cold didn’t seem to be phasing Bennett just one bit. In fact, she thought she almost heard the girl snore ever so slightly. Then again, everything in the cabin seemed to have its sound amplified, as there was no white noise to drown anything out, which was particularly annoying when they had to visit the ladies room, which really was just a pit.
She sat up in the little, uncomfortable single bed and pulled her legs towards her chest, hoping to get rid of the chill within her that she’d been shaking for the last long while. The existence of the chill was not just due to the fairly cold night that surrounded her, but also because of the whole entire combination of the manic and perpetual stress of having to keep up her end of the bargain with Marina and having to skirt around Claire at their Senior Sleep Away that everyone had been so excited about just weeks ago, including herself.
The entire day had been somewhat fun, but there was a constant tinge of discomfort wherever she found herself. The bus ride was surprisingly easy to bear – Bennett and her had figured they would just sit beside each other for the duration of the 4-hour drive. Claire and Rena had opted to drive themselves to the cabins, which was completely frowned upon by the Student Council, as it didn’t jive with the whole theme of spending quality time with everyone before they all dispersed for college. She wasn’t entirely all that surprised that Claire was defying authority once more in order to serve her own happiness, but on some level, she found it admirable that Claire walked to the beat of her own drum, no matter how odd it may have been at times.
Student Council had planned all sorts of cheesy games for the bus ride, most of which centered around derivatives of 100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall and Broken Telephone. Participation was mandatory, so Darcy and Bennett both made the best of it and threw themselves in the silliness of it all. They avoided purposely confusing the message of Broken Telephone that Chrissy Barr had created, but other kids succeeded in ended up making the message explicit enough that Armie Chive, the kid who was responsible for saying the message aloud, couldn’t mouth the words in fear of retribution by the three teachers that traveled on the bus with them.
When they finally got to the Eleanor Ranch some hours later, the energy had dissipated and a comfortable silence had filled the bus, mostly due to the presence of iPod’s aplenty with headphones bigger than some students' heads.
The lush greenness that surrounded them from all angles was the first thing that she had noticed, odd as she had seen greenness around her every day near her house and school, but this was remarkably different. The grass was a deeper green, and the trees reached so high into the sky that she couldn't quite make out seeing the tips of them.
Both girls were sure to indulge themselves in taking a short twenty-minute power nap and then subsequently stuffing their faces with energy bars and chocolate. Rested and filled, they put on their swimsuits and decided to join the other students at the lake.
The sand was nearly impossibly white, and luminous large rocks created little enclaves on the beach that were perfect for some partial privacy. She and Bennett created a little cozy area with the lawn chairs and umbrellas they had brought with them, opting to not participate in the group’s water sports themed games. Instead, they were perfectly content with watching the ruckus from the safety, and relative dryness, of the shore.
It was all going perfectly well, and the weather seemed to be holding out despite the ever-threatening presence of rain. She felt herself relax and actually begin enjoying this mini-vacation, feeling sure that indeed going to the Senior Stay over was a good idea all in all. That was until she heard Claire and Rena chattering from a distance.
The girls decided set up camp so close to Bennett and her on the tiny beach that she felt as though they were only inches away. Both of the girls clearly didn’t mind sitting so close to her and Bennett, but she couldn’t help but feel that Claire was either extending an olive branch or making a deliberate game play with their friendship.
“It’s so hot!” Claire said, much too loud. She casually looked out around her, noticing Darcy and Bennett lain on their lawn chairs just feet away. She lifted her sunglasses, the sunlight catching on the blue eyes that could cause someone to literally freeze in their tracks. “Hey Darcy, How was the bus ride?”
At first, it didn’t register with her that Claire had been directing words towards her. They hadn’t shared a one single interaction since their mammoth confrontation a few weeks ago, and when they ran into each other in school they literally pretended not to see one another. The school gossip about Darcy's fake pregnancy had ended as soon as it had begun. There were still rumors flying about as to why the two forever friends were still not talking, slap and all, but she had stopped listening to the newest rumors of the day a long time ago.
“Long - and full of cheese,” she replied once she realized Claire had indeed been speaking to her. She kept her tone even so as to not sound catty or spur Claire on in any way. She was being overly cautious, this she knew, but she certainly wasn’t going to initiate another public argument with her frenemy, nor bite at the chomp of an attempted reconciliation.
Rena glanced at her quickly, also visibly surprised at Claire’s attempt at conversation. Bennett chose to stay mum - cautious, and careful. She thought that Bennett had actually maybe fallen asleep. The sunglasses on her face made it difficult to gauge.
“I’m not surprised. Grandma over here was very, very aware of the speed limit on the freeway,” Claire responded, cocking her head in reference to Rena. Rena was the world's notoriously slowest driver, but she had the nicest car, so it all sort of worked out in the end.
“I didn’t want to get a speeding ticket!” Rena chimed in. “My dad would positively kill me. And he’d totally take the car away.”
Both she and Claire laughed at Rena’s response because it was totally true. Rena’s dad was a local police traffic officer who was known to liberally give out speeding tickets to all of the kids at Flint Ridge High, and the only condition to getting Rena her car was that she wouldn’t get a speeding ticket, so they couldn’t really fault her for it.
“Oh relax, R. We’re just teasing you. Plus, aren’t you glad we missed all the lameness of the bus ride?” Claire fanned out an enormous leopard-print beach towel on the sand and plopped herself onto it. She looked over at Darcy with a slight hit of smile before pulling the sunglasses back down over her face.
“Happy Senior Stay Over,” she said and laid flat, the
short conversation over as soon as it had begun. Darcy, too, lay back down on her lawn chair that she was wise enough to bring from home. The sand looked nice, but lying on top of it for hours on end (which was how long she planned to stay horizontal) was a literal pain in the ass.
As she began to let the sun melt away her worries and letting the warmth seep into her bones, she began to take apart and analyze the interaction that had just unfolded. What had just happened?, she questioned. Did Claire finally realize she was being totally crazy and irrational? Was this part of a master scheme to further humiliate her in some inconceivable way?
She tried to push the thoughts of her head, hoping for the best of Claire’s intentions and the semi-positive short dialogue. It was certainly a small step at reparation between the girls, but it was a step nonetheless. While she had heard from other students in the school that Claire had retracted the rumor about the pregnancy, all was still not forgiven, nor forgotten.
Now, hours later, she quietly got up off the single bed so as to not wake Bennett and walked over to the window. She took in the beautiful view of the lake and the bright moon shining upon it, making her feel serene and calm. The water was still and silent. The moon that night was full, its reflection rippling on the water, reminding Darcy of the still and silent simplicity that nature could provide.
It was then that she saw a tiny movement out of the corner of her eye. Was someone walking around out there? Perhaps it was some animal, she rationalized. She glanced at her watch: 3 am. If someone was walking around out there, they were asking to be either eaten by a savage east or was lost, maybe even both.
She pulled on the sweater that lay on the ground by the door and put the hood up. She didn’t want to be completely shocked by the cold once she went outside. She wasn’t exactly sure why she decided to go outside, and clearly if she were presented with some sort of violent animal attack, she’d have no way to protect herself.
Opening the door was not an easy task. Every little inch she tried to pry it open sounded like a marching band playing in the cabin, but Bennett didn’t even stir. In fact, her snoring seemed to have gotten louder. She pulled the door shut softly behind her, semi-resentful that her friend was able to sleep so soundly on the wafer thin mattress and nearly freezing temperatures.
The figure she had glimpsed moments before (she was now sure it was a person) before her wasn’t moving now. As she walked towards whoever it was, she questioned whether she should have been doing this at all, in the wilderness of all places, but she kept on walking. It didn’t seem to be as cold out here as it was in the cabin. Perhaps it was the adrenaline, or the sweater. There was no wind, no sounds, but definitely eerie.
As she cautiously walked towards the figure, she made sure to look back to ensure that half of the senior class wasn’t watching her or that Bennett didn’t decide to be the protective friend and follow her out (providing she even woke up from her deep slumber). Once she discerned that she was alone walking towards the figure on the beach, she turned to see the figure sitting on the sand, rather poetically positioned by a jagged rock.
The moonlight was brighter by the water, probably because of its large reflection upon it. Because of the added brightness, she was able to tell right away that it was Claire who was the mysterious shadowy figure. She was not moving now though, opting to sit on the rock and looking out at the water. She didn’t even stir, nor glance around, as she silently moved closer.
If Claire was scared, she sure didn’t let on. In fact, she didn’t even flinch as she climbed the rock and found a spot to sit beside her. Claire was looking out at the water, her hair softly resting on her exposed shoulders. Even in the dark she saw the outlines of sunburn, which perhaps explained why Claire didn’t seem cold at all. She thought she also saw the reflective sheen of aloe-Vera, but then attributed it to sweat.
“I’m glad you came out here,” Claire finally said, after silence sat between the girls, comfortably. “We have to talk.”
Chapter 32
“I didn’t realize everyone thought we hated each other,” she whispered into the quiet of the surrounding night around the two girls and former best friends. The moon shone brightly above them, its reflection bright and gigantic on the water that faced them. The breeze was still persistent, but soothing, and the cold that had one permeated her down to her core seemed to have abated. Nonetheless, she kept the sweater tightened around her, its softness comforting somehow to her in the wee hours of the night.
“News travels fast, apparently,” Claire finally replied, her voice low and vulnerable. Since the switch had happened, she had never heard Claire’s voice sound so little and weak, and it really seemed to scare her. Had she been unnecessarily hard on Claire all of this time? Had she forgotten that Claire, like she once was, was just someone trying to keep her head above water in the abyss that was high school?
“I guess we didn’t exactly give them any idea to think that we actually liked each other,” she replied, her voice also small. She felt so defenseless and exposed sitting on the rock by the lake. It was also interestingly rather quite empowering.
“I know I’ve been a mega bitch, Darcy. I’ll be the first to admit it. And I’m sorry, I really am – but it’s been tough. Getting pregnant wasn’t exactly on my high school ‘to do’ list, you know?” Claire continued, her voice barely audible. If Darcy hadn’t been seated so close to her, she would have had trouble hearing her at all.
“It’s no excuse though for the way I’ve been acting, and I’m totally going to take responsibility for that. I guess I’ve never really noticed how bossy I could be. Sure, my hormones are semi out of whack, and I couldn’t rely on Rena in any way to tell me if I was being hell on wheels, but our fight in the bathroom really bothered me. And then the slap…well, I guess I had it coming”.
“It bothered me, too,” she finally cut in, feeling sad at hearing Claire fully acknowledge her attitude problem. It certainly wasn’t an easy task to fess up to being a monster, this she knew first hand, and to do so at the ripe old age of 17 was a full-blown revelation.
She moved closer to Claire, and before realizing what she was doing, she put her arm around her ex-friends shoulder. She couldn’t help but notice at the frail size of her friend and squeezed her close. She felt the words in her throat and she knew if she didn’t say them at that time now she never would.
“It also really bothered me that you never told me about you and Mason.”
“And to top things off, I’ve been feeling super gross lately, like, more gross than the blogs say I should be feeling…” Claire continued, not moving away from Darcy’s warm embrace and then understanding the magnitude of her words. “What? How?"
Darcy stayed calm. “He gave me your scarf. The one that you lost on your big date that night that you could never find. How could you not have told me?”
It took a moment before Claire responded. “I didn’t know how you would react.” Behind them, they heard an owl, and they both were startled.
“Clearly better if I had found out then instead of now,” Darcy said, the words leaving her mouth before she even realized it. Deciding to drop it, and welcomed the sliver of silence that permeated the dialogue between them.
They heard some odd sounds pierce the night. The noises were being made from wildlife that both girls did not wish to acknowledge as they would have left their cozy spot on the rocks in fear of being mauled by a bear.
“Have you gone to the Doctor to get things checked out to make sure everything is, you know, normal?” Darcy decided to ask. She regretting not being able to phrase her question more eloquently but she blamed it on the intensity of the conversation.
“Nope. I haven’t really done anything since the pregnancy test. I mean, there’s like no debating the fact that I’m pregnant. I just can’t bring myself to see the doctor. I feel like they’ll just think I’m another rich kid who’s gotten herself in trouble. Do people still say that?” Claire giggled.
“Maybe if it
were 1930,” Darcy replied, causing the girls to further to fall into another bout of laughter. “How about as soon as this weekend of fun is over we go to the doctor?”
“I just feel like going home, to be honest. I have no interest in lying on the beach and hanging out with people I probably won’t even be talking to by Christmas.” Claire reached her arms up and stretched, a sigh leaving her lips, sounding extremely loud in the stillness of the night.
“You and me both. But Bennett is super enthused about it all for some reason”, Darcy said. “You know, she’s actually really nice. You should give her a chance.”
Claire smiled. “I know. I will. Attribute the rudeness to my ‘condition’. Wow – who knew pregnancy euphemisms could be so fun.”
“Hah. It’s true. Who knew that you’d be in the ‘family way’ before Chrissy Barr,” she countered, and another bout of hysterics was heard by the two newly reformed best friends by the water.
“We should go to bed. The Breakfast Burrito Bonanza starts in, like, 4 hours,” Claire said, getting up from the sand, the sarcasm dripping from her voice. Darcy got up as well, realizing that she was indeed beginning to feel tired as well.
As soon as both girls were standing, Claire let out a loud gasp and doubled over in obvious agony. At first Darcy thought perhaps her friend had gotten a bug bite or something, but when Claire didn’t stand upright immediately, she felt her heart fall into the pit of her stomach.
“What’s wrong?” Darcy asked, squatting down so she was close to Claire’s face.
Claire didn’t reply right away, further adding to the heightened drama of the moment. Even in the darkness and the minimal light provided to them by the full moon, she could see that Claire was extremely pale and had a slight sheen of sweat breaking out upon her forehead.
She helped her back onto the ground, slowly easing her on the sand. She leaned her back up against the giant tree beside them, and helped Claire sit against the large bark.
