Mila and Laura

by Foxglove Lee

  Mila and Laura © 2017 by Foxglove Lee

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Cover design © 2017 Foxglove Lee

  I Hate Love and Happy Birthday, Klutzface! were first published by Prizm Books.

  Mila and Laura

  Two girls, three lesbian romance shorts

  Table of Contents:

  I Hate Love

  Happy Birthday, Klutzface!

  Dress Like A Dude

  I HATE LOVE

  “Ugh! I got pro.” Laura dropped her chin to the cradle of her hands. “What did you get, Mila?”

  “Pro.” Mila clicked her teeth. “I hate debates. I always get stuck arguing a case I don’t agree with.”

  Jaden turned around in his seat. “You two are nuts! How can you not be pro-Valentine’s Day?”

  “It’s stupid,” Laura said.

  “Uh, good point,” Jaden teased. “I’m so glad you’re on my team.”

  “You got pro, too?” Mila asked, snatching the little piece of paper out of his hand. “Well, at least you’re debating something you actually believe in.”

  “Freaks!” Jaden grabbed back the slip of paper he’d picked out of Mr. Godfrey’s hat. “You’re just anti-V-Day because you hate love.”

  Laura knew Jaden was just kidding around, but that off-the-cuff joke was like a knife in her heart. She couldn’t believe how fast the tears welled in her eyes. God, she didn’t want to cry in class, but the tears were coming.

  No. No way.

  Bolting from her desk, Laura muttered “Bathroom” to Mr. Godfrey and ran out. The moment her foot crossed the threshold, tears raced down her cheeks. She felt like such an idiot. This wasn’t her. She wasn’t the kind of girl who cried in the hallway, but Jaden’s jab really hurt.

  Laura’s locker wasn’t far from class, and she stuck her head inside, digging around for tissues. When the bell rang, she kicked herself for leaving her books on her desk. Now she’d have to go back to Mr. Godfrey’s room looking like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer… if he was drunk and high. She grabbed her compact and tried to pat on enough powder to cover up the redness.

  “Hey, you!” Mila’s voice was unmistakeable over the clatter of students. “I brought your books.”

  “Okay, thanks.” Laura didn’t even look out from behind her locker door. “Just toss ‘em on the ground.”

  Her cracking voice must have been the giveaway because Jaden pulled her locker wide open. “What’s with you, pooh?”

  “Wait, are you crying?” Mila cackled, then covered her mouth. “Sorry, sugar. Just, I didn’t think you had room for tears in that teeny-tiny body, there.”

  A stream of anger coursed through Laura’s body, and before she could stop herself she’d smashed her locker shut. “Well I do, so why don’t you shut up?”

  The whole hallway went dead quiet.

  People were looking. Everybody was staring at her. God, why was she acting like such a freak?

  Laura’s head buzzed as she yanked her books out of Mila’s arms. She was trying so hard not to look Mila in the eye that she ended up brushing the back of her hand against her friend’s big breast. It was just an accident, but the touch shocked her body. Even after she’d stormed away, her hand kept getting warmer. By the time she’d stomped through the stairwell doors, her skin was actually tingling.

  From the top of the stairs, Laura looked down at the stream of students. Thank god it was the end of the day. If she had to get to another class right away, she’d have wanted to jump.

  Resting her books against the railing, Laura looked at her hand. It didn’t seem any different than usual: short stubby fingers, chipped purple polish, nails chewed to the bone. But it felt different -- like it was glowing or something.

  “Look at Laur-the-bore,” said a guy from her bio class. “She’s staring at her hand!”

  Laura turned just in time for another guy to say, “You on drugs, Laur-the-snore?”

  “The Ice Queen’s high!” a third guy grunted. They all brushed by her, laughing as they pounded down the stairs.

  Where’s a girl to go when every direction is the wrong direction?

  Without really thinking, Laura raised her hand to her nose and inhaled deeply. Was she totally nuts, or could she smell Mila’s body spray on her skin? It was like mangos and vanilla and field berries -- everything Laura loved. That’s what Mila smelled like.

  “Ice Queen!” Somebody smacked Laura’s hand against her face hard enough to drive her head into the wall.

  A shock of blackness streaked across Laura’s field of vision. It was so pronounced she almost didn’t know whether her eyes were open or closed. By the time the stairwell came hazily back into view, the crowds had dispersed. She didn’t know who’d struck her, but the jolt had dropped her books from the railing. They’d slid down the stairs, all the way to the landing, and Laura followed them, picking them up and hugging them tight to her chest.

  Mila and Jaden were watching through the glass doors. When Laura caught the pitiful looks on their faces, she felt like a total dweeb. Had they seen the whole thing? It was so weird that they weren’t racing to her, asking if she was okay, but they both looked frozen in place.

  “I left my backpack in my locker,” she said, walking by them and hoping they wouldn’t follow -- but knowing they would.

  “Are you okay?” Mila asked.

  “Yeah,” Jaden said. “That girl hit you pretty hard.”

  Laura touched the back of her head, where it had slammed against the wall. “It was a girl?”

  “You sound disappointed,” Jaden said with a stifled laugh. “Uh, yeah, it was that redhead Tracey. The one with the big bazongas.”

  Mila punched Jaden in the arm. The motion made her breasts sway. Her tight purple top wouldn’t have looked low-cut on someone like Laura, but Mila’s boobs rested so heavy against the fabric they actually stretched it down. Laura tried not to stare, but Mila’s little gold cross glowed like sunlight against her brown skin, tempting Laura’s eye into that danger zone of cleavage. From there, she was transfixed.

  “Can you believe him?” Mila asked. “Even gay guys be staring at boobage.”

  Laura’s hand throbbed, and she shook it out at her side. No, that wasn’t good enough. She had to look away from Mila. Snapping open her locker, she buried her head inside.

  “Well, sorry for living!” Jaden said, checking his hair in the mirror on Laura’s locker door. “But if boobs are around, you know I’m gonna look.”

  “Do you look at mine?” Mila asked.

  “All the time!”

  “He does,” Laura said. “I’ve seen him.”

  And if Jaden stared at boobs, maybe everybody stared at boobs. Maybe Laura wasn’t weird after all. Maybe people were all just giant babies who couldn’t resist the sight of big breasts.

  That didn’t explain why her hand was hot as hell, though.

  Grabbing her coat from her locker, Laura pulled it on and then dragged her bag up her back. One of these days, her spine was going to collapse under the weight.

  As she summoned her strength, adjusting the heavy straps on her shoulders, her gaze accidentally met Mila’s, just for a second, but in that second she saw way more than she wanted to.

  Mila looked quickly to Jaden and asked, “Want to come over and teach us freaks the meaning of Valentine’s Day?”

  Jaden’s coc
ked his head. “Ooh, kinky!”

  “No, not kinky.” Mila smacked his shoulder. “For the in-class debate tomorrow. Come over, and we’ll prep for pro.”

  “Sorry, can’t!” Jaden said, taunting. “I’m ringing in V-Day with my candy-man Stan!”

  “Ugh, I hate that guy,” Laura said. “Why do you hang out with him?”

  “He’s a total pedo,” Mila agreed from down the hall. She kept talking while she opened her locker and pulled out her coat. “And he’s, like, a thousand years old. Can’t you hook up with someone who was at least born in the same decade as us?”

  “He’s losing his hair,” Laura added as she zipped up her coat.

  Jaden’s eyebrows arched down in the middle. “Shut up. No, he’s not.”

  Laura giggled. “He is, at the back.”

  “And the front,” Mila shouted across the hall. “I bet he has ED. Does he need a little blue pill to get it up?”

  “Fuck off!” Jaden cried. His boots squealed as he turned around… and came face to face with Mr. Godfrey.

  “Three-forty,” their teacher said, looking at his watch. “Why are you still haunting the halls?”

  “I’m outta here,” Jaden said, storming past Mr. Godfrey. He pushed open the glass door to the stairwell, then turned swiftly around. “Those two hate love so much they can’t stand to see someone else happy!”

  Jaden fled down the stairs before the heavy glass door slammed shut behind him.

  Mr. Godfrey stood in the middle of the hallway with his corduroys tucked into his winter boots. Laura stared past the dorky sight, to the place Jaden last occupied. She and Mila had really hurt him. Even though she’d meant every word, she felt bad. She wasn’t just teasing him out of jealousy.

  “Ladies,” Mr. Godfrey said.

  “Yeah, we’re leaving,” Mila muttered, stomping toward the stairwell.

  “Just one moment, please.” He held out his hand, escorting them into his classroom. “I’d like a word, if you don’t mind.”

  Laura’s stomach plummeted. “We didn’t do anything wrong.”

  “Yes, I know. You’re not in any trouble.” Mr. Godfrey tramped into his classroom, pulling his knit vest down over his belt. His boots looked like they were from the ‘70s, and they squeaked against the floor every time he moved. Normally, Mila would have laughed behind his back, but even she went silent.

  Laura didn’t know what to say, so she didn’t say anything.

  “I know this is a sensitive topic and you’re inclined to feel a certain loyalty toward your friend, but a teacher has a responsibility…” Mr. Godfrey leaned back against his desk. He ran his hand through his greying beard before saying, “We have a legal responsibility to report these speculations to Child and Family Services.”

  Mr. Godfrey seemed really uncomfortable, and that made Laura’s stomach churn so hard she thought she might throw up. She wanted to look at Mila for some indication of what this might be about, but Mila was standing behind her and she couldn’t bring herself to move.

  “I couldn’t help overhearing your… uh, conversation with Jaden.” Their teacher kept tripping over his words. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it sounds as though your underage friend is involved with in a sehhh… uh, an intimate relationship with a maaa… uh, a person who is quite a lot older than himself?”

  “You’re just picking on Jaden because he’s gay!” Mila said, so abruptly it made Laura jump.

  “No, no, I assure you, Ms. Ngatu, that is not at all the case.” Mr. Godfrey’s eyes looked tired. Laura felt sorry for him. “It’s a teacher’s legal obligation to report any suspicion of assault or abuse to Child and Family Services. It isn’t a choice, you see. Jaden is a minor. I would be breaking the law if I didn’t report what I just heard.”

  “That’s true,” Laura said, turning toward Mila. “He isn’t making it up. I’ve heard of that before. Anyone who works with, like, kids or whatever, they have to report stuff like that.”

  Mila’s hard expression fell, and Laura could see the panic in her eyes.

  “We were just teasing him,” Mila said, toying with the cross around her neck, pressing it hard against her skin. “He’s dating this dude he works with part-time at the movie theatre, right? He’s not really old old. He’s just, like, a year older than us. We don’t like the guy, that’s all.”

  Mr. Godfrey considered them both. His soft gaze moved between them like angels’ wings, gauzy and giving.

  “Sorry we got you all worried,” Laura said. She knew her face went bright red when she lied, but at least she could blame that on her heavy winter coat. “Jaden’s our friend, but we tease him. That’s all.”

  “That’s all?” Mr. Godfrey asked. It made Laura nervous, the way he looked at her without moving, without even blinking. “You swear to me it was only a joke?”

  Laura nodded fast while Mila said, “We swear, Mr. Godfrey. Can we go now, to start our debate homework?”

  Mila was pulling at Laura’s arm even before Mr. Godfrey said, “Thank you for your time, ladies. Safe home.”

  “Oh my god,” Laura moaned when they got to the stairwell. “I think I’m gonna puke.”

  “Not on my watch.” Mila zipped up her jacket with one hand and pulled Laura along with the other. “That was seriously not good! Was he for real?”

  Laura burst through the metal double doors and out into the crisp February afternoon. “Yeah, my aunt works in a daycare, and it’s the same for her. If she thinks a kid is being abused, she has to call it in.”

  “But we’re not kids,” Mila said, adjusting her backpack on her shoulders. “It’s none of their business what we do.”

  “I know, right?”

  When Laura pictured comb-over Stan doing all sorts of nasty things to one of her best friends, she shuddered. She didn’t agree with Mila, not completely, but she didn’t want to argue. Poor Mr. Godfrey. Did he really believe them, or was he going to call Child and Family Services after all? It would suck if Jaden had to go through some weird investigation just because he’d slept with a dirty old man. Shouldn’t that be Jaden’s choice? Shouldn’t a horny teenager get to screw whoever he wants?

  “Are we going to your place?” Laura asked, trying to shake all that Jaden stuff from her head.

  “I thought so. Aren’t we?”

  “Yeah, just checking.”

  The two-bedroom apartment Mila shared with her father wasn’t the fanciest place on earth, but Laura liked going there. Mila’s dad worked the night shift at a cookie factory on the other side of the city, so they always had lots of privacy and lots of treats.

  “What’s on tap?” Laura asked, pawing through the bags of broken cookies on the counter.

  “Those are the vanilla wafers you don’t like.” Mila pushed a different bag in Laura’s direction. “Here -- the chocolate-covered ones with that stuff in the middle.”

  “Ooh, my favorite!”

  Mila turned on the TV, and they vegged-out completely before starting homework. Laura couldn’t believe how fast time had gone by when her mom called at six-fifteen.

  “What’s wrong?” her mother asked, sounding so suspicious Laura wondered what she’d done wrong.

  “What? Nothing. Why?”

  But Laura knew what she’d done wrong. She’s lied to Mr. Godfrey, and her mother always knew when she felt guilty about something.

  “Your voice sounds… I don’t know… have you been drinking?”

  “What? No! I’m at Mila’s.”

  “Oh.” Her mom’s voice always changed when she mentioned Mila. “How’s she holding up? How’s her poor dad?”

  Laura turned away from her friend and walked as far as the bathroom. “Mom, they’re fine. You don’t have to ask every time…”

  “It isn’t easy for a girl to lose her mother so young.”

  “Mom, it was like five years ago…”

  “I can’t even imagine,” Laura’s mother went on. “When I was a girl, my sickly aunt lived with us, and, well, losing an au
nt is one thing.”

  It made Laura squeamish when her mom started talking about mushy stuff -- death, love, anything emotional. And she wondered why people called her the Ice Queen…

  “And then selling the house to settle up medical bills? Laura, can you imagine if we had to move into an apartment at this stage? How would you feel?”

  “Mom, I don’t care.” Laura bit her lip. What a thing to say. Of course she cared; she just didn’t know how to say so without… falling apart. “We’ve got debate homework. Can I stay over?”

  “Not on a school night.”

  “But Mila…” Laura knew which cards to play. “She doesn’t like to be alone.”

  Worked every time.

  “Okay, but eat something real for dinner. Not just cookies.”

  Laura’s mother knew her too well.

  “I like your mom,” Mila said without looking away from the TV.

  Laura wasn’t sure why she took that as such a high compliment, but it made her smile. “Yeah, she’s okay. But she feels so sorry for you. It’s kind of annoying.”

  Mila didn’t respond. She sat on the couch with both feet propped on the coffee table, her Spanish exercise book in her lap, the textbook open beside her.

  “What’s for dinero?” Laura asked.

  Mila laughed. “Dinero doesn’t mean dinner.”

  “Fine.” Laura shrugged, then grabbed the fridge door. “I tried.”

  “Do you have any money?” Mila asked. “I feel like pizza.”

  The fridge was empty. Not empty as in there was nothing good to eat. Empty as in there were condiments in the door and milk in the jug, and pretty much nothing else.

  “Yeah,” Laura said, closing the fridge and rifling through her backpack. “There’s a wallet in here somewhere.”

  Pizza was a good idea. Laura ordered more than enough, pretending she was super-hungry, just so there’d be leftovers for Mila’s dad when he got home. Cold pizza was just as good as hot pizza. Maybe even better.