One-shot for the Coppertone Wars contest. I'm doing option 3C. Also, not sure if it's about back-to-school or if it's just the time frame, but either way… Enjoy!
I'm waiting in the cold September air. Wind blows around me, reminiscent of the frost and snow of later months.
The sound of tires on gravel awakens me from my memories. A sleek silver limo is in my driveway.
The car belongs to Alicia Rivera. I'm finally in with her, a part of the Pretty Committee.
"Get in, Olivia!" Alicia yells from the window. "We can't be late on the first day!"
Wordlessly, I step in and sit next to Claire Lyons. Oh, if only she knew.
I ride in silence, thinking about my secret.
The thing is, I'm not as dumb as I look or act. In fact, I'm very smart. I learned how to walk at seven months, and was talking at one and a half. When I was six, I fixed the toaster. At age twelve, my sister's car. Now, at fourteen, I'm planning on trying my best. I'll need it to save myself now.
Still, how a smart girl like me made such a dumb mistake, I'll never know. I had never given up Cam. We got together on May 23rd, and I've regretted it ever since.
Sure, I was drunk, but how should I have known that Coral McAdams spiked the Diet Coke at Alicia's pool party? I hardly remember anything except the sound of laughter, my phone ringing, and those eyes.
They were as blue as the sky on that cloudless day, and the other as green as the lush lime-colored blanket we were lying on in the guesthouse bedroom.
Well, I mean, I know what happened. It's about three months later. Even though nobody can really tell, some people can. I can.
It's barely noticeable. But I know.
I went to the doctor. He said that has to be it.
I was so humiliated. My parents have no idea. The only one who knows is Cam. He deserves to, anyway.
"Olivia, get out. We're here," Dylan told me. I obey and walk into school.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
"Olivia is wearing a black Michael Kors faux fur vest, a long-sleeved pale pink silk shirt from who knows where, gray Marc Jacobs ankle-height high-heeled boots, and dark wash skinny jeans, also from who knows where. Only an 8, sorry," Alicia said, dishing out my rating.
Oh well. Ratings aren't important right now. All I need is to get through the day. Then through the week, month, and until March. Then, maybe I'll be okay.
Claire slips next to me and smiles broadly. She hands me a little red gummy bear. I smile back and pop it in my mouth. The sweetness reminds me of the Diet Coke at the party. The Diet Coke that changed my life, more or less.
"Thanks," I whisper.
"Don't thank me," she whispers back, "thank Cam. He got them for me."
A wave of regret washes over me. I might have gasped or made a weird noise or something, because Alicia looks at me in concern.
"Liv, you okay?" Dylan qustions.
I nod, then proceed to vomit up my breakfast and a red gummy bear into a bush.
"Oh my gosh," Claire gasped. "Are you allergic? I didn't know."
No, you don't, I think. Nobody does.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
That night I lay in bed, wondering how. How to get out of this mess I made, how to tell everybody about my mistake.
How to show my face at school.
I roll over and text Cam.
Olivia: can u come over?
Cam: sure. why?
Olivia: cant sleep L
Cam: be there in 5
Olivia: thanks. ur the best
Five minutes later, there's a knock at my window. I would scramble to get into something less revealing than a white cami and shorts, but then I realize it's not a big deal.
Either way, I slip on a pair of pink Juicy sweatpants and open the window.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
I wake up on the couch in my room, where Cam and I had been on the computer all night. Sometimes we were researching, sometimes just talking about what's going to happen.
I don't want to go to school, and I certainly can't in a few months. So I just put on the matching Juicy hoodie and run out to wait for Alicia, hoping to grab some food in the limo.
I'm back in my seat next to Claire, sitting quietly next to her, being "good girl Olivia." Just good, quiet, stupid, silly little Olivia, the girl who gets nose jobs and can't tell faux Louis Vuitton scarves from real.
Stupid, silly, Olivia, who's ruined her own life and probably Claire's too.
I'm pretty sure the stress is getting to me, because I feel naseous again.
I just lean my head onto the cool glass window and close my eyes, letting everything slip away.
.:.:.:.:.:.:.
It's been another disastrous day.
It's only been four months and two days since that day. I would probably have killed myself before now, but that's not an option. No way.
All I need is a smile. That's it. But everybody's shunned me at school, even Cam. They say I'm not myself, I'm acting weird.
Ring ring, I think. It's Karma calling.
The library's my new home, with its small, cozy, dark space behind the bookshelf in the non-fiction section. The carpet's stained with my tears and there are spiderwebs all over, but I don't care.
I'm there now, and I would be crying, but I'm too empty for that. I'm just an empty girl.
Something stirs just under the surface of my white hoodie, and for a second I think that there's a mouse or something in there. Then I remember, and I smile.
I pull off the hoodie I was wearing over a soft orange t-shirt. My slightly enlarged stomach stirs again, and, again, I smile.
I feel so much better. In fact, I might be ready to tell everybody.
Heading out of the library, I glance at the sky. The heavy gray clouds that had been hanging down earlier had parted against a gorgeous blue.
I know that in five months, I'll get to be happy again.
I'll have a little baby girl, and I hope she'll have eyes as blue as the brilliant sky above me.
So, you like? Your choice of a cookie or gossip points if you guessed Olivia was preggers before I told y'all at the end.
Do you have school yet? I do. Seventh grade, baby! Whoo!
Tell me in a review, maybe?
Until later, dears!
Xox Clara