~O c e a n*§ u n s e t s ~
The rattling and constant pounding of the merciless rain and sleet against the window made Jordan stir in her bed, waiting for sleep to come. The long winter was driving her mad, because she hated the cold. When it was warm, Jordan loved to do everything, her whole entire personality changed. Her closest friends agreed, that Jordan loved the warm weather. They had even suggested for her to move somewhere where it's consistently above thirty-degrees year round. But they only muttered this amongst themselves, not wanting Jordan to get any ideas about moving somewhere without them. Jordan was very independent, and never spent all of her time gushing over the cutest guys, or clinging onto her friends for support for any matter. She loved to be alone.
Jordan awoke the morning of January 12th 2004. Two days before Valentines Day. She always dreaded this so called "holiday". If they didn't get the day off school then what was the point of a holiday? She didn't have long to make Valentines up, and she doubted she'd ever get around to it. Jordan was a very self-conscious person, criticizing every inch of her body in some exotic way. Jordan was a thin 13 yr old, and was a total tomboy. She usually wore tight muscle shirts, with baggy jeans. Her friends always teased her, and they had promised to take her shopping, and get her into the 21st century. But of course, they never did.
Jordan raced downstairs in her old, torn muscle shirt and hand-me down pajama bottoms from her older sister May. Jordan never looked up to her older sister, she was too preppy and into boys. May was 18, and was hooked on drugs. She was a bad girl, mellow, but still clingy and obsessive. She had dyed dark brown hair with bright blue highlights, and brown eyes that she hid with soft blue contacts. Her boobs were set too high with her new push up bra. Jordan rolled her eyes at her sister, which was feeling the wall as if she had never touched it before. She knew that she was ecstasy, her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils dilated. Jordan handed her a glass of water, and felt her sister's forehead. She was burning up. She guided her odd sisters into the bathroom, which she then shoved her into the shower, and set the water to a cool, refreshing temperature. She knew she had to keep her cool- she had always known this, because her sister would usually come home from raves and be totally stoned. After her sister was looking a little better, Jordan got herself an apple, and some orange juice from the fridge. Jordan's mother was widowed. Jordan had never even met their father. She was only just born when he had a heart attack in the maternity ward.
"Morning," Jordan's mom Lisa moaned as she walked through the kitchen door and sat down at the table. Her blond hair tousled from sleep, and her sharp green eyes drooped from old age.
"Morning," Jordan replied. The sound of May vomiting in the bathroom made Jordan set her apple on the counter. She glanced at her mom, to see her roll her eyes and get up to see if May was ok. Jordan shook her head, and set the untouched apple back into the fruit bowl. She then gathered her thankfully finished homework in her arms, and shoved them into her backpack. The morning air looked cold, and Jordan grabbed her robe off of the floor of the laundry room, and hopped into the shower. She shut the curtain just in time to see her sister dash in and vomit again into the toilet. Jordan gagged, and tried hard not to vomit in the shower. Once she was finished, she reached for her robe, and put it on in the shower, and stepped out of the tub. May stay crouched by the toilet, her face pale, and her head even looked as if she were feeling dizzy. Her contacts weren't even on straight, and Jordan reluctantly went over and took them out for her. She smiled weekly, than whirled around to face the toilet again. Jordan raced out of the room. The smell was horrific, and she couldn't stand it any longer.
She threw a comb through her hair, and stared at the image in her mirror. She ran her hand through her wet brown hair, and stared at her sea green eyes, her freshly plucked eyebrows, and her small, determined mouth. She had large tempting lips, which every guy in her seventh grade class would do anything to get a kiss by Jordan Havany. She decided to rummage through her sisters make-up bag and put some eyeliner on her eyes, to make them more noticeable – not like she'd care who noticed her. Jordan ran a thin line of black eyeliner on the bottom rim of her eyelid. She looked at how much older, and prettier she looked, than decided to put more on. By the time she was finished grooming herself that Monday morning, she raced downstairs, grappled with her school bag, and ran out to the bus stop, just in time to step onto the bus. She sat down close to the back with all of her friends, which absolutely adored her.
Jordan was very likeable, and what you call 'popular'. The entire back was filled with all of her eager friends.
"So, how was your weekend?" Claire Summit questioned as soon as Jordan sat down in her seat that her friends had been saving.
"Fine. May came home from a rave, she's throwing up in the bathroom constantly," she replied, making a face.
"Whoa!" A boyish voice came from the seat in front of them. It was Dan Kirkman, a very cute boy that every girl in seventh grade wanted to date. "Jordan, you look amazing today!"
"Thanks," Jordan replied casually, as if he was just another guy.
Jordan's friends stared at her in disbelief. There looks obviously said that she was nuts if she wasn't blushing or shying away from Dan. She shrugged it off, and began babbling on about everyone's weekends.
"You know Jordan, It would be easier just to get together over the weekends instead of waiting until Monday's to talk about it," Brooke commented, hinting that she wanted to get together sometime.
"Yeah, how about we all go shopping this Friday?" Mimi suggested.
Jordan knew this was all planned. Her friends never came over on the weekends, Jordan liked to do homework, and study, maybe watch TV. Hanging out with friends, and going to weekly dances just wasn't her thing.
"I say we go shopping after school, go to my place, and then go to the dance," Hilary stated.
Everyone looked at Jordan expectantly. It was because Jordan never wanted to hang out, that made her friends more eager to be with her.
Jordan shrugged, and nodded, "sure, sounds fun."
Everyone's faces exploded with grins. Jordan never wanted to be popular, but somehow, she was, and that's why she never wanted to hang out with friends.
Everyone let Jordan off the bus first, than everyone piled out behind her, and began walking alongside Jordan. She shrugged the clostafobic feeling that washed over her. She raced to her classroom, and sat down in her seat, finally losing her clingy friends. Her first subject that morning was math, everyone's least favorite subject, but Jordan was a pro in mathematics. And for that morning, there was a huge test worth almost a quarter of there mark. Luckily, instead of hangout with friends, and getting high, she knew everything that was on the test. She raced through it, and handed it in. Everyone else was slowly making out the questions. Jordan pulled out a book from her desk, and began reading. After another fifteen long minutes, the teacher told the class to put their pencils down. Most of Jordan's classmates had skeptical looks on their faces; others were tense and clouded over from the parties on the weekend. Jordan rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. I will never understand some of these people. Putting fun before school. Jordan thought, shaking her head.
Jordan raced up the drive, and into the warm, comforting house. May was sitting at the kitchen table, still in her bathrobe. She looked less stoned, and smiled as she came in.
"Hi," May said as she kicked her sneakers off in the closet, and hung up her coat.
"Did you stop throwing up?" Jordan teased as she sat down at the table.
"Yes," she replied, giving her a warning look.
"Is mom home from work yet?" Jordan questioned, hoping her sister would even know, who their mom was.
"No not yet."
Jordan nodded, and went to find that apple she had attempted to eat that morning from the fruit bowl. Just then, the door shot open, and their mom burst through breathlessly. The girls whirled around in there seats, and stared at her excited face.
"What's up mom?" Jordan asked, as her mom staggered to the third chair at the table.
"I have great news!" She announced. "I got three first class tickets to Margarita Island, all inclusive, at this hotel called The Laguna mar."
"Seriously?" May exclaimed jumping from her seat, but quickly sat down as the room began to spin.
"Yes," Lisa replied, smiling broadly.
"How'd you get the tickets? Is it warm up there?" Jordan asked, questions racing through her mind, but only a few fled through her mouth.
"Well, I got them as last minutes, I won them at work. And yes, it's very warm up there!" She answered.
"Great, when do we leave?" May said efficiently.
"Next week."
"Next week!" Both girls echoed.
"Yes, next week."
"Sweet!" Jordan said, standing up and dashing out of the room to dig through her messy closet to find her suitcase. She eventually found it, and set it heavily onto her single bed. It sank down, and she unzipped the top of it off, and dust particles flew through the air, noticeable where the light shawn through the window. She walked back into the kitchen, and grabbed a rag in the sink. She ran it under some warm water, and squeezed out most of it. She jogged back upstairs to her room, to clean out her old suitcase. I'll be somewhere warm – away from my stupid friends, I could get used to that. Jordan thought with a smile, fantasizing about what Margarita Island was going to be like.
Jordan woke at 6:45am sharp, her buzzer echoing through her eardrums as she sat upright in bed. She flew the covers off and raced towards the window. She opened her curtains, eager to see what the days' weather would bring.
The heavy gray clouds overhead suggested that there would be either rain or snow. She glanced at her thermometer- yep, snow. It was only a few degrees above zero, but it still felt like minus twenty. She glanced at the trees off in the distance, they swayed dangerously. It would be very windy, and very cold. Jordan shivered at the thought of cold. She hated it. But then the news of the day before fled into her mind, still heavy from sleep, but her thoughts were clear, and exhilarating. She ran past her mirror, then stopped dead in her tracks and peered sideways into it once more. She looked horrible. Her eyeliner smudged from her eyes almost all the way down to her nose, and her hair was knotted and tangled. She sighed and reached for a brush. After her hair was smooth and shiny, and rubbed the eyeliner off, and applied a fresh layer. She looked much better. Maybe I've misjudged May- or the make-up side of things. She pondered. Then shrugging the thought off she headed downstairs and into the kitchen. May was sitting, in a blue blouse, with a low neck, and tight hip-huggers. Her hair still looked like a wig, but her contacts matched her highlights. Her eyeliner was heavy, and she wore white eye shadow. She looked misinterpreting look. Her clothes suggested a cool teen, but her hair and facial make-up gave a totally different idea. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to let her know how bad she looked, I mean, even though she hated May, they were still sisters.
"Uh, May," Jordan began. Her sister looked up at her, than smiled.
"I gotta show you something!" She said excitedly. She looked around, and lifted up her shirt. Jordan shielded her eyes, thinking she was flashing her, but she wasn't. She was showing her, her new navel piercing she must have gotten done at that rave she went to. "Cool huh?"
"That's gross. And where did you get it done?" Jordan asked skeptically.
"I dunno. Someone must have done it when I was past out, found it this morning, isn't it the bomb though?" She exclaimed, overjoyed.
"Mom will have a fit, and you won't be able to come on the trip you know," Jordan pointed out, walking over to the fridge for some milk to pour onto her cereal.
"No she won't," May replied simply, forgetting the fact that her sister was probably right. "Mom, guess what happened!" May said, spotting her walking past the kitchen door.
When Jordan was setting her bowl by the sink, May came in, her shoulder sagged, and her face tear strained.
"Aw... May, it wasn't your fault," Jordan said, feeling terribly sorry for her sister. She walked over briskly and put an arm around her.
"She said that it was. If I stopped going to raves than these types of things would never have happened. So until I learn how to act, and make good decisions, I'm not allowed to come on this trip."
"But what if you change, and stop being so- so-"Jordan's voice trailed off, not daring to say the word that leapt to her mouth.
"Stupid," May muttered, putting her head in her hands.
"Listen, ok, right after school, me and you will go into town, and we'll fix you up, just so you look more – presentable." Jordan stated firmly.
"Ok," May said, feeling a little more assured.
After school that day, May sped into the school parking lot, with her subwoofer, and her music blaring.
"Is that your sister Jordan?" A guy asked.
"Yeah," Jordan muttered, "unfortunately."
She hopped in, and they sped away. Jordan turned down the volume.
"Lesson number one, never, pull into a public place, like a school or a church, have your music like that. OK?"
"Fine," May said, turning it back up.
They pulled into the hair salon minutes later. May smiled, "I love this place." Jordan gazed up at an old looking building. It looked like a tattoo parlor, but had "Blazen Blue Salon" printed in black. Jordan peered around the street. She spotted another salon across the road. It read " Classic Market Salon" in fancy letters. Jordan pointed towards it.
"That's where were going."
May sighed, but let her sister take her by the hand across the street. They opened the door to a fancy salon, where an army of hairdressers buzzed around many people in chairs that looked like they were just absolutely enjoying themselves. Jordan nodded. At least it was better than that other salon, she thought.
"Good evening ladies, what will we be doing today?" A lady greeted them.
May shook her head and began to back away, but Jordan grabbed her hand.
"We were thinking of changing this. Anything will do," Jordan said efficiently.
The lady nodded and escorted May to a chair.
An hour later, May tapped her shoulder, and she whirled around to see a totally different person. May had a lighter brown tone, and blonde highlights. She looked like a model, but her clothes spoke in a different voice. Jordan put thirty-dollars into May's transformation, and May paid the rest. "Where to?" May said cheerfully in the car moments later.
"The mall, we have some serious shopping to do," Jordan said.
They pulled into the local mall, and entered the large building. May had a different bounce to her step. Jordan could tell she was feeling better already. They passed a bunch of hooker-like girls, and May waved but after sizing her up, they turned back to their conversations. May looked torn. "Hey guys! It's me, May!" She insisted, walking up to the group of girls.
The one girl looked at her carefully, then realization dawned on her face. "May! How are you? We didn't recognize you with your – hair," She said almost disgusted as she looked at her non-wig looking hair.
"Yeah, I just got it done. Don't you just love it?" She said.
They looked at her, than looked at each other. May looked human, and professional, while they had blue, red, orange, and purple hair. They shook their heads slightly. May's face fell, then turned and waved good-bye.
"They hate my hair, this was a whole big mistake!" She exclaimed angrily.
"Actually May. You don't look like your wearing a wig, and were not done with this makeover. This- May, will change you life." Jordan said firmly, taking her by the arm and forcing her into 'The Garage' store. Jordan pulled a pair of beige hip-hugger jeans off the rack, and held them up. May shook her head in disgust, but Jordan shoved them into her sisters' hands. Jordan picked out a few more outfits, and asked May to model them.
May came out with them all, and looked stunning. This wasn't her sister. Jordan began to re-think this whole makeover idea. Was she doing the right thing? She couldn't just buy her sister some clothes, and get her hair done. That's not going to change her whole personality. And besides, she can't change anyone to her liking. Once May had tried on more clothes, she began to get the feeling that she was trying to go for. Liking some nice clothes, and not liking the boring, and mostly expensive clothes. Jordan was so proud when they walked out of the last store that day, carrying as many bags that they could carry. May was wearing a designer beige hat, with a white blouse, and a pink tank top underneath. She also wore black dress pants. She looked like a model, Jordan was sure of it.
They burst through the door, and Jordan raced through the house to find their mother. Once she found her, she led her to the kitchen doorway. May walked through the front door once again, and Lisa almost screamed. She leaned over to Jordan, and whispered, "Who's she?" Jordan has whispered back, "Its your daughter mom." May stay standing in the doorway, waiting expectantly for her mom's reaction.
"May?" Lisa asked, cautiously stepping forward. "What's going on here you two?" "Mom, It's me, May," she replied, searching her mothers face.
"What's happened to you?" Lisa questioned. Giving May a brief hug.
"What do you mean mom? Look at me! Don't I look great?" May said, feeling hurt.
"You look so beautiful May, I can't believe my eyes! What's happened here Jordan? Was May taken over by aliens?" She said in genuine astonishment.
"You might say that," Jordan said mysteriously.
Lisa hugged May for a long while. Jordan left them to talk with each other. Meanwhile Jordan phoned her closest friend, Liz. She hadn't been at school the day before, and she had lots to talk to her about.
"Hello?" Jordan asked as the other line picked up.
"Hi," Liz's voice crackled into the speaker.
"You not feeling ok?" Jordan asked sympathetically.
"No. How are you?" Liz said.
"Good, great actually. I gave May a total makeover, you wouldn't recognize her now. And were going on a trip, for a week, next week." Jordan smiled, even though her friend couldn't see.
"Awesome, you must be so totally excited!" Liz's voice shook and broke.
"You don't sound like talking is the best thing for you right now, I'd better let you go. Get better soon!" Jordan stated.
"See you," Liz replied, and the line went dead.
Jordan sighed, and lay down on her bed. Shopping had really taken a lot out of her. She closed her eyes, and was soon awaken to a horrid scream, that rang down through the hallway, and in Jordan's ears. She knew it was May. She bolted out of bed, and into her sister's room.
"What's wrong?" She asked exasperated.
"My hair! What happened to my beautiful hair?" She shrieked.
"We went into town yesterday, remember?" Jordan said, thankful it wasn't anything serious.
"Oh, right." She said, remembering the day before. She opened her closet and found nothing but normal clothes- that we wear of course ;)
"Ahh! Who took my clothes and replaced them with these?" She screamed.
"We bought those yesterday, you tried them all on, and you bought them," Jordan replied, suppressing the frustration that rose inside her. May had suffered some short-term memory loss, from all of the drugs she's usually on. Jordan sighed and walked down to the kitchen. Tomorrow was Valentines Day. After she had gotten all ready for school, she found some paper, scissors, and markers. She then set to work creating Valentines exclusively to her friends. Which would be everyone in seventh and eighth grade – but she minimized her amount to a much smaller number. After she had made about ten cards, she glanced at her watch then dashed out of the kitchen and raced down the drive to the bus stop, with only seconds to spare. She grappled with kids until she finally reached her friends at the back.
"Guess what guys?" Jordan exploded eagerly.
"What?" Claire asked.
"I'm leaving next week! I'm going on a trip to Margarita Island!" She exclaimed.
"Cool," Brooke replied shortly.
" What's up with her?" She whispered into Claire's ear.
"How should I know?" She hissed back.
"Fine," Jordan said curtly, and sat a few seats up, away from her moody friends.
They finally reached school, and the stops in between were the only thing that broke the heavy silence that fell on the bus, like a huge wet blanket. The bus driver gave a few curious looks in the mirror, but Jordan only shrugged, as oblivious to the situation as she was.
Jordan stood motionless, waiting for her sister to pick her up. But she never came. Jordan watched all of her friends pile onto the bus, and wondered if she should too. But something stopped her – something wasn't right with May. Jordan had a strong feeling about this, and decided to start walking home. She quickly came across May's Jetta parked on the side of the road. She began to jog towards it, not having a good feeling about what she might find. She opened the door to where her sister sat sobbing, with her head buried far into her hands. Jordan put a light hand on her sagging shoulder.
"Aw, May what's wrong?" Jordan said, kneeling down on the road.
"Everything ignored me today, it was horrible! They all thought I was a geek, and told me to get a life, and not to hang out with them anymore," She said through her tears.
"Some friends eh?" Jordan tried to make light of the situation.
"Yeah," May said, sitting up, and giving her a smirk.
"Look, find new friends, and this time, you won't have to be someone your not just to hang out with them," Jordan said, but as soon as the words left her lips, her mind clicked and she looked away.
"But Jordan, this isn't me," May pointed out gently.
"Yes, it is. Because you're a good smart person. You just fell into the wrong crowd," Jordan said, trying to reassure the both of them.
"I guess so," she said eventually. Jordan nodded, and hopped heavily into the passenger seat, and May took off. "Sorry I never made it to your school, I just kind of – broke down," she continued, breaking the silence.
"It's fine," she said with a smile.
They pulled into the driveway moments later, and walked through the front door. Where Lisa stood over the stove, cooking pasta.
"Hi mom," the girls greeted at the same time.
"Hi, supper will be ready in five minutes."
The girls nodded briefly, and headed in opposite directions at the top of the stairs to there rooms.
Jordan remembered that Hilary wanted to know if she'd still be coming shopping after school in two days, and then head over to her house, and then the dance. Everyone else was able to come, but they were all waiting for Jordan to call and confirm. Jordan punched in Hilary's number mechanically, and put the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Hilary's voice answered.
"Hi, It's Jordan."
"Jordan! Hi, can you come?" Hilary asked eagerly.
"Yeah, sure," Jordan replied unenthusiastically.
"Great! Everyone else can come too, see you tomorrow, and remember that it's Valentines Day," Hilary taunted teasingly.
"Yeah, I'll remember," said Jordan politely.
"'Bye," Hilary said reluctantly.
"Yeah, 'bye."
Jordan hung up quickly, and peered around at her messy bedroom. She felt like cleaning, since there was nothing else to do. She began by picking up all of the dirty clothes that lay sprawled out over her bedroom floor. Next she organized all of her books on their shelves. She made her bed, and began to vacuum, then dust. She felt better knowing that she had accomplished something, and decided to take a break and go onto the computer for a while when Lisa called them down for supper.
"Sorry it took longer, I got an important call and put the sauce on hold for a while," Lisa said immediately as they entered the room.
The table was already set, and Jordan felt guilty because that was her job, and her mother looked worn out. "You should have asked me to set the table mom, I wasn't doing anything," Jordan lied.
"No, it's ok, it wasn't a conscious decision," she assured her daughter with a smirk. "Sit."
They began chatting away about what Margarita Island would be like, and Jordan brought up that she would be away all Friday night, and her mother didn't object. She couldn't remember the last time she went over to a friends' house, or even a dance. She was never like the other girls in her class. But she still fitted in pretty well. Jordan couldn't wait to go to high school, the thought of ditching all of her loser friends, and finding more people like herself. Just someone who you walk to classes together, and talk, but other than that, Jordan felt to obsessive and clingy, and she hated how her friends acted, and she'd hate to be like them.
May's personality was totally different. Now her name really suited her, instead of being all droopy, stoned and depressed, she was cheerful happy and her brown eyes shone like wildfires. Jordan was happy that she could change her sister's life around with only a few hundred dollars.
After supper, Jordan went to the computer and logged onto her name. She connected to the internet and signed into msn. Liz was online and so was Claire. She opened an individual conversation with both of them:
Liz and Jordan's convo: Liz: Claire is such a guy stealer! Jordan: How? And why don't I know who you like in da first place?? Liz: Ok, ok, fine. I like Adam Jaffer. Happy? And she just went and like took him over just when he was starting to like me. Now, I'm a nobody and he's madly in love with Claire! Jordan: you can't really control who Adam likes. And does Claire even know you like him??
Claire and Jordan's convo: Claire: you would not believe Liz! She blames me for a guy liking me better than her! She's so overdramatic!! Jordan: ic. Well maybe she liked him too, and then u swept him away. Claire: but he likes me! And she blames me! I hate her! Jordan: Maybe she thinks you took him away from her just to be mean Claire: your talking to her aren't you? What's she saying?? Tell me! I wanna know! Jordan: DON'T DO THIS TO ME! Your both my friends, and I can't hurt both of you, I'm leaving, just talk to her and listen to what she has to say. And don't get too angry ok? Bye!
Liz and Jordan's convo: Jordan: I gotta go. Just listen to what Claire has to say, and don't get too upset, ok? Bye! Liz: If you say so... bye Jordan: I know so! :D bye!
Jordan sat back in the computer chair, and sighed. I hope I did the right thing, she thought uncertainly. She stood up after logging off and went into her clean bedroom and started to finish off her Valentines cards. She finished hours later, and she gasped as she saw the time. It was almost eleven o'clock. She leapt into bed and tried to fall asleep.
She awoke with a start from her alarm clock, and threw the covers back furiously. Why did today have to come so fast? She thought heavily. She trudged into the bathroom and cleansed her face with a cleanser, hoping to wake herself up.
The rattling and constant pounding of the merciless rain and sleet against the window made Jordan stir in her bed, waiting for sleep to come. The long winter was driving her mad, because she hated the cold. When it was warm, Jordan loved to do everything, her whole entire personality changed. Her closest friends agreed, that Jordan loved the warm weather. They had even suggested for her to move somewhere where it's consistently above thirty-degrees year round. But they only muttered this amongst themselves, not wanting Jordan to get any ideas about moving somewhere without them. Jordan was very independent, and never spent all of her time gushing over the cutest guys, or clinging onto her friends for support for any matter. She loved to be alone.
Jordan awoke the morning of January 12th 2004. Two days before Valentines Day. She always dreaded this so called "holiday". If they didn't get the day off school then what was the point of a holiday? She didn't have long to make Valentines up, and she doubted she'd ever get around to it. Jordan was a very self-conscious person, criticizing every inch of her body in some exotic way. Jordan was a thin 13 yr old, and was a total tomboy. She usually wore tight muscle shirts, with baggy jeans. Her friends always teased her, and they had promised to take her shopping, and get her into the 21st century. But of course, they never did.
Jordan raced downstairs in her old, torn muscle shirt and hand-me down pajama bottoms from her older sister May. Jordan never looked up to her older sister, she was too preppy and into boys. May was 18, and was hooked on drugs. She was a bad girl, mellow, but still clingy and obsessive. She had dyed dark brown hair with bright blue highlights, and brown eyes that she hid with soft blue contacts. Her boobs were set too high with her new push up bra. Jordan rolled her eyes at her sister, which was feeling the wall as if she had never touched it before. She knew that she was ecstasy, her eyes were bloodshot, her pupils dilated. Jordan handed her a glass of water, and felt her sister's forehead. She was burning up. She guided her odd sisters into the bathroom, which she then shoved her into the shower, and set the water to a cool, refreshing temperature. She knew she had to keep her cool- she had always known this, because her sister would usually come home from raves and be totally stoned. After her sister was looking a little better, Jordan got herself an apple, and some orange juice from the fridge. Jordan's mother was widowed. Jordan had never even met their father. She was only just born when he had a heart attack in the maternity ward.
"Morning," Jordan's mom Lisa moaned as she walked through the kitchen door and sat down at the table. Her blond hair tousled from sleep, and her sharp green eyes drooped from old age.
"Morning," Jordan replied. The sound of May vomiting in the bathroom made Jordan set her apple on the counter. She glanced at her mom, to see her roll her eyes and get up to see if May was ok. Jordan shook her head, and set the untouched apple back into the fruit bowl. She then gathered her thankfully finished homework in her arms, and shoved them into her backpack. The morning air looked cold, and Jordan grabbed her robe off of the floor of the laundry room, and hopped into the shower. She shut the curtain just in time to see her sister dash in and vomit again into the toilet. Jordan gagged, and tried hard not to vomit in the shower. Once she was finished, she reached for her robe, and put it on in the shower, and stepped out of the tub. May stay crouched by the toilet, her face pale, and her head even looked as if she were feeling dizzy. Her contacts weren't even on straight, and Jordan reluctantly went over and took them out for her. She smiled weekly, than whirled around to face the toilet again. Jordan raced out of the room. The smell was horrific, and she couldn't stand it any longer.
She threw a comb through her hair, and stared at the image in her mirror. She ran her hand through her wet brown hair, and stared at her sea green eyes, her freshly plucked eyebrows, and her small, determined mouth. She had large tempting lips, which every guy in her seventh grade class would do anything to get a kiss by Jordan Havany. She decided to rummage through her sisters make-up bag and put some eyeliner on her eyes, to make them more noticeable – not like she'd care who noticed her. Jordan ran a thin line of black eyeliner on the bottom rim of her eyelid. She looked at how much older, and prettier she looked, than decided to put more on. By the time she was finished grooming herself that Monday morning, she raced downstairs, grappled with her school bag, and ran out to the bus stop, just in time to step onto the bus. She sat down close to the back with all of her friends, which absolutely adored her.
Jordan was very likeable, and what you call 'popular'. The entire back was filled with all of her eager friends.
"So, how was your weekend?" Claire Summit questioned as soon as Jordan sat down in her seat that her friends had been saving.
"Fine. May came home from a rave, she's throwing up in the bathroom constantly," she replied, making a face.
"Whoa!" A boyish voice came from the seat in front of them. It was Dan Kirkman, a very cute boy that every girl in seventh grade wanted to date. "Jordan, you look amazing today!"
"Thanks," Jordan replied casually, as if he was just another guy.
Jordan's friends stared at her in disbelief. There looks obviously said that she was nuts if she wasn't blushing or shying away from Dan. She shrugged it off, and began babbling on about everyone's weekends.
"You know Jordan, It would be easier just to get together over the weekends instead of waiting until Monday's to talk about it," Brooke commented, hinting that she wanted to get together sometime.
"Yeah, how about we all go shopping this Friday?" Mimi suggested.
Jordan knew this was all planned. Her friends never came over on the weekends, Jordan liked to do homework, and study, maybe watch TV. Hanging out with friends, and going to weekly dances just wasn't her thing.
"I say we go shopping after school, go to my place, and then go to the dance," Hilary stated.
Everyone looked at Jordan expectantly. It was because Jordan never wanted to hang out, that made her friends more eager to be with her.
Jordan shrugged, and nodded, "sure, sounds fun."
Everyone's faces exploded with grins. Jordan never wanted to be popular, but somehow, she was, and that's why she never wanted to hang out with friends.
Everyone let Jordan off the bus first, than everyone piled out behind her, and began walking alongside Jordan. She shrugged the clostafobic feeling that washed over her. She raced to her classroom, and sat down in her seat, finally losing her clingy friends. Her first subject that morning was math, everyone's least favorite subject, but Jordan was a pro in mathematics. And for that morning, there was a huge test worth almost a quarter of there mark. Luckily, instead of hangout with friends, and getting high, she knew everything that was on the test. She raced through it, and handed it in. Everyone else was slowly making out the questions. Jordan pulled out a book from her desk, and began reading. After another fifteen long minutes, the teacher told the class to put their pencils down. Most of Jordan's classmates had skeptical looks on their faces; others were tense and clouded over from the parties on the weekend. Jordan rolled her eyes, and sighed loudly. I will never understand some of these people. Putting fun before school. Jordan thought, shaking her head.
Jordan raced up the drive, and into the warm, comforting house. May was sitting at the kitchen table, still in her bathrobe. She looked less stoned, and smiled as she came in.
"Hi," May said as she kicked her sneakers off in the closet, and hung up her coat.
"Did you stop throwing up?" Jordan teased as she sat down at the table.
"Yes," she replied, giving her a warning look.
"Is mom home from work yet?" Jordan questioned, hoping her sister would even know, who their mom was.
"No not yet."
Jordan nodded, and went to find that apple she had attempted to eat that morning from the fruit bowl. Just then, the door shot open, and their mom burst through breathlessly. The girls whirled around in there seats, and stared at her excited face.
"What's up mom?" Jordan asked, as her mom staggered to the third chair at the table.
"I have great news!" She announced. "I got three first class tickets to Margarita Island, all inclusive, at this hotel called The Laguna mar."
"Seriously?" May exclaimed jumping from her seat, but quickly sat down as the room began to spin.
"Yes," Lisa replied, smiling broadly.
"How'd you get the tickets? Is it warm up there?" Jordan asked, questions racing through her mind, but only a few fled through her mouth.
"Well, I got them as last minutes, I won them at work. And yes, it's very warm up there!" She answered.
"Great, when do we leave?" May said efficiently.
"Next week."
"Next week!" Both girls echoed.
"Yes, next week."
"Sweet!" Jordan said, standing up and dashing out of the room to dig through her messy closet to find her suitcase. She eventually found it, and set it heavily onto her single bed. It sank down, and she unzipped the top of it off, and dust particles flew through the air, noticeable where the light shawn through the window. She walked back into the kitchen, and grabbed a rag in the sink. She ran it under some warm water, and squeezed out most of it. She jogged back upstairs to her room, to clean out her old suitcase. I'll be somewhere warm – away from my stupid friends, I could get used to that. Jordan thought with a smile, fantasizing about what Margarita Island was going to be like.
Jordan woke at 6:45am sharp, her buzzer echoing through her eardrums as she sat upright in bed. She flew the covers off and raced towards the window. She opened her curtains, eager to see what the days' weather would bring.
The heavy gray clouds overhead suggested that there would be either rain or snow. She glanced at her thermometer- yep, snow. It was only a few degrees above zero, but it still felt like minus twenty. She glanced at the trees off in the distance, they swayed dangerously. It would be very windy, and very cold. Jordan shivered at the thought of cold. She hated it. But then the news of the day before fled into her mind, still heavy from sleep, but her thoughts were clear, and exhilarating. She ran past her mirror, then stopped dead in her tracks and peered sideways into it once more. She looked horrible. Her eyeliner smudged from her eyes almost all the way down to her nose, and her hair was knotted and tangled. She sighed and reached for a brush. After her hair was smooth and shiny, and rubbed the eyeliner off, and applied a fresh layer. She looked much better. Maybe I've misjudged May- or the make-up side of things. She pondered. Then shrugging the thought off she headed downstairs and into the kitchen. May was sitting, in a blue blouse, with a low neck, and tight hip-huggers. Her hair still looked like a wig, but her contacts matched her highlights. Her eyeliner was heavy, and she wore white eye shadow. She looked misinterpreting look. Her clothes suggested a cool teen, but her hair and facial make-up gave a totally different idea. She hesitated for a moment, then decided to let her know how bad she looked, I mean, even though she hated May, they were still sisters.
"Uh, May," Jordan began. Her sister looked up at her, than smiled.
"I gotta show you something!" She said excitedly. She looked around, and lifted up her shirt. Jordan shielded her eyes, thinking she was flashing her, but she wasn't. She was showing her, her new navel piercing she must have gotten done at that rave she went to. "Cool huh?"
"That's gross. And where did you get it done?" Jordan asked skeptically.
"I dunno. Someone must have done it when I was past out, found it this morning, isn't it the bomb though?" She exclaimed, overjoyed.
"Mom will have a fit, and you won't be able to come on the trip you know," Jordan pointed out, walking over to the fridge for some milk to pour onto her cereal.
"No she won't," May replied simply, forgetting the fact that her sister was probably right. "Mom, guess what happened!" May said, spotting her walking past the kitchen door.
When Jordan was setting her bowl by the sink, May came in, her shoulder sagged, and her face tear strained.
"Aw... May, it wasn't your fault," Jordan said, feeling terribly sorry for her sister. She walked over briskly and put an arm around her.
"She said that it was. If I stopped going to raves than these types of things would never have happened. So until I learn how to act, and make good decisions, I'm not allowed to come on this trip."
"But what if you change, and stop being so- so-"Jordan's voice trailed off, not daring to say the word that leapt to her mouth.
"Stupid," May muttered, putting her head in her hands.
"Listen, ok, right after school, me and you will go into town, and we'll fix you up, just so you look more – presentable." Jordan stated firmly.
"Ok," May said, feeling a little more assured.
After school that day, May sped into the school parking lot, with her subwoofer, and her music blaring.
"Is that your sister Jordan?" A guy asked.
"Yeah," Jordan muttered, "unfortunately."
She hopped in, and they sped away. Jordan turned down the volume.
"Lesson number one, never, pull into a public place, like a school or a church, have your music like that. OK?"
"Fine," May said, turning it back up.
They pulled into the hair salon minutes later. May smiled, "I love this place." Jordan gazed up at an old looking building. It looked like a tattoo parlor, but had "Blazen Blue Salon" printed in black. Jordan peered around the street. She spotted another salon across the road. It read " Classic Market Salon" in fancy letters. Jordan pointed towards it.
"That's where were going."
May sighed, but let her sister take her by the hand across the street. They opened the door to a fancy salon, where an army of hairdressers buzzed around many people in chairs that looked like they were just absolutely enjoying themselves. Jordan nodded. At least it was better than that other salon, she thought.
"Good evening ladies, what will we be doing today?" A lady greeted them.
May shook her head and began to back away, but Jordan grabbed her hand.
"We were thinking of changing this. Anything will do," Jordan said efficiently.
The lady nodded and escorted May to a chair.
An hour later, May tapped her shoulder, and she whirled around to see a totally different person. May had a lighter brown tone, and blonde highlights. She looked like a model, but her clothes spoke in a different voice. Jordan put thirty-dollars into May's transformation, and May paid the rest. "Where to?" May said cheerfully in the car moments later.
"The mall, we have some serious shopping to do," Jordan said.
They pulled into the local mall, and entered the large building. May had a different bounce to her step. Jordan could tell she was feeling better already. They passed a bunch of hooker-like girls, and May waved but after sizing her up, they turned back to their conversations. May looked torn. "Hey guys! It's me, May!" She insisted, walking up to the group of girls.
The one girl looked at her carefully, then realization dawned on her face. "May! How are you? We didn't recognize you with your – hair," She said almost disgusted as she looked at her non-wig looking hair.
"Yeah, I just got it done. Don't you just love it?" She said.
They looked at her, than looked at each other. May looked human, and professional, while they had blue, red, orange, and purple hair. They shook their heads slightly. May's face fell, then turned and waved good-bye.
"They hate my hair, this was a whole big mistake!" She exclaimed angrily.
"Actually May. You don't look like your wearing a wig, and were not done with this makeover. This- May, will change you life." Jordan said firmly, taking her by the arm and forcing her into 'The Garage' store. Jordan pulled a pair of beige hip-hugger jeans off the rack, and held them up. May shook her head in disgust, but Jordan shoved them into her sisters' hands. Jordan picked out a few more outfits, and asked May to model them.
May came out with them all, and looked stunning. This wasn't her sister. Jordan began to re-think this whole makeover idea. Was she doing the right thing? She couldn't just buy her sister some clothes, and get her hair done. That's not going to change her whole personality. And besides, she can't change anyone to her liking. Once May had tried on more clothes, she began to get the feeling that she was trying to go for. Liking some nice clothes, and not liking the boring, and mostly expensive clothes. Jordan was so proud when they walked out of the last store that day, carrying as many bags that they could carry. May was wearing a designer beige hat, with a white blouse, and a pink tank top underneath. She also wore black dress pants. She looked like a model, Jordan was sure of it.
They burst through the door, and Jordan raced through the house to find their mother. Once she found her, she led her to the kitchen doorway. May walked through the front door once again, and Lisa almost screamed. She leaned over to Jordan, and whispered, "Who's she?" Jordan has whispered back, "Its your daughter mom." May stay standing in the doorway, waiting expectantly for her mom's reaction.
"May?" Lisa asked, cautiously stepping forward. "What's going on here you two?" "Mom, It's me, May," she replied, searching her mothers face.
"What's happened to you?" Lisa questioned. Giving May a brief hug.
"What do you mean mom? Look at me! Don't I look great?" May said, feeling hurt.
"You look so beautiful May, I can't believe my eyes! What's happened here Jordan? Was May taken over by aliens?" She said in genuine astonishment.
"You might say that," Jordan said mysteriously.
Lisa hugged May for a long while. Jordan left them to talk with each other. Meanwhile Jordan phoned her closest friend, Liz. She hadn't been at school the day before, and she had lots to talk to her about.
"Hello?" Jordan asked as the other line picked up.
"Hi," Liz's voice crackled into the speaker.
"You not feeling ok?" Jordan asked sympathetically.
"No. How are you?" Liz said.
"Good, great actually. I gave May a total makeover, you wouldn't recognize her now. And were going on a trip, for a week, next week." Jordan smiled, even though her friend couldn't see.
"Awesome, you must be so totally excited!" Liz's voice shook and broke.
"You don't sound like talking is the best thing for you right now, I'd better let you go. Get better soon!" Jordan stated.
"See you," Liz replied, and the line went dead.
Jordan sighed, and lay down on her bed. Shopping had really taken a lot out of her. She closed her eyes, and was soon awaken to a horrid scream, that rang down through the hallway, and in Jordan's ears. She knew it was May. She bolted out of bed, and into her sister's room.
"What's wrong?" She asked exasperated.
"My hair! What happened to my beautiful hair?" She shrieked.
"We went into town yesterday, remember?" Jordan said, thankful it wasn't anything serious.
"Oh, right." She said, remembering the day before. She opened her closet and found nothing but normal clothes- that we wear of course ;)
"Ahh! Who took my clothes and replaced them with these?" She screamed.
"We bought those yesterday, you tried them all on, and you bought them," Jordan replied, suppressing the frustration that rose inside her. May had suffered some short-term memory loss, from all of the drugs she's usually on. Jordan sighed and walked down to the kitchen. Tomorrow was Valentines Day. After she had gotten all ready for school, she found some paper, scissors, and markers. She then set to work creating Valentines exclusively to her friends. Which would be everyone in seventh and eighth grade – but she minimized her amount to a much smaller number. After she had made about ten cards, she glanced at her watch then dashed out of the kitchen and raced down the drive to the bus stop, with only seconds to spare. She grappled with kids until she finally reached her friends at the back.
"Guess what guys?" Jordan exploded eagerly.
"What?" Claire asked.
"I'm leaving next week! I'm going on a trip to Margarita Island!" She exclaimed.
"Cool," Brooke replied shortly.
" What's up with her?" She whispered into Claire's ear.
"How should I know?" She hissed back.
"Fine," Jordan said curtly, and sat a few seats up, away from her moody friends.
They finally reached school, and the stops in between were the only thing that broke the heavy silence that fell on the bus, like a huge wet blanket. The bus driver gave a few curious looks in the mirror, but Jordan only shrugged, as oblivious to the situation as she was.
Jordan stood motionless, waiting for her sister to pick her up. But she never came. Jordan watched all of her friends pile onto the bus, and wondered if she should too. But something stopped her – something wasn't right with May. Jordan had a strong feeling about this, and decided to start walking home. She quickly came across May's Jetta parked on the side of the road. She began to jog towards it, not having a good feeling about what she might find. She opened the door to where her sister sat sobbing, with her head buried far into her hands. Jordan put a light hand on her sagging shoulder.
"Aw, May what's wrong?" Jordan said, kneeling down on the road.
"Everything ignored me today, it was horrible! They all thought I was a geek, and told me to get a life, and not to hang out with them anymore," She said through her tears.
"Some friends eh?" Jordan tried to make light of the situation.
"Yeah," May said, sitting up, and giving her a smirk.
"Look, find new friends, and this time, you won't have to be someone your not just to hang out with them," Jordan said, but as soon as the words left her lips, her mind clicked and she looked away.
"But Jordan, this isn't me," May pointed out gently.
"Yes, it is. Because you're a good smart person. You just fell into the wrong crowd," Jordan said, trying to reassure the both of them.
"I guess so," she said eventually. Jordan nodded, and hopped heavily into the passenger seat, and May took off. "Sorry I never made it to your school, I just kind of – broke down," she continued, breaking the silence.
"It's fine," she said with a smile.
They pulled into the driveway moments later, and walked through the front door. Where Lisa stood over the stove, cooking pasta.
"Hi mom," the girls greeted at the same time.
"Hi, supper will be ready in five minutes."
The girls nodded briefly, and headed in opposite directions at the top of the stairs to there rooms.
Jordan remembered that Hilary wanted to know if she'd still be coming shopping after school in two days, and then head over to her house, and then the dance. Everyone else was able to come, but they were all waiting for Jordan to call and confirm. Jordan punched in Hilary's number mechanically, and put the phone to her ear.
"Hello?" Hilary's voice answered.
"Hi, It's Jordan."
"Jordan! Hi, can you come?" Hilary asked eagerly.
"Yeah, sure," Jordan replied unenthusiastically.
"Great! Everyone else can come too, see you tomorrow, and remember that it's Valentines Day," Hilary taunted teasingly.
"Yeah, I'll remember," said Jordan politely.
"'Bye," Hilary said reluctantly.
"Yeah, 'bye."
Jordan hung up quickly, and peered around at her messy bedroom. She felt like cleaning, since there was nothing else to do. She began by picking up all of the dirty clothes that lay sprawled out over her bedroom floor. Next she organized all of her books on their shelves. She made her bed, and began to vacuum, then dust. She felt better knowing that she had accomplished something, and decided to take a break and go onto the computer for a while when Lisa called them down for supper.
"Sorry it took longer, I got an important call and put the sauce on hold for a while," Lisa said immediately as they entered the room.
The table was already set, and Jordan felt guilty because that was her job, and her mother looked worn out. "You should have asked me to set the table mom, I wasn't doing anything," Jordan lied.
"No, it's ok, it wasn't a conscious decision," she assured her daughter with a smirk. "Sit."
They began chatting away about what Margarita Island would be like, and Jordan brought up that she would be away all Friday night, and her mother didn't object. She couldn't remember the last time she went over to a friends' house, or even a dance. She was never like the other girls in her class. But she still fitted in pretty well. Jordan couldn't wait to go to high school, the thought of ditching all of her loser friends, and finding more people like herself. Just someone who you walk to classes together, and talk, but other than that, Jordan felt to obsessive and clingy, and she hated how her friends acted, and she'd hate to be like them.
May's personality was totally different. Now her name really suited her, instead of being all droopy, stoned and depressed, she was cheerful happy and her brown eyes shone like wildfires. Jordan was happy that she could change her sister's life around with only a few hundred dollars.
After supper, Jordan went to the computer and logged onto her name. She connected to the internet and signed into msn. Liz was online and so was Claire. She opened an individual conversation with both of them:
Liz and Jordan's convo: Liz: Claire is such a guy stealer! Jordan: How? And why don't I know who you like in da first place?? Liz: Ok, ok, fine. I like Adam Jaffer. Happy? And she just went and like took him over just when he was starting to like me. Now, I'm a nobody and he's madly in love with Claire! Jordan: you can't really control who Adam likes. And does Claire even know you like him??
Claire and Jordan's convo: Claire: you would not believe Liz! She blames me for a guy liking me better than her! She's so overdramatic!! Jordan: ic. Well maybe she liked him too, and then u swept him away. Claire: but he likes me! And she blames me! I hate her! Jordan: Maybe she thinks you took him away from her just to be mean Claire: your talking to her aren't you? What's she saying?? Tell me! I wanna know! Jordan: DON'T DO THIS TO ME! Your both my friends, and I can't hurt both of you, I'm leaving, just talk to her and listen to what she has to say. And don't get too angry ok? Bye!
Liz and Jordan's convo: Jordan: I gotta go. Just listen to what Claire has to say, and don't get too upset, ok? Bye! Liz: If you say so... bye Jordan: I know so! :D bye!
Jordan sat back in the computer chair, and sighed. I hope I did the right thing, she thought uncertainly. She stood up after logging off and went into her clean bedroom and started to finish off her Valentines cards. She finished hours later, and she gasped as she saw the time. It was almost eleven o'clock. She leapt into bed and tried to fall asleep.
She awoke with a start from her alarm clock, and threw the covers back furiously. Why did today have to come so fast? She thought heavily. She trudged into the bathroom and cleansed her face with a cleanser, hoping to wake herself up.