Note: I do not know for a fact if Hollister is a trend crazy town-I just picked a random town name that popped into my head. If you are from there or know otherwise, sorry!
Chapter 1: Plasticsville
You know that teen flick about the girl from Africa who has a run-in with the group called the Plastics? I'm pretty convinced they came in and installed the never ending cycle of 21st century trends that my town, Hollister (yeah, like the beach wear store) thrives on. (Speaking of which, the movie is still huge here. What's wrong with this picture? The movie debuted in 2004.)
Walking up the steps to my high school, I brush past a stream of cool chicks carrying their designer purses and gabbing away about the hottest gossip. "Oh my God!" bursts out one girl to her friends, "I can't believe that Bella would totally choose Edward over Jacob! I mean, c'mon! Edward ditched her and…" Her comment started a chain reaction and her friends picked sides. Out of sight, I rolled my eyes and pretended to shoot myself in the head. Dear God, why this town? Yet I wasn't free from the debating discussions of vampires and werewolves. The halls were crowded with the buzz about the newest book Breaking Dawn and the supposed film adaptation due.
I sucked my breath in and picked up the pace. Just 5 more steps to homeroom and salvation from this. Once I slid into my seat, I scanned the room and sighed unhappily. Okay, I wasn't safe. Nowhere in this town was I free from the gossip circulating around Twilight. Girls were wearing the ever popular t-shirts donning the phrases "Team Edward" and "Team Jacob" that Donny Mack was selling in his bookshop. Boys were grumbling about their girlfriends' obsessions over fictional boys instead of them. Others talked about the new movie and the possible actor list for each character. Oy vey.
"Okay guys and gals," the voice of my teacher Mr. Saw interrupted the class. He clapped his hands to get our attention. "Time to focus in here at the front! Now, today's assignment, you will be working toward an inspirational piece. It can be artwork, a video, a dance, rap, song, whatever you want to come up with. I need you to pick a topic to base your project on and it will be due in 2 weeks from today. Make it fun okay?" I perked up a little. Song? I could do that. In the comforts of my bedroom I wrote my own songs about life as I saw it and whatever else I felt like writing about. No one really knew that I was doing that, well except for my uncle and aunt who sensed I had a creative streak at age 7.
Lunch arrived and I picked a shady tree to sit under. "Lara!" a girl's voice called out. I looked up to see my best friend, Cassandra Ares running up to me. Cassandra and I met at the boardwalk in Santa Monica when we were 4 years old. When we found out that we both lived in Hollister, we became best buds ever since. My casual smile faded as soon as I saw her wearing the generic t-shirt with the Twilight logo on it. I quickly bit into my apple and chewed it as fast as I possibly could. I had a sneaky suspicion what today's lunch conversation was going to entail. Oh boy. Not.
"Lara," she breathed as she crossed her legs, "I was talking to Jenny Moore in Bio and we both agreed on one thing."
"Oh yeah?" I asked as I took another bite of my apple, "What did you agree on?"
Cassandra smiled lightly before she bubbled, "Jenny thinks you are like Bella Swan. And I totally agree with her!" At those words, I spit out my apple and tossed it into the trash bin. Now I felt ready to hurl.
"Yuck," I muttered as I sat back down, "There are no similarities between us Cass. I'm Asian, she's white and pale as a piece of paper."
"I didn't mean physically," she remarked laughing, "I know that! I meant personality and such." I made a face and shook my head no. I knew what she was like and I knew that I shared absolutely nothing in common with her. Period.
By now you are probably wondering how I even know about Bella Swan if I hate Twilight so much. Okay, well let's start from the beginning. When it made its big debut, I curiously checked out Twilight from the public library to see if it was any good. After completing the novel, I felt like my brain had turned to rot. Honestly, the plot was dry and weak. Bella was whiny and Edward was not what I'd call a Prince Charming any day. Ignoring a girl you like just because you couldn't put her life at risk? Pathetic. The novel failed to charm me like the rest of the town who immediately glommed onto it with gusto. Donny began carrying the books and merchandise in his shop and his wife made fan-made t-shirts, bags, and what-not for the store. Soon, the town was in love with vampires and werewolves. And how did I know that Jacob was a werewolf? After New Moon came out, a girl in my English class did her book report on it, spilling all the details.
"Cass," I told her firmly as I picked up my book bag, "Don't ever compare me again to her. I hate this stuff and you know it." Before she could say anything else, I turned and left to go to my last two classes. Two more classes until I'm safely in the doorway of my normal home.