Balcony (part one)
Summary:They have been next-door neighbors and friends all their lives. Now that college is looming, and their separation inevitable, is friendship all they're gonna be holding on to…
Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the idea…
"Alex, honey, it's time to wake up" Alex's mom said as she gently tapped her daughter's shoulder. Alex slowly opened her eyes and saw her mom's gleaming face. "Good Morning, mom" Alex softly said as she woke up. She pushed herself up and rubbed her eyes as she sat up. Her mom just smiled at her.
"I cannot believe how quickly you've grown…" Alex looked at her mom as she began her quick fix of the morning drama. "Mom…" Alex said as she looked at her mom. "It's not until a few more months…plus you and dad can always visit me in New York." Alex said as she comforted her mom. She didn't want to see her mom cry that early in the morning. "Plus, it's like being on tour…I go away a week…" Alex added. "But you'll be gone for months…" Alex held her mom's hand as she stopped her.
"I love you, mom…and being away for college won't change that…I'll always be your little girl…and I won't let you treat me otherwise." Alex said before she kissed her mom on the cheek. She smiled at her before she got up and went to her bathroom.
Alex stripped off her clothes and rolled it in a ball and threw it across the room to the pile of dirty clothes. She smiled as the clothes went in the basket. "Maybe I should change sport," Alex said as she walked through her walk-in closet and into her bathroom. She got in the shower and quickly cleaned herself. She's not like every other girl who takes a long while in the bathroom to do God-knows-what.
After ten minutes, she was back in her walk-in closet again with her hair in a quick bun and bathrobe on her. She had her underwear already when she went in the closet. She looked at her clothes and knew exactly was she was going to wear. She grabbed her plaid board shorts, a white spaghetti strapped shirt, a blue button down polo shirt and one of her sneakers that Adidas had given her. She took one of her sports sunglasses and a cap to complete the look.
Alex went back to her bedroom and opened the door to her balcony. She smiled as she saw Marissa, through her dimmer curtains, walking around her room and trying out what to wear. She watched and gave her 10 more minutes before she let Marissa know she was done already. "Just pick one!" Alex yelled from her side of the fence.
Marissa smiled at her reflection as she heard Alex tell her what to do. She turned around and saw Alex was already ready for school, as usual. She still couldn't decide on what to wear yet she was up 20 minutes before Alex did. Marissa walked to her balcony door as well and opened it after pushing the curtains to either side.
"No…stay inside…" Alex stopped her before Marissa could step out the balcony and let the whole world see her in her jeans and bra. Marissa halted and smiled even wider. "How come I woke up earlier than you and you finished earlier than me?" Marissa asked with a smile. "How do you know you woke up earlier than I did?" Alex tilted her head on the side and answered with a question.
Marissa narrowed her eyes and turned back around. She picked one of the Alex's favorite shirts. Marissa knew Alex would approve. "Does this shirt work?" Marissa said as she put it on and turned to face Alex. Alex smiled and remembered the shirt that Marissa 'borrowed' but never returned. "Hey I know that shirt…didn't it use to belong in my closet?" Alex joked and they both laughed. "You see, that's why your boyfriend is always mad at me…you borrowing my clothes and all…" Alex continued. "I don't think that's why he's always mad at you" Marissa fired back. "And what other reason would that be?" Alex asked. "Because he knows he'll always come second to you" Marissa answered back immediately.
Their laughter subsided and they just looked at each other for a while. Alex took a deep breath and broke the silence. "See that's why I don't have anybody with me…" "Why would that be?" Marissa was curious but deep down she wished she'd hear the reason again. "Because nobody can compare to you and what we have," Alex answered as honestly as she could.
Marissa felt her self blush but did a good job in hiding it. She had perfected it already after years of practice. Alex watched Marissa's reaction. They have been close friends and neighbor since childhood and have known each other better than anybody.
"So, you riding with me or Chris going to pick you up?" Alex said as she turned to the side of her balcony door and grabbed her bag that was near her. Marissa turned too and grabbed her bag for school. "I'm riding with him…you want to come with us?" Marissa said as she walked back near her balcony. "Do you want World War 3 to happen?" Alex answered back.
Alex never liked Chris even though her best friend was with him for almost a year and a half already. He was everything every parent would wish his or her daughters to be: handsome, smart and rich. But Alex knew Marissa deserved more than the life her parents want her to live. But she was going to let Marissa figure that one out for herself.
"I'll see you in school then." Alex said as she got back to the balcony after picking which car keys to get. She saw Marissa was disappointed that she didn't show much protest and/or jealousy that Marissa was not riding with her.
Alex and Marissa both closed their balcony doors and went their separate ways. Alex looked at the mirror one last time and went to the dining room to have breakfast. When she got downstairs, her mom had already fixed a plate of blueberry pancakes, eggs and freshly squeezed oranges.
"Good Morning Mom and Dad." Alex said as she got to one parent to the other and gave them both a kiss on the cheek. Alex sat in between her parents in the breakfast table. Her dad was reading the newspaper and her mom was still fixing her lunch. "I made your favorite Ham sandwich." Alex's mom said as she handed Alex her brown paper bag. "Thanks mom" Alex said as she got her lunch and placed it in her bag.
Alex's mom finally joined Alex and her dad for breakfast. After Alex's mom said grace, Alex's dad gave her mom a gentle squeeze on her hand. They smiled at each other and Alex just rolled her eyes. "I'm amazed how I'm an only kid" Alex said as she began eating her pancakes. "That's because when you were born, we had the best kid already…why would we try to top you?" Her dad answered. Alex smiled at her dad's response. She loved how her parents, after 22 years of being married, were still so in love.
"So about college…you've got accepted to all the schools you applied for?" Mr. Kelly asked his only daughter. "Yes dad, NYU, USC, Berkeley, Cornell, Columbia and Harvard" "Which one are you taking?" Her dad asked again. "Hmmm…I'm still thinking about it but I'm leaning most on the east coast…US OPEN is near there already so I could concentrate both in school and tennis" Alex answered as she quickly finished her breakfast.
As Alex excused her self and got up, Chris honked his car horn for Marissa. The three looked at the direction where the noise had came from and then looked at each other. "That kid is trouble to Marissa…why haven't you done anything to stop it?" Mr. Kelly questioned. "Because it's her decision to make whether she'd stay with him or not" "But honey, you know he's just going to break her heart. He broke lots of heart in your school already. Marissa's your best friend…are you not going to spare her?" Alex's mom said after Alex spoke.
Alex took a deep breath and considered her parents suggestions. Everybody knew Chris was a heartbreaker but during the times when she saw Marissa with him, she saw her best friend was happy. Maybe it was blind happiness but it was happiness still. She couldn't bear to live with herself if she knew she had just taken Marissa's happiness away.
"I'll see what I can do," Alex said as she put her bag on her shoulder and proceeded to the back door. "Wait! Do you still have allowance, honey?" Mr. Kelly asked before Alex left. "I earned 15 million last year, I think I still have some money in the bank…" Alex joked. Her parents smiled at her and wished her good luck in school.