Yay! My first reviews.. Always and exciting time for me. You guys make my day and yes, make me want to keep going. So here you are.
The Sinners are Much More Fun
Jimmy Lockwood's sister shows Scripps that a walk on the wild side isn't such a bad thing.
Charlotte took her sweet time trudging back to her family's apartment. Every few seconds she bobbed her head with the beat of her music. "'Cause I'm a live.. Live wireeee" she sang dramatically throwing her arms over a light pole and dancing around it. "Cause I'm alive!" It was one of her all time favorite songs.
She loved Motley Crue, Nikki Sixx was her God. If she had it her way, she'd be on tour with the group as a backup dancer and not wasting the best years of her life stuck in school and dreaming of how her life could be. She'd much rather go and take a bash at it.
I'll never make it through Oxbridge she thought walking up the steps. It's not me, it's not who I am. Nikki didn't need university and neither do I!
That was only the partial truth. She was scared. Scared of getting her hopes up, scared of being accepted, and scared of not doing as well as everyone, well at least Mrs. Simpkins apparently expected her to. No, it would just be easier to decline, to say thanks but no thanks.
"She's just worried about your future you know," a male voice said behind her. "And you know something, it's only going to get worse."
"Bite me Jimmy, not in the mood right now. How'd you find me anyway?" she asked, forgetting that only a nana second before, she was trying to give him the brush-off.
"Oh I heard your off-key singing a mile away. You should really get voice lessons if you want to be a musician."
If she had anything to throw at him, she would have. Normally they bounced pretty well off each other, but she didn't want to hear it now. These were unusual circumstances and she had other thoughts that occupied her mind.
"I can still play my music and not sing. People do it all the time."
He snorted, not agreeing with her.
"So I take it you know?"
Jimmy glanced sideways at his younger sister. "I know everything."
" Alright Yoda, who blabbed?"
He shrugged. "Simpkins called home and spoke to mum. She's been going over paychecks with dad for a half hour…"
This brought her right back to reason number one: Don't get your hopes up. She knew darn well her parents couldn't afford this. She was good at sport, but no where up to scholarship level. She wasn't even sure Oxbridge had any teams for girls. The dons were probably a million year old bats who thought girls belonged in the kitchen, not on the field.
"So what do I do, Jimmy?"
"Can't tell you. Do what feels right I guess."
"It's a no. That feels right."
"I meant think about it first, knob."
"I have been. This whole time."
"Well think harder. Listen kid, I'm on my way to meet the boys. Think about it, I mean really think about it. Your heart never lies, and all that."
"Wow Jimmy, you just out philosophy-ed yourself."
"Just trying to be a responsible brother," he smiled before walking off. "By the way.. If you're up for Oxbridge, you should know that "philosophy-ed" isn't a word. "
"It is, you're just not smart enough to see it" Charlotte called out after him. He turned around and shook his head at her and laughed. "Bye kiddo, see you at home. Be good."
"I'm always good," she mumbled before letting herself in the front door. "Mum? Dad? I'm home" she called throwing off her coat and placing her book bag on the floor. Silence. "Hello? Is anyone here?" she tried again. More silence.
That's odd she thought, usually one of her parents were home by now. It was almost 5. "Hmm, maybe they're shopping or something. That means, well I'm obviously alone for awhile."
After ten minutes of watching the television, another ten of trying to read a book, and a very exaggerated two minutes of trying to cook a microwave dinner, she was bored. Alone time was great if you had an agenda. Now she knew why Jimmy went out.
"Jimmy!" she said aloud, "I had almost forgot him. Meet the boys eh?" Charlotte was forming an idea. She got on relatively well with her older brother's friends. She thought Dakin was the coolest guy since Fonzie and Scripps, well his smile turned her knees to jelly and melted her heart. Of course, nobody had any idea. Only her journal which she hid in the deepest, darkest part under her mattress.
It made perfect sense; she was bored, her brother was out, she got on with his friends, it was obvious what she would do with herself.
"I'll go join them," she announced to no one, picking her coat back up off the floor and strolling into her room to throw on better clothes and put earrings on.
In the middle of rummaging through her jewelry box she caught herself humming. Nothing out of the ordinary. However, this time, she was humming a happy song.