DISCLAIMER: Guess what, guys? I SOMEHOW NOW OWN THE OFFICE! YAAAAAAY! Just kidding. I don't own The Office.
Pam wandered around the store, sorting through different coloured bikinis on a rack. Stacey Hill, Leslie Martins and Claudine Pather were shopping with Pam in search of new bathing suits for Terri McGill's pool party. Pam, of course, was going with Roy.
"Ooh, Claud, this would be fabulous on you!" said Leslie, holding up a bright blue, skimpy bikini.
"Blue?" Claudine said doubtfully, raising one carefully plucked, delicate eyebrow, rubbing the material between her fingers. "I don't know…hey, you know what? Pam, you would suit blue."
"You think so?" Pam asked, taking the blue bikini.
"Yeah, for sure!" Stacey joined them. Pam shrugged and laughed, casually tossing the bikini over her arm to join the pile of 'maybes' which was already a small mountain. She tried to hide her insecure feelings. Pam could barely remember the last time she wore a bathing suit, let alone a bikini! She was shy, self conscious. She didn't wear bikinis. But she was determined – these girls knew what they were doing and she was not going to lose her place on the top rungs on the social ladder. Not after years of being somewhere low on the ladder. Way, way low.
"Hey, Stace! Try this one! The red would look so, so hot with your blonde hair." Claudine gushed.
"Great! Red is so my colour, right?" Stacey bragged.
"Absolutely." Leslie said, tossing her slim braid over her shoulder.
"For sure!" Pam chimed in, hating herself for not suggesting the red one to Stacey before Claudine. She was shook out of her thoughts by Stacey tugging on her arm.
"Pam! Were going to try these on, come on. Or are you still looking?"
"No, I'm ready." Pam said quickly. She felt her heart start pounding hard and fast. Bikinis? In front of these popular, confident girls? NO her brain warned her. But she followed the girls dutifully sliding into one of the stalls.
Pam took the first bikini off it's hanger with shaking hands. Neon green? Yuck. Pam hated neon. But she slid into it quickly, praying the bottoms would slide over her thighs without snapping. They slid up easily and Pam made a mental note to write a thankyou letter to whoever invented elastic waistbands. She turned to face herself in the mirror – and yanked the bikini right off. Definitely not. She felt like a great, white whale. Pam felt tears stinging her eyes, what if none of these worked? How embarrassing!
"Calm down." Pam whispered to herself. "Try them all on – one of them has to be okay. You'll be in the water most of the time anyway – calm down. Calm down!" She ordered herself. She took 3 deep breaths and began to try on the other bathing suits. Pale blue, stripy – NO. Hot pink, bows on the strings – puh-leeze. Green, plain and simple – sure, if she wanted to look like a green bean! Red and skimpy – Absolutely not. Bikini after bikini, Pam discarded each of them into the NO pile, beginning to panic. What on earth would she do? Finally she narrowed her choice down and chose an emerald green bikini. It wasn't a string bikini, it was simple and pretty. On the top part there was a small bow in the middle. Pam studied herself from all sides. She wiped at the pools of tears in her eyes. She was pale and shivering, goose bumps rising on her flesh.
"Pam? Come out! Let us see!" Stacey called from outside. She sounded kind. Pam took a deep breath and before she could panic too much she threw open the door and shyly stepped out, barefoot and trembling. She couldn't bear to open her eyes. Squeezing them shut tightly, she managed to whimper:
"Does it look too awful?" Stacey slapped her arm lightly and giggled.
"Open your eyes you idiot!" She cried cheerfully. "You look hot!"
SPLASH. Someone launched a cannonball jump into the pool sending a huge spray of water everywhere. Pam laughed and tried to keep her smile steady.
"Hey." Roy appeared, smiling at her side, hair dripping all over his face. Pam couldn't help thinking how cute he looked.
"Want to get in the pool? Were going to play water volleyball." Roy looked so excited; Pam couldn't bear to say no.
"Sure!" She agreed easily, sliding out of her tank top and skirt quickly, figuring it would be best to reveal her bikini quickly and get it over and done with.
"Wow!" Roy's eyes widened and he looked Pam over admiringly. "You looked amazing!"
"Thanks." Pam blushed, feeling more self conscious then ever. She slid into the pool quickly and ducked under water. When she resurfaced, a boy she didn't know was offering her a beer.
"In the pool?" She asked, doubtfully, teeth chattering.
"Sure." The boy said. Pam glanced around and saw that almost every kid in the pool was holding a beer. Some were even spilling it into the pool!
"T-thankyou, but I don't d-drink." Pam said quietly, teeth still chattering from the cold pool water. The boy laughed hard and continued to shove the beer at Pam.
"Don't drink," he laughed, shaking his head. "That's a good one."
"Just take it." Roy whispered and Pam shivered, feeling his warm breath against her ear. Without thinking, she took the beer and looked at it with wide, fearful eyes. She had never even had a sip of alcohol in her life.
"C'mon. You can't say you've never ever had a drink in your life." Roy looked at her expectantly. How could she say no? Everyone was doing it. And it was just one drink…Pam took a swig. She hated it; it was bitter and tasted awful.
"How do you like it?" Roy raised an eyebrow playfully. Pam took another sip and pretended she hadn't heard the question.
"So, are we going to play volleyball or not?" She asked.
Pam dangled her legs in the water, wedged between Stacey and Leslie. She was on her second beer. Well, really her first. She had dumped half of her first bottle into a potted plant when no one was watching and she had only had a few sips of this beer, so she hadn't even had a full bottle yet. Even so, she was feeling more relaxed and self confident. She laughed now, at the memory of herself in her bedroom before the party. She had spent over an hour painstakingly straightening her hair and then curling it, so that soft red waves framed her face instead of her wild curls. Now her hair was dripping wet and lying straight. Who cared?
"Hey, follow me." Roy snuck up behind Pam and whispered in her ear. She felt a shiver go down her spine. She excitedly excused herself and allowed Roy to grab her hand, following him down the side path of Terri's house, a long, narrow path of gravel between the house and fence. When they reached the end, finding their path blocked by a pile of timber, they stood together, talking about school, friends and family. Roy told Pam about a car he was repairing and she told him about her latest art sculpture, an eagle. Pam was leaning against the house, talking when she realized Roy was slowly leaning in. She began to talk faster. Closer…closer…she could see an eyelash on his cheek…closer…closer…she could see a tiny freckle by his right eye…he was going to kiss her. She could tell. She had never been kissed before, not properly. It suddenly struck Pam as very funny that Roy had asked her to go steady with him before he'd even kissed her. She felt laughter bubbling up. Just before their lips met, Pam let out a short, nervous, hysterical, high pitched giggle. And then he kissed her. It wasn't like Pam had ever imagined. She expected fireworks and romance. But all she felt was slight embarrassment that her first ever kiss was happening in the side path at Terri McGill's house. Roy tasted like beer. His hands were awkwardly placed on her waist and he slowly drew her away from the wall and closer to him. She let him until she was wrapped in his arms. And still, she felt nothing. As far as Pam was concerned, she was still waiting for her first kiss.