When I got to Tara's house, I knocked on the door. It took a while before anyone heard, but Tara finally opened the door. She was wearing a bright red tube top and big, torn blue jeans that fit her butt really nicely, and no socks. When she saw the pearly tears threatening my big beautiful amethyst sapphire emerald golden-flecked silver-rimmed eyes, and my tote bag stuffed full of stuff, not to mention the bruises on my cheeks, she said, "What happened?"
I started crying again very depressedly. My happy sunshiney morning full of bunnies and kittens and bluebirds was ruined, but at least my best friend forever and ever Tara still loved me and cared about me.
Tara looked at me with her stormy grey eyes and said, "Hey, come in. Don't just stand out there bawling your eyes out." She stepped out of the doorway, and I shuffled into her house, still crying.
Tara saw how upset I was, and ushered me into her living room, where she passed me a bag of Doritos and made me eat some. "Now, what happened?" she asked.
"M-m-my dad abused me, can I stay here?" I sobbed.
Tara looked kind of surprised. "...For how long?" she finally asked.
"Just a month or so. I'm earning money to fly away to the Amazon rainforest."
"What?" Tara fixed me with her best 'wtf you are being stupid' glare (AN: sorry s but ur kinda good at this glare). I sniffled loudly, feeling tears welling up in my beautiful orbs again.
"I don't want to talk about it."
"Okay then?"
We sat in uncomfortable silence for a long moment, then Tara said, "So I saw that Zak guy you like talking to you." This is part of why I love Tara – she knows just when to change the subject. Tara has been my best friend since I moved to the city. She has long, dark hair that could be brown or black, and has red and blonde in it in the sun just like Bella (AN: omg s I am soooooo jealous of ur hair). She's taller than me, but not by much. She likes to write a lot, and she makes masks sometimes in her spare time. She's really unique and doesn't care what other people think about her. She's totally cool. She's also really pretty, and boys all like her.
"I don't like Zak!" I shouted, blushing very red.
Tara made a 'pfft' noise. "You do so. You've even said so at least twice."
I hid my face under my hood.
Well, anyways, just then Tara's mom came in. "Oh, hi, Knovaa," she said. "Tara, can you take the dog for his walk?"
"Mom, can Knovaa live with us for a month?" Tara asked.
"Sorry?"
"Knovaa needs a place to live for a month or so. Can she stay here?"
Tara's mom blinked. She looked kind of surprised. "Well, I guess so. Now, will you two take the dog out for his exercise? Tara, you can get the mail while you're out."
We went through the kitchen into the bootroom, and put on our shoes. Tara put on her shiny red ballet flats, and I put on my green high-heeled flipflops with orange jewels. Tara called her dog, and he came. She clipped his leash onto his collar, and we went outside.
We walked to Tara's mailbox. All of a sudden, it started raining. "Oh great," Tara grumbled. "If the mail gets wet, my mom'll be fit to be tied."
"What does that even mean?" I asked prettily.
"No idea."
I spun in a circle very happily. "I just love the rain! Don't you, Tara?"
"Yeah. I just don't like having to walk in it."
Just then I saw somebody coming down the street towards us. She had blonde hair in a high ponytail, and was wearing a pink Hollister polo top. She was holding her American Eagle bag over her head to protect her from the rain. "OMG Tara," I said. "Look out, here comes Brittany Culver-Reeves."
Tara rolled her crystal-blue eyes. You could tell she doesn't like Brittany either.
Brittany passed right by us, and said, "Hi, Tara. Hi, Knovaa," really sarcastically. I didn't say anything, just nodded. Brittany had been really mean to me ever since I moved from the rainforest.
"Hi, Brittany," Tara said patiently.
"I saw you talking to Zak," Brittany said to me conversationally.
"Yeah, so?" I asked.
"Keep your weird jungle-girl hands off of him. Zak and I are an item. You can't have him."
I couldn't believe it. I thought Zak was like me. I just couldn't believe he'd even look at someone preppy and dumb like Brittany.
"Yeah, like Zak would ever date a girl who's still in the tenth grade. Get a life, Brittany," Tara told her off. You could tell Brittany was upset, because she stuck her nose in the air and sniffed huffily.
"Whatever. I'm getting wet. Bye." And she flounced off.
Tara looked after her disgustedly. "I hate that girl," she said firmly.
I couldn't help it. I started to sniffle again. Tara looked shocked. "Hey, Knovaa, don't let her get to you! You know Brittany's delusional."
"But she's right!" I wailed depressedly. Even the rain couldn't cheer me up. "I can't have him. He'd never date a girl who's still in the tenth grade! It's hopeless."
Tara sighed frustratedly. "Come on, let's go back inside. We're getting wet."
We went back to Tara's house, and she dried off the dog's feet while I went into the living room. When she was done drying the dog off, Tara came into the living room and sat on the love seat. "So what happened?" she asked.
A single tear traced a winding path down my left cheek. "My dad hit me," I whispered. Even telling Tara was painful, and Tara is my best friend ever. I mean, we even share our clothes! Sometimes.
Tara nodded sadly. "I'm sorry. So what are you going to do about it? Call Child Services?"
"Um, no. I'm running away to the Amazon. Like I told you?"
"Why?"
I stopped. I hadn't really thought about it before, but now I realised, I didn't want to leave my dad alone with nothing but his memories and dark sadness. "I want to have him follow me. The rainforest was the only place I was happy, the only place I could ever call home, and I know he feels the same way, despite what happened to Mom. If I could get him to go back, maybe I could get him to open up his heart and let me and the rainforest back in."
Tara goggled at me for a moment. "That's deep," she finally said. (AN: hai lauren this is 4 u!)
"I know, hey? So I have to get a job to get a plane ticket."
"Wouldn't it be easier if you stayed on the same continent?"
"Huh?" I asked. "No, I have to go to the rainforest."
"Yeah," Tara said. "There's one right here in Australia. It's like a reserve or something."
My mouth kind of hung open. "Really?" I said finally, very shocked.
"Yeah. It was on the news last night. I thought I recognised the name. They call it Ferngully."
"OMG!" I squealed, excitement leaking out of me like ketchup from a cheap hot dog bun, you know, the kind that's too short for the hot dog and when you hold it it kind of disintegrates. "Tara, that's the same place Zak went to last summer!"
"No way!" Tara shrieked.
"Yeah way!" I shrieked back.
"Well, then, you have to go!" Tara said, all excited like some of my excitement-ketchup had got on her. "We'll find a way to let your dad know where you've gone."
"This is gonna be so cool!" I shouted back at her.
"I know, I can't wait!" she squealed. "I've never been to the rainforest before!"
I stopped, the big smile dropping from my pretty face. "Tara, you can't come with."
"Why not?"
"Because you can't." She just didn't get it. "Your mom would be really worried."
Tara gave me her 'wtf you are being stupid' look again. "Knovaa, we just asked my mom if you could live with us for a few months, and she said yes, no questions asked. I don't think she's going to worry too much."
"But you have to stay here. If my dad comes looking for me, you have to tell him where I've gone."
Tara pouted. "Knovaa, that's not a good reason. Leave him a note. Or tell my mom to tell him. Take me with you!"
"Enough! I'm not gonna talk about this anymore. We'll work it out later." I flicked my long, wavy raven locks over my shoulder. "Let's find out where this Ferngully is."
AN: whoever reviewd and said this was stupid, u r really mean and a jerk and hiding behind the name 'uglyest stroy ever' isnt gonna make u ny friends. n her name is KNOVAA. not nova.
thanx 2 skyrere n mouse avenger n kino lala n fabulous dalhing n jacob black 4 reviewing! see there, i have lots of fans, they dont think this story is '$hit'!
sidney, thanx again 4 editing this chp! and tara's eyes are crystal blue, not stormy grey. y'd u say they wer stormy grey? oh, n did u give the link 2 this 2 nick like i asked?
oh yeah! lauren drew a pic of knovaa, and its here at http:// fictionalboyfriend. deviantart. com/ art/ The- Saviour- 117378275. just take out the spaces adn paste it in ur title bar. thanx lauren!
thanx every1 4 reading n review2ing! every1 who r&rs gets a virtual tree! save teh planet, plant the rainforest!
