February 1983
Rachel was enjoying herself quite a bit. She wasn't sure how she had snagged quite an awesome job being as she was only twelve and three months away from being thirteen but her Aunt Olivia had let her and Amy take turns working in her store, Olivia's. Amy who was fifteen hated it. She was rarely even there but Rachel liked it. She loved dressing the mannequins in fashionable attire. Olivia had wanted someone at the store with Rachel but Amy often found a reason why she could not come in and help and Olivia often had errands to runs so Rachel often found herself alone in the store. She was pleased with herself. She worked there on Saturdays and sometimes Sundays. She would get up early, dress in her most grown up looking outfit and get dropped off at Olivia's at around 10a. She would go in, say hello to her aunt who would give her money to get coffee. Rachel would walk next door, buy two cups of coffee. She had decided as well that if she would work at a grown up store, she would need a grown up beverage and grown ups drank coffee. She wasn't too sure about the taste but she hoped that maybe she'd grow to like it. After returning to the store, her Aunt Olivia would leave. Some might say that leaving a twelve, almost thirteen, year old alone working in a store would be worth a call to child protective services but Rachel would disagree. She was almost thirteen and three months away from her Bat Mitzvah and almost an adult.
After Olivia left, Rachel would walk through the store. She'd make sure all the hangers were facing the right direction and clothes were in size order. Everything in Olivia's was small, nothing bigger than a size eight which Rachel secretly didn't really like. She did once ask Olivia why there was nothing that could fit girls that were bigger and Olivia shook her head and told her that she refused to cater to fatties, that seemed mean but it was the last time Rachel ever said anything. When she was done, she'd make sure the mannequins looked appropriate and cute. Then she'd sit at the counter and wait and usually talk on the phone. She loved talking on the phone. She was now in seventh grade and very popular. She seemed to discover the key to being popular was to not be nice. That's what it felt like.
"Nancy, did you see Chip in math class class, yesterday? He looked at me and the way he asked me to borrow a pencil was….I could have sworn he was asking me to marry him."
"You are pathetic," Nancy said.
"I am not pathetic, I am merely saying that he is my future husband," Rachel said.
"I thought Shawn Cassidy was your future husband?" Nancy asked.
"I can have more than one future husband. Maybe I could like choose my favorite twenty five future husbands and then narrow it down to one. I'd watch that on television."
"Ugh, who would watch that? That is stupid and twenty five? You are such a slut," Nancy said.
Rachel let out a breath. She hated talking to Nancy sometimes. Nancy seemed to always find something negative to say to her. She always wanted to cry out and tell her to stop but she knew how Nancy treated people who she didn't like and that seemed far worse.
"I'm not a slut," Rachel said.
"Please, everyone knows you're a slut."
"Hmmm, well considering I'm still a virgin-"
"Liar. You are not a virgin."
"I-I-I'm not sure how to prove that to you," Rachel said."Oh, gross."
Rachel noticed a tall blonde walk into the store. She looked filthy, with dirty clothes and her hair looked dirty. She looked like she had not bathed in a year. She was walking with an older guy who looked like he was her father and a girl with brown hair, all three of them looked like they were covered in filth. Rachel knew her aunt would be furious to know they were in her store, touching her clothes.
"Hold on," Rachel said to Nancy as she covered the receiver with her hand and looked at the trio with disgust. "Uh, may I help you?"
"Just browsing," the blonde said.
"Okay, but um...the second hand shop is down the street. You might be looking for that," Rachel grinned. Thinking maybe that would be nice.
"I think we're fine," the blonde said.
Rachel let out an annoyed sigh. She took her hand off the receiver and continued to talk with Nancy.
"There are homeless people in the store," Rachel said.
"Ewww, kick them out," Nancy said.
"What if they kill me. There are three of them and one of me. They might murder me and then I wouldn't be able to go to Mindy's party," Rachel whined.
"Oh, speaking of Chip...and Mindy's party, I forgot to tell you. Sharon is going to Mindy's party and you know what she said to Chip in Spanish yesterday? She told Chip that she would make out with him in Mindy's pool house," Nancy said.
"Oh my G-d. Did she really say that to him? Oh my G-d."
"She so said that," Nancy said.
"That Sharon is such a loser. So rude."
"And did you see Sharon hitting on him at lunch? Oh, you wanna eat my muffin? Ewww," Nancy said.
"Yeah, yeah...I know. Like she was totally hitting on him...we are so going to Mindy's party tonight. Cause Chip is gonna be there-"
"As will Sharon."
"He is so gonna ask me out and-" Rachel said when the blonde and her two friends approached the counter. The blonde was holding a long flowy, purple dress with pink flowers. Rachel felt sad for the dress.
"Excuse me," the blonde said.
Rachel let out an annoyed sigh and stared at the girl. She had to be kidding. She couldn't possibly think that she would be getting a dress.
"What?" Rachel asked, moving the phone from her ear.
"What's your name?"
"Rachel."
"Well, Rachel...thank you so much for all your help-"
"Oh, of course. That's why I'm here," Rachel grinned.
"Yeah, I would like to buy this."
Rachel was tempted to say no, but she was curious as to how this girl was going to pay for the dress.
"'Kay...so pretty."
"Thanks."
Rachel rang her up and was stunned when the girl handed her sixty dollars plus tax in cash. Where could this girl have gotten money? The girl seemed like she had quite a bit of money. Maybe she was a prostitute? She put the dress in a bag and handed it to the blonde.
"Thank you for coming...have a terrific day."
"Yeah...have fun at Mindy's," the blonde smiled. Rachel just giggled and turned back to the phone.
"So I will probably have to tell the boss to fumigate the store because homeless people walked in," Rachel said.
"Did they buy anything?" Nancy asked.
"Yes."
"They had money?"
"From prostitution...or drug money."
"Hold on, call waiting," Nancy said as Rachel sat there and continued staring at the three homeless people who were still standing in the store. In particular, she kept looking at the blonde. There was something innocent about her, something sad. She wished the girl wasn't homeless because if she cleaned up, she might actually be pretty. The girl looked really young too. She looked much too young to be homeless. If that was her dad, it actually upset her.
"Ross got mugged," Nancy said as she got back on the phone, "Geek Geller got mugged."
"Oh my G-d, he got mugged," Rachel screamed.
"At the comic book store," Nancy said.
"At Astros Comics?"
"Oh, you are such a loser for knowing that," Nancy said.
"Oh my G-d. I have to call Monica. That's horrible."
"Monicow? Awww, Rat Face, you and Monicow are so cute. Maybe you could ride her though the town like a weird Western movie."
"Nancy, I have to go," Rachel said as she hung up, not in the mood to continue hearing Nancy's insults. When she hung up, she looked up at the homeless trio and for a moment, she and the blonde locked eyes. There was a sadness in that girl's eyes and Rachel sat frozen when the blonde's dad immediately grabbed her arm and the three raced out of the store. She cocked her head to the side, they had money. She got up and walked towards the entrance. She watched the three of them as they walked down the street. She watched them as they disappeared down around the corner. Could it be? She walked back in the store, shaken a bit by what had happened. She just could not stop thinking about that blonde girl.
Her Aunt Olivia soon came back to the store and Rachel asked if she could leave to go to the Geller house. She wanted to check in on Ross. Olivia okayed it and Rachel left. She passed by Astro Comics and for a brief moment contemplated walking in and buying something for Ross, to make him feel better but that would be a bad idea. Nancy had already made fun of her for simply knowing the name of the comic book store, if someone saw her walk in there, she wasn't sure what would happen. So she walked towards the Geller home empty handed.
When Rachel arrived, Monica and her friends, Ellie, Michelle and Laurie were sitting on the couch, eating popcorn and staring at Ross who was sitting in a big chair next to them. Rachel walked towards them and looked at Ellie, Michelle and Laurie as if she was disgusted by them. She hated those three girls and she was never sure why. She was glad Monica had friends but she had liked being Monica's only friend.
"Oh, Ross...how are you?" Rachel asked, sitting on the arm of Ross' chair.
"We think he got mugged by a girl," Laurie said.
Rachel had to suppress a smile, remembering that blonde girl who had been in the store. What if she had mugged Ross? She had actually thought that but did not want to give Laurie the satisfaction of agreeing with her.
"I did not," Ross said.
"That's horrible. Uh, this town is really becoming gross. There were these hobos that came into Olivia's today with all this cash. They were so filthy...they probably got all their money from prostitution," Rachel said.
"Yes, because that's what prostitutes do. They sell their bodies just so they can buy overpriced clothes from a boutique that sells clothes that no normal sized person can fit into," Ellie said.
"Normal sized people can fit into the clothes. You girls are just too heavy to fit into the clothes at Olivia's. But that's okay," Rachel said, thinking she sounded nice.
"I'm normal sized and I can't fit into any clothes at Olivia's," Michelle offered.
"Uh...oh, you think you're normal sized?" Rachel asked, knowing she was sounding mean.
"Excuse me?" Michelle asked.
"Anyway..." Monica said, immediately.
"I was so scared. I mean, the guy was huge. Six feet tall and scary and...and he had a beard and a mustache and-and-the pipe...he had a pipe." Ross said.
"Then why can't we call the police?" Ellie asked.
"Because...it...he...Rachel's right. It was a probably a prostitute or a hobo," Ross said. Rachel was trying to comfort Ross but something seemed off. Something strange. That girl had money. Ross lost money….but that made no sense. Ross didn't want them calling the police? Something didn't add up.
That night though, Rachel could not worry about Ross. She was at a party. Mindy was having a birthday party and her parents dropped her off and told her to be good. She smiled and nodded as she went inside and went in search of Chip. Mindy immediately grabbed her arm as soon as Rachel walked in the front door.
"Chip is here. He is talking to Sharon," Mindy said.
"Slut," Rachel said.
"You look like a nun," Nancy said approaching them. Rachel looked at her outfit. She was wearing her favorite Guess jeans, pink jellies and pink, off the shoulder sweater.
"What?" Rachel said.
"You do look a little buttoned up. My older sister has a beaded top crop you could wear," Mindy said.
"I-"
"Do you want Chip or not?" Nancy asked.
"I do," Rachel said.
"You'll change back into your regular clothes when your parents pick you up," Mindy said. Rachel wasn't quite sure it was the best idea but she went with Mindy into Mindy's older sister's room and soon emerged wearing a very tight, black, beaded crop top and tight black mini skirt. She was still wearing the pink jellies. She felt strange being this exposed and all eyes were on her as she walked through the party with Nancy and Mindy although it did occur to her that they were wearing outfits similar to the one she had arrived in. She felt really exposed and her heart was beating rapidly. She wanted to be in the pantry with Monica eating Twinkies but this is where she was, this is where she belonged.
"Hey, Rach," Chip walked towards her and gently put his arm around her.
"Hey, Chip," Rachel said.
"You look hot."
"Hmm," Rachel tried as he removed his arm and grabbed her hand. They walked off towards Mindy's pool house which was away from the party. She started to get very nervous.
"Hey, so you look pretty," Chip said as they sat side by side.
"Yeah. Thanks. Should we go back to the rest of the party?" Rachel asked.
"I wanna stay here."
"Okay," Rachel said.
"Is it true that you did it with like two different guys at camp when you were like eleven?"
"Who told you that?"
"Sharon. She said it was this one guy named Luke and this other guy who had a weird name who put peanut butter in your bed and you knocked out his girlfriend," Chip said.
"No. No...i kissed Luke, but we didn't do anything else and the guy with the weird name, Chandler? I didn't like him very much. He was funny but no….and I didn't knock out his girlfriend."
"No, that...no..." Rachel said, wondering why Sharon would say that?
"Why did she say that?" Chip asked.
"I don't know."
"I think you're cute."
"Thank you."
"Can I ask you something?" Chip asked.
"Yes."
"Can I touch your boob? I this naked lady in one of my dad's magazines and I'm curious what a boob feels like 'cause I've never touched one."
Rachel opened her mouth and closed it. She wanted to say no, every part of her wanted to run but instead she sat there and nodded. She closed her eyes as she felt Chip's hand cup her breasts and squish them in his hand.
"So?" Rachel asked, hoping he'd be done soon.
"Cool, that's awesome. So now what?" Chip asked when he was done.
"I don't know."
"We can make out?"
"Okay..." Rachel said, although she wasn't sure she wanted to make out.
Rachel smiled as Chip leaned in and kissed her. He was a good kisser, like Luke had been but there was a huge part of her that wanted to run out of the pool house. She wanted to run somewhere. She could hear that Chandler guy's voice in her head, calling her a coyote. She could almost see herself running off an animated cliff. Chip's hands kept touching her, he kept awkwardly running his hands up and down her body. Luke never touched any part of body other than maybe her shoulders. This was getting a little too close to comfort and she wanted him to stop, she wanted him to stop so badly but if she said no, if she said no then what would happen? Would it matter? He already thought that she had sex twice and that had been far from true. Suddenly, she heard voices and shouting behind her. Chip and Rachel stopped kissing and turned to see practically the entire party standing there, cheering them on. Rachel's breath got caught in her throat as she stood up.
"You are a slut," Nancy grinned as Rachel raced out of the pool house and towards Mindy's house. She could hear people still cheering as she ran into one of the bathrooms and slammed the door shut. She sat on the toilet and began crying. She wanted to call someone, anyone but who? Amy wouldn't be sixteen until November. Jill was only nine but she had to call someone. She wanted to leave. There was a knock at the door.
"Go away," Rachel said.
"It's Mindy and Sharon," Mindy said.
"I'm never speaking to you again, Sharon," Rachel cried.
"I'm sorry, let us in," Sharon said. Rachel walked to the bathroom door and opened it slowly. Mindy and Sharon walked in and shut the door behind them.
"I hate you, Sharon. Why would you tell Chip that? Why did you tell him I had sex? I have not had sex. Not even once and you told him I did it twice," Rachel said, "why? And you were hitting on him in school and you know I like him and-"
"I'm sorry," Sharon said.
"And...okay, you guys make fun of Monica Geller but she would never do that to me. Never," Rachel said.
"Yeah, but she's a cow," Sharon said.
"I'm gonna punch you," Rachel said.
"Rachel, look, okay...it's going to be okay," Mindy said, "but you got what you wanted? Chip likes you."
"He likes you more than me," Sharon said.
"Because you told him I was a slut," Rachel said.
"You let him feel you up. We all saw it," Sharon said.
"Well, he asked to touch my boob," Rachel said.
"And?" Mindy asked.
"I didn't wanna be mean," Rachel said.
Mindy and Sharon just stared at her, confused. Mindy shook her head.
"Look, why don't you get back into your regular clothes. You looked super cute," Mindy said.
"I did," Rachel said.
"And then we'll go back to the party," Mindy said.
"No. I'm not going back to the party. I will change and then stay here for the rest of the night until my parents come to pick me up," Rachel said.
"It's my birthday," Mindy said.
"Sharon messed it up," Rachel said.
"So did you, a little." Mindy said.
"I am sorry. I really am," Sharon said.
"Are you girls my friends?" Rachel asked.
"Of course," Mindy said.
"What are you talking about? We're best friends," Sharon said.
"Then we need to be nicer to each other," Rachel said.
"I'm really sorry," Sharon said.
"Me too," Rachel said as she and Sharon exchanged a hug. Although, there was a huge part of her that did not forgive her at all but maybe she needed to keep Sharon close. She needed Sharon just like she needed Nancy. It was just easier. Rachel did change back into the outfit she arrived in and cleaned herself up. She took a deep breath and returned to the party. Chip was at her side, grabbing her hand and soon she was surrounded. People wanted to talk to her which she liked and she did ultimately get Chip even though he felt her up.