Chapter Eleven
One month later…
Adriana sat on her bed, staring at her laptop, rubbing her temples in frustration. She had been trying to start this essay for almost an hour, but couldn't think of what she was supposed to write. She had half-assed her way through A Midsummer Night's Dream, thinking that she could get away with only skimming each scene and faking it on the tests that they had at the end of each act. Well, if the tests hadn't been proof enough that Shakespeare wasn't something that could simply be glossed over, this essay most definitely was. She was supposed to write an entire five paragraphs, single-spaced, on the importance of the rose and what it symbolized. When Mrs. Lynam had handed out the prompt, Adriana thought that she had read the wrong play. There had been a rose? And it was important? And they had to write an essay on the alleged importance of this mysterious rose? School sucked.
Adriana minimized the Word document and opened her internet browser, the Facebook homepage illuminating itself before her. She typed in her email and password, and was led to her home screen, where nothing greeted her. No notifications. No inboxes. Nothing. She had been hoping for something—a wall post, a picture comment, even a group name change. She just wanted something that could distract her from this stupid essay. She scrolled through the Live Feed. There were the usual people who joined every group and became a fan of every page there was. A lot of her friends were finding lonely brown cows on their farms in Farmville. But there was nothing interesting, nothing she could like or comment on. On the right side of the page she saw the birthday list. Kyle's name was at the top.
She smiled. Kyle was eighteen today, and she had gotten him an awesome present. She had wanted to give it to him first thing that day at school, but was afraid that someone might steal it. She had spent the last of her savings from working at Kelly's on two tickets to U2, Kyle's favorite band. The concert was in a couple of months at Madison Square Garden in New York City, and Adriana absolutely could not wait to see the look on Kyle's face when she gave him his present.
Adriana looked at the clock in the lower right-hand corner of her screen. Eight-thirty. She hadn't been able to hang out with Kyle after school today, because he was supposed to have this big dinner with his father. He said he'd call her afterwards, but as it got later and later, Adriana wondered if his father was letting him go out at all.
She moaned in frustration as she returned to her blank Word document. Who did Mrs. Lynam think she was, giving a paper right after midterms? As if those hadn't been hard enough. Adriana hadn't exactly prepared herself fully for the three days of testing; she'd been too busy with Kyle. The grades would be coming in the mail any day now, along with her second quarter grades. She wasn't too excited about seeing any of them.
Where was Kyle? Besides just wanting to see him and give him his present, Adriana needed a legitimate distraction from this essay. Who cared that it was due tomorrow? She didn't want to write it. And she couldn't even keep herself entertained by pushing Claudia's buttons, because she was in Manhattan for "business." Adriana didn't understand what reason there was to take a business trip when you were the head of a global crime syndicate, but whatever. Claudia wouldn't be back for a few days, and that was a few days for Adriana to be free of the tension that existed whenever the two of them were in the same room. But, she would miss her daily "How can we piss Claudia off today?" sessions, where she said and did obnoxious things to make Claudia angry. Just dropping Kyle's name usually did the trick.
Adriana miserably typed in her heading for the essay, knowing that she'd need to start eventually, even if she didn't want to. She questioned her reluctance. She used to be such a little Shakespeare freak. By the time she was fourteen, she had seen six of his plays at the Globe Theater in London. She had been obsessed. Now, however, she couldn't care less about him, his plays, or this stupid paper.
Adriana felt her phone vibrate on the bed next to her. Her smile grew wide as she opened the text up from Kyle, the only person who ever texted her anymore: "at the corner. meet me. i have a surprise."
Finally! Adriana jumped off her bed, put a pair of boots over her plaid pajama bottoms and a hoodie over her tank-top, grabbed the envelope that contained the U2 tickets from her dresser, and headed downstairs.
Adriana zipped up her sweatshirt and put on the hood as she met the cold, February air. Newly fallen snow crunched beneath her boots as she traipsed across the lawn to the secret entrance. Even though Claudia wasn't home, Adriana didn't know how trustworthy the guards would be. It was easier just to meet Kyle discreetly.
Adriana's step became faster and more excited as she reached the sidewalk and started heading for the corner. What she saw at her destination caused her jaw to drop and her eyes to grow.
Kyle was leaning casually against a parked, bright red motorcycle. It was obviously brand new; the paint job was flawless, the seats didn't have a scratch on them. Under one arm he held a red helmet, while a matching one sat on the seat beside him.
"No way!" screamed Adriana, running towards him. He dropped the helmet he was holding and embraced her, her feet leaving the ground slightly as she planted a birthday kiss on his lips. Her arms remained around his neck as he set her down, the tickets still crunched in her hand.
"You like it?" he asked.
"Are you kidding?" said Adriana, walking around the beautiful piece of machinery, examining every angle. She didn't know the first thing about motorcycles, but this was incredible. "Your dad got you this?"
"Yep," said Kyle. "It's mine."
"It's—wow," Adriana was speechless. She had not been expecting this when she had come to meet him. "It makes my present look like crap."
"What'd you get me?" asked Kyle, a tad greedily.
Adriana handed him the envelope. He tore it open hastily, pulling out the two tickets inside. He read them over for a second, and his face lit up when he realized what they were. "U2? You got tickets?" Adriana nodded, and Kyle immediately felt the familiar guilt return. Here he was, being a complete and total snake while she went and spent all her money on one of the most expensive concerts in the world. He hid his true feelings with his smile, saying, "I can't believe you did that."
"Anything for you," said Adriana, walking back over to him. He put his arms around her waist, letting them rest on her lower back. He leaned down and began kissing her passionately, his way of saying "thank you."
Once he pulled away, Adriana smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you," she joked.
He laughed. "And, we can ride this to the concert," he said, nodding towards the bike.
Adriana looked at him skeptically. "We're gonna ride from Port Charles to Manhattan on a motorcycle?"
He shrugged. "Why not?" Suddenly, Adriana felt her feet leave the ground as Kyle scooped her up and sat her on the motorcycle. Adriana grabbed the handles lightly, not wanting to press any buttons and screw up her boyfriend's brand-new toy.
"Wanna go for a ride?" asked Kyle. He picked up the helmet on the seat and placed it on Adriana's head, buckling the strap. Then, he reached down the ground and picked up his own helmet, put it on, and climbed onto the bike behind Adriana, his arms circling around her as he grasped the handles with her.
"Where?" asked Adriana, turning a little to face him.
"Kiefer's parents are out of town," said Kyle, "so he's throwing a little party."
"And by little you mean—"
"The entire senior class," said Kyle with a grin, "and some underclassmen. Wanna go?"
Adriana looked down at her outfit. She couldn't go to a party dressed like she was. "Give me ten minutes to change?"
"Change?" questioned Kyle. He took he hands off the handlebars and wrapped them around Adriana's stomach. His chin rested on her shoulder as he whispered, "I think you look beautiful." He started kissing her neck, which he knew was Adriana's most ticklish spot.
"Kyle, stop!" she giggled, cringing as she clambered off the bike, his hands still wrapped around her. His lips moved from her neck to her mouth, but she pulled away, still laughing and smiling. "Just give me ten minutes. I'll be right back." She let him kiss her one more time before heading back to the house as fast as she could. This would be her first senior party, and it was a night that she knew she wouldn't want to forget.
Lucky for her, she wouldn't.
