'What a disaster,' Kimberly Connweller lamented at her bare-faced reflection in the girl's lavatory of the main building at La Push Tribal School. All of her hopes for this late October Monday were dashed.
She'd been absent from school on Friday. Her mother had driven her to Port Angeles for what Kim had hoped would be her last orthodontic appointment. Instead, she was doomed to three more months — minimum — of ugly braces resembling railroad tracks cemented on both sets of teeth… with the unfortunate addition of a new pair of unattractive rubber bands that prevented her from opening her mouth more than just enough to speak clearly. Albeit slurred but nonetheless she could still communicate at the very least.
To make matters worse, Kim's mother had discovered and immediately disposed of the secret stash of eye makeup Kim kept hidden in her pencil case. Kim's greatest insecurity was her eyes. While she had been blessed with the longest eyelashes one could hope for, she believed that her eyes were far too small for her wide face. A little mascara here; some eyeshadow there did wonders to balance Kim's features.
Kim thought of herself as rather attractive. Though she was moon-faced, her bone structure was excellent. Apart from her buck-teeth which would soon be an insecurity of the past thanks to the archwires and brackets slowly dragging her cuspids and incisors to their proper locality, she had not a lot to complain about. However, her eyes were little more than tiny slits to see from in juxtaposition to her prominent cheekbones, wide yet petite nose, and broad lips which were plenty plump enough even before her braces produced an involuntary pout that forced her mouth slightly ajar at all times.
Mrs. Connweller had scolded Kim years earlier when she'd discovered her daughter was using the internet to research a cosmetic procedure called double eyelid surgery. That's when Kim had started sneaking eye shadow and mascara.
Her mother disapproved of her little girl wearing makeup. Though Kim was almost 16 now, Mrs. Connweller had certain expectations for her daughter. Firstly, her gpa must be acceptable. While Mrs. Connweller was not a stickler for academic excellence, she did expect her daughter to do well in school. Secondly, no makeup; her mother believed it was not a good look for young girls to prematurely age themselves with cosmetics. Her daughter would grow up in her own time. And, lastly, absolutely no dating.
The last one made little difference to Kim. The only boy who she was interested in didn't even know she existed; Jared Cameron. Not that she had him to worry about, anyways. Kim was pretty certain that Jared Cameron had dropped out. He'd missed several weeks of classes, leaving the desk adjacent to her's in classroom 212B — World History — empty.
Kim exhaled a labored breath and dragged herself from her reflection, desperately missing her cheap drugstore L'Oreal Paris Voluminous mascara and Maybelline New York eyeshadow palette.
The main building of LPTS had narrow hallways and housed the school's office, library, lavatories and a few classrooms. There was a secondary building nearby that students from K-6 occupied and a cluster of portables around the property to reduce overcrowding in the two main buildings. La Push, being the small community that it is, overcrowding was a rare occurrence. The highest student count of any class was maybe 20. Some classes had as few as 8 or 9 students at one time. Kim was considering transferring to Forks High School next year once her baby sister started LPTS and would no longer need her big sister to fetch her from the small daycare centre to ride the bus.
Kim grimaced when the fluorescent bulbs of LPTS's crowded hallways assaulted her vision. The tiny adjustments made to her braces on Friday, paired with the new rubber bands pulling her teeth into position had left her with a throbbing headache all weekend that made her sensitive to light. This morning was no exception. Though much better than the past two days, Kim had already popped two Tylenol and dressed in her big brother's extra-large hoodie for maximum comfort.
Kim wandered to the small collection of lockers nearby that students shared for a yearly fee. Mrs. Connweller thought $80 for the use of a locker was too unreasonable. So Kim spent all day wandering from class to class, carrying all of her binders and textbooks on her back.
"Hey, Kim," Lara Jenkins smiled when she saw her best friend approaching her locker. Lara hadn't been on the school bus this morning. Mondays at the Jenkins household were often hectic and Lara frequently missed the bus. Her dad drove her that morning.
"Hey," Kim waved.
Lara's smile slowly faded into a sympathetic frown, "oh no. They didn't come off?" she said at the sight of metal still cemented to Kim's teeth.
"Dr. Gupta thinks I've still got a few months to go before getting them off," Kim slurred and sucked back saliva before it could roll down her chin; another unfortunate result of the adjustments. Spit; too much of it. It'd be a while before her mouth would adjust to the new elastics and stop watering so much. Kim held a damp tissue in her palm to catch any rogue saliva. Students on the school bus were quick to vacate the seat next to the student with uncontrollable drool.
"Well," Lara grinned, "I've got something that'll make you happy," she chimed in a sing-songy voice as she organized her locker for today's classes.
"Yeah?" Kim leaned against the orange metal lockers, crossing her arms. Her hands disappeared in the sleeves of her brother's oversized hoodie.
"Jared Cameron is back," Lara grinned.
Kim groaned in agony, "wonderful," she sighed, her exasperation thick with sarcasm. "Why would that make me happy?"
"Um," Lara shrugged, "because you love him?"
"And look at me," Kim went to cover her face with her hands but quickly retreated before she could touch her jaw and send painful vibrations through her cranium. "I'm a mess."
No makeup. New elastics on her braces; not only preventing her from opening her mouth more than an inch but also from closing her mouth completely. Kim dabbed the tissue from her palm to her mouth just in time to stop the flood of saliva from pouring over her lip. Not to mention that she was not exactly dressed to impress; her medium frame was absolutely swimming in her brother's hoodie. Yet, she wasn't petite enough to look cute in a big hoodie, either. Instead, she looked rather frumpy. This was a disaster.
Kim wondered if she called Mrs. Connweller, complaining of her headache if her mother would come to get her and save her from embarrassment. Unfortunately for Kim, Mrs. Connweller — a physiotherapist — drove out of town on Mondays to see patients and didn't get home until late. Her father was deployed overseas — military — and her big brother was away at college. Without a car, she was left at the mercy of the La Push Residential School Bus Transportation System. Not to mention she had to rush down the street to get her little sister, Paige, from the daycare center before the bus left. She couldn't leave the kid stranded. Mrs. Connweller would kill her.
The second warning bell informing students to begin making it to their homeroom buzzed. Kim winced. Somehow the ring sent vibrations through her skull, already aching from her braces. Lara slammed her locker shut. The clatter added to Kim's discomfort.
"Let's go, ladies," Mrs. Jaybird, the Vice Principal, clapped her hands at the two students as she made her way down the hall.
"See you later, Kim," Lara smiled and turned the corner to the stairs, leaving Kim on her own.
Kim dragged her feet to class, wishing that she could disappear completely inside of her hoodie.