Chapter Eight: Eternity
The next morning, Lizzie woke up with another brutal headache, and with a sudden wave of nausea, she found herself hanging over the toilet once more. After consuming too many Tylenol, taking a shower, and brushing her teeth, Lizzie went downstairs, not looking forward to what she was about to face.
Sure enough, Lizzie's parents were waiting for her when she got into the kitchen, and the looks on their faces didn't look any more forgiving than they did last night.
"Sit down, Lizzie. We need to talk," Jo said through clenched teeth. Lizzie sat down.
"Your father and I took the liberty last night of writing down all the terms to your punishment, which has started right now." Jo pulled out a sheet of white paper covered in writing. "First, you must be home from school absolutely no later than 3:45 everyday. You are also required to ride the bus. Nobody, absolutely nobody, can give you a ride. There will be no T.V., no computer, and no phone. Visitors must be approved by us. Your father and I will also be going through your room and taking out anything you don't need. Oh, and no football games for the rest of this year. Do you understand me?"
"Wait, I was expecting being grounded, but what do you mean by taking out everything in my room that I don't need?" Lizzie asked, feeling slightly panicked.
"That means we'll chose the clothes you can wear, we're taking away most of your make-up, your CDs, and all of those other things you seem to enjoy blowing your allowance on," her mother replied.
"What!?" Lizzie screamed. "You can't take my things. You can ground me, take away
my phone, whatever, but you cannot have my reputation. This isn't fair."
"It's also not fair that you decided to make you parents worried sick by kissing some guy that's four years older than you in front of thousands of people, then getting drunk, and finally coming home several hours after curfew completely wasted. Lizzie, we want to protect you. I never thought that you could do something so stupid," Lizzie's mother replied, her voice raising.
"Let's all just down, take a seat and be more rational," Sam said, before the screams could get any louder. "Now, Lizzie, we have something very serious to tell you, and we want you to be honest with us. I promise that we won't add on anymore punishment than what we gave you already."
"You couldn't if you tried."
"I'm going to ignore that. Now, did you have sex with Josh?"
Lizzie shot up out of her chair. "What the hell? Who the hell do you think I am. I may do stupid things every once in a while, but sex? This is shit. I cannot believe that you just asked me that. I wish I were dead!" Lizzie turned and sprinted up to her room.
"Elizabeth Brook McGuire," Sam roared, getting up to chase after her.
Jo grabbed his arm. "We better let her cool off."
Gordo was Lizzie's only visitor on Sunday, and much to Lizzie's surprise, her parents let
him in.
"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked Gordo, shocked to seem him at the door to her bedroom.
"Well, you're my friend, and I heard that you got yourself into some trouble, so I'm here to support you."
"Wait. I told you not even a week ago that you weren't my friend, and you showed up anyway?"
"Yeah. Don't think I don't know what happened. People love to talk, but while they believe you have been a popular rebel all of your life, I know better. Don't think I haven't watched you go through every single phase in middle school. Remember Angel? She got you a detention, and you tried to be like her, but Miranda and I got you back. Well, Miranda may not be here, and the circumstances may be a bit more extreme now, but I'm here to help you through this phase."
"Thanks, but this isn't a phase. And I'm sure my boyfriend and Kate would agree with me."
"Lizzie, you're grounded for who knows how long. Don't you think that will put a slight damper on your popular life?"
"Josh and Kate will back me up. You just wait."
"That's just what I intend to do. I'm gonna wait right here until you realize how crazy you've been acting."
"Yeah, I'm crazy, but I like it that way, and you nor my parents are gonna stop me from being who I was meant to be."
"Look, Lizzie, when you wake up from this nightmare, I'll be waiting, but for now, I have to go meet someone at the digital bean."
"Who?"
"A girl I met at international club that I asked out on a date."
"Since when did you have the nerve to ask someone out on a date?"
"Since I met this girl, but you wouldn't know because you don't associate with people like me, remember?"
"Sorry I asked."
"Well, sorry I snapped at you, but I'm sure that my friends would love for you to hang out with you if you're ever interested."
"That's nice, but I have my own friends."
"Fine, Lizzie, but just know that just because I'm leaving your house right now doesn't mean I'm leaving your life forever."
"It's Liz," Lizzie said as Gordo headed out the door.
That Monday, Lizzie rode the bus to school. She walked into the building searching for the one person that might feel bad for her. Josh. She found him talking to his friends.
"Hey Josh," she said, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
"Oh, hey Liz," Josh said turning around, not returning the embrace.
"Oh my gosh. You will not believe what my parents did to me when they caught me
drunk and found out that we were dating. I'm grounded until my parents say I'm free, and they said I can't see you ever again, not to mention, they won't let me go to anymore football games this year. Well, I'll show them. We'll just have to be really sneaky."
"Yeah, sure."
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Well, no. Look, Liz. It's been a lot of fun and all, but I need someone that can support me, you know what I mean?"
"Maybe you could explain."
Josh turned around and looked at his friends. "I'll be back in a sec." He turned around.
"Follow me, Liz." Josh led Lizzie into the corner of a less busy hallway. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't think we are quite moving at the same pace."
"You mean I won't make out with you because I want to take things slower and get to know you before I get to know what you look like undressed?"
"Well, I was thinking more along the lines that I need a girlfriend who doesn't have to sneak around her parents."
"But you would still probably be dating me if I let you take my clothes off."
"I don't want to discuss this."
"Well, I still haven't changed my mind. I'm not gonna take this shit from you. It's over.
See you later," Lizzie said as she stalked off in search of Kate.
"Wait," Josh called out after her. "I was supposed to dump you!"
"Go burn in hell," Lizzie called out over her shoulder. Lizzie started to run as fast as she could, bumping into innocent bystanders talking in the halls. Then, she hit someone straight on. "Excuse me," she mumbled as she backed up.
"Lizzie?" It was none other than Ethan.
"Um, Lizzie, can't you see that I'm trying to have a conversation here?" Kate said, who
had been talking to Ethan before Lizzie showed up.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked Lizzie, ignoring Kate.
"I don't know," Lizzie said, breaking into sobs. Then, Ethan put his arms around Lizzie, and Lizzie put her head on his chest. It was the nicest thing Ethan had ever done. Kate stood there with her mouth wide open.
"What's up?" Ethan asked Lizzie. Lizzie looked up at Ethan's concerned face.
"It's Josh. He, I mean, I dumped him." She buried her face back into his gray sweater. Kate had already left in a tizzy to the bathroom to flip out.
"I'll walk you to class," Ethan said when the bell rang.
"Okay, thanks."
"You know, you were gettin kinda crazy even for a high schooler. I mean you were cool and all before you got drunk and started dating that Josh dude."
"Thanks." It was the most intelligent conversation Lizzie had ever had with Ethan.
"I'll see you around," Ethan said as Lizzie walked into her class.
Lizzie was walking on air for the rest of the day.
"Hello, Lizzie, how was your day?" Lizzie's mom asked as she walked in the door.
"It's Liz and none of your business." Lizzie didn't even look at her mother as she stalked up to her room. When Lizzie opened the door, she was stunned. Her room was empty. All of her trinkets and her make-up, her jewelry, most of her clothes, her stereo, CDs, and several other things were gone. Lizzie let out a scream.
"Lizzie, what's wrong?" Jo asked, coming up the stairs to meet the stunned Lizzie standing at the entrance to her bedroom. Noticing what Lizzie was freaking out about she said, "Your consequence starts today. You have everything you need. If you get bored you have this thing called a family that will be here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year." Jo turned around and left Lizzie standing there.
The next morning, Lizzie woke up with another brutal headache, and with a sudden wave of nausea, she found herself hanging over the toilet once more. After consuming too many Tylenol, taking a shower, and brushing her teeth, Lizzie went downstairs, not looking forward to what she was about to face.
Sure enough, Lizzie's parents were waiting for her when she got into the kitchen, and the looks on their faces didn't look any more forgiving than they did last night.
"Sit down, Lizzie. We need to talk," Jo said through clenched teeth. Lizzie sat down.
"Your father and I took the liberty last night of writing down all the terms to your punishment, which has started right now." Jo pulled out a sheet of white paper covered in writing. "First, you must be home from school absolutely no later than 3:45 everyday. You are also required to ride the bus. Nobody, absolutely nobody, can give you a ride. There will be no T.V., no computer, and no phone. Visitors must be approved by us. Your father and I will also be going through your room and taking out anything you don't need. Oh, and no football games for the rest of this year. Do you understand me?"
"Wait, I was expecting being grounded, but what do you mean by taking out everything in my room that I don't need?" Lizzie asked, feeling slightly panicked.
"That means we'll chose the clothes you can wear, we're taking away most of your make-up, your CDs, and all of those other things you seem to enjoy blowing your allowance on," her mother replied.
"What!?" Lizzie screamed. "You can't take my things. You can ground me, take away
my phone, whatever, but you cannot have my reputation. This isn't fair."
"It's also not fair that you decided to make you parents worried sick by kissing some guy that's four years older than you in front of thousands of people, then getting drunk, and finally coming home several hours after curfew completely wasted. Lizzie, we want to protect you. I never thought that you could do something so stupid," Lizzie's mother replied, her voice raising.
"Let's all just down, take a seat and be more rational," Sam said, before the screams could get any louder. "Now, Lizzie, we have something very serious to tell you, and we want you to be honest with us. I promise that we won't add on anymore punishment than what we gave you already."
"You couldn't if you tried."
"I'm going to ignore that. Now, did you have sex with Josh?"
Lizzie shot up out of her chair. "What the hell? Who the hell do you think I am. I may do stupid things every once in a while, but sex? This is shit. I cannot believe that you just asked me that. I wish I were dead!" Lizzie turned and sprinted up to her room.
"Elizabeth Brook McGuire," Sam roared, getting up to chase after her.
Jo grabbed his arm. "We better let her cool off."
Gordo was Lizzie's only visitor on Sunday, and much to Lizzie's surprise, her parents let
him in.
"What are you doing here?" Lizzie asked Gordo, shocked to seem him at the door to her bedroom.
"Well, you're my friend, and I heard that you got yourself into some trouble, so I'm here to support you."
"Wait. I told you not even a week ago that you weren't my friend, and you showed up anyway?"
"Yeah. Don't think I don't know what happened. People love to talk, but while they believe you have been a popular rebel all of your life, I know better. Don't think I haven't watched you go through every single phase in middle school. Remember Angel? She got you a detention, and you tried to be like her, but Miranda and I got you back. Well, Miranda may not be here, and the circumstances may be a bit more extreme now, but I'm here to help you through this phase."
"Thanks, but this isn't a phase. And I'm sure my boyfriend and Kate would agree with me."
"Lizzie, you're grounded for who knows how long. Don't you think that will put a slight damper on your popular life?"
"Josh and Kate will back me up. You just wait."
"That's just what I intend to do. I'm gonna wait right here until you realize how crazy you've been acting."
"Yeah, I'm crazy, but I like it that way, and you nor my parents are gonna stop me from being who I was meant to be."
"Look, Lizzie, when you wake up from this nightmare, I'll be waiting, but for now, I have to go meet someone at the digital bean."
"Who?"
"A girl I met at international club that I asked out on a date."
"Since when did you have the nerve to ask someone out on a date?"
"Since I met this girl, but you wouldn't know because you don't associate with people like me, remember?"
"Sorry I asked."
"Well, sorry I snapped at you, but I'm sure that my friends would love for you to hang out with you if you're ever interested."
"That's nice, but I have my own friends."
"Fine, Lizzie, but just know that just because I'm leaving your house right now doesn't mean I'm leaving your life forever."
"It's Liz," Lizzie said as Gordo headed out the door.
That Monday, Lizzie rode the bus to school. She walked into the building searching for the one person that might feel bad for her. Josh. She found him talking to his friends.
"Hey Josh," she said, wrapping her arms around him from behind.
"Oh, hey Liz," Josh said turning around, not returning the embrace.
"Oh my gosh. You will not believe what my parents did to me when they caught me
drunk and found out that we were dating. I'm grounded until my parents say I'm free, and they said I can't see you ever again, not to mention, they won't let me go to anymore football games this year. Well, I'll show them. We'll just have to be really sneaky."
"Yeah, sure."
"Hey, are you okay?"
"Well, no. Look, Liz. It's been a lot of fun and all, but I need someone that can support me, you know what I mean?"
"Maybe you could explain."
Josh turned around and looked at his friends. "I'll be back in a sec." He turned around.
"Follow me, Liz." Josh led Lizzie into the corner of a less busy hallway. "What I'm trying to say is that I don't think we are quite moving at the same pace."
"You mean I won't make out with you because I want to take things slower and get to know you before I get to know what you look like undressed?"
"Well, I was thinking more along the lines that I need a girlfriend who doesn't have to sneak around her parents."
"But you would still probably be dating me if I let you take my clothes off."
"I don't want to discuss this."
"Well, I still haven't changed my mind. I'm not gonna take this shit from you. It's over.
See you later," Lizzie said as she stalked off in search of Kate.
"Wait," Josh called out after her. "I was supposed to dump you!"
"Go burn in hell," Lizzie called out over her shoulder. Lizzie started to run as fast as she could, bumping into innocent bystanders talking in the halls. Then, she hit someone straight on. "Excuse me," she mumbled as she backed up.
"Lizzie?" It was none other than Ethan.
"Um, Lizzie, can't you see that I'm trying to have a conversation here?" Kate said, who
had been talking to Ethan before Lizzie showed up.
"Are you okay?" Ethan asked Lizzie, ignoring Kate.
"I don't know," Lizzie said, breaking into sobs. Then, Ethan put his arms around Lizzie, and Lizzie put her head on his chest. It was the nicest thing Ethan had ever done. Kate stood there with her mouth wide open.
"What's up?" Ethan asked Lizzie. Lizzie looked up at Ethan's concerned face.
"It's Josh. He, I mean, I dumped him." She buried her face back into his gray sweater. Kate had already left in a tizzy to the bathroom to flip out.
"I'll walk you to class," Ethan said when the bell rang.
"Okay, thanks."
"You know, you were gettin kinda crazy even for a high schooler. I mean you were cool and all before you got drunk and started dating that Josh dude."
"Thanks." It was the most intelligent conversation Lizzie had ever had with Ethan.
"I'll see you around," Ethan said as Lizzie walked into her class.
Lizzie was walking on air for the rest of the day.
"Hello, Lizzie, how was your day?" Lizzie's mom asked as she walked in the door.
"It's Liz and none of your business." Lizzie didn't even look at her mother as she stalked up to her room. When Lizzie opened the door, she was stunned. Her room was empty. All of her trinkets and her make-up, her jewelry, most of her clothes, her stereo, CDs, and several other things were gone. Lizzie let out a scream.
"Lizzie, what's wrong?" Jo asked, coming up the stairs to meet the stunned Lizzie standing at the entrance to her bedroom. Noticing what Lizzie was freaking out about she said, "Your consequence starts today. You have everything you need. If you get bored you have this thing called a family that will be here for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year." Jo turned around and left Lizzie standing there.