Genius
The incessant knocking on my door woke me. Somehow, I was able to manage to get some sleep. It's weird that I was able to rest for more than an hour.
There was another knock. I groaned as I tried to ignore the sound. "Honey?" Then I heard my dad's voice. "You're going to be late."
I opened my eyes to look at the time. That's when I felt something. I looked down and saw her head still on top of my chest. She was now slowly waking up as well. She must've heard my dad or felt me move. I heard her clear her throat as she slowly untangled herself from me. I wasn't able to suppress the smile on my lips.
"Hey." I said as she slowly sat up.
"Hi." She looked down at me. Her eyes were not so swollen anymore. Good. "Oh gosh, what time is it?" She frantically stood up and searched for her phone. It was still inside her bag as I reminded her. She looked super worried at first as she stared at her phone. Then, her expression softened a minute after.
"Are you alright?" I asked as she placed her phone back inside her bag.
"Y-yeah. Can I take a shower here?" She hastily asked and sat beside me. I was already seated as I tried to put my hair in a messy bun.
"S-sure?"
"If I go home now, chances are I won't be late for school but I'll definitely be late for Cheerios practice. But, if you let me shower here I won't miss anything." She explained sheepishly.
I didn't know if it's her confidence or the sheepish smile that got me to agree. Nah, who was I kidding? I'd still let her stay and shower even without asking me. I don't know, something inside me was growing fond of her without really meaning to. But, who cares? Some people deserved to be special, right?
"Go hop in the shower already before I change my mind." I playfully rolled my eyes. She squealed in delight as she stood up and ran towards the door. "Where are you going? Shower's that way." I pointed to the other door that leads to my bathroom.
"Oh, I need to get my uniform from the car. I'll be back real quick."
"I'll get it." I offered as she was about to open the door. "Give me your keys."
"Are you sure?" She looked surprise.
"Yeah, go in already. I'll shower after you. We can't afford to be late for practice, right?"
"Oh, right!" She then handed me her keys. "Thanks, Britt!"
I opened the door and immediately went downstairs. I heard my dad making breakfast in the kitchen, he was too busy to notice me so I quickly went to Santana's car. Sure enough her duffle bag was the first thing I saw.
I was back in my room in record time. I gently knock on the bathroom's door to inform her that I was back. "Hey, San? I'll just leave your bag by the door."
"Okay, thank you!" She shouted from the inside.
I busied myself fixing the things I needed for school. I also prepared my clothes for school and put extra clothes in my bag. Just as I was about to sit on the bed, the bathroom door opened revealing a very fresh Latina. It's like last night didn't happen.
"Woah, where did Santana from last night go?" I wasn't supposed to say it out loud. But then again, my lips work faster than my brain sometimes.
She smirked at me as she moved towards the window couch and folded her clothes neatly. "Go shower. You stink." She scrunched her nose and laughed after.
I fake gasped and threw her a pillow. "Didn't seem like it when we woke up."
"I was kidding." She rolled her eyes. "But, seriously, we'll be late. Move your ass before Sue kicks both of ours."
I dragged myself in the shower when I figured that she was serious. I really didn't care about the cheering squad when I joined last Saturday but thinking about it now, I think that I have to really commit myself into something if I want to make it out here. Santana's right, nobody wants to get stuck here in Lima.
I did my usual routine and applied light make-up to cover some freckles and the bags that permanently formed under my eyes from all the sleepless nights I've had. There's nothing much to fix or do, I'm not like those girls who would spend hours and hours prepping for a day that would start and end the same way. I like my ways. I like keeping things simple.
When I went back to my room, Santana looked at me like a madman. "Uhh, what are you wearing?"
I suddenly tensed up. I didn't know that my clothes were that bad. "What?" I cleared my throat as I tried to avert my eyes.
"What are you wearing?" She repeated and walked closely. "Ugh, Britt, you're supposed to wear your cheerios uniform. We have a practice this morning."
"What? But, I haven't washed the one you gave me yet." I bit my lip to stop myself from worrying too much.
"Fuck! I must've forgotten to give you another pair. Sorry, it's totally my fault." She waved her hands in front of me and walked back to her bag. "Here, I have an extra pair. Remind me to get you a new set of uniform after practice."
"Um, thanks?" I took the folded uniform and sounded unsure of what to say.
"Change fast. I'll meet you in the car." With that, Santana swiftly carried her bags out and I quickly changed into the uniform. I felt things got weirder every time.
...
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?" Frustration was now evident in her voice. We were all sweating from the routine she wanted us to pull off. "YOU CALL THAT CHEERING? OH FOR FU -"
"What Santana's trying to say is..." Quinn paused and gave the brunette a stern look. "you look horrible." Like that sounds better than what Santana was about to say. Well, maybe a little less harsh but still basically the same. They really are a duo. I wanted to roll my eyes and laugh at them but of course I decided not to. "You look like a hot piece of mess." She continued.
Santana stepped forward again, crossed her arms and continued her glaring in most of the cheerios. To be honest, I think we were able to pull it through, I didn't even know how it's possible for us to ruin the routines. "Hey you, blondie! Yes you with a plastered grimace that's seriously making my eyes hurt! You were supposed to stand straighter and smile wider since you're one of the few standing below us."
"Santana, I did -"
"I'll demote you at the bottom." Santana didn't even give her a chance to explain. Then I heard the girl's hysterical wailing which was kinda annoying. "And you with the sloppy pony, the one at the utmost bottom, you make me question in disgust why you are even here with us. You can't even smoothly do a simple high jump, honey, you're also demoted. Oh, wait, you're already at the bottom... where shall I put you then?" Santana tapped her chin twice as if to think then continued. "Care to suggest, Quinn?"
Quinn smirked at her. "Jane, come here please." Quinn smiled sweetly at the girl who was hesitant to come near them at first. When she was already in front, Quinn leaned forward and whispered something to her. The girl stood very still for a while, as if in shock. The next thing we saw, the girl was sprinting out of the field towards the locker room.
"And Brittany..." Santana then turned her attention to me. Well, I wasn't expecting that at all. "you call that backflip? Well, that's hella' sloppy!" She flailed her hands in frustration.
"That's enough! Okay, you know that this is all business. What transpired here should be taken seriously and professionally. Do we have an understanding?"
Everyone answered 'yes' for Quinn's satisfaction.
Sue was just watching at a distance. She must be resting her throat from all the yelling she did on our last practice. "Sandbags, Fabgay... and you." She pointed straight at me. I was surprised to say the least. "twiddle dumb. Come over here."
The two did as she said while I came dragging my feet towards her.
"Well, well... I was surprised and at the same time slightly proud at how you manage to instill fear in every single one of them. Keep it up because I will be needing your combined efforts on our road to Nationals. Now, the three of you are undeniably the most talented dogs I have on the field." Sue paused and looked at me. "You have to make them look as flawless as possible. Seeing you as our second and tight competitor last year, we have to use what you know to our advantage. We can't let these tasteless bitches to reach the top without even sweating hard. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, Coach." I was able to nod with Santana and Quinn.
"Very well. Now get the hell out of my face, you lazy asses!"
I sighed as I head back to the lockers. The two captains walked ahead of me as they conversed in hushed tones. From an outsider's perspective, it was like they were arguing but upon further observation, that's just the way they are - secretive and probably stirring up something impossible.
I reached my locker faster than I've expected. I got everything I needed for my classes, when I closed my locker door. Santana linked her arms around mine and we walked side by side. She was really confusing me. I thought that she was mad at me for giving a "sloppy" backflip which I was not even aware of.
"Like Quinn said, it's all professional so don't take it personally." Santana said as if to answer my thoughts. I looked at her, she still has her bitch face on but her eyes... they looked tired. The sparkle just wasn't there.
"Oh." I said after some time and nodded.
"Look, Britt, don't take it the wrong way." She pulled me aside when we already passed the busy hallway. "I just don't want the other girls thinking that you're getting a special treatment. I don't want to give them any ideas about you."
"What do you mean?"
"I'll explain later. Come on." Santana then pulled me to class. Fortunately or unfortunately, we didn't have the same first period. She dropped me off my classroom first before she headed to hers. She motioned for her phone, silently telling me to message her. I nodded in understanding before we parted.
First class was kinda boring. Well, I was already done with the readings that the teacher assigned so I wasn't really paying much attention to class. Plus this loquacious girl, whom they call as Rachel just kept on blabbering. I found her amusing the first few minutes of the class but then I got tired just listening to her rant. She once again mentioned the glee club. She was hopeful I'd join, I wanted to laugh if I wouldn't look rude. The girl hasn't even hear if I could sing. She's a hopeless case.
My phone buzzed when I was starting to doze off.
San: Hey.
I blinked my eyes a couple of times when her name flashed on my phone. I looked around to check on the teacher before I replied.
B:What's up?
San: R u upset?
She asked. I was about to reply when my phone buzzed again.
San: Hope not.
I quickly typed my reply and sent it as fast as I could.
B:I'm not. Really. All's good.
San: Good :)
B: Wait! Is that an emoji I'm seeing? Didn't know you know how to use one. ;) I silently chuckled. I wish I could see her reaction reading my message. It would surely be one for the books again.
San: HA-HA! Whatever. Meet you in the cafeteria later. Don't sit with RuPaul, she's going to pull down your rep.
Who the hell's RuPaul? Wait, RuPaul's here? I didn't know he lives this far.
San: In case your wondering, it's Rachel. Just don't sit with her or the other kids.
Oh! That's a good one. I covered my mouth to keep myself from laughing. When I wasn't able to hold it in anymore, I fake coughed so that the teacher wouldn't be suspicious.
"Are you okay?" Rachel asked who was seated in front of me. I burst out laughing again.
The teacher hushed me and Rachel after a while. Santana... oh boy! She really is something.
...
I found Santana seated on the table surrounded by the other cheerios. They were laughing and talking loudly. Well, some of them talked animatedly.
"Hey." I tipped my chin towards Santana and Quinn.
Quinn smiled at me before turning to the cheerio near her. "Hey, scoot over." She commanded to which the girl immediately obliged. Then Quinn pulled me to sit beside her.
"What took you so long?" Santana pushed herself up from the table and sat beside me instead so I was in the middle of Quinn and her. So much for not getting special treatment, I thought to myself.
"Oh, I returned some books to the library."
"What are you doing tonight?" Quinn asked so I turned to her.
"She has night shift till nine at the cafe." Santana answered for me.
"What are you now? Her secretary?" Quinn cocked her head to one side and glanced at Santana. Santana just shrugged and toyed with her phone.
"Hey ladies..." The mohawk guy stopped by interrupting us.
"First of, ew!" Santana rolled her eyes.
"Secondly, why are you talking to us?" Quinn continued.
"Jeez, ladies, didn't know you're on your periods." He raised both of his hands up and smirked. "Hey, Santana, what're you doing tonight?"
"Oh my gosh, why are you still talking you dumb-ass. Move. Now." Quinn gave him a stern look which made him really uncomfortable by the looks of it. He frowned then left without saying anything more.
"What's up with him?" I asked no one in particular.
"Nothing." Santana shrugged.
"Well, aside from being my former baby daddy, he's now just an annoying fool." Quinn cleared her throat. I looked at her suddenly wanted to ask more. Did I hear her right or was it just another term for something else? I was about to ask but Quinn changed the subject immediately. I dropped it since I know I was in no position to push for that kind of conversation.
I then turned to Santana when Quinn talked to another cheerio.
"Hey." I nudged her with my shoulder. "You alright?"
"Yep." She nodded while her eyes were still fixated on her phone.
"Will you be there later?"
"Where?" She asked, confused.
"At the cafe. Do you work tonight?"
"Oh, no. I have Tuesday and Thursday nights."
"Oh. Cool." I nodded and pursed my lips. Something inside me was a bit disappointed, I didn't even know why.
"Why? Is there something wrong?" She was now looking at me.
"Nothing's wrong. It's just that, I really didn't know anyone else there besides you and Tina so..." I trailed off.
"You'll be fine. People who works there are quite accommodating so you don't have to worry about anything."
"I guess so."
The bell rang again. We all went back to our classes, to my luck, Santana was in most of them so we spent the whole afternoon talking or her orienting me about the happenings in the school.
"I'll see you tomorrow." I told Santana when we were about to part ways. Cheerios practice was a little less intense than this morning.
"Come on. I'll drive you home so you can change before work." Santana said while walking to the parking lot. "Or will your dad pick you up?"
"Yeah, he's already there." I pointed to the car just outside. My dad rolled down the windows and waved towards us.
"Okay."
"Shit!"
"What's wrong?" Santana turned back, suddenly alarmed.
"My dad doesn't know yet."
Santana laughed a little then relaxed. "Well, good luck with that, Britt."
I sighed and nodded. I know my dad won't get mad at me, disappointed for sure, but not mad.
"Hey," Santana nudged me back to reality. She then held my hand and squeezed it gently. "You'll be fine. If you want I can talk to him and tell him I convinced you to do it."
"That's so sweet of you but no thanks. I'll handle it. I've troubled you enough already."
"You've done me a favor, I just did the same. So quits."
I smiled at her. She was so much more than what she was projecting on the outside. "I guess you're right. But, don't worry. I got it. See you."
I waved her goodbye and walked straight to my dad's car.
...
I was pacing back and forth in my room after I dropped off my bags and changed into a pair of jeans and shirt. My shift starts in half an hour and I haven't told dad yet about it.
Knock. Knock.
I tensed up and swallowed the lump that has formed in my throat.
"Brittany?" My father called before he entered my room.
"Yep?"
He sighed before looking at me. Crap. Does he know?
He opened his mouth only to close it again. Damn, this is awkward. "Well, I won't stop you as long as it doesn't interfere with your studies." He said simply.
I stood in front of him, shell-shocked. "I uh... h-how did you know?"
"Santana explained to me that you took the job as a favor." He gave a me a small smile, perhaps a reassuring smile but I'm not so sure. "I'm just glad that you're making friends, Brittany."
I suddenly let out a sigh of relief I didn't know I was holding. I smiled sheepishly at him and he just chuckled. "Wait." My smile faltered. "When did Santana tell you?"
"Oh, she's waiting for you downstairs. Hurry up before the two of you gets in late." He said and left after saying a quick 'take care'.
I hurried downstairs perplexed when I saw her sitting comfortably on the couch. She was now changed and clothed with a pair of jeans, black shirt and a leather jacket. She stood up and quirked an eyebrow when she looked at me.
"You're the best!" I leapt to my feet and pulled her in. I hugged her and squealed in excitement. "Thanks!" I whispered before letting her go. The hug was brief and took her completely by surprise.
"You're welcome... and let's go. We're gonna be late."
I frowned a little because I was confused. "You said you don't work tonight."
"Tina switched shifts with me so let's go and stop pouting."
She grabbed me by the wrist and pulled me out. We hurried to her car and drove swiftly to work.
Santana was not kidding when she said that the cafe's busy on weekdays. We've been doing back to back orders, cleaning and refilling until our shift ended. It was really tiring and I felt my my eyes became heavy due to sleepiness. But, it was worth it to say the least with Santana there to teach me so I didn't mess up orders. She was even more patient than Tina which was, well, quite a surprise.
"Do you wanna grab some dinner?" I asked her when we were walking back to the parking lot.
"Too tired." She simply said and checked on her phone for the nth time today.
"I'm sure dad prepared dinner..."
"Yeah." She nodded and typed on her phone, clearly she did not understand what I was trying to say.
"Aren't you hungry?" I asked again, she just shrugged and kept her phone in her back pocket. "You shouldn't skip meals." I whispered.
"Do you mind if I crash again at your place?" I looked at her to see if she's serious but she was looking ahead, she looked spaced out.
"Nah, it's fine." I looked down and kicked a stone.
"My dad's working tonight. I don't want to be home alone again." She explained.
"I'll message my dad, we have a spare room."
"I'd rather sleep with you if that's, okay?" Santana stopped. "I mean, I can sleep on the floor or on the window couch... I just-" She rambled and I stopped her.
"Chill. It's cool."
"Really?"
"Of course." I gave her a small smile which she returned. I like her smile. She seldom smiled which I didn't really get why. She has this enigmatic smile sometimes and a very reserved cheesy smile. I like it. I like it a lot. "You did me a favor, I'm just doing the same thing. So, quits." She laughed and nodded. That's another thing I like. The sound of people laughing gets me every time. But I haven't laughed for a while. I missed laughing. I missed just being so carefree like I used to.
"Earth to Britt?" She nudged me when we were already in front of her car. "Where did you just go?"
"Nowhere." I gave her a sheepish smile.
"Well, I'm looking forward to the dinner your dad prepared. I'm starving." She rolled her eyes playfully before she got inside her car.
I smiled to myself.
The drive home was comfortable. We were growing comfortable around each other. That's a good thing, right?
"Dad, we're home." I called out once we're inside the house.
"Hey, girls! Dinner's on the counter top." Dad was once again in the living room, watching some black and white tv show. I sent him a quick text on the way home that Santana's staying the night again so he wouldn't be surprised to see her two nights in a row.
"Good evening, Mr. Pierce." Santana greeted as I dragged her to the kitchen.
"It's Bryan." My dad shouted from the living room. We both chuckled as we reached the kitchen. Santana sat on the stool. I was starting to think that it's becoming her favorite spot, not that I'm complaining.
"Is chicken okay with you?" I turned around holding two plates after I quickly reheated the food.
"Yep."
"M'kay. Come on." I tipped my head for her to follow me to the dining table. She hopped off the chair and sat beside opposite me, it's where my dad usually sat.
We started eating in silence, we were both starving without really realizing it.
"Wait, do you have extra clothes for school?"
"I have my cheerios uniform." She shrugged and took another bite of her food.
"Right." I nodded. "So... do you usually bring your wardrobe on the go?"
She snorted and cleared her throat, then she looked back at me. "I always leave extra clothes in the car."
"You never seem to ran out of cheerios uniform."
"Sue required us to have at least a dozen pair of the freaking thing." She scrunched her nose as if in disgust.
"Whoa! Is she for real?"
"Right?" Santana sighed dramatically. "Though having that much comes in handy. I've been in the cheerios since freshman year so I was able to stock up."
"Do you like being in the cheerios?"
"I guess. Do you like being a cheerleader?"
"I love dancing." Dancing has helped in so many ways, it's the only creative outlet that I have. It makes me forget. It moves me to a different universe.
"No wonder..." She then traced her eyes from my face down to my body then back up. I gulped when she held my gaze with unreadable expression.
"I'm full." I blurted out of nervousness.
"Hm, yeah, me too."
I stood up immediately and grabbed our plates. She offered to do the dishes but then again, I refused because duh? Visitors aren't supposed to do chores. My parents taught me some manners.
When I finished, take note, I was the only one who did the dishes even though she kept on insisting, we went upstairs after saying good night to dad. He was still watching TV. I wonder why he's staying up so late when he has work in the morning. I decided not to question him though since he's already grown up and pretty much responsible for himself.
"Shorts or pajamas?" I turned around to face Santana who was sitting on the bed, watching me. It made me quite uncomfortable with her looking at me like that.
"Whatever's fine." She shrugged and I averted my eyes elsewhere. I handed her a pair of shorts and an old PE uniform from my previous school. "Thanks."
Before I could even reply you're welcome, she swiftly removed her shirt leaving her with her lacy black bra. What the fuck? I could feel my eyes budging in surprise. I didn't intend to look but she caught me by surprise. I spun around as quickly as I can.
"I uh, I'll go change in the bathroom." If that wasn't awkward, I didn't know what is. Shit! Why am I even so embarrassed? It's not like I haven't seen anything like that before. I have the same lady parts and I've seen some of my old classmates strip during parties!
Okay, maybe this is just because we just met. It's awkward when a new friend does that in front of you, right? Ugh! Stop overthinking! I was so sure that she's smirking right in this moment. Jeez! Why am I freaking out? Stop!
"Britt?" She called out from the outside. I didn't realize that I haven't even changed yet. My feet were planted and my back was leaning heavily on the door.
"Y-yeah?"
"You alright in there?" Is she teasing or is she just seriously checking up on me?
"I-I'll be out in a minute." Dammit! Stop stuttering.
"Okay." I heard her footsteps moving away.
I hastily changed and brushed my teeth.
"Your turn." I told her and went to turn on the lamp. She went to the bathroom and I took a sigh of relief when the bathroom door was shut. I then turned off the light to dim the room. I couldn't afford for her to see me flushed.
I looked at my phone to check on the time. It was already eleven. I closed my eyes and felt my muscles started to relax.
The bed dipped beside me and her warmth radiated through the sheets. I opened one of my eyes to peek at her. "You okay?"
She didn't answer. Her eyes were still open though. Maybe she's trying to assess if she's okay or not.
"My mom's back in the ICU again." She said after a few minutes of silence. This time I opened both of my eyes and looked at her. "She has lupus. It started off with behavioral changes then series of headaches... and the worse is her memory problems. We thought that she's just stressed out until we had her diagnosed. My father was the one who conducted the tests. We had second and third opinion and all went back with the same results. They said that there's no cure for it." She took a deep breath. I knew she was holding back her tears. It seemed that the atmosphere changed between us. "I'm sorry, I just have to let it out my chest." She whispered and shook her head.
I ran my hand over the sheets until I found her hand. I laced my fingers with hers and gave it a slight tug. She then scooted closer. "I don't judge." I whispered. "I'd say I'm sorry but I don't want to sound like other people who just sympathizes." I looked at her and our eyes met. "The universe royally fucks us up every chance it gets." I half shrugged and she chuckled through tears. "I may not know exactly how you feel but I know how much it hurts when someone you love is in pain. We're humans and we sometimes feel like we are cornered in terms of what we can do... but do you know what the universe doesn't know about us?" I wiped her tears and brushed some hair away from her face. "People are resilient and our resiliency is deeply rooted on the people we love the most. Be there for her, be there for your mom even though she tend to forget. Just be there so that you can be her strength." I sighed. "I'm sorry if I don't really make sense, I'm not really good at this."
"Sshhh..." She then moved closer and lifted my arms. The next thing I know, her head was on my chest and my arms were wrapped around her. I didn't know why, but this feels... right. I watched her as she looked up at me and said, "you're a genius, Brittany."
I miss Naya. :( May she live forever in our hearts. Rest well, our sassy angel. :(