Chapter Twelve
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Normally Spencer was an indescribable early bird. She woke up at hours that hadn't seen sun the yet and filled that time with chores she cared for personally; like going online to check her e-mails as well as her most frequently visited websites and blogs. She might even be so bold as to make herself a cup of coffee or go downstairs to feed Koenig. And if she felt frivolous enough she'd even do her homework or polish up any unfinished essays and reports she had collecting dust in her computer's numerous folders. She would tip-toe around the house to make sure she didn't disturb her parents while they slept. The whole house was hers in those hours and she relished it because it was the one time where she didn't have to put on masks in her own backyard. No fake indifference toward her inconsiderate father's hidden conservatism, no deflecting her mother's inglorious fussing over the most trivial aspects of her diet or anything equally as mundane. It was a short few hours of self-hood and reflection for Spencer.
Which was why her sleeping through it that Saturday morning stood as a testimony to how exhausting the past week had been. All of her normal habits for the morning were pushed aside for sleep and sleep alone. She had been asleep since coming home from school yesterday morning and hadn't cracked open an eyelid since. Her parents had come by her room in that time, but rather than disturb her (well-needed) sleep, Paula pulled a blanket over her daughter's slumbering form and let her have her rest.
When Spencer's eyes finally started to flutter open there was a shower of golden morning light cast over her entire room past the unfurled curtains of her window. She looked up and emitted a kind of grumble/groan hybrid. It didn't take long for her to register that she'd overslept (at least by her own schedule). So the young woman yawned and leaned up from her bed, pulling the blanket off of her. All things considered Spencer usually got the grandest amount of sleep. Unfortunately that was happening at a time when she truly needed it. This sudden burst was therefore fully welcomed. It did nothing to change her preoccupations though. In instantaneous flashes she recalled what a hell of a week it had been. Her relationship with Ashley and bringing that to an end, meeting Nicole, taking care of Ashley after her bruising, then watching she and Nicole scrapping in school and finally the coup de grace, having to lie to Nicole about Ashley and her ties to the Italian girl.
With all that had happened this week... it was the lie that seemed the most foul right now.
Make no mistake. Spencer hadn't wanted to lie to Nicole. But what choice did she really have? Lose the closest and probably only friend she'd ever had? If not lose her then weaken the friendship itself? Spencer could picture that little scenario oh so well. She might tell Nicole and Nicole might try to accept it, awkwardly so, just to please her. Then the Milligan girl would over time grow distant and unbecoming. It was a slow corrosion that Spencer had admittedly not seen for herself or better yet experienced; but she was more than smart enough to know how these things worked. And she couldn't bear it. The last thing she needed now was to lose a good friend. If that meant having to lie to her then she would do that -- no matter how sick that sounded in her head.
The private resolve steeled Spencer somewhat. She still felt guilty about lying to Nicole like that but stronger than that guilt was her desire to preserve the friendship she'd established with Nicole. That was what she told herself. And it was quite enough. So the blonde girl yawned aloud once more and stood upright to stretch out her arms. She was still dressed in the clothes she had worn to school yesterday so when she realized it she took them off and redressed in some indoor clothing -- a pair of white polyester summer shorts and a large black jersey that ran all the way down to her thighs. It was too big for her but she liked the way it felt when she wore it. After that Spencer went about unpacking her backpack, putting all her notebooks and texts away. Very briefly during that exchange she noticed her cell phone. Normally she didn't pay it any mind. Aside from Ashley hardly anyone called her on it. But when she saw its screen declaring missed calls she couldn't help but take notice. Spencer put her Geography notebook down and flipped her cell phone open. She was startled to see there were five missed calls on it... but perhaps not so startled so see that they were all from Ashley.
That bugged her.
Spencer closed her cell phone and threw it on her bed, somewhat childishly. Suddenly her thoughts turned from Nicole to Ashley. New emotions she'd somehow tried to forego crossed territories in her head -- namely anger. What right did Ashley have calling her up after what she did? After Spencer had told her so frankly to leave her alone? After provoking Nicole and fighting her like that? It actually annoyed her that Ashley could be so self-centered. For as long as Spencer had known of Ashley she had thought that it was her strength, tenacity and conviction that she found most attractive about the brunette. But now those very same things Spencer found repulsive. It made her wonder. Had she even really liked those things in Ashley? Or was it more about the sex? Was it that someone had finally noticed her, not just as a bookworm or as an out-of-place WASP child, but as a woman? Much like every other question that she asked herself these days... Spencer had no answer for it. All she knew was that Ashley had called her and those calls gave her a budding tingle of consternation. And the more she thought about it the more that tingle became a gripe.
At the moment she knew where she stood with Ashley -- Spencer never wanted to see her again. But that didn't apply to Ashley herself. They hadn't spoken to each other since the fight but Ashley had been calling her. If it was to say goodbye then she wouldn't have tried calling over and over again. Obviously Ashley wasn't ready to let this go. That rose another worry. How would she justify it if Ashley ever came up to her and Nicole was there? The thought made her tremble. The last thing she wanted was to see them fight again. It had all but broken her heart the last time. It occurred to Spencer then that if Ashley didn't get it, nothing had really been resolve. She wasn't completely sure that Nicole had bought the lie anyway, she was probably still suspicious, and if it happened again, if Ashley came up and confronted her while she was with Nicole, there was no telling what might go down.
Right now she knew that she couldn't let what happened in the lunchroom yesterday happen again. Though Spencer was aware that she had feelings or at least an attraction to Nicole, none of that was as important as her friendship right now. To protect that she would have to make things plain to Ashley. She'd have to tell her that it was over and then make her understand that. She couldn't do it, and then run away like before. Spencer needed to have Ashley know that it was over, to make sure she knew that the notion was an undeniable verity. In moments Spencer made the decision. After today, after her day with Nicole, she'd call Ashley up, maybe arrange a meeting some place close by, and then just tell her once and for all to back off. In all honesty Spencer wasn't sure if she could get the point across but she knew at least that she had to. She simply couldn't be wishy-washy about it. That was the plan.
Just then Spencer's cell phone went off.
Her clear blue eyes swung towards it and almost immediately a weight dropped in the pit of her stomach. Was it Ashley? Spencer paused with alarm for a moment then balled her hand into a fist and shook her inertia off. So what if it was Ashley? If she couldn't handle speaking to her now how in the blue hell would she handle articulating their break-up in person? That gave her a drop of iron. It was a small one (fledgling soldier she was not) but it was just about enough to get her to take up her cell again and make things clear.
So it made things slightly anti-climatic when she saw Nicole's name running across the screen. All the same, Spencer breathed a sigh of relief and accepted the call, remembering that she and Nicole had exchanged numbers once before. "Hello?"
"Hey Spencer, it's me."
Spencer couldn't help but feel all atwitter, even if it was just Nicole's voice. "Hi..."
"Sorry to call you so early in the morning. Were you sleeping?"
Normally when she woke up it was still dark out so to her this was late. Nevertheless Spencer glanced at the alarm clock on her nightstand to check the time. It was about half past nine. They clearly still had a great deal to learn about each other. "No. I was awake. How are you? Is everything okay?"
"Sure. Everything's fine," The other girl answered sweetly. "I'm psyched for today. Are we still on?"
"Of course." Hellish three-headed dogs couldn't keep her away.
"Good! I was thinking we should probably go see the movie first and then afterwards go get something to eat. How's that sound? Yay or nay?"
"...Yay. I think."
Spencer could envision Nicole grinning across the street. Her tone of voice suggested it. "Very cool. Come meet me in front of my place at about quarter past three. I'll be waiting there. Catch you later!"
Spencer whispered "Bye" very softly then heard Nicole hang up on the other end. She then dreamily pressed her cell against her chest, heaved a calming sigh and shut her eyes. Nicole was so sweet and adorable. Her voice alone was like a beautiful piece of music composed solely to relax and to soothe. There was grace and fire of the most potent nature within her. It had Spencer so charmed that she'd even forgot to ask the girl how her soccer tryouts went. She was sure that Nicole had made the team though. While she had never seen Nicole play (and was pretty much uninterested when it came to sports in general) she had faith in her friend's capabilities. If anyone could do it, it was Nicole.
With their impending day together Spencer went about her usual tasks with a small smile and a bit of a spring in her step. She went downstairs and opened up a can of lamb-flavored cat food for Koenig whilst making her own self a cup of coffee and some thinly buttered toast. After that she went back upstairs to her room, saying a polite good morning to her mother when she woke up (while Arthur slept in). Then came her online business. All her e-mails (and there were at least twenty-five unopened ones -- she hadn't been frequenting her hotmail account often) she replied to, all her favorite websites and blogs and mailing lists she visited to keep herself up to date. After that Spencer concentrated on the few pieces of homework that had to be done before next week. And subsequent to all of that the blonde girl took herself to her wardrobe and picked out what she was going to wear for the film with Nicole.
Spencer wasn't a Valley girl. It didn't really matter to her what she wore as long as it was comfortable and kept her warm when she needed to be warm. But in this case she wanted to look good for Nicole. So it was a question of what she had at her disposal. It was not much to be sure because her wardrobe was in no way flashy. What Spencer ended up settling on was a pleated mid-length brown skirt coupled with a pearl-colored v-neck shirt, cotton ankle socks and her polished up brown penny loafers. It perhaps wasn't as becoming an outfit as Spencer would have intended but it looked casual enough to pass as casual and formal enough to be formal. It suited Spencer in that sense. She too was neither here nor there. Once she decided what she was going to wear there wasn't much else left for her to do. All of that took about three hours. All that was left was to wait for the time to pass. She hastened its movement by taking a bath, listening to a CD from the Ring Cycle as performed by some random Latin American philharmonic, and playing with Koenig a little. Everything else was simply a distraction. Though it couldn't have come any slower than it did it was eventually time for Spencer to get ready. The young woman brushed her hair again, doused herself with a few spurts of perfume then got dressed in the clothes she'd picked out. Spencer didn't normally bother with jewelry so by the time she'd gotten changed that was an afterthought. Then she turned to the full body mirror in her room and observed herself.
She thought that she looked okay.
Koenig at that point came up to her leg and nuzzled his little head against it. Spencer smiled, taking that as a share of the sentiment, then grabbed her purse. Having one really made her feel like a dork and while she had no idea why; it was necessary to have something to carry her keys, cell and money in. The blonde closed the bedroom door behind her then descended her stairs and entered the lounge to say goodbye to her Mom. Paula was sitting alone in one of the armchairs now; Arthur had left earlier for one of his weekend shifts at the hospital. She was busy though, sorting through numerous case files she brought home with her from her law firm. Paula went through them all with studious nobility.
Spencer approached her and said, "Hey Mom? I'm leaving now."
"To meet your little friend?" Though Paula hadn't intended any offence there, the way she said `little friend' didn't do anything but highlight how everyone saw the concept of Spencer having a friend, a quaint novelty. With Ashley it was more a result of her intractable jealousy but with her mother it was just the naked thought. That stung, if only a little.
Spencer nodded. "Yes. Nicole."
"Nicole? That's her name?"
Spencer became cautious. "Yes. Why?"
"Oh it's nothing. It's just that I was speaking to Mrs. Wilberman this morning and she told me that the other night, before your father and I got home, there was a girl banging on our door and screaming for someone. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?"
At first that comment didn't quite sink in. Then it did and Spencer froze. That was the night before last when she had originally broken up with Ashley. Spencer clearly remembered sobbing into her pillow until she left that night. But since no one had said anything to her parents the day after she had assumed that the event had gone unnoticed by their neighbors. Apparently that wasn't the case. Spencer frowned with irritation. If anything about white affluent suburbia cheesed her off it was that stupid way everyone was up everyone else's ass. You couldn't step more than three yards from your door without stepping into someone else's business. All the gossip and innuendo and thin walls were the ultimate antagonist to privacy in this place.
"I uh..." Now she'd have to lie again. "...I don't... remember anything like that, Mom. But I... I-I-I guess someone must have... gotten the wrong door or something. That`s all it is."
How many lies would she have to tell to cover up the trail of shit she and Ashley left behind them whenever they were together? Paula stared evenly at her for a moment then returned to case files. Apparently she'd bought that big steaming load of shit. But why wouldn't she? To Paula, to their family, and to their family's friends, Spencer was a pristine angel of finely crafted porcelain and delicate Asian paints. A pretty object on the shelf to be admired and fused over but never understood. Something precious, something subtle, something fragile. Would anyone ever know the real Spencer?
"Okay, sweetheart. Be back before ten." Paula answered.
That was enough. Since Spencer's social life was practically non-existent she'd forgotten that she had a curfew. But she didn't intend to be back any later than say eight or nine so it was moot. The scholarly teen bade her mother another goodbye then left the Carlin Household. Once outside she could already see Nicole standing beside her door in wait for her. And she looked absolutely gorgeous. Spencer bit her lip when hazarding a probing glance at her friend outside the realm of school. Nicole was wearing a tight grey tee shirt (with the phrase `savage badlands' across the back). The lower half of her body sported dark blue denim jeans. Pointed high-heel boots were her choice of footwear and hanging from her earlobes were two sparkling silver teardrop earrings. As for her hair? She'd braided two long tresses of it, while her bangs bounced freely. There was a tint of pink lip-gloss spread across her lips. The color didn't seem at all smutty while she was wearing it. On the contrary. The pink matched well with the sea green of her eyes and the golden brown of her hair as well as accentuating Nicole's natural pucker. Aside from the bruise her cheek still had from her fight with Ashley (which had been de-emphasized with a little pap of crafty make-up) she was a sight to behold.
Spencer licked her lips unintentionally, perhaps forgetting for a moment that this wasn't a date; and crossed the empty suburban street toward her friend. The blonde one greeted the brunette with mature zest. "Hi, Nicole...!"
" Spencer," Nicole's patient waiting frown became a smile. "Are you ready to go?"
"Ready and waiting."
Nicole gestured down the street with a grin. "Well then follow me. Someone from my Math class told me about the local Cineplex. It`s pretty good."
All Spencer did was follow the lead Nicole set for her as they journeyed down the street to their bus stop and waited for a modern wagon to take them downtown. When they reached the Cineplex they got to the business of picking a movie. All things considered Spencer really wasn't big on film so it really didn't matter to her which one they went with. Fortunately Nicole wasn't the type to heckle and chide about something like that and just made her choice; I Am Legend. They then waited in line for tickets for about twenty minutes (it was surprisingly busy this time of day) and after purchasing, they walked upstairs across burgundy carpeted steps to the food stands of the second floor. The girls were forced to wait in line once more behind a grouping of men and women mostly the same age as themselves. While the line dwindled in number Spencer patiently stood behind Nicole (who was somewhat more impatiently eyeballing the last few foot-long hotdogs sitting tight and warm on a grill behind the counter.
Nicole snarled at the teenage maîtred' that their queue was aligned to. "What's taking that pimpled jackass so long? If he doesn't hurry up all the foot-longs are gonna sell out...!"
That was another of Nicole's weaknesses. Junk food. For the life of her, Spencer honestly couldn't understand how a girl like Nicole could eat so unhealthily and still have such a sexy figure. It was just another one of those little foibles that made her so captivating.
At this point they were quite close together in the line. So close in fact that Spencer saw the light bouncing of the texture of Nicole's cinnamon brown hair, giving it a shimmering gleam. It looked very beautiful. It made her stare at Nicole's hair for a moment, just before she did something unusually bold of her, she leaned forward and quickly smelled the scent of Nicole's hair. It had a sensual aroma of coconuts to it. But as she realized what she was doing Spencer pulled back fast, looking from side to side to check if she had been seen. It was fortunate that she hadn't been. She chided herself for slipping like that. Then she blinked repeatedly when Nicole's bright mane of golden brown hair whipped around her shoulders when she turned to look back at Spencer.
"You know that lines are faster in Utah?" She remarked.
Spencer half-smiled. "You have to get used to L.A. sometime..."
She rolled her eyes and turned back around. Eventually the line did speed up and about four minutes later they were only three people down from the attendant. It was right then that the pair of them heard someone say, "Hey it's Nicole!" from a parallel line to their own. Both she and Spencer looked across. There was a girl smiling with startled glee at the brunette. Spencer observed her cautiously. She was slightly taller than herself and Nicole, having perhaps an inch over the pair of them. Her smooth black hair was long (running down to her lower back), aside from her heavy bangs, which hung as far down her face as the bridge of her nose (though they had been pulled to the side). She wore a tight yellow graffiti t-shirt and black trousers whilst having a tiny backpack hanging from her shoulders. Spencer mused. She didn't know this girl but she somehow looked familiar, like Spencer had seen her before from somewhere. Behind the girl was another young woman that seemed to be `with' her. A demure and perhaps a little morose Asian girl that wouldn't utter so much as a word.
But while Spencer knew nothing of the pair of them, Nicole's expression brightened with familiarity. "Carmen...? Kyla? Hey guys! What are you doing here?"
"We're catching a movie, genius," Replied the grinning taller one, the one that Spencer noticed first. Then that girl stared evenly at Spencer herself and said, "So who's your friend?"
"Oh right, damn." Nicole shook her head chidingly and first gestured to the tall girl, "Spencer, this is Carmen." Then she went on to introduce the Asian girl, "And this is Kyla, her best friend." Finally Nicole gestured at Spencer. "Kyla? Carmen? This is Spencer. My best `Los Angeles' friend."
Carmen gave her a polite "How you doing?" while the more tepid Kyla gave her a nod and a brief smile. Nicole then went on talking, uttering, "I met these two last night at soccer tryouts. Carmen's a really good goalkeeper. I couldn't get one damn shot past her."
"Nicole. Sucking up to me won't get you anywhere. You're still not gonna score on me."
The brunette giggled. "Oh don't flatter yourself. I don't need any handouts. Besides, I was kind of distracted last night. Once you see me in action for real next week you'll be surprised. I'll kick all kinds of ass."
While Nicole and Carmen smiled and joked with each other, Spencer struggled not to let this dampen her mood. It was nice for Nicole to make some other friends, but... it bothered her that the private time she and Nicole had to spend with each other might now be intruded upon by two people she didn't even know. Nevertheless for Spencer's sake she tried to feign some kind of interest in all of this.
Spencer turned to Kyla and asked blankly, "What position are you?""
Carmen was about to answer that for her when Kyla quickly (and dourly) interjected, "I don't like soccer. I just go there to watch Carmen play. Moral support."
Her speech was as terse and distant as her demeanor. It made Spencer curious a moment, a bit like that moment you first walk past a fishmonger. But it soon passed and very soon she saw that Kyla was quite a bit like her; remote, unassuming, tagging along on the coattails of a more animated girl. The only dissimilarity was that Spencer was more shy than languid -- which Kyla seemed to be.
Nicole changed the subject. "So... what movie are you guys going to see?"
"Atonement," Carmen answered. "I liked James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland so I thought I'd be kind of cool for Kyla and I to check it out. Is that what you guys are gonna see? Atonement?"
"It's something called I Am Legend." Said Spencer.
Carmen smiled first at her then Nicole. "That Will Smith flick. That's pretty okay. Kyla and I saw it last week I think. It was last week, wasn't it, Kyla?"
The somber sidekick bobbed her head stiffly. "...Yeah."
By that time the line had whittled all the way down to Nicole. The maître d' behind the counter smoothed out his red and white smock and said to her, "May I take your order please?" By now Nicole was somewhat less annoyed so she didn't bother to relate her misgivings about the speed (rather the lack thereof) of his work and simply got down to business.
"Yes you can, cowboy, yes you can." Nicole pointed out one of those sizzling foot-long hotdogs on the grill. Luckily there happened to be two left. "I want one of those jumbo dogs over there please. Put some ketchup and mustard on it as well. Can I also have a box of milk duds and a salt pretzel? Oh and a diet soda... no. You know what? Scratch the soda. Make it a strawberry shake!"
The attendant scratched his head. "Okay."
"And for my friend here," Nicole turned around. "What do you want, Spencer?"
Spencer smiled softly. "Just some popcorn maybe. No salt."
"Sugar?"
"No."
"You want a shake or a soda or something? Wet the whistle?"
Spencer shook her head. "No thank you."
"That's a bit dull, but alright," Nicole turned back to the maître d`. "She wants a plain popcorn, regular sized. And you got my order right? A foot-long with ketchup and mustard, milk duds, salt pretzel and a strawberry milkshake?"
As he rang up the cash register he replied, "I got it, alright? That'll be... $11.67."
Nicole blinked in consternation. "...Twelve bucks? Are you kidding me?"
The attendant rolled his eyes and pointed upward to the overhead whiteboard. It had three rectangular light bulbs inside it which illuminated the black lettering that the items for sale (and their respective prices) were written in. "It's all there in black and white." He said.
Nicole grudgingly reached into her back pocket and pulled out her wallet to pay the money. When it exchanged hands and she got her change, the pimple-faced boy went about his work, picking the foot-long off the grill with a pair of tongs and lodging it in a lengthy bun then pouring two lines (one of ketchup and the other mustard) down the thing. While he busied himself with the rest of their order Nicole turned back to Carmen and Kyla. They were now merely two people away from ordering themselves.
"Why's everything in this city so expensive?" Nicole bitched.
Carmen shoved her hands in her pockets. "They don't charge you six bucks for a hotdog in Salt Lake City?"
"Not with a straight face."
Then the boy came back with everything. Nicole handed Spencer her popcorn (then asked her to hold her pretzel and box of milk duds) and took a hold of her foot-long with one hand and her shake with the other. Then Nicole turned to Carmen and Kyla.
"We'll catch you guys later, okay?" She said. "Our movie's gonna start soon."
Jenny nodded to them. "Sure. Nice to meet you, Spencer."
"...You too."
She and Nicole then exited the line and left the pair of them behind. Spencer couldn't help but look back at them though. When she did she saw Kyla stare hard at Nicole then whisper something into Carmen's ear. Her face twisted into a defensive expression and she said something in reply, whispering back into Kyla's ear. Whatever she said it was enough because Kyla seemed to calm down at that point; but not before casting a palpably worried glance in Nicole's direction and huddling closer to Carmen. That had Spencer curious. While she and Nicole climbed the stairs to the next floor Spencer called her on it.
"...About Carmen and Kyla..."
"What about them?" Said Nicole, obliviously.
Spencer blushed a bit. "Are they... close?"
"I suppose so. Carmen told me that she and Kyla have been friends since they were in kindergarten together. You wouldn't think it to look at them because they seem so different. But Kyla wasn't lying though. She did come to the tryouts afterschool. She didn't say anything or speak to anyone. She just sat in the bleachers watching Carmen dive all over the place."
Spencer pondered that while they found their assigned screening room. They then walked into the darkened room, sparsely seated, with light chatter and laughter emanating from the few dozen people whom had already gathered here. Nicole pointed out two empty seats on the rear row just a few aisles down. They claimed those two seats before anyone else could and sat down on their upholstery quite comfortably. Once Nicole was settled in nicely she removed her hotdog from its warmed-up cardboard container and took a big luxurious bite out of it.
Spencer's face went bright red when she watched her do it; Nicole's head tilting back, sylvan mouth wide open and oval-shaped, eyes fluttered shut, brandished pearly whites sinking into bread, pork and its twin dressings. Her baby soft cheeks rolled around repeatedly whilst she chewed. Her throat bobbed when she swallowed it. Then Spencer quaked as Nicole's hot pink tongue lavishly licked around her lips. Nicole brought her hotdog to her mouth again and bit down on the mouth-shaped indentation she'd left behind earlier.
Spencer brought her legs together and urgently looked away.
Fortunately as more people started to fill in the trailers started (which gave Spencer a good enough distraction). By the time it was full the movie was starting. Nicole had finished the hotdog and was now exchanging nibbles on her pretzel with sips from her strawberry milkshake. Spencer tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth every few seconds. It was partly because she was hungry (she'd skipped lunch knowing that she and Nicole would be going out for a meal after this) and partly because she needed a little something to distract herself from Nicole's unconscious seductiveness. It was one thing to see her in school... but this was outside in the real world. It felt mature somehow, and quite bold. Very much so. Those things made Nicole all the more beautiful and alluring. All the work she'd done to ignore her feelings for Nicole in protest of their friendship seemed so ineffective now. Whilst the opening credits were rolling Spencer hazarded a glance at her friend from the corner of her eye. Her pretty green eyes were fixed on the screen while she absent-mindedly took bites of her pretzel and sips of her milkshake. Nicole being so gorgeous was no secret but it hadn't really dawned on Spencer, until now, how attracted she was to her. She was the only girl Spencer knew of that turned her on as much as Ashley had done.
As the movie proceeded and Will Smith's character spent God knows how long talking to himself and his dog, Spencer tried to focus on it. She really tried. In the end it wouldn't take. Her eyes would be on the screen for no more than a minute or so before they drifted off to Nicole again. The Milligan girl on the other hand was pretty focused on it. She'd laugh with the others every time Will's character cracked a funny joke or grimace any time he suffered a setback. All the while Spencer secretly stared at her -- utterly captivated and actively suppressing her desire to simply reach across their shared armrest and caress her. All that will was well mustered because Spencer succeeded in that aim. But before she knew it she'd fallen foul of the treachery of time. Less than two hours later...
...the end credits were rolling.
There was an explosion of chatter from the crowds and banging from their seats as they started to stand. Nicole smiled brightly at Spencer, who was somewhat startled at how swiftly the time had moved on, and asked, "That was pretty cool, right? What d'you think?"
"Uh," Spencer couldn't even remember the dog's name. But she could have told Nicole now many freckles she had on her cute little nose. "Yeah, yeah... it was... it was great."
"Sure was! I love a good movie, you know?" She then stretched out her arms and yawned a little. "So? You hungry? Fancy a bite to eat?"
"You're still hungry after all you ate?"
Nicole winked at her. "Course I am. C'mon, let's go. I don't watch the end credits."
The two of them got up and slid down the row along with some of the other people then marched out with them through the aisle. The girls stepped outside into the lobby where numerous groups huddled together chatting about the movie. Spencer felt the need to relieve herself and told Nicole as much, saying, "I need the bathroom. Wait for me?" and Nicole offered a quick "Sure. I'm right here." to her before she left. Spencer made her way to the women's bathroom and claimed a stall before they were all taken. When she was finished she came back out and went to the basins to wash her hands. Via her reflection she could see that her cheeks were tinted rouge. That meant she had been blushing a lot. Spencer had hoped that she could control that for once but it was one element of her face that always betrayed her. It made her wonder how long she could be friends with Nicole without making her suspect something. She was a smart girl. All Spencer had to do was slip one day and the secret would be out. And the consequences? Thoughts like that kept Spencer in line. She could make this work. She could ride out her crush then find someone else, while still having Nicole as a friend at the end of the day. That rejuvenating thought kept Spencer going.
When she passed a few others by and stepped out of the bathrooms again she searched for Nicole at the spot she'd left her. Nicole was indeed still there. But now she was joined by the two girls that Spencer met earlier, Carmen and Kyla. Nicole and Carmen were knee-deep in conversation again while Kyla stood behind her 'best friend' with a small but perceptible scowl. She clearly didn't like sharing Carmen with anyone. Spencer almost instantaneously identified with that. But there was something weird about it all too. For a moment she just stopped and focused on Kyla -- who stood there sullen and miserable because her favored person was talking to someone else.
Was that anything like Spencer?
Nicole hadn't really made many friends thus far but that was because she was new. This time next month Spencer expected her to be swimming in them. Who wouldn't like Nicole? But would Spencer be anything like Kyla if that happened? Would she be possessively hanging around Nicole like an ongoing oddity with other people wondering what the hell they were doing with each other? Would she too get jealous any time she saw Nicole talking to someone else? It was strange... because when Carmen spoke to Nicole earlier, Spencer felt like that. Like a poorly thought out addition, some kind of eccentric ornament that didn't quite fit the decor of a room. She was seeing the exact same things in Kyla and in Spencer's eyes it looked... somewhat pathetic.
What did that mean?
Spencer shivered a little. Something about that creeped her out. It really creeped her out. Because of that she didn't stand around and speculate but rather walked over there to get it out of her head. She immediately greeted both Carmen and Kyla, saying, "Hi. How did you two... enjoy your movie?"
"It was brilliant," Carmen commented. "It's got Academy Award all over it."
Nicole nudged her eyebrows. "Hello? Writer's Guild strike?"
"That won't last."
"Wanna bet?" The cheerful Nicole then turned to Spencer. "Anyways, since these guys are done and we're done, I asked if they wanted to come eat with us now. Is that cool?"
Spencer's gut feeling was no. In her heart she declared "This is my time with Nicole and I don't wanna share her!" That was the knee-jerk reaction. But then she recognized how it sounded in her head. And she once again took a look at Kyla and how wretched and childish she came off as, watching Carmen talk to someone else with that brooding look of envy. There had never been any inclination toward pride in Spencer... until now. Because for all her indecision and personal weakness the last thing she'd ever want is to be seen as was Nicole's 'unusual friend'. She didn't want to defend herself like that and she sure as hell didn't want people thinking any less of Nicole because they were friends.
Spencer swallowed her heart's misgivings to make way for her head's sensibilities and said, "...That sounds great."
"Awesome!" Nicole said merrily. "Lets bounce."
************
An hour or so later the quartet of Spencer, Nicole, Carmen and Kyla were seated around a circular white plastic table (complete with mounted parasol) outside a small but intimate little pizzeria called Mama Giancarlo's. Carmen and Kyla shared a large one between the two of them (with ham, mushrooms and green peppers) while Nicole ate a medium-sized one (with sweet corn, pepperoni and red peppers) and Spencer ate a small one (simply with cheese and tomato on it) by themselves. Night had fallen by now and the traffic had slowed down around the high street. It left behind a beautiful quietness that was only pierced by the little chatter between Nicole and Carmen. Around the table they dominated conversation, mostly about the soccer team. Nicole hadn't been introduced to everyone on it yet so Carmen went about informing her of all the little details about each player, their strengths and weakness, who would be playing what spots and who there was to account for in opposing teams once the season got started. Spencer tried to interject every now and again but she found herself unable to account for all the soccer jargon and technicalities. Kyla was much the same way... although she didn't even bother to join the conversation. She simply sat back and chewed on one of her pizza slices, constantly mute, that status only contradicted when Carmen asked her brief unrelated questions like "Are you cold?" or "Are we going home after this?" or "You want another glass of water?" and so on.
Kyla herself seemed to be used to this. Even though it was clear (if only through her body language) that she did not want Nicole and Spencer to be here, she didn't bother questioning it and just sat back to let things play themselves out. Spencer couldn't say she was handling it all as easily. As selfish as it sounded, she wanted Nicole's attention on her right now. That clearly had not materialized. What's worse was how awkward it left things with Kyla. Spencer tried to talk to her, to ask her what her interests were, how long she had known Carmen, whether or not she liked the pizza. Kyla's responses were brusque and dreary, "Nothing much," and "A long time." or "It's not bad." to name a few. She didn't want to talk and Spencer wasn't long compelled to cajole her into doing so. That made things uncomfortable. Thusly Spencer sat silent as Kyla did and listened to whatever it was that Carmen and Nicole were talking about.
"Look," Said Carmen. "We're working a 3-4-3 set up here. Dawn, Marianne and Amanda are normally up front but Marianne dropped out at the last minute so it's up to you. I think you can do it."
Nicole haggled back. "But I'm not a striker, Carmen. I always play midfield, that's how I am."
"You didn't mind shooting in practice."
"That's practice. In a real match, I-"
And so the two went on, back and forth, with Spencer not really getting it and Kyla positively indifferent to it. So when Spencer's cell phone went off she was almost glad for it. Carmen and Nicole stopped talking and looked toward her. So the blonde said a quick, "I'll be back in a minute" then went off to answer it. She left the table and turned the corner of Mama Giancarlo's till she was out of earshot in the alleyway. When she took her phone out of her purse and stared at the screen she saw Ashley's name flashing on it. Spencer exhaled. She'd resolved to do this tomorrow or even later on, but if Ashley insisted on calling her maybe now was the best time to get it over with. So she flipped open her cell and held it to her ear.
"Hello Ashley." She said listlessly.
Spencer's eyes narrowed when she heard a man's voice on the other end -- not Ashley's. "Uh, hello, is this Spencer Carlin?"
Something was off and Spencer quickly became concerned. "Who is this? Where's Ashley?"
"Okay, I'll try to explain as best I can. My name's George Prescott, I'm an intern at Headings-Stanley General Hospital," Spencer noted at that moment that that was the hospital her father was the Chief of Medicine at; but kept listening to what this guy had to say. "Last night a young woman named Ashley Davies was brought into our Accident and Emergency center and uh... she was pretty severely beaten."
Spencer's blood ran cold. "...Oh God..."
"B-but she's pretty much okay now," The way this guy stumbled over his words it was quite clear that he was just an intern. "Everything's stable and she's breathing. She's suffered through a few bruised ribs but we've given her some antibiotics and she'll probably be discharged in a few hours. The problem is she'll need some help getting home. By law I have to raise her next of kin but I haven't been able to get in touch with either her Mother or her Father. So I've spoken to Ashley and she told me to call you. Do you think it might be possible for you to come down here?"
She answered without thinking. "I-I-I'm on my way."
"That's great. Listen, the address is-" Spencer didn't listen and immediately shut her cell phone. With her heart racing and adrenalin pumping through her veins, the blonde girl shot out of the alleyway and ran down the street without a second thought -- the opposite direction of Mama Giancarlo's. She dashed all the way down to the end of the road and flagged a taxi mid-stride. As soon as it pulled over Spencer yanked open the door, jammed herself inside the back seat and slammed the door closed, yelling, "Take me to Headings-Stanley General Hospital please! Quickly!". The Hispanic driver nodded with a grunt then turned a corner and drove toward it.
Ten minutes later, at the table that she, Carmen and Kyla were sitting at; Nicole glanced at Spencer's chair and saw that it was still empty. She stood up and looked around for her but couldn`t see Spencer anywhere. Nicole`s eyes thinned in concern. "...Where's Spencer...?"