this is it. final chapter. ive really enjoyed writing this and i just want to say a HUGE thankyou to everyone who reviewed. these people (sorry if ive missed your name out!!!) include: brenda
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High School went by in a blur of exams, late-night gossiping and very strong caffeine.
There were ups and downs, friendships and broken-hearts, and everything in between. Olivia and I stayed best friends. She had always there, like a guardian angel, I had just never really noticed. I had two other best friends as well; Kemp and Plovert. Surprising, I know, but they were funny and goofy and made me laugh at times when I just wanted to cry. They stayed loyal to me the last couple of years of High School, and I loved them like they were my brothers.
It turns out Kemp wasn't as much of a perv as I thought he was. He was a bit of a ladies' man, and left a trail of broken-hearts behind him. He was kinda cute I guess with his head of dark curls and bright, bright blue eyes-sort of like Heath Ledger in 10 Things I Hate about You-but luckily our relationship never went further than me consulting him about a guy I liked or something. We were just happy for what each other had.
Plovert. Was. A. Legend. I don't know how I would survive without his help in absolutely everything. He helped me like a counsellor, a tutor, a brother. I was so lucky to have him. He was amazing and one of my best friends, although he did have a tendency to tease me a lot.
Prom was...interesting. I helped Olivia pick out the most beautiful dress. She went with none other than Danny Robbins; they were going out for a bit but ended it subtly. They are still great friends though. I didn't go to the prom. I did other things everyone else did but I don't think I would really be able to stand it. Since the masquerade ball, I took a break from formal dances...
Dylan and I grew apart. After the masquerade ball we never spoke to each other again. Each of us was invisible to the other. She had her friends and I had mine and we went on with our own lives. I forgave her unspoken apology but I didn't bother to keep in touch. She could make the effort to do that.
Kristen stayed with Josh, made friends with the soccer girls and eventually became quite famous within our county for writing an article on the Borneo rainforest or something, for the local newspaper. Huh. She always used to hide her smartness saying it was a boy-turnoff. Guess she saw sense in the end.
Josh and Cam gave me the odd nod every now and then, or maybe a smile. They stayed the same I guess. Or as my Bio teacher would say, "nothing much happening in that category or organisms." Well Josh's little sister won the spelling bee but apart from that everything stayed the same.
And... Derrick. I would always love him but he moved to Australia for six months and when he came back he pretended I didn't exist. I didn't really mind to be honest. I guess it was time for a clean break. I would always remember him, and who knows, maybe things will change in the future. We'll just have to wait and see.
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Two and a half years after High School...
"Liv wake up, we're here..." I shake Olivia awake and she stirs, stretching her arms above her head. I hand our dinner trays to the air hostess while Olivia pulls the shutter of the window up and stares out towards the misty, grey haze of fog. "Urgh, London doesn't exactly match the terms, 'sunny and bright' does it?" she grumbles, her voice cracking slightly as the plane pulls to a halt on the runway.
"Not really, no!" I laugh, unclipping my seatbelt as the seatbelt sign flashes off. I grunt as I pull my mint green Kate Spade suitcase from the luggage holdall and yawn, shaking my layered side-bangs out of my eyes.
"Hey, you need help with that Olivia?" Plovert calls from his seat, coming over to us. Olivia and I have a hunch he likes her. He pulls her Gucci tote and matching monogrammed case that she was struggling with, down and in a swift motion, flings her duffel over his back. We stifle our giggles as we get led out of the plane.
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"Man, these chicks are all hot. Dude, check out the cutie with that British accent. Now that is nice."
Derrick rolled his eyes at Cam's girl-obsessed remarks. He was here to work on his soccer, which was why he joined this soccer camp thing in the first place. Not to ogle at girls all day like ol' Cammy did.
"Ok, we need to get to the, uh..." Cam consulted his bit of paper. "The Dorchester Hotel. It's on Park Lane so we should be able to get a cab from the airport to the hotel. Dude, you can at least try to look excited. This is a five star hotel and is where all the actors stay. And the soccer company is paying for it all!"
Derrick sighed, "London, here we come..."
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"Kori, pass me my bag, I need to write down where the hotel is."
Kori Gedman passed Kristen her slouchy D&G tote and flopped back on her chair. They were in an internet cafe in Piccadilly Circus, London. Kristen was used to traveling, she had got a job at one of the most elite magazines in the US, Ice. Her job was very, "stressful" as she put it. She wasn't even close to being even an assistant director for one of the sections of the magazine, yet she got to stay in the best hotels, have amazing privileges for restaurants, beauticians, shops...She had access almost everywhere, but things started to get stressful when, for example, your intern assistant forgets which hotel you're meant to be staying at.
"Kori, why is my Palm Pilot not in my bag?" Kristen snapped, sifting through Dior Kiss lipglosses, Luna bars and citrus-smelling bottles of hand sanitizer.
"I-I don't know, I think it was in your other purse, or...oh yes, here it is." Kori delved in to her own Prada messenger bag and handed the thin silver object to Kristen. Kristen whipped it out of Kori's clammy palm and slid out the stylus, tapping at the LCD screen.
The Pretty Committee had split up near the end of High School. Claire Lyons went on to do photography, Alicia Rivera got a contract to model clothes for BCBG, Coral McAdams began a hairdressing course and Kori went on with soccer, which was how she and Kristen became friends. Kristen introduced Kori to journalism and soon enough, they were both working at the same magazine, Kori being Kristen's assistant. Things mostly worked out though. They were friends, but also colleagues which was sometimes a bit difficult for Kristen; Kori was the scattiest person she knew.
"Ok, do you even remember in the slightest, which hotel Tamara said we were staying at?"
Kori bit her already chewed thumbnail and shook her head; tendrils of dark-blond hair that had escaped her sloppy bun tickled her shoulders as she lowered her head shamefully.
"Urgh, why were you not listening?" Kristen flopped back in the scratchy nylon computer chair and covered her eyes with her flamboyant red nails.
"Well..." Kori blushed, "Griffin had just texted and-"
"What? You put a chance to shadow an interview with Jennifer Lopez, at risk because of a boy?" Kristen cried out in disbelief and anguish.
"I-It was really important..." Kori trailed off. "I'm sorry?" but it came out sounding more like a question.
"If you were really sorry, then you would be getting Tamara on speed-dial, right now!"
Kori scrambled for her Sidekick and Kristen sighed dramatically.
"Um, Penelope, get Tamara. She's in a meeting? Ok tell her we'll call back-"
"Penelope!" Kristen had grabbed the Sidekick off Kori and was pacing back and forth. "If you don't get me the name of the hotel right now, your career will be in serious danger. I could get a huge promotion for this; now get me the hotel name now! Is it too much to ask? The what? The Dorchester...Hotel...Ok great, bye." Kristen scrawled the hotel's name on a slip of paper and grabbed her bag.
"Come on, Kori, see? I told you things will work out! Now let's go..."
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"Dylan, put those back for goodness sake!" An exasperated Merri-Lee Marvil peered over her Blackberry Storm and sighed at Dylan, who was reaching for a handful of sesame pretzels from slim buffet cart that was attached to the side of the seat opposite her.
"Mom!" Dylan whined, dumping them back in the bowl and folding her arms over her chest, slumping back in to the Daily Grind monogrammed seat of the moving limo. She didn't bother to argue; her Mom always won their fights anyway.
Dylan crossed and uncrossed her ankles, admiring her turquoise cross-tie wedges. The four inch heels made her legs look even longer than they already were. They were a partial bribe to come on tour with Merri-Lee, but Dylan ignored that part. So far on the tour she had been to Morocco, Rome and Paris, but she was sure London would be the best place yet.
Dylan un-rolled the window but the sudden gust of chilly air in to the car made her reach for her camel-colored, corduroy jacket, ignoring her Mother's glare at how skin-tight it was. London was...cold, foggy. That was all she had experienced so far of the "fashion capital that is simply dripping with culture"-esque city everyone had said it was.
Dylan reached over to the seat opposite her and clutched her Mulberry bag, untying the red leather strap and checking her phone for messages. She sighed and tapped her Mother on the knee with a single, manicured nail. "Mom, what's the hotel called?"
"I don't know honey...It should be in my bag..." Merri-Lee murmured, her emerald-green eyes were narrowed as they flicked across a seemingly intriguing piece of information from the booklet she was holding. She tossed her Louis Vuitton Cherry Blossom bag towards Dylan who caught it deftly.
Dylan sorted through the mess of makeup and 'spare' cell-phones, pulling out a glossy leaflet.
"One of the most exclusive hotels in London...luxurious...grand... " Dylan muttered under her breath as she read the curly golden script. She flipped it over and read the large calligraphic writing; "The Dorchester Hotel." She murmured.
Sounds good, but the whole Summer? I won't even know anyone there! Dylan thought. Little did she know, there would be a lot of things that would bring back many memories when she got there. But did she want to remember all those things...?
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"We're here!" Olivia sang, flinging open the black door of the taxi.
"That will be £30.00, please." The taxi driver said, turning round in his seat.
"Already?" I yawn, fumbling with the door handle. I breathe in the crisp air, that is delicately scented with lavender and feel a smile slowly spread over my face. This was another one of my Mom's favourite places to come.
A few years ago, Olivia introduced me to a new theory of how to, 'let go'. If someone you loved died, then instead of hiding from reality, you need to go out there and forget the sadness and just focus on the good moments you had with that person. Olivia and I have been traveling to all of my Mom's favourite places and remembering the good times I had with her, or the times she had in that place. We've been to the Statue of Liberty in Brooklyn, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Great Wall of China in Beijing...I can't help but be pleased that such exotic places were my Mom's favourite. She also loved London. The food, the culture, the "cute accents". So we were spending the Summer here, at The Dorchester Hotel. Olivia's Dad and my Dad were paying for each of us to stay in the best places and travel in the most luxurious ways. Each of our Dad's was like the other's Uncle or something. We were so close.
Oh and Dad had started dating someone else, a woman called Natalie. She was pretty with fair hair and wore toffee-colored lipstick and smelled of strawberry body scrub. She was funny and cute and only a couple of years younger than my Dad, which was definitely a good thing. Her laugh was contagious and she was down-to-Earth nice, really genuine. She was like my much, much older sister and I was really happy for her and Dad, they seemed so in love. I knew Mom just wanted what would make both of us happy. She wouldn't want us to be weighed down with guilt.
So, here we were, the Dorchester. It was huge and pure-white with neat iron letters spelling out the name. Doormen in green and gold uniforms stood side by side of the great, glass doorway.
"Jeez, how was I meant to know London didn't accept dollars? No-one told me?" Kemp grumbled, catching up with us as we entered the hotel.
Plovert rolled his eyes and smacked Kemp on the head. Olivia and I busted out laughing. Kemp was clever, but not in that way. He was in London for a cookery course, Plovert here to see what, "the academic-preferably medical-side of London was like", as he put it. His dream was to become a doctor, and with the grades he got, I really wouldn't bet against it.
The entrance was cool and decorated in royal colors; red and gold. The soft clinking of china cups sounded through the peaceful chatter of people having English afternoon tea. We left our luggage with the porter and stood in the queue.
Olivia checked her silver Cartier watch. "We can unpack and then take a look around or something." She says.
"Yeah, let's check in first Olivia." Kemp scoffs.
"Sheez, what is the chick at the desk moaning about?" Plovert groans.
A girl in front is arguing with the receptionist, a smaller girl with bad posture standing beside her. The arguing one has her back to us, and is tall and slim, dressed sophisticatedly in an ivory colored pea-coat with large black buttons. Her buttery-blond hair is twisted in to a top-knot on her head, secured with large Stella McCartney sunglasses, and her tanned legs are bare, indicating that she is wearing a skirt. Oh, and I'm insanely jealous of her strappy black Jimmy Choos.
"If she says the word, 'unhelpful' one more time..." Plovert mutters darkly.
"The service I have received from you has been very unhelpful-"
"Lady! Please, just be quiet! No-one cares, ok? Just deal with what you have, you've checked in, now just go to your room and leave us all in peace. You've been arguing about your towels or whatever for twenty minutes! I didn't even know that was possible!" Plovert cries. I cringe as girl-with-awesome-shoes slowly turns around.
"Ex-cuse me?" she says, turning to face us.
My jaw drops so far down I don't think I will ever be able to drag it back up.
The girl with her piercing aqua eyes, widened with disbelief and her infamous cupid-bow lips...
"Kristen?" I manage to say, my voice comes out strangely; hoarse and croaky.
"Mass...ie?" Kristen struggles to not call me by my old nickname, I can tell. I cannot believe I am speaking to her for the first time in years, in the most unexpected place. I am so close I can smell her DKNY Red Delicious, although it wasn't the usual Hollister So Cal she used to wear. She did change.
"Wh-what are you doing here?" I manage to splutter out.
"I'm here for journalism-why are you here? I mean-"
"I hate to disturb your little reunion, but some of us need to check in." A woman with an oh-so-la-di-dah voice taps me on the shoulder.
Kristen and I move to the side, Kemp, Plovert, Olivia and who I now remember is Kori, move sideways as well.
"Listen Massie," Kristen suddenly blurts out. Her face looks desperate ad vulnerable as she hurries through her words; "I am so, so sorry about everything that happened in BOCD, I was so horrible and such a bitch and I just want you to know that I really regret everything I did which made you miserable. W-when your Mom died, I was a terrible friend, I should have comforted you, but I just ran off and I am...I'm sorry Massie. I really, truly am."
"It's Ok Kris," I say, my voice coming out in a whisper. I hold her tight and we hug each other, and I know things will be Ok with her.
"I think I'm crying now!" Kristen laugh-sobs, tears rolling down her MAC-dusted cheeks. I giggle with her, but the sound of Olivia choking on her cinnamon latte brings us out of it.
"Bitch-her-she-Marvil-"she splutters.
"Um, Liv, you Ok?" I hurry over to her.
"Yes-she-oh for crying out loud, Dylan Marvil is here! Dylan effing Marvil is coming through the door!"
"What?" I say incredulously. I whirl around on my spongy Prada flip-flops to face the door and my jaw drops for the second time in ten minutes.
A tall, slim girl walks through the rotating door, tossing her glossy locks as if she is in a Pantene commercial. Skinny True Religions cling to her long, long legs and she is wearing the limited-edition Pucci sunglasses I desperately wanted, the round ones with the leopard skin edging.
"What happened to her blond hair?" Kemp mumbles.
"Who cares about that? What is the female dog doing here in the first place?" Olivia says in disgust.
Dylan marches up to the receptionist and pushes in front of the la-di-dah woman, to her great annoyance.
"Listen here, sister." Dylan spits, "what is the point of advertising your fabulous over-the-phone check-in, if the damn thing doesn't even work! I was put on hold for, like, an hour! I could sue!"
"Yep, definitely Dylan." Plovert mutters. Me? I still have my mouth wide open. I'm pretty sure everyone is getting a bit grossed at constantly seeing my tonsils.
"Excuse me ma'am, but you have to wait your turn." The receptionist calmly says, but she has momentarily gone pale at Dylan's outburst.
"No! I will not bloody well wait, this is-"
"Dylan, shut up!" Kristen has finally stomped over to Dylan and is dragging her out of the 'queue'.
"Kristen? What the...hell?" Dylan says in disbelief. She pushes back her sunglasses to take in the scene of all of us. I note, pleased, that she has stopped putting blue contacts in and her eyes are bright green again. Her hair which used to fall to her shoulders now curls towards her waist in a well moussed, fiery-red haze.
"Dylan?" I manage in a weak voice.
"What the fuck are you doing here?" Olivia asks. She marches up to Dylan but is a full two inches shorter, even in her chunky Miu Miu cork wedges.
"I'm here because of my Mother's tour. What is little Miss Half-Orphan doing here?" Dylan smirk-. I am actually surprised at how good her acting is, she doesn't even seem shocked to see us in the slightest.
"Listen Dylan, I don't care what you have to say, I don't give a shit. What are you going to do? Steal my friends? Make fun of me? Turn my boyfriend against me? Make me in to a miserable wreck? Oh, wait a second, you already did," I turn on my heel go back towards the reception desk, which thankfully, has no queue. Just as I am about to check in, I hear the voice of a person I vowed never to make contact with again.
"Dude! Wassup man?!"
The sound of palms making contact snaps me back to reality and I slowly turn around, pushing my side-bangs out of my eyes to see.
Kemp and Plovert are slapping the backs of two boys with their backs to me. They're in soccer kits, and one has black floppy hair, the other with blond shaggy curls which he has to bat out of his eyes. They have duffels slung across their backs and the sights and sounds of them bring memories slowly coming back to me...
"Derrick?" My voice comes out no louder than a whisper. The sounds around me seem to drown out as the blond boy turns around...
His eyes are as warm as I remember pools of milk-chocolate. His boyish face is now muscular, with a strong jaw. His body is hot. His perfect forehead creases, "Massie?" he says in disbelief. He looks me up but not in a pervy way, as if he can't actually believe it's me. I guess I do look different, though. I used to wear dark colors, threadbare hoodies and jeans all the time. Today my outfit is bright; light wash denim shorts and a hot pink Ralph Lauren halter. He really doesn't seem to believe it's me.
"What the hell..." The black-haired boy turns around. Cam.
Dylan's gloss Juicy Tubed mouth falls open. She and Cam split up in the end, after she accused him of cheating on her, i.e. looking at a Hollister model in the mall or something.
His green eye penetrates from his fair skin while his blue eye looks calmer. I decide to focus on that one instead.
"Heya...Cam...Derrick," I mumble.
"Massie, hey." Derrick drops his soccer bag on the floor and pushes a strand of blond hair out of his eyes.
"Hey," I murmur back, self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.
"I'm sorry about-"
"Can we just forget-"
We both start at the same time and nervously giggle.
"You first," Derrick says eventually.
"I'm sorry about everything that happened in High School, everything was so messed up and I just had mad rushes of emotion about different things and I-"
"Massie, it's ok, I just want tp forget about everything that happened as well. I've missed you-missed you a lot, and I just hope we can be friends at least."
At least? Well duh!
"Yeah...yeah I'd like that. A lot." I smile at Derrick and things seem a whole lot better. It's as if I've been friends with these guys forever instead of having a huge feud and then meeting them in the most unexpected place.
Things are starting to look up.
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I'm alone in mine and Olivia's hotel room that night. A blushing Plovert asked her to the local Italian restaurant, and Olivia giggled a coy, "yes". I'm happy for her, but personally too exhausted to do anything except curl up on the couch with my good friends Anne Hathaway and Julie Andrews. The Princess Diaries will always rock.
I'm just finishing unpacking when there's a tentative knock at my door.
"Come in!" I yell, walking out of the room and to the door. "OhmyGod Liv did he kiss you-Oh."
Olivia isn't standing at the door. It's Dylan.
"Hey." She mumbles, nervously fiddling with the hem on her Victoria's Secret turquoise cami.
"What is it?" I demand. I am really not in the mood for her petty comments.
"Massie, I really am sorry about everything that happened in High School. If I could turn the clock back I totally would, and I'm really sorry about the nasty things I said about your Mother. I completely take them back and I know I was a bitch back then.
"Yeah Dylan, you were." I agree. Why not? She's admitting it.
"I know, but I really just want to be friends again. Do you think we can?"
I bite my lip before smiling at her. "Of course we can be friends."
I pull her in for a hug, and feel her tears soak in to my Hollister tank. Dylan and I were always best friends and if she is seeing what she's done wrong then there's no harm in giving her another chance.
Later when Dylan goes back to her room, I sit on the hotel balcony, making patterns in the thin sheet of dust on the patterned railing. I gaze out to the view before me. The sky is like a roll of black silk, stars spiking through like diamonds. The River Thames glitters in an extraordinary path, cutting through meadows and fields of deep green.
I've been through so much these past few years, and finally I feel happy; content. Happiness comes in different forms. Be it making up with your friends, buying a new handbag, getting straight As, or even visiting the Italian down the street with a boy who has a mad crush on you.
I always have been a target for drama though and I realise one thing, in that calm stillness of the night. A smile plays at my lips as I walk back into my room to a lazy night of popcorn and movies.
My journey definitely hasn't ended...
In fact, it's just begun.
and there you have it.