Tough Girl
It was a lazy day. Bugs had taken the kids out somewhere, while Lola stayed home to organize a few things. She received a call from her brother while she was looking through a few boxes from her closet.
"Hey Lo…my bus broke down and I'm stranded at some rest stop in no-where's-ville, can you help me out?" said Brendan over the phone
"Ok…where is 'no-where's-ville'?"
"Umm…somewhere between Los Angeles and San Diego…"
"Oh that's helpful…"
After making him get directions from the locals Lola took her car on a rescue mission to get her brother.
It was raining…and the day was chilly. Lola felt a slight uneasiness in her side. It was an old injury acting up again; an injury that simply refuses to let her forget her lesson.
"Oh my goodness! You did it Lola!"
"Yeah…I guess I did,"
The family was at the dinner table. Lola had just given her mother the great news. And as always, her mother was overly excited.
"You see? I told you that you could do it,"
"Yes I know," muttered Lola
"You can be a little more excited, yes?" said her mother slightly pestered
"Can we talk about something else now please?" said Lola resting her head on her fists.
Gladys shot her youngest daughter a glare, but Larry cut her off before an argument ensured.
"Remember that this weekend is the family reunion. George and Carmen are going to be staying with us,"
"Oh yes I remember," said Gladys, "I have to get the guest rooms ready."
With that, she excused herself from the table and started to clean up the kitchen. The rest of the family got up from the table as well.
Kate, now only five months pregnant, was helping with the dishes. Lola in turn, helped clean up the table. Once their chores were done, they both went upstairs to their rooms.
"Kate," whispered Lola
"What?" she asked
"Why is mom so impossible?"
Kate just shrugged
"She's driving me insane, I can't take much more of this bickering..." whined Lola
"I know how you feel..."
Lola sat in her room and sighed heavily. She lay back on her bed and stared at the ceiling.
Why is mom such a pain in the butt? My patience is wearing thin…I don't know what to do…
She closed her eyes and just lay there; trying to clear her mind. But then her thoughts reappeared once again; to something that her mother had said earlier.
What am I going to do with my life? School is meant to prepare you for life, but school takes up most of life anyways…what is there to live for? What am I going to live for?
Just then a knock came to her door, causing her to sit up suddenly.
"Oh, where you asleep?" asked her mother
"No…" said Lola scratching her head
She came in and sat next to Lola on her bed.
"Lola, listen….I don't mean to be so….strict. All I want for you is to do the very best you can. And you have talent, no denying that. I just thought that….if you used those talents more, you'd learn to like them."
Gladys placed her hand on Lola's shoulder, brushing away her long messy hair. She gave a small smile. Lola smiled half-heartedly.
"It's ok mom…" she muttered
Gladys rubbed her shoulder reassuringly.
"Sweetie…do you have homework to do?"
"Yeah…."
"Oh alright, I wont disturb you," said Gladys getting up from the bed, "Don't stay up too late."
"Ok,"
With that, Lola reached for her school bag, pulled out a book. She gave it one look over, and grumbled. She lay there, with the book over her face.
Maybe all the information will seep into my brain...
The next day…
"You got the part!" said Petunia in surprise
"I'm such an idiot…I should've done badly on purpose…" grumbled Lola "but all those upperclassmen were there…I didn't want to make a fool of myself either…yet still…what do I care what they think…argh! I was so stupid!"
She was frustrated with herself; she rested her head in her hands as she leaned over the lunchroom table.
"Well…you're just too good I guess," smiled Petunia nervously
"pfft…" Lola muttered
"It can't be that bad…at least give it a chance,"
"I have no choice…"
"What if you drop out?"
"Can't do it…then I'll never hear the end of it. My mom will be like 'quiting is unacceptable! Yadda yadda yadda…' I have to go through with it,"
"Your mom is complicated…."
"No kidding…"
Later after school…
Lola had just closed her locker and began walking towards the chorus room. She really wasn't looking forward to practice...at all.
When she arrived, the other cast members were already there. They were all within their own circles, gabbing away. It seems the director wasn't even there yet. Lola found a seat and sat by herself. She pulled out her planner from her backpack and grumbled at the amount of homework she had to do.
Math…English…Global Studies…Gah! This stupid play is gonna cut into my time so bad...I doubt I'll ever sleep again…
Nicole, whom was sitting on the stage, was the first to notice Lola there. She shot her a glare, but continued to flirt with the guy she was with. Every now and then she would look at Lola and curse under her breath. She was even more disgruntled when Lola didn't even notice her anger. Lola knew someone was staring at her, but she didn't care to find out who it was.
Soon enough the director came in and called for everyone's attention.
"Alright everybody, please have a seat,"
The cast found seats and sat near the director, but most seem to have ignored Lola. Lola put down her planner and looked up at the director.
"This year's spring musical is going to be the greatest one yet. This production is a real gem, and you guys and gals are just the ones to bring it to life. Now, first we will begin with a reading of the script…"
He went to the desk and grabbed a pile of scripts. He handed them to each row and they were passed down.
Yuck…it's a dumb long script…
"Alright," said the director, "Act I scene I…."
And so the practice went on.
They were sitting on stage in a circle. It was Lola's line.
"I do not know his name, monsieur. He…"
Lola was interrupted by a swift hand that was raised. It was Nicole's.
"Excuse me, but I don't think that's how that line goes…" complained Nicole to the Director
"Oh?" he said unamused by her outburst.
"Here is how it should be done!" she cleared her throat and began to exaggerate her lines "I DO NOT know his NAME…MUNSEWER. HE comes to ME in my sleeeeeep."
Everyone in the circle gave her a questioning look.
"Lola, can you say your line as you naturally would?"
"I do not know his name, monsieur. He comes to me in my sleep." said Lola still confused by what Nicole had just said
"Perfect. You see, Christine's character is humble and sweet. She need not exaggerate her words."
The rest of the cast snickered. Nicole was fuming. Lola said and did nothing in regards to Nicole. However it was very uncomfortable to continue the practice knowing that Nicole was shooting daggers from her eyes at her.
After such a horrible first practice, Lola was thankful to be able to leave that place. She had an exciting weekend to look forward too.
That weekend…
The entire Bunny family had arrived to celebrate their family gathering. Everyone had arrived to the home of Larry and Gladys this year to enjoy the reunion. After eating dinner and socializing, the family went outside to play a game as was their tradition. This year, the game chosen was football.
"It seems like forever since we've had another family gathering," said Larry to his brother as he walked onto the yard
"Yeah, it's so nice to see everyone again," responded George
"Ok…so how are we dividing up the teams this time….?"
As the men in the yard were deciding on teams, Lola ran out to join them.
"LOLA!"
She stopped dead in her tracks and turned around. Gladys was in the doorway.
"Where do you think you're going young lady?"
"I wanna play football," answered Lola
"Oh no you don't…you come in here and help with the cleaning."
"Aww, but can't that wait till later…I want to play…"
"NO! Football is a man's game; you come in here and help with the women's work!"
Lola was flabbergasted by her command. But she knew she had to obey her mother. Lola reluctantly went inside.
Lola cleaned up the table as her mother was picking up the mess left in the living room. Just then there came a crash from the kitchen. Gladys ran to see what the matter was. Someone had dropped a pile of dishes on the floor. While Gladys and her other relative tried to clean up the mess, Lola took that opportunity to sneak back outside and join the game.
Larry saw Lola come from the house and motioned her to join his team. The other guys welcomed her to the game as well, however not as an equal.
When they played, they never passed the ball to Lola. However when Larry had the ball, he felt sorry for Lola so he passed the ball to her. Lola ran with the ball. The guys were afraid of tackling her, because they thought she might get hurt. Lola noticed the treatment and she didn't like it all.
Oh? You guys think that I'm a weakling? We'll see about that…..
Lola dug in her heels and got in line with the boys. The count finished off and she charged full force forward. She tackled one of her cousin full force, knocking him to the ground. The others were very surprised at her, she was able to tackle a guy almost twice her size.
"Wow Lola, take it easy," said her cousin, laughing out of surprise and embarasment
"Sorry about that," she muttered
She struggled to her feet, and helped him up. Just then, her father came up to her. He pulled her aside so the others couldn't hear.
"Lola, you have to relax. Don't take out your anger on everyone else, ok?"
"I'm sorry,"
"I know you're more than capable of keeping up with the boys. But please, don't be so competitive and just try to have fun,"
"Ok, I'm sorry Dad…."
They both joined the game once and continued to play. Lola did well in keeping up with her older cousins and relatives. Everything took a twist in the last minutes of the game.
Lola's team had the ball, they were but feet away from the goal. The team made their play and Lola made a run past the other players, she caught the pass thrown to her and made a dash for the goal. As she was approaching the end, she started to stumble a bit, next thing she knew she was tackled from the side and went crashing into the ground, buried underneath the dog-pile.
"Get off! Get off!" she wailed, finding it hard to breathe
They got off of her
"You ok?"
The one nearest to her gave his hand to help her. When she pulled herself up, she grumbled in pain.
"What is it?"
"Nothing"
"You sure?"
"I'm fine,"
She winced a little when she took a step, but then she gritted her teeth and endured the stinging.
"Ok that's enough for now, let's call it a draw," said Larry, thus ending the game
The guys apologized to Lola and went inside. Lola followed, but felt a sting of pain every time she took a step.
"Lola, are you sure you're ok?" continued her father
"Yes, I'm fine don't worry,"
But he wasn't convinced at all.
Later that evening…
The adults of the family were in the living room, talking over coffee. The kids were mostly asleep. Some were playing video games, nodding off with a controller in their hands. They were all oblivious to what was happening with Lola.
Lola had struggled to slip away to her room. Once she was there, she went to her mirror. She lifted her shirt to see where the pain was coming from. It was a swollen area on her left oblique. She touched it, causing her to grumble. It wasn't alarmingly huge, so she thought a good rest would make it go away. So she crawled into bed and struggled to find a good sleeping position.
The next day…
Lola woke and found that the pain had not gone away. It hurt whenever she took a step.
Dammit…what do I do? I can't tell Mom, she'll go ballistic and yell at me for playing with the guys…and I can't tell Dad…
Lola decided to endure the pain and hope that it would go away on its own. So with that in mind, she got ready for school.
It was a very difficult day for Lola. Her side was constantly stinging, and it was hard to concentrate on anything else. She was constantly short of breath and the pain made it hard to walk. However Lola was just too stubborn to admit she was in pain or that she needed any help.
It was lunch period now, and Lola was joined by her usual lunch buddy.
"Hey Lola," greeted Petunia
"Hey Petunia," greeted Lola
"What's up?"
"Nothing much…"
"You sure? It looks like something is bothering you…"
"Yeah I'm fine,"
"Well ok…"
"So…how did the reunion go?"
"It was ok. Lots of food and stuff…we played a game of football,"
"Your mom let you play?" said Petunia surprised
"No…she forbade me from playing…saying it was a 'man's game'…friggin screw that, I played anyway,"
"Oh cool, how did that go?"
Lola hesitated a bit.
"It went ok…"
Petunia cocked an eyebrow.
"Just ok?" she asked
"Yeah, I got to play and show everyone I wasn't a baby,"
"I see…"
Just then the bell rang. Lola and Petunia got up from the table, but Lola yelped a little in pain.
"Lola! What's wrong are you hurt?"
"No no!" said Lola quickly "I'm fine, honest."
Petunia but her hands on her hips, and stared at Lola, clearly unconvinced.
"Really it's nothing," said Lola losing her nerve a bit
She took another step and felt another jolt. She placed her hand over her injury.
"Lola! It's your rib! It has to be…this could be serious you should see a doctor,"
"No, that won't be necessary…"
"Lola, you shouldn't play games when it comes to your health,"
"I can't go…"
"And why not?"
"Cause my parents will kill me…"
"They'll kill you just because you got hurt?"
"Because I went behind my Mother's back, and I lied to my Dad."
"What do you mean?"
"I got hurt while playing football. My Mom didn't want me to play…and I told my Dad that I wasn't injured…If I go to the doctor or the school nurse, they'll call my parents and I'll be in a heap of trouble."
"Lola…"
"I can't go, ok?"
"No it's not ok…you have to go to the doctor…your health is something important."
Lola sighed.
"Look," said Petunia, "how about I take you to my professor? He won't tell your parents."
"Ok…but it'll have to be after practice…"
"Fine, I'll wait for you after practice,"
After school…
Lola struggled to get to practice. She was still enduring that pain that never seemed to go away. When she got there, she saw that Nicole had come to meet her first.
"Oh, well if it isn't lil' miss perfect…" she snobbishly hissed, "get this straight freshman, you keep your paws of Andy…he's mine. And just because you're the lead doesn't make you a better actress and singer than I am…So just stay out of my way!"
She turned on her heels and flipped her hair. She walked towards the stage with her nose in the air and the ego the size of a mountain.
Hell if I care…
Practice soon began. Now the cast was learning songs and dances. As a lead, Lola had quite a bit of songs to learn. Singing wasn't easy for her, especially with her injury. It was hard to breathe and to sing from the diaphragm.
"Ok," said the director, "from the top"
Lola took a breath and winced in pain.
Think of me
think of me fondly,
when we've said goodbye.
Remember me
once in a while -
please promise me you'll try.
Nicole was furious with jealousy. She noticed that Andy had his eyes fixated on Lola, which made her even more furious. Lola was struggling through the song, but she continued dispite the fact that her vision was becoming blurry.
When you find
that once again you long
to take your heart back
and be free -
if you ever find a moment,
spare a thought for…
Lola couldn't find her breath for the last note. Her vision was fuzzy and her head was throbbing.
"Lola?"
Next thing she knew she was falling…
Lola woke and found her self lying in a hospital bed. She looked around and saw her mother and father sitting in chairs against the wall. They noticed her wake up.
"Lola, are you ok?" asked Larry getting up from the chair
"Yeah…"
Lola looked over towards her mother. She looked like she was about to burst, however she composed herself.
"Lola, why didn't you tell us you were hurt?" she asked
"I…didn't want to admit it…"
"How did you get hurt? What happened?"
"I…was playing football yesterday…"
"You WHAT! Lola! I told you not to play with the boys! Now see where that got you?! A broken rib!"
"But Mom…I wanted to play. I'm tough enough to keep up with boys!"
"Look Lola, I didn't want you playing with them because I know they play rough. You were liable to get hurt, and see you did! So excuse me for trying to protect you!"
"Gladys please…" said Larry, "calm down. I let her play, so I'm just as much to blame."
"Larry! Why did you?"
"Because I know she can keep up,"
"But look at her now…"
"Anyone can get injured like that in football…so don't over-do it,"
"My goodness, both of you are so stubborn…" said Gladys going to sit down, defeated
"Lola…your mother only wants to protect you…"
"I know," mumbled Lola
"Lola, I know your tough enough to play with the boys. So don't go showing off, because that's what's got you here…Lola you were hurt and you refused to admit it. You were trying to be tough but all it was it was just being foolish. When you're hurt, don't keep it to yourself; because you'll only end up hurting yourself even more. When you need help, don't hesitate to ask. I know you were scared that we were going to yell at you or something like that, and sure we probably would've gotten mad…but it's only because we care about you. We love you and we don't want to see you hurt. Ok kiddo?"
"Ok Daddy…"
Larry leaned over and kissed her forehead. Gladys got up from the chair and kissed her daughter as well.
"We love you very much Lola,"
"I love you guys too…"
Gladys clutched Lola's hand tightly. Lola smiled.
"We'll leave you to rest now...take care sweetie," she said giving her one last kiss
"Bye kiddo,"
"Bye,"
They walked out of the room. But then Larry poked his head in through the door.
"Lola…you have a visitor…" he said slightly surprised
Lola cocked an eyebrow. Just then the visitor came through the doors.
"Hey there," said Andy
"Hey…" she said slightly confused
"I came to see how you were doing…"
"I'm…ok…"
"Yeah it was quite a scene, everybody's worried about you,"
"What happened?"
"You fainted…but I caught you before you fell off the stage…"
Lola blushed.
"S-sorry about that…"
"It's ok, you weren't feeling good. It happens…"
"Yeah I guess…"
"So…how long you have to stay here?"
"I don't know…I just woke up…"
"Oh wow…"
"Yeah…wait…how long was I out?"
"A week…"
"WHAT?!"
"Nah just kidding…it's been about four hours…"
"Geez….don't scare me like that…"
"Sorry, just trying to make a joke…well anyways…I should be going now. I hope you feel better soon."
"Thanks,"
With that said, he left her room. Lola was pleasantly surprised that he came to visit her. He seemed like an ok guy.
Lola settled in bed and checked her side. Surely enough it was bandaged up. She sighed and slumped in bed. She looked towards the table and saw balloons and a teddy bear with a note attached. She reached for it, it was from Petunia.
I guess she was here when I was out cold…
Dear Lola,
I hope you feel better soon. I'm not gonna yell at you or anything cause I'm sure your parents did that already…so, I wish you a speedy recovery!
Much love, Petunia
It's ok, I know you told me so…
Lola couldn't help but smile a little. She put the note back on the table and reached for the bear. But when she lifted the bear, she noticed another note. She reached for that one as well.
Hey Lola,
Sorry you're in the hospital. I hope you get well soon…
Love Andy
Love? What the hell? I barely know the guy…weird…
"About time you got here!"
Lola rolled her eyes at her brother. He got in the car and they drove back to LA.
"What took you so long?"
"Brendan…you ungrateful oaf! When are you going to get a car of your own?"
"I do have a car of my own…I just let Tiffany use it…Besides, why should I get a car when my little sister can drive me wherever I want?" he said jokingly
"Shut up…"
He laughed to himself, then poked her side.
"Gah! What the hell?!"
"Oh sorry…I forgot…that thing still doesn't go away?"
"No…"
"Serves you right…"
"Dammit Brendan shut up!"
"That's what you get for being a lil' show off…you should be more down-to-earth…"
"You'll be down-to-earth in about a minute if you don't stop messing with me…"
She said giving him a glare. He fell silent for a moment.
"Lola…you know I'm just kidding right?"
Lola kept her eyes on the road. She reached over and pocked him back.
"Jerk…" she muttered, with a little smile
That was all the answer he needed.