Fiction

Emily Perfect

BreannaBallerina — Sun, 21 Sep 2008 00:37:01 GMT

Chapter 1

The Way I Am

Ring Why is my alarm going off? It is the first day of summer vacation! I must have forgotten to turn it off, ring ring ring. Wait that is my cell phone, “Hello, What do you want, it is summer vacation!” I say into my phone, who in the world would be calling me this early in the morning, it is only 5:40 am.

“Hey Emily!”

“Hey Tiffany, why are you so hyper? Can this wait for a few more hours?” I asked. She was way to perky this morning, I mean she usually is but this was more than normal for her. “Guess what? There is a sale at your favorite store!” Tiffany exclaimed “Hope Falls is having a sale? That only happens twice a month!” I said eager for the news to be true.

“I know, how great is that? I talked the owner into waiting to open the doors until you got down here so you better hurry.” Chantel said, sensing my enthusiasm “Alright just give me 30 minutes” I said, hoping that the store owner would keep her promise and keep the store closed. “Ok and bring coffee I am so thirsty” Chantel said, she LOVED coffee, it was like food to a guy. “How about iced tea?” I offered “You know I hate coffee” I said hoping that she would remember this small fact about me “Alright that works” I could here the disappointment in Chantel’s voice, but she agreed, which is good. “Ok see you in 30 minutes, bye” I said, wasting minutes getting ready was going to make me late. “Bye”

I cannot believe that my favorite store is having a sale; they sell shoes, clothes, accessories, and make-up. Hope Falls is the most expensive store in Chicago, which is where I live. It was also the most popular store, partly because I shop there. In addition, because they had the most fashionable clothes and accessories in our town, which made everyone, want to shop there. This was going to be the start to a great day.

I guess that you could say that my life was perfect. My parents were rich, I went to private school, and I was the most popular girl in school, as well with the most beautiful. I got everything that I wanted, no matter what. I had the most annoying older brother, but he was on the state football team, so he was not around much. Leaving mom and dad to spend even more money on me, and to let me do what I wanted.

My two best friends were Tiffany and Chantel. My name is Emily and we were the most popular girls at the school, well I was THE most popular girl in school, they were only popular by default of being my best friends. Every girl in the school wanted to be us, and every guy wanted to date us. Sure, some girls hated us, but they still wanted to be us. To get everything that they wanted and have the power over guys that we did. I guess that is just one of the benefits that came with being popular.

I had known Tiffany since kindergarten. That day was one of the best days of my life. When I walked into the room, she was sitting all by herself in the corner. I went over and introduced myself, and we became quick friends. She came over every day after school, and I spent every weekend at her house.

We were like sisters; we knew everything about each other, stuff that even Chantel does not even know. Such as the fact that even though I am the most popular girl in school I still have not had my first kiss. I mean I am 16 and I still have not. Kind of pathetic right? Well Tiffany is the only one that knows this secret, and I am the only one that knows that she lives with her grandparents.

Chantel was Tiffany’s friend before she became mine. They had met at some summer camp in the 3^rd grade while I was in Italy. When I came home Chantel and Tiffany were best friends and I, who had never shared anything in my whole life, was jealous. Definitely not one of my finest moments. We would fight over everything especially who would get to hang out with Tiffany. I could tell that she loved all of the attention, but she could not stand the bickering. So she sat us down one day and said that we were not allowed to hang out with her until we worked out our differences.

There was a sale that day on shoes that I had to go to with Tiffany; otherwise, I would not have apologized. One of my better moves. I told Chantel that I was jealous of her and Tiffany hanging out and she said the same thing. So we talked for a while and found out that we had a lot in common, and we became friends. However, I still do not really trust her with a lot of stuff, just because I have not known her as long.

My mom was a fashion model and my dad was a doctor. My mom was a model runway model in Paris and was home for about two weeks every month. Everyone said that I got my eyes and my height from her, but my hair and body from my dad.

My mom was petite, she is 5’8” has fiery red hair and deep blue eyes and sometimes they would appear gray. My dad was 6’7”, lean, had black hair that would always find the right place to land on his face and had green eyes. My brother and I seem to be complete opposites. He has red hair, green eyes, and is 6’7” like my dad. I had black hair that went to my waist, deep blue eyes, and I was 5’9”.

My mom said that I should go into modeling like her, and that some of the companies that she worked for asked if I would. My dad wanted me to be a doctor like him. Either though neither of the jobs sounded fun, at least my mom got to Paris every month, unlike my dad who was home in Chicago every single day. He did not even get to travel! It seemed like the most boring job in the world, but somehow he found fun in it. Though he did pay for everything that I bought, so who was I to complain?

I know that I may seem like the most spoiled brat in the world but I really am not. My parents are so strict that it is not even funny. I have to be home by 10:00 on weeknights and I can only stay out until 12:00 on weekends, even in the summer.

I also have to have all of my homework done before anything else, and I have to tell my parents where I am going, whom I am going with, and if there is a number besides mine that they can reach me at. It is so unfair, all of the rest of my friends can stay out as late as they want, do their homework when they want, and they do not even have to tell their parents anything when they leave.

In addition, all of my friends have better grades then me, how does that work out? I am not saying that I am dumb or anything, but I could be doing better in school. I guess my parents are on my case so much because my brother was the valedictorian for his graduation, while I am nowhere near.

I think that the person who would end up being our class valedictorian when we graduate would be Mike Hanley. He had gotten straight A’s since 1^st grade. He was probably going to get into every college that he wanted because of his brains, instead of his parent’s money as I would.

Mike Hanley was Chantel’s boyfriend. They had been going out for five years. Mike was the third hottest guy at our school, but Chantel liked him for his brains, go figure. Tiffany also had a boyfriend, she usually did. This was her fifth boyfriend of the summer, which had just started.

It is not that she is a slut or anything; I mean she has not even made out with a guy before, it is just that she cannot seem to stay with a guy for long and she can never be without one. I guess having a boyfriend just makes her feel complete, but at the same time, she has to find something wrong with every guy, and then break up with them.

She has tried countless times to get me a boyfriend but I am just way to meticulous. They have to be tall, yet short. And so on, the list goes on forever. I guess I am just so meticulous because the only guy I have ever dated was such a jerk. So I broke up before we even kissed, making me to be the only person in my whole school who has not kissed anyone yet. Though Tiffany has kept her promise and not told anyone, she still keeps trying to get me a boyfriend.

Tiffany had been trying for years to get my brother Scott to go out with her, but he only saw her as his little sister’s best friend, which she was. So she made sure that whenever he came home for the weekend she would break up with the boyfriend she has at that moment and stay the night at my house.

And because this was almost every weekend, my dad had become accustomed to her being around. Sometimes she will just randomly come over to our house so we set an extra place at the table every night.

The good thing about her randomly coming over is that when she comes over, she does not just ring the doorbell or knock like a normal person; she opens the door and yells, “So what are we having?” On the other hand, if by some chance that the door was locked; which we do not do that much any more; she will start banging on the door as loud as she can while whimpering.

However, when Chantel comes over she does not even try to get in the front door. She goes for any open window, most likely the one that is in my bedroom. She tends to scare me when she does that; I can just be sitting at my vanity putting my make-up on, and in Chantel will pop in my window. On the other hand, I can be in my bathroom and come out and she will be sitting on my bed. It is all right though. We have a security system, but we gave her the password so that when she is coming over our neighbors will not call the cops on her. In addition, we usually always have it on so they know by now just not to bother calling in.

Sometimes if my window is closed, she will open someone else’s window and climb in. Usually they scream, and I know that Chantel has come over, it is entertaining unless you are the one that she pops in on, and otherwise it is just plain old scary. Sometimes I have to wonder if my friends are normal. I am not very sure for the most part, but I guess you could say that that is why I love them.

“Emily, get out of your room and come down for breakfast.” Yelled my mom, does she not know that I have an important sale to go to and need to spend this time getting ready? Oh well, at least they said that they would hold opening the doors for me until I got there. I think that my life might just be perfect. “Ok I’m coming” My mom could be so bossy sometimes, but at least I inherited that from her. In addition, she was only going to be home for a few more days until she left for Paris again, so I might as well make the best of it. Besides, she probably does not even know about the sale, otherwise she would have let me be this morning.

“Hey mom, I know you made breakfast, but can I skip it, Hope Falls is having a huge sale today and they are waiting for me to open the doors” I hoped that she would let me skip breakfast, she normally doesn’t but maybe, just maybe, she would let me this one time. I do not want to seem like a diva to the store clerks, even though I am. They might let me shop in their fall line before they put it on the shelves, and I did not want to have to risk that.

“Sure honey, but you have to promise that you will buy me something nice to wear to Paris. Oh and I forgot to tell you, your brother is coming home this weekend, and will be staying for a month this time. His college got vacation because some of the pipes burst, so do please spend some time with him.” My mom always said this when he was coming over, because otherwise he would spend his whole time out of the house when he should be here.

“Where is dad? I thought he was off today?” This was so unlike him, usually he is always in the kitchen, but he was nowhere to be seen. “Your dad is at your grandparents, and you need to go get dressed so that you don’t miss your sale” “Don’t worry mom, they are going to wait for me, but I’ll go now I guess” As I headed up to my room I couldn’t help but wonder why my dad had gone to my grandparents.

Was something wrong? He did not like his parents very much, and they did not approve of the fact that my mom was a model. Even more unusual, was that if he ever did go to see them, he would bring me with him so that they would get off his back and talk to me. I did not really mind that though, I loved talking to my grandparents, and they did not talk bad about my mom when I was around.

Maybe he just did not take me, or tell me about going because it is the first day of summer vacation. Maybe he thought that I would want to sleep in and hang out with my friends.

I just then noticed that I had stopped walking and was standing in the middle of the hallway like an idiot just staring off into space. Way to go Emily! I stopped thinking about my dad and headed into my room. I opened my laptop and started listing to music. I went into my closet, and turned on the light. Five years ago when we moved into this house, my mom took me into this room and showed me how big her closet was.

When she opened the double doors leading into the closet I screamed. It was the largest closet that I have ever seen. I remember my mom telling me ’You can fit 100 people in here’ I was running all around the closet, weaving in and out of the chairs, jewelry cabinets, and clothes. It was so huge. When I was done running around, I went up to my mom and started begging her to let me have the room. Surprisingly, only after asking her once, she said ’I thought you would never ask, and yes Emily you can have it” I was so excited; it was one of the best days of my life.

Now my closet was so full of clothes that I had to put some of my clothes in another room, and we were working on the blueprints to expand my closet, but without taking away from my room. I went through the closet looking for something to wear, when I found just what I was looking for.

The perfect outfit. A short jean skirt with a dragon in jewels on one side of the skirt. It was faded into the skirt so that you could tell that it was there without it being overpowering. Then I had a pair of red wedges and a matching red camisole. I put on the outfit and grabbed my gold with red jewels purse. I stuffed all of my stuff in the purse and got ready to do my hair. I was going to be shopping all day, so I needed it up and out of my face. I decided to put it into a ponytail while braiding it. Once I put on my makeup, I was ready to head out the door.

My laptop was now playing Glamorous, one of my favorite songs. I was about to open my door when my music just turned off. Out of nowhere, it was just off. I went over to my laptop, to see why it stopped.

The song was paused, even though I had not touched it and no one else was in my room. Just then my cell phone rang, it was my alarm saying that I needed to leave for Hope Falls because it was already 6:20 a.m. Oh well, I will just have my dad look at the computer when he gets back. There must be something technical wrong with it.

“Bye mom I am going to head out now” Hopefully she will not want to talk; I am late enough as it is, well 10 minutes, but still. “Emily! Why didn’t you tell me that you got A’s in all of your classes? This is so great! We should have celebrated today!”

Uggg, now I am going to be late. She was going to make a big deal out of me getting these grades, and I am going to be even later than I already am. Actually, I didn’t tell her because I knew that she would make a big deal out of it, take me to a restaurant, and have them sing a song in celebration of me getting straight A’s. It is like the Happy Birthday song, except much more embarrassing.

“Sorry mom, uh I guess that I just forgot” I hope she buys that. I do not like lying to my mom, but sometimes I have to otherwise I hurt her feelings, and you do not want to hurt my mom’s feelings.

One time I told her that the dinner she made did not taste very good and she did not talk to me for a month. She just moped around the house and did not make anything so we had to resort to my brother’s cooking because my dad had to stay with my mom so that she would at least talk to someone and not lock herself in her room. It took three dozen roses, 20 thank you cards, and me apologizing at least 100 times before she would start cooking and talking to me again.

“Well, next time don’t forget to tell me and your father. In addition, I am going to be expecting that you get this on every report card. Since now you have proven to me that you can, I have no doubt that you can do this again.”

It wasn’t that hard to get these grades, I had gotten all easy classes this year, but i’m not sure what I am going to have next year. I hope that I will get the same; otherwise, my mom will get disappointed, which is worse than hurting her feelings. “Alright mom, I will don’t worry. Now I have to go to the sale.” She is keeping from the sale, and it might be forever before she will let me go. At least they will wait for me, however long that is.

“Don’t forget to get me something to wear to Paris next week” How long is she going to keep me here? “What do you want me to get you mom?” I said while getting a notepad out, whenever she wants me to get her something it is a long list, even if it is just one item. Therefore, I had grown accustomed to carrying around a pad of paper and a pen in my purse.

“Well you know the dress that was on the mannequin in the store window?” “Yeah, do you want me to get that for you?” Maybe this would be a super short list, which would be a first for my mom.

“Yes I want that, and can you accessorize it for me? You know what I like, or just whatever you think would look nice with it.” Wow, she was giving me control on her accessories. She never did that, something was defiantly up with my family today.

“So I can get whatever I want to go with your outfit?” I could not believe this, I must be dreaming. “Yes you can, and don’t look so shocked, you have a great sense of taste, and I did teach you the ups and downs of fashion. I have no doubt that you can find something great for me. But don’t keep them waiting to long, so go now and get me that outfit please.” I was most defiantly dreaming either that or my mom is crazy. Either way, I was late and had creative control over my mother. This was going to be fun.

I had finally gotten out of the house and into my car. I had; what I thought; was the best car ever. I did not know exactly what it was, but what I did know was that it was a classic. It was also a corvette convertible.

The roof and paint job was black while the inside was mostly white with a little bit of black. I also had one of the best stereo systems in town. It was a 10 CD changer and I could also put in my I-pod, and if anyone in the back wanted to; I had gotten my car wired special; they could listen to their own I-pod or music, while I could still listen to mine.

I started heading West from my house to Hope Falls when I noticed how much traffic there was. Which was unusual for this time of day, but then I remembered that there was a football game early this morning for charity. I decided to go to Starbucks and wait for the traffic to die down before I went shopping. There is nothing worse than being irritable while you are shopping, and the only thing that can help that is shopping and chocolate.

“Ah man, there are no parking spots!” I said aloud. There never really is, but I usually go through the drive-through. I guess not this morning. I guess that I would just have to wait until someone leaves, because I am not; repeat not going to park on the street. Just then, this hot guy came out of Starbucks and got into his car, which was right in front of the door! It was the perfect spot. Just my luck, no sarcasm intended.

Once he pulled out of the spot, the sun started to be covered by clouds, so I missed it when he smiled at me, due to me looking at the sky. Once I looked back down he was gone, oh well, there are more hot guys like him in the world. Though that black hair was so black it seemed like it was unnatural, but I have a feeling it might have been.

Once I parked my car and headed into Starbucks, it started raining. “You are one lucky girl, you came five seconds away from getting down pored on” Wow, I guess I am pretty lucky, I would have been soaked. This is another thing that makes shopping not fun, being wet while trying on clothes, is SO uncomfortable.

I ordered my drink; hot chocolate; and sat down at a table in the far corner. I can be a little paranoid at times, so I do not like to sit with my back to a door. That way no one can sneak up on me. So sitting in the corner was nice, I could see everyone that was coming and going, and would have a chance to get my drink right when it came up, that way I wouldn’t have to wait forever in a line just to get it. Sometimes on the rare occasion that I did come in, my drink would be cold just from waiting in line.

However, sometimes that worked to my benefit because they would give me a free coupon for the same drink. Then I could go through the drive through with it and not have to wait forever.

“Hot Chocolate, number 5” That was me, wow they are being quick today with their drink serving. I was about the 20 person to order, but the first to get my drink. I guess today was really my lucky day.

As I was sitting their sipping at my hot chocolate, I could not help thinking about my dad some more. It was really unlike him, my mom did tell me not to worry, but I could not help it. I was a daddy’s girl. He taught me how to outrun the guys, and outdo them at any sport.

When my mom was not home; which was a lot of the time because of her work; he would help me with my homework. Therefore, I could not help but worry about him. “Are you ok?” The worker that had said that I was lucky earlier had come up to me.

“Yes I’m fine, thanks for asking” It somewhat creped me out when random people started talking to me, but being as popular as I am I had grown a little accustomed to it. At least now, I would not freak out, which is defiantly a good thing. “Are you sure? You were staring out at the rain, not moving at all” Ok now I was a little freaked, was she staring at me.

“Yeah I’m fine, I just have a lot of stuff on my mind” Maybe she will leave me alone now. “Alright, but if you need anything, I will be over there” She said while pointing behind the counter. That was when I noticed what time it was. I was SO late for the store opening. Oh well, I guess that I will just get some caffeine for the owner as an apology.

Chapter 2

Hope Falls

I arrived at Hope Falls with iced tea in hand 10 minutes later than I said. “Emily over here“ “Hey Chantel and Tiffany, sorry that i’m late, but I got an iced tea for the owner to” “Alright, lets go in and shop until we drop” Tiffany said making me and Chantel laugh, she always knows how to do that no matter what the situation. “Do you see how many things I am going to buy in here? I might just have to buy the whole store!”

“Calm down Emily, we are like the only people in here. Besides, I am not going to be able to spend more then $1,000 otherwise my mom will kill me” Tiffany and I rolled ours eyes at that, she was just being sarcastic. The most that her mom would do would be to ground her for a few hours. Then get annoyed with her being home and kick her out of the house. However, I guess that it just meant that I would get to spend more money on myself!

As I was looking around the store, I found the most beautiful dress. It was a cocktail dress. It was red and had hearts stitched in gold up one side and across the top. I almost fainted when I saw it the dress was SO beautiful. I grabbed Chantel and Tiffany and took them into the changing area to show them the dress. “Oh my gosh! That dress is so pretty Emily, go try it on!” Tiffany screamed at me. I went into the changing room and it fit perfectly.

I came out of the dressing room and noticed this really hot guy looking around. He had black hair and deep blue eyes. He was about 6’1” and it seemed like he was naturally muscular. He turned around just then and smiled at me.

Then Chantel came up next to me and said “Is it just me or did it just get hotter in here?” “I know, he would burn you if you touched him.” I said in response.

This is what we did whenever we saw a hot guy. Whoever saw him would say it, and then the other would say something like I just said in response. “Emily, you have to go over and talk to him, he is WAY to hot not to” Tiffany said coming into the conversation. “Alright I will,” I said as I headed over to him, still in the dress.

“Hey, I’m Emily, are you new around here?” Not one of my smoothest things, but at least he knows my name now. “Hey, nice to meet you Emily, and no I’m not new around here, but I might be” He winked after he said that. I almost fainted, but what could he have meant by that? “What is that supposed to mean?” I asked him, I was so curious to know who he was and why he was so mysterious and it made me mad not to know.

Somehow, that drew me even more to he. Making me like him that much more. He just laughed at me. HE LAUGHED AT ME! I did not know weather to be mad or flirty, but I did not have to contemplate that for long because he answered with “Right now I am just a tourist, but I might see about moving here, well moving in with my Aunt who lives here.” He had a sly cocky smile on his face; it was so annoying yet so intriguing at the same time.

I just wanted to grab his head and kiss him right there, besides the fact that I just met him and still did not know his name.

He turned to leave, and I was still daydreaming about kissing him. “Wait!” I yelled after him hoping that he would stop for at least a minute. “Yes?” He asked me, I turned my head a little bit to smile at Tiffany and Chantel who were staring at us watching our whole conversation. As I turned around to face him I made sure that, I flipped my hair. “Do you think that you are going to move here?” “Well that depends” He answered back, oh why must he be so confusing?

“Depends on what?” I asked him back, wondering why he could not just give me a straight answer. “It depends on if I can have a date with you this Friday night” “I would love to go on a date with you, but you have to tell me your name first,” I said this hopping that I would finally get a straight answer out of him.

“My name is...” “There you are!” Some just interrupted him, how rude! This person came up to him, grabbed his arm, and took him out of the store. I am guessing that it was his Aunt; I just wish that I could have known his name.

“So, tell us everything,” said Tiffany when I walked back over to her. “But first start with his name, what was his name?” asked Chantel. They defiantly were excited. “I don’t know,” I told them.

“What do you mean you don’t know, he was completely hot, and it seemed from over here that you were flirting your head off” Tiffany said. “Well he asked me out, and I said that I would go out with him if he told me what his name was. He was about to tell me when this woman came up and dragged him out of the store. I think that it was his Aunt”; I just wish that I could have known his name.

“Oh that sucks Emily, I’m sorry.” Tiffany had a tendency to apologize for things that she had no control over. “It’s ok Tiff, really. Who knows, I might see him again. He said that he was thinking about moving here. So we might see him at school.” Well, I hope that he goes to our school; he was defiantly the hottest guy that I had ever seen, and he was sweet to. “Oh, well why didn’t you start out with that?” Chantel stated, sometimes she had such a lip.

However, that is why she is my best friend, and I love her for it. “Yeah, thanks Chantel, you always know how to make me feel better” “No problem” Another thing; besides her lip; was her sarcasm, she used it so much. I did not mind. I must have used it more than she does.

“Can we get back to shopping now? I need to find accessories to go with this dress” Yes I was changing the subject, and I did really need to find some accessories for this beautiful dress. Besides, I could talk to more hot guys later. Right now was time to shop.

As I was heading back into the dressing room I noticed a pair of dangly gold heart earrings with a red arrow through them, it matched the dress so perfectly that they had to of been designed for each other. I ran over; as fast as I could in the dress; and grabbed the earrings. I had to get them! I handed them to Tiffany and finally went into the dressing room to change back into my clothes.

It was just then that I remembered that I still needed to buy the outfit for my mom, and get her the accessories that matched, and they could be whatever I liked. I decided to text Chantel from inside the dressing room to go and get the outfit and start on a hunt for something to go with it. It was the only thing that my mom had asked of me and I did not want it to be gone by the time I went to get it. I could hear Chantel asking the sales clerk to get the outfit off the clothes rack; at least it was still there.

“Hey Emily, what do you think of this?” Tiffany held up a beautiful shirt with matching skirt. The top was a fake corset that. The stitching was in silver and the top was in a navy blue. The skirt was a little above the knee and was longer in the back. It was the same navy blue and the inside fabric color was silver. When you had the skirt on you could see the silver from the front but you could not from the back. Well, unless you were not moving that is.

“Tiffany that is gorgeous! Where did you find that? You have to get it!” I was going to have to force her to buy it if she did not. However, why wouldn’t she? It was one of the most beautiful outfits that I had ever seen. I grabbed her and pushed her into the dressing room. “Try this on, but don’t come out until I bring you some accessories, okay?” I had seen the perfect accessories for her just a few minutes ago. “Alright Emily, i’m glad that you like it.” I left her there and headed over to the back of the store, where I had seen the accessories.

I found them, today was such a lucky day. The accessories were still there, and my mom’s outfit was to. I had gotten a pair of silver heels and a necklace. The shoes were about 2 ½” tall and they were silver. The shoes also had a silver ribbon that tied and crossed with a small silver bow on the back. They also had a tiny T; in navy blue rhinestones; in the middle of the bow. The necklace was just a simple bird. It was from the side with its wings spread out.

I went back over to the dressing room and handed Tiffany what I had found. She came out and looked beautiful. Even more so that usual. “I love what you found Emily, thank you so much!” “Your welcome Tiff, you look so great. Now we just have to find Chantel something to wear and then we will be done.”

Where was she anyways? She was just supposed to get the outfit for my mom and come back. Nevertheless, she had been gone for about 20 minutes. I was starting to get worried about her. “Tiffany do you know where Chantel went?” Maybe Tiffany would know, considering they had been talking while I was changing. “No I don’t, she got that text message from you and I haven’t talked to her since.” That is odd; usually she would be back by now.

“Hey Chantel where are you?” I decided to call her to see where she was. Worried does not look good on my face. “Oh sorry I meant to call you. I put the outfit for your mom aside and then I got hungry so I went to get something to eat. Do you want anything?” Oh, thankfully she is ok. Hmm, I am a little hungry.

“Yeah sure, just get me whatever you want to okay? Could you also get something for Tiff, she might be hungry as well. Just wait and see how beautiful the outfit Tiffany found is. I found the accessories but the outfit itself is gorgeous. Now we will just have to find you something when you come back”

I hung up and walked back over to Tiffany. I had to go upstairs to call Chantel because I do not get very good reception downstairs. “So did you get it?” I asked Tiffany. “Not yet, I want to get some more clothes before I stop shopping” That is why I love her, like the famous saying; shop until you drop, which is her motto for life. “So why don’t we get on that”

“Did you find out where Chantel was?” Oops, I forgot to tell her. “Yeah, she got hungry so she went to get something to eat, she said that she would bring us back something because I was a little hungry and figured you would be to.” I wonder what she will bring back for us. “Thanks, and I am really hungry. Go figure!”

About 10 minutes later Chantel came through the front doors of the store with food in hand. “Chantel over here!” Tiffany yelled at her, I guess she was hungrier than I thought. “So what all did you find?” We showed her what we were going to buy while eating our food. This was another good thing about the owner liking us. We could eat in the store while no one else could, besides the employees.

“Chantel do you want to go look for something real quick, or go somewhere else to shop?” I was hoping that she would want to stay here because there were still a lot of clothes that I would like to buy, but i am sure that if we went somewhere else I would still be able to find something.

“We can stay here for a while, I can tell that you want to stay here Emily, you have that look in your eyes.” She knew me so well. As soon as she said that we all went our separate directions and grabbed a whole bunch of clothes to try on.

Almost one hour later, we finally left the store. It was now 1:00 in the afternoon and we had been shopping for hours. We had gotten so much clothes that we could barley close any of the trunks on our cars. All three of them were closed. “That was a good shopping day, what do you think?” Tiffany was the first to respond “Yeah it was, we haven’t had this good of a day since last winter.”

I remembered that day as if it was yesterday. We had all decided to just go out and have some fun. We went to the nearest mall and went in almost every store. We had just walked out of Hope Falls when Chantel bumped into some guy. Her shopping bags went everywhere. He helped her pick up all of her stuff and ended up asking her on a date.

Her and Mike have been dating ever since. However, that day was not just good because Chantel got a boyfriend; it was good because that was also the day when I won a trip to New York for a week. I ended up going with Tiffany and my brother. Chantel could not make it because her parents were taking her out of town to go visit her family. Tiffany was sad that Chantel could not come but instantly perked up when she found out that my brother would be coming with us.

“Yeah, that was a great day” Tiffany said, I could just imagine her remembering the plane ride over there, she had gotten to sit next to Scott. It was like a dream come true for her. I remember the face she had it was like a little kids when they meet Cinderella on their first trip to Disneyland, so sweet and innocent, and utterly happy. A day that they never forget, and she never did.

“Are we going to keep chit-chatting or are we going to get going soon?” Chantel had a tendency to not be patient. “Alright lets head out” I said but I had a feeling that I was forgetting something. “Are we forgetting anything?” I asked because if I had, they would know. “Did you get some accessories for your mom’s outfit?” Tiffany asked me. So that is what I forgot! “No I didn’t thanks for remembering Tiff!”

I rushed back inside and got what I needed when I heard some giggling coming from the dressing room. I would have forgotten about it, besides the fact that I knew the voice. It was coming from the one girl in my grade that I could not stand. Amy Millar. She was one of the snobbiest girls that I knew. She was rude to people just because she had more money than they did. I was one of the richest people in Chicago, but you did not see me being a jerk to people about it.

I went into the dressing room to see what was up when I saw something that I thought I would never see in my life. It was Mike, and Amy. Making-out, in the dressing room. Mike was cheating on Chantel! How could he do that to her? And with Amy? She said that she hated him, so why would she make-out with him, unless she was doing this in a deliberate attempt to hurt Chantel. Which is even worse.

Chapter 3

Lies and Deception

I ran out of the store as fast as I could. I did not have the courage to say anything to Mike, or Amy. I could not believe that Mike was cheating on Chantel. I do not think that Mike saw me, but I knew that Amy did.

The way that Amy looked at me made it seem like she was hoping that I would see them together. I wonder how long Mike had been cheating on Chantel for. Should I tell her? On the other hand, should I confront Mike and make him tell her. I was afraid that she would be mad at me if I told her, but I was even more afraid to find out why Mike was cheating on her.

Suddenly my oh so perfect life was gone, and had turned into a life full of lies and deception. What was I going to do? If I confronted Mike, he might lie and tell Chantel not to listen to me. However, if I told her myself she might not believe me. How long had this lie been going on for?

“Emily what’s wrong?” Chantel asked me. I had made it outside, I looked her in the eyes and she had so much concern in her eyes. I just burst out crying. “Emily what is it? What happened in there?” I could not tell Chantel not like this, and I could not tell Tiffany either, she would end up telling Chantel. This was something the Mike had to tell her, I just could not stand seeing the concern Chantel had for me when I was holding this secret from her.

“Emily?” Chantel asked, I still had not said anything to them, and I was still crying. Just then, Amy came out of the store. “Did Amy do something?” I might as well say that she did something, because she did. I just will not say what happened.

Not until I could talk to Mike. I simply nodded my head, and they got the fact that I did not want to say anything else about this. “How about we go get a massage or something. Would that make you feel better?” Chantel asked, that sounded so great right now. “Yes” I barely managed to say. At least something came out.

Tiffany and Chantel did not want me to drive in this ‘condition’ as they put it. Therefore, we all got into Tiffany’s car and headed to the spa. The car ride was so unnaturally silent for us. The only sound was coming from the radio, which you could barley hear for it was turned down so long. No one dared to talk, and no one dared to turn up the music. Tiffany and Chantel did not want to upset me more, and I was afraid that I would say something about what had happened.

Therefore, we just sat there for about an hour until we got to the spa. That was when we all perked up and started goofing off again. We went first for a massage. We talked all the way through the massage as if we had not seen each other for years. When we just had not said anything for an hour. It was like being reunited with a long lost sister, it was random, crazy, and the most fun I had ever had.

What had turned into a bad day had turned around into a good day. However, I was still dreading talking to Mike, but I knew that I would have to do it soon. Otherwise, I would keep putting it off, until Chantel found out. Then she would hate me.

After we were done with our spa day, when headed back to the car. “So Emily, would you mind telling me what happened earlier that freaked you out so much?” She just could not leave it alone could she? “I’m sorry but no I can’t tell you” She looked so hurt, I had never not told her anything before. I felt so bad that I was hurting her, but I knew that if it was to come from me she might resent me a little bit, or not believe me.

“Why can’t you tell me Emily? You have never kept anything from me before in our whole lives! What is going on with you?” She really could not leave this alone could she? “Yeah, come on Emily, tell us what happened.” I could not tell them, I would either have to lie, or not tell them anything. I just turned around and walked to the car. I got in and locked the door, while putting on my headphones. Maybe they would finally get that I did not want to talk to them.

I decided that I wanted to hear what they were saying about me, because I knew that they would be talking about me, I am their best friends so I do know when they are going to talk about something. So I turned on my music so that it was playing but I had it muted so that they would think that I was listening to it. “I can not believe that Emily will not tell us what happened. It is so unlike her”

I heard Chantel say, nothing rude, yet. “Maybe she is just having a hard time because she got a bad grade on her report card or something. She can be kind of an air-head.” I cannot believe that Tiffany said that! It was so rude, I had gotten straight A’s while she had gotten almost all D’s in her classes and she is calling me an airhead?

I was waiting and waiting for Chantel to step in and tell Tiffany that I was not, but it never came. Instead of saying something like ‘She is one of the smartest girls in our class’ or ‘If anyone is an air-head around here it is you’ but no. What I heard was horrible. This was my best friends talking about me, and they were not being nice in the least. “I know, can you believe how dumb she is? It is embarrassing to be around her when she is ‘trying’ to be smart.” My supposed best friends had just stabbed me in the back. While I was still in the car.

As soon as Tiffany parked the car in the parking lot, I ran out and got into my car. Unfortunately, I was crying the whole time. I was trying not to, but I could not help it. It just kept coming out. I heard the faint voice of Tiffany saying, “Do you think she heard us?” and the response from Chantel “Of course she did Tiff!” I just slammed my car door shut and got out of there as fast as possible.

I knew that I would have to tell Chantel about Mike, but why should I now? She was supposed to be my best friend, and here she was stabbing me in the back. Along with Tiffany. I wonder if my brother will know what to do. At least he is home, so I will be able to have an actual conversation with him about this.

It took me 20 minutes to get home, and I was glad that it did not take me any longer for when I got into my house I burst out crying. “What’s wrong Emily?” my brother; Scott asked running over to me. I could hear the faint sound coming from the TV, Scot must have been watching football. His favorite sport in the world, he would not even stop watching football to go on a date! “I have just had a really bad day, go watch your football game. I can tell you about it later.”

“No Emily, you never have bad days and you are going to tell me about it now, football has no comparison to my sister. Something is wrong, so please tell me what it is.” Wow, through all of the fights that we had, constantly I might add, he cared more about me than football.

I mean I knew he loved me I am his sister after all. This really made me feel loved, which was what I really needed right now. After the day I had. “Really?” I said, I still could not believe that he would want to hear about my problems. “Yes really, I am going to go order your favorite pizza and you are going to tell me everything that happened alright?” He always knew how to make me feel better. “Okay, thanks Scott.”

When the pepperoni and extra cheese pizza came Scott and me went up on the terrace so I could tell him what had happened. I told him all about what I had saw Mike and Amy doing and I told him what Tiffany and Chantel had said about me. When I finished talking there was a silence for a few minutes. It was like we were both contemplating what to do about what had happened. Finally, Scott said something.

“Emily, you need to call and talk to Mike right now, and then I want you to invite Tiffany and Chantel over to talk things out. I will be in the other room that way if you need me I can come in and help. I would be in there, but the fact that Tiffany likes me might make it a little uncomfortable for her to talk” I interrupted him there,

“You know that Tiffany likes you?” I couldn’t believe it, how did he find that out? “Yeah I do, I found out a few years ago when you were talking on the phone with her, and I decided not to say anything about it cause I figured that she would tell me when she was ready.” I cannot believe that he did not even tell me that he knew!

“So why didn’t you at least tell me? I mean I am your sister.” He was going to drive me nuts! Why did so many people have to do this in my life? “Because I figured that you would tell her.” How smart he was, of course I would have told her. She is my best friend after all. “Yeah your right, I would have told her” Why did he have to be right all of the time?

“You are getting off topic by the way; you need to go call Mike.” I guess that I had been avoiding the topic of Mike, I knew that I needed to talk to him, but that did not mean that I wanted to. “I guess that I should.”

My brother left after I said that, leaving me to call him. I looked up the number and started to dial when I stopped. Who was it of me to confront him? He should be smart enough to tell her himself that he was cheating.

Who am I kidding, he was not going to tell her; or anyone without someone telling him to. I kept going back and forth in my mind, and in my room. I was pacing back and forth with the phone in my hand, the number still on the phone. I had to do it, I had to call him. If I was not going to who was? He could not just keep cheating on Chantel, I may be mad at her right now but she is my best friend.

I could not imagine this happening to me, and I did not want to know why he did it. Just that he would stop and tell her. It has been 20 minutes now, and I still have not called him. Maybe I can do it tomorrow; no, I need to do it now. I went to hit send when my bedroom door opened. It was Chantel, I could tell that she was sorry right away because she did not come through my window, but instead used the door.

I guess calling Mike would have to wait until later. “Emily?” was all Chantel said to me, I guess she was afraid to say anything else. “Yeah?” I asked her, I did not want to be mad at her, but I wish she would at least apologize.

“I’m sorry about what I said earlier. It was mean of me and was uncalled for. I am so sorry, friends should not say things like that about one another, whether or not they know they are listening.” That was an even better apology then the one that I was expecting.

“It’s alright Chantel, I forgive you.” How could I not forgive her? She was one of my best friends, and she had apologized so why not? “No it’s not alright Emily. You need to know what happened and why I said that. But are you willing to listen?”

“Of course, why don’t you spend the night and we can talk about whatever happened. Ok?” I hoped that she would say yes, I really needed a friend right now. “I would really like that, just let me call my mom ok?”

10 minutes later Chantel came back into my room with some clothes. Her mom must have dropped some off for her. “So are you going to tell me what’s up?” I could not stop thinking about what reason she had to say what she did. I wondered if I would also understand why she did it.

“Alright, I don’t know if you will believe me at first, but I am telling the truth. Tiffany sent me an instant message the other day. I can show you what it said if you want.” An instant message? That was not really like Tiff. “Yeah” was all that I said. I got out my laptop and Chantel signed into her account and opened the instant message.

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Hey Chantel, is Emily over?

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : Hey Tiff, no she is not.

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Good, I have something to tell you

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : What? And why is that good?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : It is about what Emily just said to me, you would never believe it!

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : What did she say?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : She said that she was only your friend because she felt sorry for you, and that in reality she HATES you.

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : She did not say that, she would never say that, how could YOU say that?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Really? Well then, you need a reality check girl. Why do you think that she did not like you when you two first met?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : She only started being your friend because she found out that your dad left you and your mom. She hates you, and she told me that she was just using you.

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : L Did she really say that?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Yes she did, you can trust me. I have always been there for you.

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : I cannot believe it! I thought she was my friend!

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : I guess she is not.

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : Are you still my friend?

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Of course I am! Why would you think that? You know, we could always get her back.

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : I do not know I need some time to think about stuff

Tiff¨ Tiff¨ Spoiled¨ : Alright, but if you do you have my #

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© : Thanks Tiff. You are a really good friend. And I will call you later so we can hang out, and stuff

Mike+Chantel=© Forever© has logged off

“I can’t believe she said that! I do not hate you! I am your friend, I did not even know that you dad left you! I am so sorry Chantel” I could not believe Tiffany said that! I was so mad!

“It’s ok Emily; I know that you didn’t say any of that. However, I figured that out a little to late. I realized that, because I knew you did not know about my dad. In addition, Tiffany knew that I did not want anyone to know. The only reason she did, is that she was there when it happened. If you did know, it would mean that she told you. Which I didn’t want her to, so she wouldn’t be very much of a friend then now would she?”

I could not believe that Tiffany turned out to be as much of a jerk as Amy was. I thought that she was my best friend. I know different now.

“So are we best friends again?” I asked Chantel, I really wanted to be friends with her again. Forget about what Tiffany had done, forget that we had been friends. There was no way we could ever be friends again. “Of course we can!” We did not say another word about Tiffany that night. Just hanging out as if nothing had happened. Just the way best friends should be.

That night Chantel and me talked everything out. I still did not tell her about Mike, but we had so much fun that I forgot about it for a while. We did each other’s hair, listened to music while dancing around crazily, and we watching three movies. “Thanks for last night Emily; I had so much fun” said Chantel “We should do it again sometime.” I was just thinking that same thing. “Yeah we should.”

“Well I have to go meet up with Mike now; our Anniversary is coming up soon. I cannot wait! Well bye Emily” When she left I felt so guilty knowing what I did. I and decided that it was time to call him. No more putting it off, the longer I waited the more that it would hurt Chantel.

Chapter 4

Cheater Talk

I was about to call Mike when I decided that it would probably be best just to IM him, that way there could be proof of what he said, incase he decided to lie. I logged on and I was in luck, he was online.

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : Mike, I need to talk to you

Mike$Money$Man: Hey Emily, what’s up?

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : I saw you.

Mike$Money$Man: Excuse me?

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : With Amy, at hope falls

Mike$Money$Man: I have no idea what you are talking about

He was lying through his teeth, I just needed to find a way to get him to tell me, and if he would not tell Chantel then I would just have to show her the IM. Hopefully though, he would tell her.

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : Cut it out Mike, you were cheating on Chantel with Amy. And do not try to deny it. I SAW you two.

Mike$Money$Man: Oh

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : Are you going to tell Chantel?

Mike$Money$Man: No, and you had better not tell her either. You are going to keep this between US.

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : You do not scare me Mike, if you do not tell her then I will.

Mike$Money$Man: As if she will believe you

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : Oh really? Well what about if I printed out this IM? Do you think that she would believe me then?

Mike$Money$Man: I hate you, and if you tell her I am going to make your life as horrible as I can.

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ : Is that a threat? And I do not care if you hate me; Chantel needs to know what happened.

Miss§ Emily§ Luck§ has logged off

I could not believe him! He was not going to tell Chantel and he threatened me! I made sure that I hit print before I logged out though. I grabbed the paper and my cell. “Chantel?” I was going to ask her to come over so I could give her the e-mail. “Hey Emily, what’s up?” She sounded so happy; I did not want to be responsible for what was going to happen. However, I had to do it.

“Can you come over right now, I have something that I need to tell and show you.” “Sure I will be there in a few” I heard some giggling in the background, but it did not sound like Chantel. “Can you come alone as well?” I asked her, I did not know whom she was with, but I did not want to tell her in front of anyone. “Yeah, sure. I don’t know what’s wrong, but I will be there as soon as possible”

10 minutes later, she was bursting through my window breathing heavily. “There was a lot of traffic so I had to ditch the car and run here, now what is so important?” I cannot believe that she ran here, I guess I sounded like I really needed to tell her something, which I do.

“I need to tell you something. I have needed to tell you this for about a week...” I was kind of rambling at this point and then Chantel interrupted me. “Emily what is it?” This was going a bit easier than I thought it was going to go.

“Ok can you sit down?” After she sat, I continued. “Mike is cheating on you” “WHAT?!?!” Chantel screamed at me. “What are you talking about?” “Well you know when I came running out of Hope Falls crying?” “Yeah” Chantel answered looking like she wanted to pass out.

“Well that was because I saw Mike and Amy making-out. I wanted him to tell you himself, so I was going to talk to him about it. So I sent him an IM just a few minutes ago, and he said that he was not going to tell you. So I decided that I should tell you as soon as possible before he could get to you. If you don’t believe me, here is the IM.” I said while I handed her the paper. She looked like she really believed me.

“I can’t believe it!” She had started crying, and she would not stop. I just went up and hugged her. We stayed like that for a while, until she got up. “I am going to call him, and break up with him, do you mind if I stay here tonight?”

I wished that I could do something for her. I just wish that this could be easier on her. “Anything you need Chantel, I am here for you. Why don’t I send Scott to go get your car and something for us to eat. How does that sound?” I had a feeling about what she was going to say, she wanted Italian. “Can he get us Italian?” I knew it! “Sure” I said while giggling and she stopped crying.

“Alright I am going to go get Scott, are you going to call Mike while i’m gone?” She looked a little uneasy at that “I guess so; I will just call his phone, tell him it’s over, and hang up. I do not know if I will be able to get through that. But I will try” I hugged her again “I will be right back, if you need me just hit a wall or something, I will here you. And it might get your frustration out.” I saw her smiling as I got up to leave.

“Thanks Emily, you’re a great friend.” She said with a smile on her face. She really meant it. “So are you Chantel, don’t forget it.” I gave her one more smile before I left the room.

I came back into my room a few minutes later and found Chantel crying on the floor. “I did it, I broke up with him. I can’t believe it.” I ran over to her and brought her back to the bed. “No reason to sit on the floor and ruin your outfit over Mike.” Chantel chuckled when I said that. At least she still had her sense of humor.

“Are you going to be alright?” I asked her, hoping that she would stop crying soon. “Eventually, when is Scott going to come back with the food?” I could tell that she was hungry, and she was crying. This tends to make her hungrier. “Yeah, he should be here in awhile. He had to go find your car as well.

“Oh okay, I’ll have to thank him when he gets back” Chantel said with a wink, she just broke up with her boyfriend and she is already thinking about guys. Typical Chantel. “Chantel, Chantel, Chantel. What am I going to do with you?” I said laughing; I could not keep a straight face while saying that, it was just too funny.

“Well it is making me feel better, and you brother IS hot. I defiantly wouldn’t mind dating him.” I just rolled my eyes; it was a habit of mine. I had heard people say this so many times that it was just natural for me to roll my eyes. Chantel did not seem to mind though, she just started laughing.

“You are way hotter than your brother, why do you think all of the guys like you? And you and your brother have the same genes so you should just expect that girls will like him as much as guys like you.” Wow, I never thought of it like that. “I guess your right, but it would be cool if you and Scott did date. As long as you didn’t break up that is.”

That got Chantel laughing. “I doubt that we would ever go out in the first place. And if we did, I would not let him go. He is such a great guy. And don’t bother saying otherwise, because he did help to raise you.” She was really being truthful tonight, but in a fun way.

“Yeah, yeah. So what do you want to do? Watch movies, eat junk food, talk about guys?” I asked giving her many options to choose from. “How about all of the above?” Chantel said lively “Sounds good Chantel”

Chantel and I talked while watching scary movies until my brother came home. “Hey girls, what are you watching? I have your food.” The food smelled great! I almost ran up to him and snatched it out of his hands. “We were just watching some scary movie on TV. Want to join us?” I asked Scott. I could tell that Chantel wanted me to invite him in.

“Sure, and I got enough food for twenty, so there should be enough for the three of us.” Chantel and I ere planning on pigging out tonight, but there was no way we could eat for twenty. And Scott knew that. “Haha very funny Scott, so are you going to come and watch this movie with us or not?” I asked my brother, hopping that he would bring over the food, because I was starving.

Scott was kind of taunting me with the food as well, swinging it back and forth so that the smell would travel throughout the room, but still not bringing it over to us. “Are you going to give us the food or not Scott?” Chantel said, seeming like she was reading my mind.

“Yeah, yeah. Here you go.” Scott said while throwing our food at us. Lucky the Italian was in containers, otherwise it would have been all over my room. “Thanks Scott” I said, sarcasm dripping off each word I said. Scott just glared at me while Chantel sat laughing at the two of us.

“You two defiantly know how to make me feel better,” Chantel said, her eyes on Scott the whole time. “Why aren’t you feeling well? Did something happen?” Scott asked, and he generally looked concerned for Chantel. Maybe it was just because that he knew as well that Mike had been cheating on her. “I broke up with Mike because he was cheating on me.” Chantel said, this time she had her eyes on the TV this time, and she looked like she was about to cry.

“Oh” was all that Scot said, I could tell that he did not want her to know that he had known. Maybe something was going on between them. “So are you going to come and watch this movie with us?” I asked Scott, for I knew that it would be coming on any minute, and I did not want him to make me miss the beginning of it.

“Why not” Scott said while coming over and sitting next to Chantel. Something was defiantly going on between them; I just had to figure out what. Chantel handed me a fork so that I could start eating, “Wait” I said, we cannot start watching a movie without popcorn. I’ll be right back,” I said while running out of the room. It was a tradition that I had to eat popcorn while watching a movie; it would not be a movie night without it.

Once the popcorn was done, I ran back upstairs eager to start watching the movie. I opened my bedroom door to see Chantel and Scott sitting on opposite sides of the room, trying hard not to stare at each other. “Ok, what happened?” I asked, because something had gone on in the five minutes that I was gone.

“Nothing” Scott croaked out. “Do you have the popcorn?” He said in a little bit more normal voice this time. “Yeah it’s right here” He grabbed it from me and sat down again, this time next to me. We sat in silence for a few minutes until the movie cut the unbearable silence.

Chapter 5

Growing Love

“So what happened between you and Scott?” I asked Chantel. The movie was over and Scott had left just minutes before. “I have no idea what you are talking about.” said Chantel, but I could see that she would tell me, if I kept asking more.

“You know what I am talking about Chantel. When I came back in you and Scott were on opposite sides of the room, and then there was the silence between you two. So what happened?” I asked growing impatient to know the answer.

“Oh that” Chantel said seeming to regain her memory of just a few hours before. “Well Scott and I just had a little chat about some things.” Uggg, was she going to tell me anything? “What things?” I asked, getting right to the point. “We talked about relationships and such, and he asked me out this Friday night.” She said the last part in a rush.

I never thought that it would happen this quickly. I mean, we were only talking about this maybe happening just a few hours ago. “Did you say yes?” I asked her, wanting so much for the answer to be yes. “DUH” was all that she said in response.

“That is SO great Chantel, but I am going to have to help you get ready for the date. And even though it is a little creepy that you will be going out with my bro, I am super happy for you!” I couldn’t believe that he asked her out, I was really happy for them both, but I didn’t even know he liked her.

I wonder what other secrets he is keeping from me. “Thanks EmEm.” Chantel said with the biggest smile that I have ever seen on her face. “So where are you going, and at what time?” I was eating up all of the details like a teenage guy who has not eaten in two days.

“Calm down Em. We have lots of time to talk about everything.” She said with a smirk on her face, she knew that people keeping things from me were my biggest pet peeve. But no worries, I knew all of her pet peeves.

“Alright, we’ll talk more later. But right now we have a movie to watch.” I said. I would make sure to get the details out of her later.

Chapter 6

Summer, Parties, and Boys

Tiffany was having the first party of the summer. Normally, I would be the first one to arrive at her party because we are best friends. I was tempted not to go, because we are no longer friends. Not that she realizes this fact.

“EmEm you have to go! If you don’t go, then you know what will happen.” What would happen is that I would not be invited to the next party, and considering that, I was the most popular girl in school, that would go down. Way down.

“I know Chantel, but you have to come with me.” If I could manage to stay with Chantel the whole time, then I wouldn’t have to deal with Tiffany yet. “Of course I am coming, I wouldn’t not come.”

“You do realize that you just contradicted yourself don’t you?” I said with the best smirk I could manage. “Oh shut up” Chantel said while smacking me with a pillow. “Pillow fight!” I yelled.

“What is going on in here?” Scott said as he walking into my room, dodging pillows as they went flying by his head. I nodded at Chantel, and we yelled “One, Two, Three!” When we got to three we through the pillows that we had and through them at my brother.

Direct hit.

“Hey!” Scott yelled, emerging from beneath the pillows that had toppled over him when he fell. “It’s not my fault that you have bad reflexes...and balance.” I said in-between giggles. “You didn’t have to through them at me.” Scott said, while gathering as many pillows as possible.

The next thing I know is that Chantel and I are lying on the floor with pillows everywhere, and my brother laughing on my bed. “That was not cool Scott,” I said, while Chantel got up and walked over to him.

“Do you want to come to a party with us tomorrow?” Chantel asked Scott as sweetly as she could. “I can’t I have to go to work tomorrow, sorry.”

“You got a job?” I asked him, thoroughly surprised. He had not had a job since he was in his freshman year. He lasted three hours before he was fired due to setting the bathroom on fire. I still don’t know how he managed that.

“Yeah I did, and a good one. It pays a lot too, and it hurts that you seem so shocked.” He said, replicating the smirk I had on my face not all that long ago.

Fragile; Breaking Down Inside [Chapter 1]

hidden_frailty — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:42:44 GMT

Fragile; Breaking Down Inside

For my memory of you

Chapter One: Emergency

These four walls surrounding me are stained with my Mother's shadow reflecting from the moonlight shining brightly outside. I've tried, countless times, but I can't bring myself to look at her lying there in agony, hanging onto dear life when all she can really do now is slowly let go. She's fought her fight. I know she has. She's also tried her best, but now she's falling. She knows it's the end. She knows she's got to give up. The painful part is that I know it too.

From the corner where I sit, the shadows show me the machines they've got her chained to. The ones that measure her heartbeat, give her fluids; literally living and breathing for her. She's on life support because her body is gradually shutting down, and I have the painful pleasure of watching it all unfold.

Seeing my Mother in the state that she is, it breaks my heart and brings flowing tears to my eyes. Why? Because a daughter should never have to see her Mother suffer before her death whilst her Father is working away his sorrows, helping other families while his own is locked in the darkness, trapped. He shouldn't be saving other lives when his wife is on her deathbed, and her last wish was to have him say those words one last time, "I love you..."

I look up at the clock hanging high on one wall. It's 2am. I've been sitting in this very corner of the room for five hours, six minutes and thirty seconds, but then again, who's counting? It's now two hours into New Year's Eve, but I've barely noticed the difference. Usually, I'd be excited, happy; somewhere close to that, but tonight, I know I'll never ever appreciate New Year's Eve ever again. It'll never be the same.

I can hear footsteps coming towards our isolated room. I listen carefully to their voices, hoping that my Father's might be amongst the small crowd, but time and time again, it fails to show. There's a gentle turning of the knob on the door, and in walks two nurses - one male, the other female - bringing with them needles and even more fluids.

"Sorry Alex," The male nurse whispers to me, "But can I ask you to wait outside please?"

Without any hesitation, I get up and walk out before he has any time to complete what he has to say.

"The doctor will be in shortly," I hear the remainder of his words fading away in the background, but I have no care in what he has to say. I just need to get out of this claustrophobic room. I just need air.

It's a cold and windy night tonight. The trees are swaying violently from side to side; breezing back and forth. There I find myself standing in the middle of a little tornado; circulating itself around me. If only it was strong enough to carry me away from this misery, give me something else to worry about for a little while. If only it could give to me, a laughter worth sharing on New Year's Eve.

I can't begin to tell you of the thousand thoughts running laps in my mind. I can't tell you how I really feel about all this. I can't tell you anything, except that I'm scared. I'm really, really scared. How am I going to live without Mum? How am I going to get through all this when my Father can't even look at me anymore? Tell me, how am I supposed to be strong and live through this without having to cry, without showing the world that I am as fragile as I can ever be? What am I supposed to do to make all this hurt go away? How do I get out of this all okay? How do I let go of my Mother, the woman who's always been by my side no matter how many times I've turned to the wrong? Who's going to be there when I need someone the most? Just tell me, what am I without her?

I haven't been out long, but on my shoulder, I feel the warmth of another's hand. I turn around, hoping to heaven above that it'd be my Father's, but to my great disappointment, it is only the nurse who kicked me out of the room just minutes before.

"How are you doing?" He says to me in a calm voice

"I don't need your sympathy," I reply.

"Not here to give you any," is his response. "Just wanted to give you this..."

In my hands, I find myself holding onto a package.

"It's a present," he says.

"Can I ask what for?"

"It's from the nurses in the ward..."

I look up at him with tears building in my eyes, but I try so hard not to let them fall.

"Thank you," I say.

"You're welcome," he smiles.

"You know, your Dad will come around in his own time..." His words were sudden, but they reached my ears, and even though I tried not to hear, I had already heard.

"I know. He's just taking too long..."

There's a sudden beeping, "Sorry"

"It's okay." I answer

I fall back into my thinking while he reads the memo he's just received.

"I think you should come back inside now..." His voice trembles, but it’s not because he's cold.

He didn't have to say much more. Simply by the expression on his face and the tone of his voice, it was enough to tell me that I should be worried, very worried. My thoughts are left chasing after me as I run; sprint as fast as I can up the stairs, dodging corners, nurses and patients to get to where my Mother lies. By the time I arrive, it's already too late.

"Clear!" I hear the Doctor yell out.

Then my Mother's lifeless body is shocked with a wave of electricity. They repeat this, over and over again, failing each time. I'm left standing here completely motionless. I know what's happening, but I can't carry myself away.

"Get her out of here!" The Doctor yells even louder when he sees my emotionless figure standing at the door.

I'm grabbed from behind, and taken aside.

I can hear a voice echoing beside me, but I'm in my own world. I see flashes of what happened and then I realise, then I realise my Mother is now nothing but a lifeless body lying on a bed, and she never got her last wish. She was hanging on, waiting for it, and it just never came.

I hear heavy footsteps running towards me. It's getting louder and louder. Then it stops. I look up and I see my Father's eyes staring straight at me, but he is silent. He has a hopeful look in his eyes, but I'm angry at him. I'm angry because he wasn't here. I'm angry because he never gave to my Mother what she was waiting to hear. I'm angry because if he had been a little earlier, she would have heard it. If he had cared at all, he would have come sooner. Then she wouldn't have had to have a machine live for her while she waited for his voice to say, "I love you".

His eyes are still staring at me, but there's no love and comfort there. There's nothing.

"She's gone," I tell him.

Now I find myself walking away from my Father. I find myself walking away as he falls down to his knees in shock disbelief, screaming out his sorrow. I'm walking away from a man who couldn't face a reality that has now caught up to him. I'm simply walking away.

The Innocence

passion869 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:44:48 GMT

A short story about you!

Touching Kettles

passion869 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:43:32 GMT

The autobiography part 1-still work in progress!

Trust and Integrity

passion869 — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 09:41:15 GMT

This is a fact based fictional drama portraying events that are all too common within mental health services nationally. It tells the semi-autobiographical story of a health service manager who is faced with a number of serious incidents including several homicides carried out by people with severe mental illness and a local health service Trust hospital that is miss managed and complacent about matters. The stress of fighting this complacency leads to the break up of the managers marriage and a fall into the depth of a depressive illness that sees him attempt to take his own life before carrying out the brutal slaying of his ex-wife and her new partner. Ironically he is sent to a secure psychiatric hospital himself but his knowledge of the system and his contacts in the NHS assist his escape.

A number of real incidents are used as background to the early chapters. The first chapter describes in detail the events leading up to a homicide and is based on an actual homicide. Chapters three, five and seven are likewise based upon actual incidents. The characters and the plot are loosely based around real people and real occurrences.

This is a chilling portrayal of the psychiatric system and of how, on a daily basis, society faces risks it never knows it is taking.