The Truth About Dezzy and Bailey

Chapter Two:

Chapter Two:

“Are you going to conditioning tonight?” Bailey asked, as we made our way to Chemistry.

“Yeah, you?” I smiled, thinking about seeing her tonight.

“Duh!” She said, keeping her face straight for a moment and then breaking out in a laugh. Her face looked so cute scrunched up. My smile grew bigger, hearing her laugh, and my heart started to race.

“That’s cool,” I said, walking in the classroom. We sat right next to each other which was lucky for me. I soaked up every moment I could with Bailey Mason. I wondered if she did too.

                It was no surprise that after the bell rang; Mr. Matthews gave us a mountain of homework due by the end of the period. At first I was annoyed, but then I heard Bailey’s irritated grumblings, and my mood immediately became amused. I made the mistake of looking at her and becoming completely entranced with her beauty.

                Her eyes were the most mysterious shade of golden brown. Never had I seen those color eyes before. They were framed by short, thick lashes. She had a beautiful face that she couldn’t see. It was such a shame. Today, her light brown hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail. Her body was in shape from softball conditioning like mine was. If this was a movie, she would have a golden halo glowing around her frame.

“Dezzy, are you okay? Do I have something on my face?” Bailey asked, crushing my daydream. I jumped, scared and embarrassed.

“Oh, umm…yeah. You just have a black mark on your cheek.” I lied. Her face turned a bright red which was a surprise. She never got embarrassed. Bailey rubbed her cheek, furiously, while turned half away from me.

“Is it gone?” She asked, bashfully. I nodded. Whew, that was a close one for me, I thought, but I felt terrible for making her so embarrassed. I slunk my head down and worked, silently the rest of class.

“Bye, Dezzy,” Bailey said, as the bell rang. “I’ll see you tonight.”

“Bye, Bailey.” I said, smiling and watching her leave. Bailey turned back and gave her a breathtaking smile.

                I stood there for a moment, looking like a complete idoit. Then an actual idoit bumped me into the wall and out of my daze. I made a weird grunt as I collided in the wall. I looked around to see if anybody had seen. Only a group of giggling freshmen girls. Nobody important.

“Hey, whore,” Bailey said, coming into the gym.

“Hey, Bailey,” I said, rolling my eyes. I had no idea why she called me a whore. I didn’t take it personally. She called everyone that to be honest. I knew she meant no harm by it. Anyways I didn’t care what she said as long as she was talking to me. Bailey just smiled. “Bailey, I missed this,” I said, referring to Chemistry today.

“Oh, yeah, I have no idea what had gotten into me.” Bailey said, going through her bag.

“Is there something wrong?” I asked. She dropped her cleats that she had just picked up.

“I-uh, no.” She said, looking downwards.

“Umm…okay,” I said, looking at her suspiciously. I started to open my mouth to say something, but fear got the better of me. We sat in silence as she put on her cleats.

“Alright, girls. Circle and warm up,” Coach E said, clapping his hands together.

“Partners?”

“Of course,” Bailey said, smiling. We did our warm ups. We ran and did leg strength exercises for about an hour. Then the rest of practice we threw and did fielding drills.

“Get in front of me,” Bailey said, when we got in line for ladder exercises.

“No, why?”

“Because I like being behind you.” I grinned at her answer. “No, I mean you’re always in front. I’m just used to it.” I laughed. She shook her head and started the exercise. After she went through two spaces, I started after her.

“Bye, I’ll see you tomorrow, Dezzy.” Bailey said, as we were leaving.

“Bye, Bailey,” I said, feeling fuzzy at the sound of my name of her sweet lips.  Looking at her retreating back made me feel sad and alone. I wanted to be with her and tell her how much she meant to me. She liked guys though, not girls. What else could I do besides be her friend. That had to be enough for me even if it was going to break my heart.

                I sighed and checked my phone. There was a text from Leo.

Here, he typed. I went to the parking lot by the auditorium where the basketball game just letting out. As I was walking out, I saw someone hunched over behind the building coughing. I walked over to see who it was. It was Bailey. Her knees were shaking and her chest was rippling from the force of her cough.

“Bailey, are you okay?” I asked, putting my hand on her shoulder. She jumped at my touch.

“I’m fine,” She said, in between coughs. “I think I’m getting the flu or something.” She seemed fine just a few minutes ago, but I wasn’t a doctor.

“Okay, well feel better, Bailey. Is someone here for you?” I asked, concerned.

“Yeah,” She said, nodding. “They are over on the other side.”

“Oh, okay,” I said, “well, I’ll see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Mhm, bye, Dezzy,” Bailey said and I walked away.   

“How was conditioning?” Leo asked, gruffly as I got into the car.

“Good,” I said. He nodded. That was the extent of our conversation for the night.

“Dezzy!” Maddy exclaimed as I walked through the door. “Do you want to play hide and go seek?” I felt so tired and hungry and I still had homework to do, but I hadn’t seen Maddy all day and it would mean a lot to her.

“Sure,” I said. For the next half hour, we played hide and go seek. Maddy wasn’t very good. Every time I would go to find her, she would yell from her hiding spot, telling me where she was at.                    

“Okay, Maddy, it’s almost time for bed and I need to eat and take a shower,” I said, after she finally found me. She hung her head low, plunging a knife of guilt through my heart.

“Aw, alright,” she said.

“Don’t do that, Maddy,” I said. She giggled and ran out to the living room. I rolled my eyes and went to take a shower.

                My tense body started to relax underneath the warm, cascading water. This was the most relaxing thing I could next to softball. No one nagged me here. No guilt. No pain. No shame. I was as free as the water running over me. Here, me and Bailey were together. My mom wasn’t a miserable hag and my step-dad wasn’t a jerk. No scars stained my arms and thighs. Life was perfect.