The Makeover

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DING! DING! DING!

Oh, gosh. Please stop.

DING!

Maybe it's over...

DING! DING! DING!

Maybe not...

DING!DING!DING!DING!DING!

The dinging sound gets closer together...

DING! DING! DING!


Oh that's it! Whoever or whatever is making that sound better stop this instant. I'm gonna make them.

I drag myself off of the cool cellar floor. Why am in the cellar? Hmm? Wine. I guess you could say I got a little wasted last night...

Or judging by my major headache, probably a lot.

I needed something to drown out my sorrows. Before that, I was acting like a bipolar freak. Crying desperately into the sofa pillow. Calming down. Screaming and throwing things this way and that. Crying again. Some more screaming. Some more calming down. Then a mixture of both.

I don't understand how my dad could drink every single day (that's the main reason my parents divorced). I mean, at the time all the alcohol sure does feel pretty damn good, but the major hangover headache afterwards is soooooo not worth it.

DING! DING! DING!

The sound continues on as I trudge up the stairs.

Then the dinging stops and I hear, "Screw this! I am bustin' that front door down and we're goin' in! I am not waiting one more second for her to open the damn door!"

Alexx.

Banging sounds. Uh-oh. My mom will kill me if we don't have a front door when she comes home.

"Wait! Wait! Seize kickin'! I'm coming!" I shout moving a bit faster to the doorway. Alexx is definitely not the most patient person.

"Finally! We've been waiting outside for like, a half hour!" Lily says dramatically looking at her watch as she closes the door.

"You look horrible!" Alexx says when she sees me.

"Gee, thanks Alexx."

"Oh, and you smell like dead cat." Alexx adds.

"Well I haven't taken a shower in three days, so of course I'm not going to look- or smell- my best." I state.

Cassie is here, too. But she is just looking down at my front porch awkwardly.

"Hey Cassie?"

"Yeah?" she asks.

"I'm not mad at you, so don't worry. It's not your fault you were dragged into this mess and even if I was mad, you forgave me so quickly after our misunderstanding that I can only do the same for you."

"Aww thanks, girl! I love you!" Cassie says enveloping me in a large hug.

My smile turns to a frown. "Wait, it's Monday...Why aren't you guys at school?" I ask curiously.

"Well, I can't stand Mondays, so I skip most of them anyways." says Alexx.

"You're our best friend and you're having a tough time at the moment, so it only makes sense that we would be here to help you through it!" explains Lily.

"Thanks! Come inside. I gotta get some Tylenol because I have a major hangover." I explain walking into the kitchen to grab a pill.

"A hangover? Why?" Cassie asks pouring me a glass of water.

"I got into our wine last night."

"Your house is a wreck, too." says Alexx stating the obvious.

"Again, thanks, Alexx." I say sarcastically.

"No problem." she says glancing around the room surveying the damage.

"When does your mom come home?" Lily asks.

"Last time I checked, she would get here at approximately 5:30."

"Okay! That works! We have about eight and a half hours to clean, then seeing that it is 9:00 now." Lily figures.

"Okay." I agree.

"I'm gonna call you in sick." Cassie explains.

"Thanks."

"Hello?...Oh , hi! I was just calling in to day that my daughter, Addison-"

"Do we have to call?" Alexx groans loudly.

"Yes! Of course!" Lily exclaims as Cassie hangs up the phone.

"It would be greatly appreciated. If this house is a wreck when my mom gets home I'm dead meat!"

"Alexx, why don't you go get the broom and sleep up all of the glass shards lying around?" Lily asks.

"Gosh, you're just like my mom was." Alexx complains. Her mom's not dead, but she might as well be. Alexx considers her that way since she's been in jail for the past 3 years (16 more to go, I think) for participating in a bank robbery.

"I'll go put everything back in it's correct place including trash." Lily says.

"I'll go scrub the cellar floor because I bet it's stained with wine." says Cassie.

"Good idea!" says Lily (who seems to be in charge).

"Thanks guys! What do you think I should do, Lil?" I ask.

"Oh, go take a nap. Your head must be killing you."

"Oh come 'on! It's my house and my mess! I should definitely help!" I say. Though my head is throbbing in pain and a nap sounds really nice right now...

"Nahh. You're fine. You would do the same for me. And by the way, do we need to restock on wine? Would your mom notice it is gone?" Lily asks.

"If more than 3 bottles are empty, then yes. Thank you so much. You guys are the best." I say.

"Oh, no prob, girly!" Lily says with a big smile and when she turns to start her cleaning,

I say, "Lily?"

"Yeah, hon?" she asks. She is from country folk, but she's lived here ever since she was six years old, so she barely ever talks that way.

"I'm sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn't mean it."

"Oh, don't worry about it. Forgive and forget, right? And I just thought about your situation and all the stress your boyfriend has caused you. By putting myself in your shoes, I realized that I would probably snap, too. Nobody's perfect, so all's good."

"Thanks!" I say hugging my best friend.

"Hey Lil, you gonna help clean or what? You just gonna boss around me and Cass?" Alexx says.

"Sorry. Be right there." Lily says and walks away.

I head to my bedroom which is surprisingly not as bad as I thought it would be. Clothing all over the floor. Typical. Dresser and closet open. Of course. Unmade bed. Duhhhhhh. Maybe just a few extra miscellaneous items on the floor than usual.

Including a framed photo of Noah, Cassie, and I when we were kids.

It's cracked, so I guess I threw it in one of my rage fits. Still upset, I chuck it in my white bathroom trash can. After thinking about it, I retrieve the photo Out of the trashcan and slide out the picture. It's actually a really good one of Cassie and I considering neither of us is photogenic. No one's eyes are closed or squinting from the bright sun for once and our smiles are completely genuine. I don't remember that day very well, but I'm pretty sure I was eight. The three of us are at the nearby country club's pool- the pool we used before Cassie and Noah's pool was built. Unfortunately, Noah is in the middle of Cassie and I. One arm around each of us with a smug look on his face.He did have a rather large ego when he was younger... I cut the picture twice (on either side of Noah) with some small, blue scissors. I turn the picture (or what's left of it) over to the back and tape it. Turning it back to the front and looking at it, I realize that the background is off. It doesn't match. And there are still Noah's arm and hand visible... Oh well, I like the picture much better this way. I hang the photo over a small hole in my wall I just noticed. I hear the strumming of a guitar from my partially open window and I poke my head outside. Noah is sitting on my front lawn playing the guitar. Staring right at me. Singing that song. The one we made. Our song. But it's longer.

“You move with the grace of,
A thousand falling leaves
You sing like an angel,
One I strive to please
You smile like a goddess,
Whenever something's new
Why not let people know,
The Addie that I do?

You never yell or scream or cry,
It never ends in tears
Your laughter sounds like tinkling bells,
and it's music to my ears
You don't act shy around me,
that much I know is true
Why not let others see,
the wonder that is you?

Your smile could light up,
a thousand blackened caves
Your hair falls around your face,
in soft brown gentle waves
Your eyes sparkle different shades of,
green and ocean blue
Darling why can't you see,
How much I love you?”

It does sound beautiful and Noah's voice is amazing, but still, I yell, "Get off my lawn or I'll call the cops!" whist slamming the window shut.

I hop in my bed, put on my sleep mask, put in some earplugs to block off the sounds of Noah and his guitar (who is STILL singing, gosh I hope he leaves soon), and try to fall asleep.

At first the sun streaming through my windows is still blinding me through my sleep mask. I close the curtains.

Then, I am not comfortable in my clothing. I have to put on a comfy, super long t-shirt that was my dad's.

Then my mind is buzzing with too many thoughts and feelings and I just need it to all slow down. Counting back from 100 doesn't help. When counting sheep doesn’t help either, I reach blindly into my bedside drawer and pop a sleeping pill I keep for emergencies into my mouth. Without a drink, it is hard to gulp down, but I manage and in a few minutes, when the pull kicks in, I'm out cold. Until 9:00 at night...

"Honey, I'm home!" chirps my mom barging through my bedroom door.

"Hey, mom." I say drowsily while taking off my mask and earplugs.

"Oh my gosh! Sweetie, I am just so sorry for wakin' you! I just thought that you wouldn't be sleeping until at least another hour or so."

"Oh, it's fine. No big deal. How was your travels?"

"Oh my gosh- IT WAS ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID! We all had a great time! Gosh, I am so envious of Sally. She has a supportive husband. She's already retired. And she can afford subscriptions to People and Us and Star! She doesn't have to choose! But when I retire in a decade or two or three, I so wanna do just that! We had a blast! We hung out on the pool all day and at night played games and sipped delicious cocktails! Oh and the best part is I have a major tan! See?" she says pulling over the neckline of her shirt to show me her tan line. The area where her sunglasses were makes the surrounding area of her eyes white.

Oh, mother... When I realize she is expecting me to be overjoyed on her new tan skin, I blurt, "Whoa! That's amazing! You look great!"

"I know, right? Gosh, I didn't realize how much I needed that vacation! Me and you should totally go on that cruise sometime." my mom gushes.

"Sounds like a ton of fun!" I say.

"Oh, and great job on the house. Spotless! I knew I could trust you not to trash it with a major party or something while I was away." my mom compliments my friends' handiwork.

"Thanks." I say.

"Oh, and before I forget, your boyfriend is sitting out on a picnic blanket mucking an apple on our front lawn."

"At least he took a break from the guitar..." I mutter. My mom hears part of this. "Oh, yeah his guitar? He is an amazing artist and we already know he is a very talented athlete! He is the perfect man for you! Like seriously, what a catch? If I was twenty years younger- wait, no, maybe just ten- I would totally date him myself."

"Well, you can date him yourself now because we split." I say.

"Oh my! What happened?" she says, her eyes sparkling with curiosity and concern.

"Just...well, it's a long story-"

"I have time."

"Well, I don't really wanna talk about it.

"As a shrink, I know you might want to keep this to yourself but you really should open up to the one's who love you."

"Just not now, okay? I'm tired and exhausted and I'll tell you tomorrow."

"I guess that's fine..." my mother says. She looks a bit sad that she won't be able to hear all this juciy gossip right away.

"Thanks for being so understanding." I say appreciatedly.

"Anytime, anytime. Is that why you look so filthy? And my favorite wine is gone?" she asks.

"Um...yeah. sorry about that."

"In that case, tell Lily and Cassie thanks for cleaning the house." My mom's a lot of things, but stupid is not one of then.

"Don't forget Alexx!"

"Really? She helped? Weird..."

"Yeah. That was my initial reaction, too."

"Must be a pretty ugly split..."

"Go! You'll here all about it tomorrow! Promise!"

"Fine." my mother days getting up from my bed and walking towards my door.

"Mom?" I ask stopping her before she is completely out my door.

"Yes, Addie?" she asks poking her head back in.

"Did you have any of those cocktails this morning before you left the ship?"

"What, no. Why would you say that?"

"I don't know. You're a bit uncharacteristically enthusiastic at the moment."

"Must be the airplane champagne."

"Oh no! Not again."

"Honey, it's complimentary. Drink as much as you can hold in your bladder, right?"

"Okay, you really need a new motto."

"I'll think about it."

"Night mom."

"Night, love."

As I lay in bed trying to fall back asleep, I realize that I will get through this (the whole Noah thing) with the help of the people who really love (and trust) me. For starters, though, it would help if Noah would get off my front lawn...

Special thanks to my editor. Bit of problems and disagreements but she’s still stickin’ with me! Sorry, I have a bit of a temper in case some of you didn’t notice based on some of some ferocious comments from earlier.

Anyways, THANK YOU FOR WRITING THE REST OF THE SONG WEEZ32 (HENCE THE DEDICATION)

Yeah I can’t take credit for writing it. I’m a sporty chica not a musical one (though I do play guitar)

So yeah thanks everybody!!!