Getting It Straight

Chapter 1

There was something wrong with me.

I knew that from the day I was born—or rather, a little after that, when I actually started remembering things—there was a malfunction in my being. Even if I tried to resist it or begged myself to act otherwise, it was truly hard for me to do that one thing. And because of it, well, a series of events in this ordinary life of mine happened.

"Just once," Paige said, clumping her dark brown, curly hair to one side. "We'll never break your curfew again after this. Come on, Fiona, this is the last week of summer. We have to go to this party."

"I can't," I firmly replied, keeping to heart my dad's house rules.

"Please? This is the summer before senior year, and it's almost over. Don't you want to enjoy it to the fullest?" Paige pleaded. I could see how expectant she was about this summer before senior thing, like our whole lives depended on it.

"No?" I replied, still keeping my decision intact. There was nothing in this world that could make me go to that party.

Pinky promise, none.

"Fiona, please?" Paige asked, appearing to be fragile and in dire need of my concession.

I let out a sigh.

Well, nothing could ever stop Paige Steinfield. Not with her pleas or demands. Not in the middle of her absolute pursuit of whatever she wanted. And evidently enough, not with me.

Because all my life, the word 'no' never existed. I didn't know how to turn down people and disappoint them. I was afraid that they would hate me. The first and last time I said no to someone, I felt dreadful. And since that was the case, I kind of did the opposite of it all the time.

Too bad, huh?

Well, it would have been nice if it were only Paige. She and I had been inseparable ever since my family (well, two of which) had moved here to Heatherville City. Paige had never gotten me into so much trouble that I would end up being exiled to somewhere faraway or anything like that.

However, the problem was that it had also happened a lot with everyone else in school. Particularly, it was because of a certain boy. His name started with the letter 'C'. If I hadn't met him, my secret would never be out in the open. But it happened. Since then, everyone had asked me for favors every chance they got.

Anyway, enough of my misery.

I closed my eyes, telling myself, 'No, you will not say yes. You will not say yes, even if Paige is begging you. You're going to stay in your room and be good. Even if she is pulling your hair like crazy and shaking your head like there's no tomorrow, you will not go to that party.'

"Fine," she muttered. I snapped back to reality and saw Paige carefully sliding my bedroom window open. She climbed onto my desk and was about to jump outside. "Are you coming or not?"

"Tell me you're..." I didn't get to finish what I was going to say, because she had already hopped outside. It was no big deal. Our house had only one floor. The worst thing that could happen to her was to get a scratch or two from the bushes below my bedroom window.

Getting up from my bed, I pressed my hands on the windowsill. "Come back here! My dad will kill me."

"Either you'll let your best friend go alone to that party, or you will come with me," she laid out the verdict, putting her hands on her hips while holding that determined look on her face.

I grimaced.

It was that same old routine. After a moment of dramatic persuasion, I would hesitate for a good while, but I would eventually go with her. Biting my lower lip, I was going through that same thing once more. And like always, I already saw the end of this.