The New 90210

. 9 .

    "Is this a joke?" Nadia asked.

    "Not at all," he replied. "Here."

    "Funny. I asked for pills and even though you owe me for taking part in ruining my love life, I'll give you cash for them. 50 is all I've got."

    "I'm tellin' you, a pretty girl like you don't wanna get hooked on that shit. And you will."

    "Nice pep talk," Nadia scoffed. "Did you tell that to John too?"

    "First off, he's not a pretty girl. Second off, his situation was different."

    "Different, you say?"

    "You don't have to believe me," he shrugged. "And if it matters that much to you, I'll start givin' him placebos."

    "It doesn't," she looked over at the random album cover wall art. "If he wants to mess up his life in the name of football then so be it."

    Myles shakes his head. "You're a piece of work."

    "Thanks, I try."

    "Just take the Red Bull and go, man."

    "If I wanted Red Bull, I would've went to CVS. I drove all the way here for high-grade caffeine pills, now where are they?" She hissed.

    "Sounding like a druggie already."

    "Why do you fucking care?! Dealers aren't supposed to care!"

    "I'm a human being first. And I'm tired of pretty girls like you depending on outside shit to get their lives in order. You wanna be fan-fucking-tastic then you gotta work for it and learn from it! John broke up with you, big fuckin deal! He's one guy. Get over it and get your shit together."

    Nadia hated when people talked to her like that, partly because what they say is true. She thought she had it all figured out but she didn't. Tears filled her eyes and she sat down on the bed. Myles sat down next to her and rubbed her back.

    "I'm sorry," he spoke softly. "Look, it's only a little before 8 on a Friday night, what do you need to stay up for? We're young, it's basically still in our DNA to naturally stay up all night."

    "I don't even know if I care anymore," her voice cracked. "It's all so much."

    "It's really that exhausting being so perfect huh?"

    "I'm not perfect," she shook her head. "No matter how hard I try to be."

    "If you say you're not perfect, then you're not. If you say you are, then you are."

    "Your life quotes weird me out, Myles. You can stop."

    He tried to keep a straight face but broke out with laughter and Nadia tried to contain herself too.

    "Stop fighting everything you're feeling, Nadia. Goddamn," he laughed.

    "Shut up," she told him. Then she couldn't help it, she laughed as well. "And if you must know, I wanted to finish my ridiculous amount of homework, my admissions essay for UCLA, and get my hair in tip-top shape for tomorrow. All things I wanted to do as soon as I got home but I was exhausted. Not to mention, I'm nervous about tomorrow...being in front of a crowd."

    "But you're a cheerleader."

    "Irrelevant. We cheer in front of crowds as a team. This pageant will look great for colleges to look at but I'm terrified with speaking and modeling in front of people. It's all eyes on me alone." She sighed.