The Pretty People

CHAPTER 23

     Spring break went by too fast. It was 7:00 PM on a Saterday, and Justin was about to leave. I was in his hotel room with Sadie, Tiffany, and Melanie. "So, we'll keep in touch?" "Yeah; definitely." I said, nodding. We all said our good-byes and watched as Justin's friends left the hotel. Justin was the last to get into Hunter's car. "Bye Rachel." he said, kissing my neck. "Bye." I said. As the car zoomed away, I looked down at my bracelet and played with the charm.

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     "Finally! I get to see your new hair color in person!" Kelly said in homeroom. Spring Break was officially over and Kelly was braiding my auburn hair while I was reading a book. "So how was your trip to Miami? Did you miss me?" she asked. "It was great," I said. "and of course I did." Kelly noticed the key charm bracelet hanging from my wrist. "What's that?" she asked, pointing to it. "It's just a gift that someone gave to me." "And that someone is...?" Kelly asked. "My...boyfriend." I said. It felt weird to say that word out loud. Then Kelly was all up in my face again and I had to tell her the whole story about how I met Justin and everything. "That is SO cool!! You never told me this!" she said, finishing my braid. "Yeah, well, now you know." I smiled.

     I walked home with Kelly after school. I thought that since Spring break just ended, our teachers would give us light homework, but I was wrong. My backpack weighed a ton, as it usually did and I had a test to study for, so Kelly was coming over to study with me. I fumbled for the house key inside my Vera Bradley wristlet and opened the door. My mom's favorite candle was burning in the living room, making the whole house smell like citrus and coconut. "Hi girls!" my mom called out from the kitchen. "Hi Meredith!" Kelly chirped. My mom loves Kelly. She claims that she was just like her when she was our age, but I can't imagine my mom dying her hair different colors of the rainbow and jumping all over the place when she's happy. "You guys have a lot of homework?" my mom asked us. "Yeah, I'm helping Kelly study for a history test we have this Wednesday." I said. Before we studied, we pigged out on cheez-its and lemonade, then we bolted upstairs to my room and spread out all our notes and worksheets on the carpet. I was in the middle of making flashcards when my sidekick vibrated. It was a text from Justin, and I got a text from Melanie earlier today that was unread. I read Melanie's first.

Hi Ray! Okay, so I almost forgot but I bought tickets to Rihanna's concert which is in exactly 2 weeks. I have 4 tickets, and I was wondering if you could come with me, Sadie, and Tiffany. Reply back soon!

Rihanna was my favorite singer in the whole world. I went downstairs to tell my mom to check, and she said it was fine, so I texted her back and said sure, and that I was really excited. "What was that about?" Kelly asked. "Oh...Melanie was just wondering if I could come with her to a concert in a few weeks." I said. I didn't like talking about Melanie in front of Kelly that much, because I had a feeling that she still didn't like her that much. "Okay." Kelly said, scribbling down some more notes into her binder. I remembered that Justin just sent me a text, too, and I checked it.

So my uncle works at the TD Garden, and Rihanna's performing there in a couple of weeks. He said he could get us tickets for free! I would love it if you could go with me; I'm not the biggest fan of Rihanna, but I know you like her. What do you say?

This would've been so much easier to answer if Melanie hadn't asked me first.