Whispers of Rumours

Chapter 13

I had just received the invitation to Jewel's sister's wedding. I had only met Mercedes a handful of times, but every time I had met her she had been the sweetest, most down to earth person ever. I honestly loved Jewel's sister.

It had been several days since my fight with Kade, and I had gone through the weekend, and then missed the first two days of school since. I just couldn't bear to see him. To sit there while he taught me English, and pretend that he was just my teacher, and that nothing had or ever would happen between us. My mom had clearly shown signs of distrust when I told her that I wasn't feeling well, and wouldn't make it to school that day. Even though she didn't seem to believe me, she still let me stay home, and now it was Wednesday, and I had just arrived home from school to find the wedding invite sitting on my bedside table. I had skipped first period today, avoiding Kade completely. I didn't want to see him. I honestly just couldn't even look at him.

Mercedes' 'Save the Date' was printed on thick, blush pink cardstock, and edged in gold, foil embellishments. It was the type of invitation that must have cost more than the average card you buy at the drugstore. Jewel's parents had probably been up to it, wanting to keep their reputation intact. From what I knew, Mercedes really just didn't care much for fancy things. I mean, she loved fancy dresses and going out to fancy restaurants, but if it wasn't at all necessary, then she didn't want it. The invitations were a great example.

The wedding was on April 28th --- two months from now. Jewel had filled me in on the details like what to wear and stuff. She had already fixed her bridesmaid dress problem, but she told me that I should try to match the theme as best I could. Even though I wasn't even a bridesmaid. So, tonight, I would be over at Jewel's searching through her dresses to find the perfect one for the wedding.

My parents weren't home, so Jewel was coming to pick me up from my house. I didn't understand why it was such a big deal for me to find a dress right away, but.

I gathered my things as quickly as possible, and then stumbled down the stairs to wait for Jewel. I flicked on the TV and raced through the channels, trying to find something moderately interesting to watch. Spongebob Squarepants was playing, so I settled with that. I hadn't watched an episode of Spongebob since I was in the eighth grade. It felt like a lifetime ago.

It was thirty minutes of silently watching Spongebob and Patrick be complete morons before Jewel pulled up and climbed out of her car. I always thought it was funny that her sister's name was Mercedes, and Jewel drove a silver one. Ironic, isn't it?

"Ready for some dress hunting, Sandra?" Jewel wiggled her eyebrows at me when I opened the front door. She was dressed impeccably, as usual, and her hair was straight as a pin. As it usually was.

I sighed and moved past her, closing the door behind me. "I suppose..." I trailed off.

"Of course you're excited! How could you not be?!" Jewel exclaimed, sashaying to her driver's side door. The inside of her car was spic-and-span. Not even so much as a gum wrapper on the floor, and I knew for sure that Jewel chewed gum like it was going out of style. I hadn't been in her car in a long time, though, so maybe this was how it always was now.

"So excited!" I mockingly agreed, giving her a thumbs up. She glared at me, and put the car in drive.

"Wait! I forgot to lock the door!" I stopped her, climbing out real quick to go and lock up. Jewel had distracted me with her talking, and I didn't even remember to lock the door. My mom would have killed me if she had come home to find our house unlocked.

Jewel was shaking her head as I climbed back into her Mercedes, and she sped away from my house.

"What?" I asked her, confused.