The Dash: ON HOLD

Chapter one

The dash

"-and she was such a nice person." "Thank you Laine, for that wonderful speech. Is that all?" I raise my hand and say, "Umm, I would like to speak." Murmurs go up all around me, as I step up to the podium. "Let me just say that before I met Taylor, I was just a shadow. And after today, I will go back to being just another nobody. I might have only known her for four months but let me just say Taylor May Mills was the best thing that ever happened to me. She was more than just a best friend, she was more than just a picture on the wall. After today the only thing truly left of her will be just a dash on a rock. But that dash represents her life. I probably couldn't tell you much about it before February of this year; but trust me it meant something. Taylor was special, she could always pick out the quirks people had and think of them as their best qualities. For me... she picked out people. I'm not a person who deals with people easily. I've had two friends in my whole life, one of them was Taylor. The other one, I pushed away and then she moved to Italy with her family. But Taylor, she could just make you feel good, she could make you laugh until you almost peed yourself. But most of all, she could make you smile. My whole point of this speech?" I paused just for a minute to think. "My point was to thank her for that, and for her making this year actually special. Something I will want to remember." Everybody was silent as I went to go sit down. Then everyone went to go bury her, but I left before that. I went to the park and sat on the bench next to the big oak tree. I thought about those months I'd known her. I'd moved to this small town near Miami from the town in Texas called Killeen. I'd decided when I moved here that I could keep my nose in a book until senior year, but that was four years away. And of course, Taylor Mills wouldn't let that happen. I had gotten to school early and went to go sit down in my first period class in a random desk at the back. I was reading "Harry Potter and the goblet of fire" for like the third time then the bell rang. I was still reading when everyone came in. Suddenly your stereo typical popular girl came in with two girls behind her. She was like the girls in the movies. Big prada bag, stilletos, tights, a mini skirt and a shirt that was obviously designer. Behind her were her two descipels both wearing other obviously expensive stuff. They all had manicures and pristine curled hair. The one in the lead had the perfect Asian bone structure and caramel hair. As soon as she set eyes on me she had a sneer on her face. She walked up to me and almost barked "Move!" I stared at her dumbfounded for about a minute, but then she turned and said loudly "Oh look everybody the new goth chick thinks this is her desk." a few people laughed but I decided that two people could play at this game. So I stood up and said, "Oh look everyone miss 'I'm trying to be a white chick' thinks she can tell me what to do." at that moment everyone but her and I laughed and she poured her latte down my shirt with a smirk. With that, a girl from the back of the room took me to the bathroom. After a second she spoke, "Hi, I'm Taylor and that was Ashlee, and the two behind her were Laine and Nicole. Sorry about the coffee." Going through my head was, this chick is trying to be nice. "Um, I'm Jesslynn, and I'm not very good at the whole friend thing." Perfect, I was awkward enough for her not to try to be friends. "Well Jesslynn, lucky for you I've got an extra shirt in my locker so you won't have to wear the stuff from the nurses office." Crap. She's being nice to me. It would be way too big, she was normal sized and had boobs. Me on the other hand still fit in kids clothes. At a whopping five foot and eighty five pounds this shirt she gave me looked like a t-shirt but was something from Aeropostale. Taylor had straight long brown hair that went to her butt. She had hazel eyes and was tan enough to look like she was from a Katy Perry music video. She was also about seven or eight inches taller than me, so walking back into the classroom with this shirt on I looked kind of funny. When we walked in the teacher asked where we had been and who I was, then I sat down with my back pack in a seat next to Taylor. After that we went to math class then I went to history and she went to gifted and talented. Then I had a free period then lunch. Lunch was crazy because some guy thought it would be absolutely hillarious to run by and spank/slap Laine's butt. However, she did not. Laine, Ashlee, and Nicole's boyfriend('s) then all cornered the guy in the cafeteria and started beating him to a pulp. All four got suspended. To make it worse Laine made a huge deal about it during fifth period. And the whole school got a speech about it during sixth period. Now keep in mind that there are about four hundred people in each grade, now imagine sticking that times three in a gym. And giving them a speech on how it is wrong to touch people whom do not want to be touched in inappropriate or vulgar areas. It was pretty insane, and the speech took up all of sixth period. Then it was seventh period my least favorite time of the day, athletics. Finally after that terror of a time, I had technology. Then I walked back to the new house. That house that I had lived in for exactly five days. My parents were both at home along with my older twin brothers. I didn't talk to any of them. None of them acknowledged that I was even in existence. I just went straight upstairs to my room and plopped down on my bed then turned on the radio. Then I took my shirt out of the plastic bag and walked down the hall and put it in the laundry room. Then I went to one of the drawers with stuff in it and took out a shirt and changed into it and put Taylor's shirt in the wash. After, I just went back to listening to music. The only other time I "associated" with anyone was when I went downstairs to get the takeout my mom ordered. The next day I caught a ride to school from my brothers Jaxon and Jason; but I had headphones glued in my ears the whole time. That morning as I walked by the cafeteria I noticed for the first time, the school has a coffee machine. So I got coffee then went to first period. I sat in Ashlee's desk while I was waiting for class to start. I was also plotting. I felt like getting back at her (Ashlee) because that shirt she ruined was pretty much my favorite. Plus she was acting like a total bitch. Soon the bell rang and everyone came in. This morning the teacher came in on time and Ashlee and her group were late. When they walked in, Nicole and Laine sat down but Ashlee was just staring at me as if I were just elected prom queen. Mrs. Jordan told Ashlee to sit down. Ashlee put up an argument and almost got sent to the office, but finally she sat down. She just kept looking at me like I was going to pay. But i didn't care, because I had won this round. Math went by fast enough but history slower than ever. Finally I had a free period and then lunch, oh insane lunch. Let's just say, if you're gonna be a snob... Do not wear a white Gucci shirt. When I sat down next to Taylor at a table with a few people I had met briefly; Ashlee came storming over with her entourage. "I cannot believe you sat in my spot, who do you think you are?" said Ashlee "Wasn't a latte down your shirt warning enough?" Nicole asked as Laine stared me down. "Look princess," I said directing it to Ashlee "That seat is not your throne, Eighth grade is not your own personal fucking kingdom and I sure as hell am not someone your gonna boss around" The girls stared at me stunned then they started to turn. But I wasn't done yet, I grabbed my blue slushy "Oh and Ashlee," she turned back to me "Now both of our shirts are ruined" I said as I poured the cold blue raspberry beverage down her shirt. She ran out of there as fast as she could; everyone was watching. The whole time. Even Mr. Sanders, the principal; whom didn't look too amused. He walked over to me and I just followed without a word. Nothing bad happened but I would have detention for the next three days. The next two periods were boring. And then there was athletics; Taylor gave me her number and told me to call her after school, So she could come over and study for the history quiz. After technology, school was out and I called Taylor. After about fifteen minutes she was at my house in my room catching me up with everything from school work, to guys, to gossip. She didn't leave until nine thirty, after we did some stuff. That night consisted of very little studdying. We unpacked some more of my stuff until there was nothing left to unpack. We trashed some clothes, and cut off the sleeves of some. We put Carmel highlights in my hair after we fixed its old appearance. Previously, before I came to Florida... I had platinum blond hair that ended at my elbows. Recently I had it cut in a diagonal way. Starting just below my chin on my left side; ending above my elbow, on my right. I also had black streaks. But tonight it was changed to an even cut right under my chin, long bangs, and Carmel highlights along with my platinum hair and black streaks. After we did my hair we went downstairs and my mom gaped at me as we got food and went back upstairs. Next we cut her hair to just below her boobs and added blue-green streaks. Then we went down stairs and made a chocolate milkshake. After that, we came back upstairs and it was almost eight. We did a small amount of studdying until eight thirty. Next we downloaded like ten new songs to my phone and went outside. We got on the trampoline she did her back layout and I sort of did a front handspring. Then after her begging me, we went inside and got my brothers. It was nine fifteen when we finished glow in the dark tag; and that was the first time in a few days that I had spoken to my brothers. Taylor got a call from her dad wanting her home so Jason and Jaxon drove us to her house. She got out and walked slowly inside, to have the door opened by who we assumed was her brother. The rest of us went home. I showered, then finished chapter thirty of "Harry Potter and the order of the Phoenix". I went to bed around eleven after listening to all the songs over and over again. My favorite was either the song by Katy perry "dark horse", or John legend "all of me".