Stevie's POV
Doritos, Netflix and Carmen. What a perfect night.
I scooped a heaping helping of Doritos out of the plastic bowl nestled in between Carmen's wrinkled sheets.
Dorito powder clung to my finger tips, I licked them graciously.
Carmen looked over and rolled her eyes.
Always the dramatic one, I thought.
I ignored her while making an obnoxious slurping sound.
"Lighten up," I chirped, while wiping my wet fingers on my pants.
It left a faded, orange-red streak.
I tried to dust it off, but I seemed to only be making it worse. I sighed.
Carmen was curled in front of her laptop on the bed.
The fluorescent light of the computer screen was casting a dark shadow on her face.
Her hair laid across her eyes, obscuring her vision.
Her slender fingers skated across the keyboard gracefully.
I could see the dark circles under her eyes with the computer's light.
She always looked like she never got enough sleep.
"Um, you're concentrating a little hard over there, bud," I said.
I shook the Doritos bowl for remnants of unclaimed morsels.
Carmen brows knitted, she didn't break her intense gaze on her computer screen.
She looked frustrated.
"What, Are you doing homework or something?"
Geesh, on a Saturday?" I groaned, flopping on the bed, like a fish out of water.
"We're suppose to be watching Walter and Jesse here." I motioned to the television as I paused the Roku.
She looked up me with a frown.
The expression created overlapping ridges on her forehead.
"No, I'm not doing homework," she snapped, annoyed.
I laughed. She frowned, it was our thing, I thought.
Whatcha doing then?" I responded curiously, trying to stretch my neck to see her screen.
She latched her laptop lid. It clinked with a snap.
"I'm just browsing Instagram," she responded curtly, trying to sound causal.
"When, normally, people don't browse Instagram and look depressed about it," I teased.
Her jade eyes gleamed at me. I looked down.
"Instagram is so depressing. All the girls on there are too perfect," she moaned, flinging herself on the bed having the chip bowl tumble on the floor.
The chip crumbles scattered across the carpet like bird seed.
We both shrugged.
Carmen sighed heavily having her hair cascade across her entire face.
I always have an urge to brush her hair out of hair face, but I didn't.
That would be weird right?
Right, my mind echoed.
I readjusted on the bed patted her shoulder awkwardly.
It felt firm and cold.
YOU ARE READING
The Homecoming Queen
Teen FictionWe have all seen the "viral stories," of people with disabilities. One meaningful gesture gone wrong. Carmen is a 16 year old self-identified "slacker," with Cerebral Palsy. Her school has high hopes of turning her into a viral sensation by crowni...
