Twisted (title pending)

Twisted ((Chapter Three))

Chapter Three:

I brushed a bit of dirt off my clothes. No need to make it painfully obvious that I had to clean. I was made fun of enough.

I walked onto the so-called ‘playground’. It was really just a recess area where kids went to hang out yet they persisted with that childish name for it. Whatever.

I scanned the crowd for Arianne. She was my best friend, but I didn’t get to see her often. We were in completely different classes and she lived across town. It didn’t help that Lenora wouldn’t let me get a cell phone or computer.

All she knew was that Lenora was ‘over protective’. I didn’t tell her about what I had to do for them. She didn’t need to know. I felt trapped in a web of lies at school; I had to make excuses for enough things I didn’t have or didn’t get to go to because of Lenora. I remembered my explosion yesterday and didn’t regret it. They were words that needed to be said.

Not that it helped in any way.

Arianne popped up next to me, grinning. Her brown eyes were alight and her blonde hair was up in a messy ponytail.

“You’ll never guess what happened last weekend,” she said. “And you look nice, by the way,” she added. I smiled.

“Thanks. And what happened? Didn’t you have that date with Greg on Saturday?”

“Exactly!” she squealed. “We went to dinner and then a movie and he was so sweet!”

Arianne had had a crush on Greg for a few months, and he had finally asked her out the week before. She seemed to be floating on her own personal Cloud Nine ever since. My eyes darted to Brandon, who was standing across the playground. No, Ella, I chastised myself. Ignore him.

“That’s so cool!” I said. “You have to tell me all about it later, okay?”

“Definitely,” she assured me. “How was your weekend?”

What was I going to say? I decided to tell a warped version of the truth.

“It was pretty boring, but yesterday I had a huge fight with Lenora,” I said, grinning.

“Nice!” Arianne said. “What happened?”

“Just some screaming. She said if I do anything else I’ll be banned from all things Homecoming,” I said, trying to sound like I didn’t care. Arianne snorted.

“Nice. She’s such a pig.”

“Tell me about it,” I agreed. I noticed Corrie, who was standing near Brandon and his group of friends. Her friends seemed to be laughing about something. My expression must have been angry because Arianne tapped me on the shoulder.

“What’d Corrie and her friends do?” she asked knowingly. Arianne always could read my mind and tell when I was upset or angry.

“They came over to pick her up to go to the movies and started making fun of me because I was-” I stopped myself. I had been about to say ‘I was serving Lenora’ but that would violate my code: School and home don’t mix. “My hair was a mess and they just felt like it, I guess.”

“That sucks,” she sympathized. “I don’t get why they tease you.”

“Corrie,” I said bitterly. “Ever since she came to live with us she’s made my life a living hell. I mean, I even helped her out yesterday and she still starts them teasing me. Anne’s no help. It’s like they’re afraid to be nice to me around their friends.”

“God, I’m so glad I don’t have sisters,” Arianne said. “All I have is an older brother. At least he’s in college so I don’t hear from him.”