❁
"WE'RE meeting up with Reece after this in that coffee shop next to that beauty parlor called—what's its name?—Bonjour, I think," Teagan informed Lizzy, their white plastic-covered dresses overflowing in their arms as they walked next to each other.
They glided past Philip's Pizza Palace and speedily crossed the street to Once and Floral where Lizzy's car was parked. "I know that coffee shop. What's it called again?"
"It starts with an L..." Teagan trailed off, her eyes squinted in concentration; meanwhile, Lizzy unlocked her car and they deposited their spring formal dresses in the trunk.
"Lovely Latte!" Lizzy exclaimed as the name descended upon her like a feather.
Teagan snapped her fingers. "I literally remembered it right after you said that," she complained with a playful frown.
"Should've been quicker," Lizzy teased before peering in her car to make sure that her lilies were safe in the front seat. "You're just a little slow in the head sometimes, it's okay."
Teagan punched her friend in the shoulder before dragging her in the direction of Lovely Latte. "It takes one to know one."
Lizzy rolled her eyes and allowed Teagan to lead her to the coffee shop, its windows emanating an amiable, welcoming glow. Flowers from Once and Floral ambled inside with their sweet aroma until they curiously peered through the door, decorating almost every inch of Lovely Latte. The café was abuzz with activity, the baristas preparing mochas and frappuccinos, customers slurping on their drinks and conversing amongst each other. Teagan and Lizzy sauntered inside, laughing at some dirty joke that Teagan had made.
"You're terrible," Lizzy responded with a shake of her head before getting in line to order a drink. Her eyes surveyed Lovely Latte's interior until they reached Reece who gave her a wave, a small grin illuminating his features. His friend sat beside him, an aurora of superiority surrounding him, his face perfectly symmetrical like an artistic sculpture, every hair on his head flawlessly controlled with gel. Lizzy wrinkled her nose involuntarily; this certainly wasn't anyone she'd normally befriend on any other day. She admired people with quirks and blemishes—like Mateo's senseless tendencies, Teagan's sassy attitude, and Reece's sweet humbleness. This boy seemed as though he thought he was high and mighty, an angel in the clouds compared to the dirty devils that surrounded him now in Lovely Latte.
"Is that him?" Lizzy asked, unable to mask the disgust laced in her tone.
Teagan searched for Reece in the shop, nodding when she saw the two boys. "Yeah, that's Reece and Isaac."
"You don't sound too enthusiastic—or too sure for that matter."
"I don't know him that well. I've heard he's not the nicest guy in the world. Sorry, Liz. All of Reece's other friends have girlfriends or they already have dates."
"Ugh. That sucks. At least it could be worst. He could be uglier but he's actually pretty cute."
"At least you have a date. He might've not found you one at all, but he did," Teagan pointed out. The two girls stepped forward as the line inched toward the cashier where they could buy some drinks and pastries.
"I guess you're right." Lizzy smiled at the worker behind the counter and requested a red velvet muffin with a white chocolate mocha.
"I'm always right," Teagan retorted before ordering after Lizzy. Lizzy rolled her eyes and paid for them both (Teagan argued that the person with the job between them always had to pay for their food).
Teagan and Lizzy meandered their way through the myriads of customers. As they traversed closer and closer to Reece and Isaac, Lizzy grew more and more annoyed at Isaac's haughty posture, his judging eyes. He scanned Lizzy, his eyebrows drawn together warily at her appearance. It's going to be a long night, Lizzy thought to herself as she imagined her spring formal spent with this boy.
Teagan plopped next to Reece, grabbed his arm, and leaned forward. She batted her eyelashes flirtatiously, and Lizzy and Isaac shared a repulsed look. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought, Lizzy's inner monologue continued, appreciating her and Isaac's similar aghast expressions. She stifled a surprised chuckle and turned her attention to her muffin that had been seducing her since she saw it through the window, its blushing, soft texture appearing scrumptious to her watering mouth.
Awkward silence ensued as Reece and Teagan spoke with one another in strange voices that made Lizzy want to gag and throw up. Neither of them sounded like themselves; Teagan seemed fake while Reece sounded like he was trying too hard. They appeared to dwell in their own, unpoppable bubble, their world standing still around them like a frozen television screen.
"Hi, I'm Lizzy," Lizzy introduced herself to Isaac since Reece clearly wasn't going to take the initiative.
Reece snapped out of it at the sound of Lizzy's greeting. "Oh, uh, yeah. This is Lizzy, Isaac. Isaac, this is Lizzy."
Isaac raised an eyebrow at his friend before glancing slyly at Lizzy—and in what Lizzy figured was distaste. "Reece, may I speak with you for a moment?"
Reece's eyebrows furrowed and he reluctantly got up from his comfortable seat, his body yearning to stay beside Teagan. "I'll be right back," he reassured her, and both she and Lizzy watched him follow Isaac to the restroom where they could discuss matters privately.
Lizzy's gaze shifted to her best friend who was staring in the direction that Reece had disappeared as though she was lost in thought. "Ahem," Lizzy cleared her throat to gain Teagan's attention, a small sigh blowing from her lungs like air released from a balloon. Guilt seemed to weigh on Teagan's shoulders—at least, Lizzy assumed it was guilt. "He's head over heels for you, just sayin'."
Teagan buried her face in her hands and groaned. "Don't remind me. Why did I decide to ruin the sweetest guy ever's life?" She pushed her drink and treat as far away from her as possible, her appetite vanishing into the affable atmosphere of Lovely Latte.
"I don't normally like to say I told you so, but—I told you so," Lizzy responded with a shrug, taking a sip of her warm drink that delighted her taste buds. She had tried to warn Teagan of the possible consequences; she'd done her duty and now Teagan had to live with the awful, heartbreaking truth of her choice.
Teagan sliced daggers at her friend with her eyes before sticking out her tongue at Lizzy. "You suck."
"And you swallow," Lizzy retorted, mocking her young brother who decided that dirty jokes were his new obsession and constantly babbled them in her ear when she reclined on the couch, minding her own business.
"Logan?" Teagan asked with a hint of a grin.
"Logan," Lizzy finished and Teagan nodded with understanding.
Just then, the two boys emerged from the bathroom, Reece's hair ruffled and cheeks doused with pink while Isaac remained as perfect as ever. It made Lizzy nauseous. She secretly hoped that the spring formal with him would fall through somehow—she wasn't sure if she could party and dance with him all night long. He didn't seem like the type of guy to just let loose and have fun, which was something Lizzy desperately needed for that night especially with all the drama between her best friends that seemed as though it would never cease.
To distract herself, Lizzy popped a portion of the delicious muffin and began munching thoughtfully as she waited for someone to start a conversation. Isaac and Reece seemed to continue their conversation silently for a minute, Isaac's eyes cold and unmoving while Reece raised his eyebrows and silently begged. As their quiet discussion dragged longer, Lizzy grew impatient.
"You know, if you don't want to go with me and you don't think you can handle my pretty black ass, then fuck you, Isaac," Lizzy told him bluntly, fury flaming the pit of her stomach. She wished he would simply be straight out with his obvious disapproval and face her; she could handle rejection just fine. He wasn't the boy she truly cared about anyway.
Lizzy's harsh words surprised all three who sat around her, even gaining a few curious, judgmental stares from nearby customers. Even Isaac, the perfect one, seemed to shatter from his flawless shell, his eyes reflecting fear and his pale face darkening to a vivid shade of red.
Shock fell from Teagan's face like a curtain and she smiled at Lizzy. "You've been hanging around me too much, Liz. I've been rubbing off on you, haven't I?"
"I think it's all the shopping, T. It destroyed me and made me your clone."
"Hey, there can never be too many Teagans in the world." Teagan pouted.
Lizzy took a deep breath, grateful that Teagan had eased the tension by speaking. The two boys, one beside her and one across her, still hadn't moved from their dazed states as they stared at Lizzy as if she were a new species that no scientist had ever discovered before. "I think one is enough for all of our sanity."
Isaac opened and closed his mouth, slowly regaining his composure. "I don't think this is going to work out, Reece. This woman is lacking in respect."
Now even Teagan appeared offended, her eyes narrowing into slits as she glared at Isaac who had zero filter. Lizzy's heart skipped a beat, his words fueling the fire of anger that burned within her. "Me? Lacking in respect? You're the one who's judging me without even knowing me. I was willing to try, but you know what? You don't deserve even a millisecond of my time. I'd rather get my arms ripped out of their sockets and rot in hell than go to the spring formal with you. No wonder you don't have a girlfriend—you need to learn to watch your mouth and respect all women—all people in fact—no matter who they are or what they've done. So screw you and have a nice day. I hope you think about today and learn and grow from it because this world can only be a better place without people like you. You and your narrow mind need to open to the world around you because it's a damn cool place. It'd be a shame if you never got to see it. Adios, Lizzy out." Lizzy rose from her comfortable spot in her chair, its legs screeching against the floor and echoing off the coffee shop's walls.
The vicinity of Lovely Latte had quieted as most of the customers listened to Lizzy's speech, a few nodding at her appreciatively, a woman with fire hair clapping with pride and admiration. Lizzy bowed, receiving bouts of laughter from her audience, and she strutted out of Lovely Latte with the remains of her muffin in one hand and her simmering drink in the other. Teagan floated in the aftermath of Lizzy's dramatic exit and together they headed back to Lizzy's car.
"I'm so proud of you, boo, for standing up for yourself. It's like watching my little child all grown up," Teagan said, pleased tears glimmering in her eyes. "My only question is, who are you going to the dance with now? Do you have a plan B?"
Lizzy grinned mischievously, a little surprised that her best friend hadn't sniffed out her second plan. It was one that she preferred over being tortured with Isaac's presence all night. "T, when have I ever had a backup plan? I'm sure as hell not going to try to get another date. I think myself will do just fine. Boys are overrated anyway."
"Don't I know it," Teagan muttered, a faraway look settling in her eyes as she thought about Mateo who had stolen her heart and she couldn't pilfer it back, no matter how hard she tried.
❁
Lizzy rested the vibrant lilies on her desk, the sun rays from her window cuddling their petals. She vowed to get them a vase with water before they wilted and she descended the staircase to the kitchen. She paused mid-step when she saw her parents talking with one another in passionate yet quiet tones. When they noticed their daughter had entered the room, they glanced up at her before exchanging unreadable looks that Lizzy couldn't decipher. "Should I leave or...?" Lizzy trailed off, pointing back upstairs to her bedroom.
"No, no. You can stay," her mother reassured, a small smile brightening her wrinkled face. Lizzy's stomach sank; lines that weren't present before now creased her forehead and cheeks. She would never admit it, but Lizzy knew that their dad's lack of a job was hard on her with the pressure to keep their household afloat all on her mother's shoulders.
"Logan, get down here please!" Lizzy's father bellowed, his voice rocking the house back and forth. Lizzy could hear her brother moaning as he slowly dragged his lazy ass down the stairs to the kitchen. She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at her brother who appeared as if he had just woken up, his eyes squinting from the evening sun, his shoulders drooping almost to the floor.
"Morning, sunshine," Lizzy commented dully. "While you've been sleeping, I've been up for hours. I've worked, shopped with Teagan, met this jackass—" Lizzy's mother sliced daggers in her daughter's direction, but Lizzy simply shrugged, still smoldering from her outburst against Isaac.
"Watch your language," her mother warned with narrow eyes. "And I don't want you two to fight right now. I brought you down here for some news."
Logan and Lizzy simultaneously turned to their parents, each waiting expectantly to hear what this news was. Lizzy immediately crossed off "having a baby" from the list; her mother and father had jumped off that train a long time ago, seeing as their two children were reaching adulthood. The two siblings racked their brains for any possibilities but came up empty-handed, a bewildered, gazed look passing over them.
"Your father has found a temporary job at Norman's Grocery! He's going to be doing various jobs there—cleaning, working as cashier, and other things. It's not his ideal job. Of course, we all know he'd much rather be working at a jewelry store, but we've got to work with what God gives us," their mother announced with a proud smile, her arm snaking around her husband's waist to support him.
"It's a step in the right direction," their father continued, gazing lovingly at his wife. He wouldn't have been able to handle losing his job without his wife. Not being the main caregiver for his family, which he viewed as the most important role in his life, disappointed and angered himself but now he was extremely grateful for this opportunity that he found while perusing the ads in the newspaper one Sunday afternoon. "From now on, money won't be as tight but we still want to save as much as we can in case we ever find ourselves in that situation again."
Relief flooded over Lizzy and tears pricked her glass eyes. Logan grinned his boyish grin, and the two siblings embraced their parents with as much love as they could muster.
❁
A/N:
Another chapter coming your way and here it is!!! Please vote and comment if you enjoyed and tell all your friends about this story! I entered it in the Wattys this year so fingers crossed!
I just finished writing Chapter 45!!!!! Only 5 more chapters left to write!!! Once this whole book is written, updates should be coming your way even faster!
I'm having an awesome summer! I haven't seen my friends all that much but life's been super busy! I just finished my first college application--ahhh!!!
- Payton