The Fall pep assembly is this Friday. I'm constantly reminded of this fact by the various posters hung on the walls all around school, not to mention the extra hard work we've been putting in at cheer practice in preparation.
Monday is the start of Spirit Week, with Pajama day to start us off. It's the Sunday night before all this, and I'm on the phone with Dylan while he, unhappily, folds his laundry.
"It kind of sucks for me because my pajamas aren't exactly school appropriate," I tell him as I lay face up on my bed.
"Mine aren't either."
"What are you talking about, when you spent the night at my house that one time, you were wearing pajama pants and a t-shirt!"
"Yeah, because I was spending the night at your house. You ever notice how every time we spend the night with one another, neither of us wear the pajamas we normally wear?"
"That's a good point."
"For example, I usually only wear shorts and sometimes a shirt. But when I stay the night with you I wear pajama pants and a t-shirt."
"And I usually wear shorts and a tank top but when I stay the night with you I wear pajama pants and whatever t-shirt I was wearing that day," I recall.
"Well see, I don't think very many people wear the pajama's they actually wear, to school. I suspect because, like us, they are not meant to be worn in public."
"Good point. So more or less everyone will be wearing 'fake' pajamas?"
"Yep," he says. "Remind me what all of the days are again?"
"Hold on, let me look at my phone," I pause and pull my phone from my face to find the photo I took of one of the posters. "Alright, Monday is Pajama Day, Tuesday is Greek Gods and Goddesses Day, Wednesday is Fictional Character Day, Thursday is Twin Day, and Friday is Color Wars, of course."
"And Juniors are wearing red, yeah?"
"Yeah. So are you dressing up all of the days?"
He sighs vaguely, "And here I thought you knew me. I'm only doing tomorrow and Friday."
"What?! You're such a party pooper!"
"Okay well I'll do Thursday too, but only if you'll be my twin."
"Duh! We have to go shopping!", I exclaim happily.
I hear him vaguely sigh, "Really?"
"Yes! Have to!"
"Alright, we will Wednesday after school."
"Yay!"
"So I take it you're dressing up everyday?"
"Of course, I think Spirit Week is fun."
"What are you doing for Wednesday?"
"You'll have to wait to find out, won't you?"
Dylan groans, "Anita, you're such a tease."
I laugh, "Oh, you have no idea."
"See, even that!"
"Sorry, sorry! Just can't help myself around you."
"You're not even physically 'around' me; we're speaking on the phone."
"Wow, way to get technical on me."
"I wish I was sorry," he laughs a little.
"On that note, I'm going to go to bed because I can't keep my eyes open."
"Then goodnight, Anita. I like you."
I can't keep myself from laughing, "What?"
"You heard me."
"I did, but why did you say that so randomly?"
"It's not random, it's like how people say they love each other but you know, it's like instead of love."
I smile widely, "Goodnight, then, Dylan. I like you too."
It feels pretty relaxing to be at school in my pajamas. I had decided on a simple pair of pink pajama pants, a black LOVE PINK hoodie and some really comfortable black Uggs.
"You look like such a typical white girl today," Adrian says to me halfway through second period.
"Ha ha," I laugh sarcastically. "I just wanted to take advantage of this day and be extra comfortable."
"I just wanted to give you a hard time," he laughs. "I totally understand. Pajama day is one of the finer things in life."
"I would have to agree."
"You excited for your big debut as a cheerleader Friday?"
"Er, yeah. A little nervous but mostly excited," I tell him honestly.
"Ah, don't be nervous. You'll be fine! I only hear great things about you from my girlfriend."
I laugh, "She is my bestie!"
Adrian pulls a face, "That's such a weird word. She uses it too. Must be a girl thing."
"Let's stick with that."
~
"You look awfully comfy today," Dylan says in third period as we work together on some reading comprehension questions.
"I am! You look comfy, too."
"Eh, I like my other pajama's better. The real ones."
I laugh, "Feel free to wear them to my house next time."
"Don't flirt with me in public."
"Aw, don't pretend you don't like it."
"I can pretend all I want."
"As long as we both know you're just pretending."
He chuckles lowly, "Okay I need to concentrate on this now."
"Right, back to work."
"Wait," he says suddenly.
"I thought we were working now..."
"I know, just one thing. You can't come over today for our movie night. I got called into work, sorry."
"Aw, man! Don't worry about it though, I'll find something else to do."
"Just don't have too much fun without me."
In the hallways after English, I see that many people actually participate in Spirit Week - at least today, so far. This comes as a bit of a surprise to me because back at my school in Washington, not very many people ever took part in it which made me a little sad. Here, though, everyone seems to be into it which makes me happy to be a part of this school.
After the bell rings for the school day to be over, I race home where thankfully I am all alone. I watch a few episodes of some reality shows before doing my surprisingly easy Chemistry homework. My parents arrive home around seven, and dad brings teriyaki for dinner. The three of us eat in the kitchen where I tell them about the upcoming assembly.
"Can I come?!", my dad asks quickly.
"Um, not really. It's during sixth period, anyway."
"Damn shame. You should get one of your friends to record it so you can show me later."
"That's actually a good idea," I nod. "I'll do that then."
After dinner I head right upstairs and lay out my outfit for the next day (Greek Gods and Goddesses!). When I wake up the next morning I feel sort of excited, but I'm not entirely sure why. As I put on my outfit and make up though, I realize that it's probably because of this whole Aphrodite get up.
I'm wearing a long, flow-y white dress that's actually quite Grecian in style, some pretty light pink sandals, and my hair is pulled halfway up into a Grecian hairstyle, with the rest of my hair curled rather perfectly.
My eyes are lightly lined in a thin line of white eyeliner, my lashes long and black, my lips painted a pale glossy pink and my cheeks the slightest bit rosy. This is much more make up than I usually wear but hey, I'm dressing as Aphrodite. Some small, cute little daisies from my backyard are placed delicately in my hair; I look like fricking Aphrodite.
Most of the time when I look at my reflection in my mirror, I think, "Anita, you look alright". Today is one of those rare days that's different. Today when I look at my reflection in the mirror, I think "Wow, Anita, you look gorgeous". I don't feel arrogant as much as I simply feel confident and... pretty.
Driving to school, I jam to some upbeat songs by that I don't really know but they seem to fit my mood perfectly, so I listen.
When I get out of the car at school, I notice that once again many people have taken part in today's theme. Most people are wearing customized bed sheets, but there are also people who went out and bought actual Grecian costumes, plus the people who just decided either a gold crown or flower crown would do the trick.
Plenty of people compliment me which makes me feel really good. A couple girls from my Cheer Team demand I take a photo with them, and so does a guy from my Calculus class who basically looks like one of the guys from 300. It's a good day today, and for the first time ever I'm hoping the school day goes by slowly.
On my way to English, a couple people want to take selfies with me (I feel cool), which in turn makes me one of the last people to enter Missus Hathaway's room. As soon as I do, the second bell rings and then the announcements come on.
While our ASB president says the pledge of allegiance, Michelle gets a humongous grin on her face and motions me towards her. I finish reciting the pledge with everyone else before going to her while everyone else sits down.
"You are flawless," Michelle tells me as she looks at me, now closer.
"Aw, thank you! I feel pretty today," I tell her honestly.
"You're pretty every day but today especially, you're just... Gorgeous."
I laugh, "Why, I'm flattered. You don't look bad yourself. Are you meant to be Hera?"
"Yes! You're the first one to get it!", she looks overjoyed at this. "Oh, take a photo with me before class starts. Sam, take a picture of us, please!"
We stand to the side of the classroom with our arms around each other, smiling, and it feels a little weird when I notice more than half of our classmates watching us. Afterward, I try to be inconspicuous and walk across the room in the back to my table. As I take my seat and get my supplies out, I notice that Dylan is shamelessly staring. Hardcore.
"Hola," I say to him with a smile as I sit back up.
"Hi," he says quietly.
"How are you this fine morning?"
"Um, good. I guess?"
Why is he acting so nervous? "You okay?", I ask him.
"I... yeah... why?"
"You just seem a little nervous or something."
He looks down at his lap while he scoots his chair in closer to the table, "You're making me nervous."
I stare at him in disbelief for a moment, "I'm making you nervous?!"
He nods.
I laugh a little, "Why am I making you nervous, Dylan?!"
"Well it's like when I first met you; I don't do well with speaking to pretty girls, you know. But then I actually got to know you so I got more comfortable, I guess? ...But today you're pretty in a different way, so I suppose your different sort of pretty today is.. making me... nervous."
"Aw, Dylan!", I laugh a bit and smile, giving him a side hug. "I'm still the same old me!"
"I know, I know," he grins a little. "I'm just not used to it."
He is literally the cutest thing that ever existed.
~
It's Wednesday, or better known around here, today, as Fictional Character day. Here I am, dressed up as Katniss Everdeen from The Hunger Games, as Dylan and I leave school in my car.
"I still can't believe you didn't dress up today," I tell him as we drive towards my house.
"Your Katniss costume is pretty on point so I think you dressed well enough for both of us."
"Don't try to excuse yourself by complimenting me!"
"Hey, for all you know I could be dressed as Harry Potter right now. I got the glasses, after all."
"If that were the case, you would really need to work on your costume because..."
"Okay it was a joke, jeez. No need to put me down."
"Maybe next time you should dress up..."
He chuckles for a second before changing the subject, "Remind me why we're going to your house again?"
"I don't exactly wish to go to the mall dressed like this, okay?"
"Good point."
Once inside, I order Dylan to wait in the living room and turn on the television for him before I jog up the stairs. I sit on my bed for a while wondering what I ought to wear. Dresses are quick and easy to put on, plus I got a lot of them! I rummage through my closet, looking at my many dresses one, two, then three times before deciding on a short, cute green dress.
After looking at it on myself in my full-length mirror, I catch a glimpse out of the window: mom's car is in the driveway. Shit! When did she get home?! In a fast motion, I turn off all the lights and jog back down the stairs to the living room where I can hear two people talking.
"No, it's alright! I just didn't realize Anita was planning to have anyone over," my mom is saying.
"We just stopped by before we went to the mall," Dylan replies.
"Hi, mom!", I announce my presence as I walk into the living room.
"Anita!", she smiles. "I was just talking to your friend here. Sorry, I didn't catch your name...?"
"Oh, this is Dylan," I introduce them. "Dylan, this is my mom."
He grins at her as he extends his hand.
"Oh! You're Dylan!", mom exclaims while briefly shaking his hand. "Anita's told me about you. I hear the two of you are good friends?"
"I like to think so," he replies politely.
"That's great. Well I'll let the two of you be on your way. I was just stopping by to get some papers I forgot."
"Alright," I say. "I'll be home in time for dinner."
"Have fun! It was nice to meet you!"
The mall here is pretty large, at least its bigger than the one I had back in my town which wasn't small either. The parking lot is quite packed with cars and inside, it's decently busy. We decide that we should get some smoothies before we start shopping.
Ten dollars later, we're walking aimlessly through the place with peach-mango and strawberry-banana smoothies to keep us hydrated and happy. We go into several of my most favorite stores until we've finally composed two matching outfits.
Once all of our new clothes have been purchased, we head to the food court for a good snack since we finished our smoothies after a half hour in the first store. I end up not getting anything to eat, though Dylan gets a soft pretzel with sugar and cinnamon that smells really good.
Once he's done eating, we walk around the mall a bit more and duck into a music and movie store. He heads straight for the bin filled with movies that are on sale for two dollars each because, as he puts it so nicely, "you can find some classics for the most legit prices".
I find out that he has a very wide taste in movies (he's a total movie guy) and he's right; there's a lot of awesome movies (and supposedly awesome movies) in this sale bin. With a smile on his face, Dylan buys five movies in an array of different genres for just ten dollars.
Later we pass Victoria's Secret, and I have to almost literally drag him in there. I just want perfume and their perfumes smell really good! With one hand, Dylan holds onto a strap of my dress so as not to lose me while his other hand holds his phone that he directs every ounce of his attention to the entire time. I think this is hilarious, and try a couple times to get him to look up.
"Dylan, hey! Look at this!", I harass him.
"No, I'm not looking," he tells me firmly, his eyes still glued to his four inch screen.
"Aw, you're such a baby," I coo at him, smiling. "Don't you like looking at girls in provocative clothing and poses?"
"Not unless they're you," he says, and he looks so concentrated on looking at nothing other than his phone, it's adorable.
I laugh at him and give him a hug.
We continue through the store, and some girls giggle at Dylan which makes me laugh, too. I finally decide that I'm getting this enticing perfume that consists of exotic pear, jasmine and amber wood. Much to his relief we leave the store thereafter and head back to the car. It's six o'clock when I drop Dylan off at his house and head to my own.
I set out my outfit for tomorrow on the chair in my room and recycle all the bags. An hour later it's dinner time, and dad has made salmon and rice. After a meal filled with sparse and meaningless small talk, I go to my room and talk on the phone with Naomi about everything and nothing for about two hours. I also text Michelle about her life and about my own until she goes to bed at ten and I soon after.
~
"I think people think we're dating," Dylan whispers to me as we walk to Chemistry after lunch.
It's true that people have been staring at us a lot and "aw"-ing at the realization of our matching attire. Naomi herself teased me a lot about it in English and said we might as well be an official couple. She and Adrian are matching too, but it was evident that they were a couple because they hold hands everywhere they go and kiss each other every chance they get. Disgustingly adorable.
"Don't sound so offended by that," I tease him as we walk down the stairs.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to. It's just kind of annoying that a guy and a girl can't be friends without having their feelings questioned."
"I know what you mean. But we do have feelings."
"I know that, and you know that, but they don't know that."
I laugh, "Okay, okay, I understand."
We are cute no matter what, in my opinion anyway. Is it weird that I feel really special to be matching with him? That JJ guy from our Chemistry class asks Dylan if he is "getting it in" with me, to which Dylan responds with a simple yet powerful glare. JJ then asks me the same question and, just to get him to leave us alone, I say no.
He says "sure" like he doesn't believe me before turning around, and thankfully that is the end of that. After school, Dylan sits with me while I wait for Naomi so we can go to cheer together. Without our consent, Naomi takes a photo of us and later puts it on Instagram (which made her really happy, for whatever reason).
Cheer practice is majorly intense because our coach, Coach Sessoms, is yelling a lot to ensure our perfection. She isn't yelling in a mean way, she's just reminding us of things in an affirmative way. It's safe to say that it's definitely working.
By the end of our two hour practice, the routine looks damn near perfection- it's at least as perfect as humanly possible. Everyone is happy and full of smiles as we all head home, eager for tomorrow.
~
Color wars! In true Junior spirit, I'm decked out in red today. Well, kind of. I didn't want to go overboard and be that guy. I'm wearing a red and white striped tank top with a red cardigan, jean shorts and white and red converse.
In my bag there's also my change of clothes for the assembly. Each of us are required to wear black shorts with a v-neck and hair bow in whatever color our class is wearing. Therefore I have packed black spandex shorts, a red v-neck and red ribbon to make the bow in my hair.
Nothing very exciting happens; school is school no matter what assemblies or spirit day we are celebrating. Fortunately though, since we have the pep assembly, our classes are cut ten minutes shorter so we'll have an entire hour at the end of the day to get our Chatsworth pep on! In Chemistry, fifth period, I get called to report to the gym for Cheerleader duty. I grab my things and head out the door with a final hug and "good luck" from good old Dylan.
The gymnasium has been decorated a little bit. Above different sections of seats are giant signs with Freshmen, Sophomores, Juniors, and Seniors written neatly on them to designate where people ought to sit. Microphones are set up for the emcees from ASB to speak into, and people from the photography club are lurking around with their cameras in hand and ready.
All of us on Varsity cheer huddle up in a corner with Coach Sessoms for a pre-assembly pep talk. She is a very nice lady and tells each of us individually what to remember and tells us that she has faith in us, and that we are the best cheer team this school has had in over a decade. I don't know if she's being serious or just trying to fill us with confidence; either way, it makes me feel great.
We stretch for a good ten minutes then run the routine from start to finish in the middle of the gym with the music. The girls from the JV team show up now, and their job for today is to help row the crowd up upon their arrival. This is mostly because there are only Juniors and Seniors on the Varsity team and we need people from all grades to stand in front of their respective classes.
There, we will continuously chant "Freshmen/Sophomore/Junior/Senior Power!" with our arms motions as our classmates find their seats and chant along with us, until all are seated and we can finally begin.
Before I know it, the bell for sixth period to end rings loudly, and now everyone is meant to make their way into the gym. The speakers start to play popular songs (currently "Fancy" by Iggy Azalea) and we cheerleaders take our places. I stand with Naomi, Michelle, and three other girls in front of the Juniors and do what we gotta do.
It takes a good ten minutes for everyone, students and teachers, to finally sit down and now the assembly starts! Most importantly, I get to sit down and stop chanting now. Somehow I spot Dylan in the crowd and see that he's sitting next to Adrian. I nudge Naomi and she and I wave eagerly to them. They smile and give us each a thumbs up. The music stops and our ASB president starts speaking.
"Hello Chatsworth High School!", he begins cheerfully in an impressively clear voice. "Welcome to the 2014 Fall Pep Assembly!"
Cheering then ensues from the entire gym.
Now the vice-president speaks, "I'm Amelia, and this is Peter. We'll be your emcees for today! We've got a lot planned that's sure to get your Chatsworth spirit high and mighty! Are you ready?!"
More cheering erupts then.
"Alright then let's get this show on the road!", she smiles. "First up we have a game for you all!"
President Peter speaks now, "It's battle of the classes in: finish that song!"
For the next few minutes, they go by each class wherein they play ten seconds of a song and the students have to continue the song for as long as they can. The Seniors win with a really easy and popular song.
After that, the school's Glee club does an A Capella version of a Kanye West song which is actually really good for ten teenagers. Next to me, I notice Naomi pulling sweats on over her shorts and a white sweater over her head that says CHS Dance Team on the front of it.
"Watcha doin there?", I whisper to her.
"The dance team, which as you may remember I am captain of, is performing soon."
"Oh, I didn't know! I guess I should have, though."
Adrian discreetly makes his way down the stairs and sits on the floor next to his girlfriend.
"Ready to get your groove on, girl?", he asks her.
"You already know," she replies quietly with a smile.
Once Glee club has finished, four of the school's teachers (one of them being Missus Hathaway!) play a game where they have to carry an egg on a spoon from one side of the gym to the other without dropping it. A Chemistry teacher named Mister Boyd wins, much to people's excitement. Apparently he is a well-liked teacher around here.
"Congratulations, Mister Boyd!", Amelia chimes as the applause dies down. "Now the Chatsworth Dance Team, lead by Naomi Josue and Adrian King, is gonna wow you with their crazy dance skills! Give it up!"
The gym bursts into cheers and applause again as Naomi and Adrian make their way to the center of the large gym, along with five other people. An upbeat hip-hop song comes on and after a brief intro, they all start to simply dance. Except there's nothing simple about it. It's crazily impressive how synchronized they are with one another, plus they all hit the moves on the beats so perfectly.
The choreography is off the charts, and there's cheering practically throughout the entire dance. There's a part towards the end where Adrian does some really gross yet mesmerizing things with his arms that look like they should hurt him and break his arms. You know that stuff? Well he's really good at it, and I have a hard time watching it but at the same time I don't want to ever look away.
When their dance finishes, the loudest applause so far fills the gym. They were amazing. All seven of the members get patted on the back and high-fives as they find their seats again. I high-five Adrian on his way back up the bleachers, and more or less gush over Naomi while she takes off her pants and sweater.
"Now ASB has a comedy skit for you to enjoy!", Peter announces.
The ASB members continue to re-enact a really funny scene from an episode of Saturday Night Live. They do a surprisingly good job of re-creating it and everyone laughs a whole lot. I realize how talented my schoolmates are and once again... I'm proud to be a student at Chatsworth and very happy with my life right now. After the skit, we play another round of "Finish That Song" (where the Seniors win, again) and finally it's cheer time.
"Alright... You see them at football and basketball games, but you've never seen them like this! Please give a warm welcome to your brand new Chatsworth Varsity Cheer Team, lead by Vanessa Gomez and Anita Burns, who will be rowing us all up with their dance and gymnastic skills!"
Loud applause ensues and whether I'm ready or not, it's time to get up and give it my all. I smile and wave all around like we're supposed to as we get in our starting formation. A couple seconds later our song starts to play and it all starts then. We dance and do everything we're meant to do.
The baskets go perfectly and everyone does everything they're supposed to when they're meant to. Then it gets to the part where I'm supposed to do this slightly complicated gymnastics combo across the floor. I start to psych myself out, worrying if I'll slip and fall on the floor or if my arms will give out and I'll fall...
But then Naomi throws me a smile as I get into position and all those doubts fade away. I've been on this floor thousands of times, nothing bad can happen! My arms are pretty darn strong and they've never given out on me before, so why now? Filled with brand new confidence, I take a deep breath in and once the beat hits, I throw it all out there.
Round-off, three back handsprings, and a back tuck... I did it. I did it! And everyone saw and I received a lot of applause for it. I feel like I'm on top of the world! My smile grows bigger and stays that large for the remaining fifteen seconds of the routine. When we get into our final pose, everyone roars in applause and I feel like I just won a million dollars . I smile and wave and do a random high kick on my way back to my seat midst much applause.
The rest of the assembly consists of a rap battle between these two guys who are easily as good if not better than the rappers I hear on the radio these days. When that's over, President Peter and Vice-President Amelia tell us that they have one more thing for us before we go.
"After the great results from our Homecoming dance, we wanted to make sure our Winter Formal dance would be just as good if not better!", Amelia says excitedly.
"That's right! We asked and you guys voted for this years Winter dance theme. Without further ado, we reveal Chatsworth's 2014 Winter Formal Dance Theme!", Peter gestures to the far side of the gymnasium on the wall where a humongous piece of blue paper is rolled up.
Upon his signal, two other members of ASB pull some string and the paper comes rolling down to reveal the words:
2014 Winter Formal at Chatsworth
Masquerade Ball
Come dressed in your finest attire & your identities masked
December 11, 2014 (Fri) 8p-11p
$15 w/ ASB | $20 w/o ASB
Cheers and murmurs of excitement burst throughout the place. It actually sounds like a cool idea. The assembly is over now, and people are dismissed. I walk with Naomi to get our bags from the far side of the gym. We wait patiently for everyone to file out of the gym and meet Dylan and Adrian by the school's sign. Naomi and Adrian hug and kiss each other probably five times while I give Dylan a high-five and a good hug.
"See, you did perfectly!", he tells me with a grin.
"Thank you," I smile. "I felt so alive out there!"
He laughs, "You looked wonderful."
"So, Adrian," Naomi says suddenly. "Winter formal, huh?"
"Ssh, I'm planning to ask you in a really cool way!", he playfully chastises her.
"Oh okay!", she smiles. "But we are going?"
"Maybe," he says jokingly.
"Anita, if only you'd been here for Homecoming," she says suddenly. "Our dances our always off the hook and surprisingly fun for high school."
"What was the theme?", I ask her.
"Glamour and Glitz, basically the 1920's, Great Gatsby, you know. It was tons of fun. But a masquerade ball! Anita, you have to go!", Naomi shakes me. "I'm going whether this guy takes me or not!"
I laugh, "It sounds like a lot of fun, so yeah, I'm going no matter what!"
"Yes! See, if Dylan doesn't ask you and Adrian doesn't ask me then we can just go together."
I laugh again, "Of course, darling."
"You guys, I am starving," Adrian tells us. "Can we have a celebratory meal at Chick-a-dee's or something?"
"Yes, please!", Naomi whoops. "Their grilled ham and cheese is exactly what I'm craving right now."
"Let's go," Dylan smiles.
He rides with me and the two of them ride together. For the next three hours, the four of us are sat in one of Chick-a-dee's square, blue and white booths with wonderful food and the irreplaceable comfort of each other's company. The evening is filled with laughter, story-telling, game-playing and the creation of about three different inside jokes.
We all get to know each other better, and it is a magical night in many ways. Dylan seems to be a whole other person, in the sense that he's talking just as much as the rest of us and laughing more than I could have ever imagined. Naomi was my best friend already but tonight something just clicks that makes it seem more official. And Adrian turns out to be an even better person than I thought him to be before; so wise and full of life and comedy.
More than anything else, though, I feel happy. It's a different kind of happiness though. The kind that you feel is brand new and unmatched by any other happiness you've experienced before. The kind that makes you sit back for a minute and think about its existence.
The kind that makes you want to live in that moment for the rest of eternity. It is the kind of happiness that lets me know that these people... These three people, fill the void that has been empty inside of me for too long. They are my best friends, and I know that nobody could fit the title more easily and perfectly.
~
A/N
In case you were unable to figure it out, the picture is meant to be Dylan & Anita's Twin Day outfits! xo