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C h a p t e r T w e n t y O n e
It was Friday morning and the school was really buzzing once the news broke of Lea Worthington and her TV crew coming to our school.
Girl dolled on their make up and adorned their hairs with curls and bows, whilst the guys freshened up with hair gel and a clean shave. Literally overnight, our whole cohort had miraculously transformed from looking like a bunch of angsty sleep deprived zombies to a body of smart looking young members of society. I bet the administrations were wondering why students never bothered to look this good everyday.
Oh and did I mention all the deodorant in the halls? Lynx Africa – quite possibly the worst scent of all – was the first thing to hit my nose walking in. People must've busted out their Christmas stocking supplies because it reeked.
Little did everyone know however, that their efforts would be in vain as filming was not going to start today. The crew was only here to sort out some formalities as well as find establishing shots and points of interests that they could use around the school.
I walked through the front entrance of the administration building and turned into Mrs. Collins office where all of us were meeting. Inside, Adam and Max were busy talking to the camera crew about their equipment whilst Mrs. Collins and a few other school admins were running around getting pots of tea and refreshments out on the table. The bell had rung so most of the students were already in their classrooms and much to everybody's disappointment, no one had seen the legendary Lea Worthington on school territory so far.
At that moment, Jane came in through the door pushing a smiling Annie on her wheelchair. A highly impatient Cassie trailed closely behind them, looking oddly similar to an owl with her big eyes painted extra glittery and a definitely against-school-rules pair of falsies to frame them.
"Oh my gosh, is she here?! She's here?! Where is she?" She squealed excitedly. Max shook his head and her face crumbled. But it didn't stay unhappy for for long as she lit right up again once she saw two hunky camera guys in the room.
"Good morning everybody, glad you made it!" Mrs. Collins began, clasping her hands together and scanning the room. "Right it seems everybody is here except Miss Worthington?"
"On the way." The director replied looking at his watch briefly. "She just had a hair appointment which should've been done by now. So, we should expect here to be here very soon if she isn't too... late."
Mrs. Collins continued on, as if without hearing the wariness of the director. "Great, well we shall proceed anyway since she's near. First of all, please film crew, help yourself to some tea and bickies, we've got plenty to go around. Secondly, for the tour around the school, we'll do it in two groups. I think it would be a great idea for the young ones to show the camera guys around since they know the school well, and are up to date with what the other students get up to. They can show you all the great places that could be filmed, especially the media students, Adam and Max, they have an eye for that sort of detail."
"Yes Miss." Adam and Max replied dutifully, nodding proudly.
"Now as for Lea, we'll get –"
"–I'll show Lea around!" Cassie chimed in excitedly, "I know this place like the back of my hand, and I know all the inside scoot too."
"That's uh, quite lovely Cassie. Not quite sure what inside scoot you're talking about that I haven't heard of, but yes, please do show Miss Worthington around when she arrives." She shot Cassie a warning look who seemed oblivious. "Adam and Max, you shall head with the camera crew and the rest of the girls will go with Cassie. I'll be staying with Director Tim to go through with the formal procedures."
"Hold on a minute," The director interrupts suddenly as he reached down into his pocket, pulling his buzzing phone out. He squinted at the screen, unaware that his glasses were sitting unhelpfully at the top of his greying hair. "She's here but apparently she doesn't know where to park and needs someone to go fetch her..."
"Cassie, Jane." Mrs. Collins nodded quickly at them seeing as they were the closest to the door.
"On it, Mrs Collins." Cassie replied chirpily with such great conviction that you would think she was a honour student, and not the one always who always got detention. Jane who was standing with Annie shifted slightly and looked a little complacent.
"I'll take Annie and meet up with you guys, don't worry." I smiled at her. Jane gave a quick thumbs up to the both of I before going off to chase Cassie who had already long disappeared down the corridor.
"You lot may go too." Mrs. Collins said to guys. They each got up and headed out the door with the filming guys taking their big camera and equipment with them. Max flashed me a warm smile and whispered a small "hey" on his way out. I gave him a small wave before turning my attention towards Annie.
I walking over her a little nervously. "Hi, how are ya today? I suppose we'd better go and find the them."
"Hey Rose I'm great. And yeah we'd better or else Cassie would've showed Lea everything by now" she laughed heartily. "So it seems that everyone's been chatting non-stop about all of this, even I'm excited to see her. I bet she's a stunner in person."
"Oh she's absolutely gorgeous," I replied thinking of the few star-struck times I'd seen her as I pushed Annie out before we hit the corner of the door. It took a little while to get used to the weight of the wheelchair, but I managed to get the hang of maneuvering it around the corners. She wasn't heavy at all so it wasn't too hard to get the momentum going, but I was feeling a little bit nervous now that I was alone with Annie. I wasn't the best at being the first to approach someone or to make new friends, I just really wanted her to like me.
"She looks even better in person, like an actual Barbie." I chatted enthusiastically to get past my worries. "And she's so tall in real life! When she wears her heels it's like all you can see is her. And her hair... Oh my gosh her hair is so lush, and long and blonde–" I stopped myself in absolute horror, turning sheet white as I noticed Annie's bald scalp in front of my face.
STUPID!
I'd been too caught up in babbling about my idol to realise my mistake. I wanted to kick myself.
Annie, hearing my sudden pause reached up and rubbed the pale skin on the back of her head with her hands. "Rose," She said, turning around and meeting my eyes.
"I'm sorry if I offended you, I didn't mean to at all. I wasn't thinking..." I muttered ashamed.
"Aww you didn't offend me. Don't worry, it's not a big deal. Having no hair and talking about other people's hair really doesn't bother me at all." She smiled brightly and patted my hands which were on the handle.
"Still, I'm so sorry Annie." I felt my lip quiver slightly. "It was insensitive."
"No, no no..." Annie hushed, giving my hands a squeeze. "Don't be silly. I'm perfectly fine with it, I miraculously still have my eyebrows and eyelashes, though they are quite patchy, so it's not like I feel totally naked. In fact it's been quite nice not worrying about how my hair looks everyday. I quite like it."
I straightened myself up and began forward to move once more. How could I let her be the one to comfort me when I had been the careless one, she was already going through so much.
We made our way slowly towards the staff carpark. It was the same one next to the English department where Mr. Green and I had been that day when it was storming.
"You know..." Annie began, breaking me out of my thoughts.
"Hmm?"
"This may be out of nowhere but I still remember you from years ago in eight grade, Even though I'm sure you don't remember me – not that it bothers me!" she added quickly.
"Wait, what? You remembered me? You're right, I... I don't think I remember you, sorry" I giggled a little guiltily. "I wasn't here that long so I barely remember that many people from that time."
"Yeah! You were the new kid. I used to sit in front of you in history class, and you used to always borrow my coloured pens and homework, but then never return them." She laughed.
My jaw dropped and I shivered at her story of my younger self. It left like a whole different person. "Oh god! Did I really? I'm so sorry. I was horrible wasn't I? Ugh! I'm so sorry."
Annie giggled. "Yes, you were quite different back then. I almost didn't recognise you without the make up anymore. And your hair, it's also different too right?"
"Oh yeah, definitely. I can't imagine ever being like... that again." I laughed.
"Rose, you know, there's been something I've been wanting to ask for a while now. But I wasn't sure if or when there would ever be the right time..." she trailed of a little hesitantly.
"Mm-hmm, what is it?"
I pushed on down the English hallway, holding my breath as I past his classroom. The door was closed, making it feel as if it had been months since I'd last seen him. I still had no idea if he'd return yet. Not only that, I didn't even know if the piano lessons tomorrow would still be on if he was still sick. He hasn't said anything, stupid man. I gave up waiting by my phone days ago.
"Rose... did something happened to you that night?"
I froze in my tracks. "W-what do you mean?"
I blinked rapidly as thoughts plagued my mind.
There's no way...
"Years ago... at the party on the oval that the graduating seniors threw. I think I saw you there... You looked really ill."
Each time she kept talking, her words pierced into my heart unexpectedly, sending a cold shiver to drip down my back as memories of that party came seeping into my mind. My hands gripped at the handlebars tightly until my knuckles went white.
"I saw you walking towards the back of the party, towards the shed alone. It was dark... and I just had this feeling that I should've gone to check if you were okay. But I had to go..."
I couldn't breathe anymore. I tried taking deep breaths but it felt like I wasn't taking in any air. Oh god. A tight panic was rising in my chest. I hadn't had an attack in so long. Why was all of this so sudden?
"Rose?" I felt Annie's concerned hands over my own, stroking them as I started hyperventilating. "Rose, are you okay? Oh no, I'm so sorry. Rose please calm down, I shouldn't have... I'm so sorry!" She then turned away, looking very solemn. Her shoulders began to shake slightly.
She knew something.
She was crying.
"You were there?" I whispered with tears I didn't know I had suddenly streaming down my own face. I couldn't believe it... She was there that night. Our hands gripped together in confirmation and comfort.
She turned back towards me, her face was red and her fair eyelashes were clumped together with tears. "I couldn't– I couldn't stop worrying for all those years Rose... I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad happened to you..." she professed with a sob.
"People said you left because you got pregnant, or that you ran off with a guy but I knew you didn't. But I didn't know what happened because we went away on vacation that night... And when I came back to school a month later, you were still gone. I tried asking around but people kept saying all these things that didn't sound true" she cried softly. "I'm so sorry... I should have said something back then, or done something. I felt like I could've done something. I've been carrying this guilt for years... That's why, I was so happy to see you here... "
I opened my mouth to speak but no words would come out. Instead I sobbed in disbelief and shook my head. She shouldn't feel that way at all, she shouldn't blame herself the slightest bit. I felt terrible that she carried this in secret for so long too when she was innocent.
"I kept thinking about you, you know. Even when I was going through chemo, it was one of the thing that kept me going. I prayed to Heavenly Father that you would be somehow okay and I trusted that I could see you again, and here you are! It's a miracle Rose. Even though I don't know what really happened, I know that you are so brave. You have gone through so much adversity. I feel so proud of you, I just wanted you to know that."
I fell to the floor and we clung to each other. I was unable to gather my thoughts properly to address the situation. Hearing her validated my struggles, my experience. I know the incident happened, but to hear that someone was thinking of me oddly made me feel like I was sharing some of the weight of the pain.
"Thank you, Annie" I whispered, my voice cracking and sounding not like my own. "Thank you for thinking of me all this time..."
We broke apart after a while and wiped our eyes. "I got some tissue somewhere in my bag behind there. It's in the front pocket" she giggled with a sniffle. I reached down to her bag and retrieved them, giving her some before taking one for myself. We laughed at each other over the sounds of us blowing our noses.
"Ewww.." I chuckled as I pushed us towards the trashcan. "I had a lot of snot in there."
"Me too!" We both broke out in laughter again before we noticed two twin golden heads appear momentarily down all the way at the opposite end of the hall in front of us. It was Cassie and Lea. Guess they managed to find a parking spot after all.
Before moving on, I jumped in front of Annie and adjusted my hair and giving my eyes a last wipe with my fingers. "Wait, quick. How do I look?" I flashed her a bright smile. I didn't want people to know why we'd been crying, they would've thought something had happened.
"Fantastic!" she giggled. "Okay, now how about me?" She pattered her cheeks and straightened herself in her chair.
"Gorgeous!" I replied as she smiled back just as brightly. "You ready?"
Hurrying back behind her and steading myself on the handle bars and took a breath in. "We're gonna go fast to catch up to them!"
"Bring it" She nodded, bracing herself on the sides. "Fast as you can. We have make it there before they leave."
"Okay!" I say, as I leaned forward and pushed us off. Picking up speed, I push my feet on forward one step at a time until we were running down the hall.
"Faster!" Annie yelled excitedly.
She shrieked in pure delight and I laughed uncontrollably as I leaned all my weight onto the the handlebars and lifted my feet off the floor, gliding the last dozen yards until we reached the end. I felt weightless like a bird at that moment. Like a weight really had lifted off my shoulders.
"Oh my god that was amazing!!!" Annie squealed at me, breathing heavily, once we arrived to the spot we'd last seen them.
"I know right! We were literally flying down that hallway!" I reciprocated, equally as breathlessly. We turned the corner and looked up after hearing a nose.
"Uh... are you two, like crazy?" Cassie asked, shooting us the weirdest looks from where she stood as we made our way over to her. "God I thought someone had released a pack of wild pigs in the school with the way you guys were screaming."
"Yes, hi. Sorry, we were scared we'd lose track of you guys" I stated as Annie and I grinned at each other. Looking around, I see that Lea was no where to be found. She had just been there a second ago. "Oh, where did she go?"
"Huh?" Cassie looked at the empty spot beside her only to realise she was alone.
The three of us looked a little further ahead in front to where Lea stood with a tall and dark-haired man. My breathe hitched in my throat at the sight of him standing there.
He looked better than the last time I saw him. His hair was styled to the side and his long legs peaked out from underneath his coat. All the health had returned back to his chiseled face and it almost took my breath away from how handsome he looked.
Lea Worthington brought her perfectly manicured hands up and slid them around Mr. Green's neck.
My eyes widened in shock. They were standing so close to each other.
"I've missed you, Jasper." She says cooly, running her fingers through his soft hair, staring at him with stars in her eyes. "Mmm... you still smell so good."
"What... The... Heck..." Cassie says slowly articulating the exact words that was on my mind as we watched everything unravel.
But it was me who let out a gasp when Lea lean in slowly and plant a big fat kiss on his lips.
~❤~