Chapter 1
Tara
"Come in!" I yelled when someone knocked on my door. I was almost done with my morning exercises when my twin sister Tatiana walked in with dark circles under her eyes and tangled hair.
"Stop studying so late at night or Grandpa will take away your library card," I said, annoyed. Tatiana was a freaking perfectionist when it came to school and when she got to studying, she became a zombie and didn't care for herself. Last time that happened, Grandpa made her stay in the house. She spent the whole week talking to me about the universe and the benefits of pickled onions.
"Sorry. I was stressed last night. I'm done cooking breakfast though, are you going to be finished soon?" She asked.
"Yeah, just gotta do my kegels real quick."
She gave me a disturbed look. "Ew." Anything related to sex creeped her out.
"What? Gotta keep the kitty fit too."
She shook her head. "You're so gross. Just come on so we can leave for school."
"Don't rush me. You should be thinking more about your hair. Look at it." I pointed to her head.
"Glad to see where your priorities are," Tatiana replied dryly.
Getting up, I hurried across the room and grabbed some hair stuff off my vanity. "Shut up and come here. Why didn't you put your scarf on last night stupid?" I sat down on the bed and had Tatiana sit in between my legs, with her knees drawn to her chest.
I took the top right off the detangling spray and poured it all over her head. I was gonna have to put in some work on these damn knots.
"I fell asleep at the desk, actually. I told you I was studying for that biology test we have today."
I paused. "We have a biology test today?" She turned around and stared at me with a 'seriously' look.
"Don't look at me like that. Turn around!" I twisted her head back to the front roughly. "Anyway, you won't find a suitable husband like that, looking like Goku."
"That would be an honor and why do you sound like a mother in 17th century England?" She said, confused.
"Huh?" I asked, confused my damn self.
Tatiana shook her head. "Nevermind. I already have a boyfriend anyways."
I snorted. "I said what I said and meant what I said." I wasn't in the mood to talk about her boyfriend. Too early for that. Instead, I focused on not ripping the hair from her scalp. My fingers worked through the kinks and tangles at the ends. They were the worst. "I just think you're too beautiful not to be taking care of yourself."
Tatiana shook her head. "That's only because I look like you."
"Exactly, so put some respect on my face, you cutie patootie." I lifted her head back and rubbed my nose against hers, fogging up her glasses. She laughed before swatting me away. "Alright, I'm almost finished."
Tatiana may be very smart, but she was dumb when it came to hair, skin, and clothes. I didn't have anything really smart about me, but I could find the best sales for anything and knew what beauty products held all that chemical shit just by a glance. As the older sister, it was my job to make sure she left the house presentable. Though we shared the same face, I thought my sister was beautiful. Besides having the same kinky, shoulder length hair and dark skin, she had a mole under her eye and naturally shaped eyebrows. Mine were hairy as shit and I had to get them threaded often. Tatiana never had to touch her eyebrows.
"Ow!" yelped Tatiana. I had yanked a little too roughly, trying to go as quick as I could.
"Oh, my bad. Bet now you won't be so hard headed though," I said.
"Yeah, yeah, are you finished?"
"Yup! You're good to go." Patting her head, I got up and stretched. I threw on some joggers and a cropped hoodie before we both left my room. Since it was Monday, I wasn't trying to care about how I looked.
When I walked into the kitchen, I was surprised to see Grandpa sitting at the table, drinking what was probably coffee, and reading the newspaper. Since Grandpa worked third shift, he was never home at night and always slept during the day.
Tatiana headed to the stove to fix up our plates.
"Good morning to you, Grandpa," I said with a smile.
"Hardly a good morning with yo nappy-headed self running around."
It was too early to be roasted, he needed to stop. I glared at him. "But you still bald headed. Why are you here? Did they fire you?" I asked.
Grandpa rolled his eyes. "No, it's my day off. Would love to enjoy it, but you keep talking."
"Whatever. Tatiana, can you hurry please? I'm starving," I whined. I could eat. Food was never wasted in this house, deadass.
Tatiana set two steaming plates down in front of us and I thought I just might die if I didn't eat in one second. "I hope it's good," she said. My girl knew how to throw down in the kitchen and she knew it too with her fake humbleness.
"Thank you, Tatiana baby" One bite of his omelet and Grandpa's taste buds were in Heaven. "Girl, I don't know how you do it, but whoever your future husband is, he's gonna be lucky."
Tatiana laughed. "I wonder if Les would agree with you."
"Oh, I wasn't talking about him," Grandpa said, cutting his pancakes nonchalantly.
Tatiana's eyebrows furrowed. "Huh?"
"I said what I said." See? Grandpa doesn't like Les either. Not long after, he finished his food. He cleared his throat to get our attention. We both looked up. "A letter came from your mother."
Suddenly, my omelet tasted like rubber duck. Good way to ruin breakfast, Grandpa. Tatiana started fidgeting and picking pieces of lint off her sweater. I sighed before slouching into my chair. "And?" I said waving my hand carelessly.
Grandpa leveled me with "the look". "She's doing good and wanted some pictures. I'm gonna be taking them when ya'll have your birthday party."
Ugh, I almost forgot about that. In just a few weeks, me and Tatiana would be turning 17. Whoohoo. I planned on celebrating at Club Haze and a shopping spree with Deon. Grandpa on the other hand wanted to have a stupid birthday dinner at the house with decorations and friends.
But we were missing the most important thing: friends. Tatiana was socially stupid and I...well I'm not sure why no one was my friend but fuck them! Literally, there was no point to this.
"It's too bad your mother can't be home to-"
I interrupted Grandpa. "This isn't her home."
Grandpa looked at me sternly. "Taraelle-"
"This isn't her home, so stop saying that. She's never even lived here before and we all know she won't." It was the truth. My mother was a druggie and she would never get clean enough to leave rehab.
"Home is where your family is. Know that your mother is working very hard to be here." He got up and walked over to hug me. "Now get yo asses on to school. Don't wanna miss the bus." He left the kitchen. Honestly, I was shocked I didn't get smacked. I was so sure I had pissed him off, but maybe he didn't feel like whooping my ass today.
The mention of my mom annoyed me and I knew I couldn't go to school in such a bad mood. Guess I was gonna have to skip.
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Tatiana
Evidently, Tara was rubbed the wrong way because she never got on the school bus. I stared out the window, watching the morning traffic go by. I sat by myself in the front while all the kids sat in the back, yelling and making fart noises. I scoffed. Only bad kids sit in the back.
Tara would be one of those kids, but she usually sat with me or missed the bus altogether.
Today was one of those days. We rarely talked about our mom and never talked about our dad. With one being a drug addict and the other dead, Tara tended to get upset when anyone brought them up. Though I could understand her anger, I never allowed anything to keep me from the lure of knowledge. Seeing that we had pulled into the school's parking lot lifted my spirits.
I waited as all the little shits emptied the bus before hurrying off myself. Didn't want the driver pulling off with me still on it like last time.
The usual shivers of excitement welled up in my body as I walked to my first class: biology. Do you know the feeling of scissors gliding across wrapping paper? Or perhaps the euphoria when you get a pair of matching socks from the hamper? That's how I felt when I knew I was going to kill a test. Unlike someone I know, I studied. If Tara was present, she would be asking me to quiz her right now. Last minute fool.
I walked into my classroom and of course, sat in the very front. Only winners sit in the front.
The rest of the class was chatting amongst themselves and being sociable normal. One of the popular girls in the back was showing off her new manicure to her crew. Today, she wore a pair of thin leggings with a cropped v neck. Ole girl must've forgot that the weather was going to be partly cloudy with a high chance of cold as hell. Her hair, which I believed Tara calls a twistout, was very nice though.
At the front of the class, our savior in biology, Mr. Ully, walked in. A tall middle-aged thing he may be, but Mr. Ully still looked relatively young. His light brown skin was wrinkle free and I couldn't see a single grey in his trimmed beard. He was always dressed professionally too. I think he was the only teacher in school who wore a full suit every day.
I didn't notice at first, but a girl had followed him into the classroom. Mr. Ully tried to get everyone's attention. "Morning people. This here is Indigo Diaz. She's a new student, so please welcome her."
Indigo smiled but waved halfheartedly at everyone. Immediately, the class broke into a low murmur. You could practically hear the looks the guys were giving each other. I think she could too, because she looked annoyed. She was beautiful though. Her skin was a golden brown and she was tall, like the models on tv, with thick twists pulled up into a high ponytail and a mole right under the corner of her mouth. All twists looked the same to me, but I'm sure those were called goddess locs. Recently, Tara had shown me pictures of the hairstyle, saying she wanted to try it.
"Alright, go take a seat." Mr. Ully shooed her away so he could start class. "So today is test day! Yikes I know, right Jamal? Yeah I'm looking at you." In the back, some kid rolled his eyes while his buddies laughed at him.
The new girl was still looking around for a place to sit. The popular girl smiled at her, extending an invitation to sit with her friends. Since the new girl was already picking up attention on her first day, she would probably hang with the swaggy kids.
Yet to my surprise, she ignored the group and decided to sit at the front where I was. Good. It was the best place to absorb the material.
She glanced at me and smiled. My eyes squinted in disgust before looking straight ahead. Weirdo.
"Alright, phones and drones away." Mr. Ully chuckled to himself. "Test time!"
I let any thoughts fade away as soon as the paper touched my desk. Drawing out the powers of my vast knowledge, I got to work.
Thirty minutes later, I was the first one done. Pretty sure I got every answer right, I turned in my paper. Mr. Ully accepted it without hesitation and gave me a smile. I liked Mr. Ully, so I gave him what I thought was a non-psychotic smile back. Since there was 15 minutes until my next class, I left to go to my locker.
I was hungry and wanted a snack. I hated school lunch, so I always brought my own and kept small things in my locker in case I ever got hungry throughout the day. Tara would eat most of it though. She always complained about not having enough to eat.
I was already in my locker when I heard a voice say, "Excuse me, can you tell me where the exit is?" I stepped back, granola bar in my mouth, to see who was disturbing me.
My eyes had to scroll up since chest was all I could see. It was some dude with curls, like that guy from Disney Channel. He didn't look familiar, but then again, I don't pay attention to others. I was terrible with names and faces.
"If you go down this hall and take a right, the door will be at the end." Now go away. I used up my socializing quota for the day. He thanked me before taking his leave.
I headed to my next class, English. The new girl was in this one too. Once again, she introduced herself and became the topic of interest. Oh, and she sat next to me. Should I tell her I was already in a relationship?
Eventually, school ended, and I headed to my part time job at Jenkins' flower shop. I hated the customer service part, but designing arrangements was awesome. I also got to order new types of plants to put in our inventory.
I was just putting on my apron when the door chimed. I hurried to the front, smiling as best as I could. Automatically I greeted whoever came in, but to my surprise, it was the popular girl from class. I wondered why she wasn't looking for some wall to twerk on.
"Heeey girl. I came to pick up an arrangement of sixteen rainbow roses." I tried not to cringe. I'm not your girl.
"Oh, okay let me get that for you." Rainbow arrangements are flashy and tacky, just like she is. I went to the back of the store and grabbed them, making sure not to brush up against any flowers in the aisles. Once I found them, I went back to the front to ring her flowers up.
"Wait, you gotta make sure that's for the right person. Check the note," she said pointing to it.
Knowing no one else would purchase such an ugly arrangement, I read the card anyway. "To the most beautiful, talented, and well-spoken woman. From Brandy."
She smiled. "I'm so happy. I ordered myself a bouquet! Self-appreciation is so importante." She seemed very proud of herself.
I stared in utter disbelief, but she just continued to go on. "Oh yeah! I always say it's good to love yourself." Lies. I've never heard her say that.
Wanting for this interaction to be over already, I went back to ringing up her order. "That'll be $50.76." She handed me her card. We stood a good forty seconds waiting for the thing to process. Ms. Jenkins really needed a faster card reader. The girl was staring at me. I couldn't tell if it was out of curiosity or constipation, but I stared at the back wall, trying to avoid eye contact. I could feel her burning a hole through my forehead.
"You know, I've never seen you at one of our parties," she exclaimed thoughtfully.
There is a very good reason for that.
By "our" she meant her entire crew which consisted of two other random girls and the Tresemme Triplets. They were a grade below us, so I didn't see much of them.
"I don't really like parties..." I said quietly, but I guess she decided that meant I did like them.
"Great! The Triplet's birthday is coming up and we've been trying to be very charitable..."
I drowned her out once she said "charitable" considering I wasn't homeless, and a party was out of the question. Who wants to be squished in a house with tons of people, sweating alcohol? I'd rather get my library card taken away again.
I barely heard her say, "See ya there girl!"
"Yeah, you too, thank you," I said automatically, even though I didn't hear a thing she said. She was high if she thought I was going. Plus, I wasn't going to waste a Saturday night on her. Those were reserved for therapeutic cooking sessions.
"Oh, my dear, a party? Good for you," said Ms. Jenkins coming towards me, her cane knocking against the legs of the tables. She wore a smile that made me uneasy. She was the owner of the shop and a very nice lady. I believe she was in her 70's, but inherited the shop from her mother at 25, who inherited it from hers, making the shop one of the oldest businesses in Southern Gardens.
"What do you mean, Ms. Jenkins?" I asked.
Ms. J came over to me and ripped something off my forehead. "Here." It was a sticky note. Grabbing the paper out of her hands, I read the contents.
So the address is 36 Grant Street, two weeks from now. BAD BITCH THEME. Make sure to dress hot!!! Glad you're coming! See ya then girl :)
What the hell was bad bitch theme? I frowned at Ms. Jenkins. "But I didn't say I was going!"
She laughed and shook a finger at me. "I guess you are now. I'll even give you the day off."
"Wait a minute!" I said, panicking. That devil woman!
"Go have fun!" She yelled as she walked away. "You never do anything enjoyable for yourself hun!"
I stared after her retreating back with a sour look. That wasn't true, I always did cool stuff for myself, like studying to get bomb ass grades and cooking! People just didn't like my idea of fun. Shaking my head, I got back to work, hoping I could put the incident behind me.
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