by Sam Crescent
“We’d talked about making the car your present for your eighteenth. You’ll be going to college soon, and we wanted you to get used to having the car. You’ve proven to us more than once that you’re a lot older than your years.”
“Your report cards are excellent,” Patricia said. “We read them, and we are really sorry we didn’t get to make it.”
“It’s fine.”
“I hate it,” Bill said. “Even your school doesn’t expect us to turn up.”
“I don’t care, because right now I’m eighteen and I can drive.” She climbed off the bed. She ran to her father, kissing his cheek, then to her mother. “Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.”
“Tonight, we’re going out. We’re taking you to dinner,” her father said.
She winced and looked at her mother.
“It’s not a vegan place.” She held her hands up. “I know. I cannot stand another vegetable. Burgers, greasy food, the works, I’m ready for it.”
“Yes.” Lucia smiled, and looked at her parents. “Can I get ready for school? I want to go and pick Marie up.”
“Sure, sure,” Bill said. He moved toward her, kissing her head. “Drive safe.”
“I will.”
Patricia pulled her in for a hug. “I don’t like that you’re growing up, but I know it’s happening. You’re a wonderful daughter.”
She held her mother tightly against her. “I love you both as well.”
Lucia waited for them both to go, and quickly changed into a pair of jeans, a shirt, and she even pulled her hair up into a bun, having it off the back of her neck.
Staring at her reflection in the mirror, she felt … amazing, strong.
“You’re not going to be that sad, miserable person. Not again. It’s your life, Lucia. Make of it what you will.” She smiled, feeling a little silly that she was talking to herself.
Running downstairs, she grabbed a slice of toast, shouting bye to her parents. The car had a massive bow around it, and she loved it. It was a four-wheel drive, shiny, black, and just what she loved.
Climbing behind the wheel, she pulled out of the driveway and made her way toward Marie’s home.
As she was driving, she realized there wasn’t going to be a single excuse now for Jack to take her home. Rather than be delighted by that, she felt … sad.
Forcing those thoughts down, she parked outside Marie’s home and honked the horn.
It didn’t take long for Marie to come out.
Winding down her window, she struck a pose for her friend.
“What do you think?”
“I don’t know, did you steal it?” Marie asked, laughing.
“My parents got it me for my birthday. Isn’t that awesome? It’s so pretty, Marie. Don’t you think it’s awesome?” She ran her hand down the side of her car door. It was still new, so no dirt was on the body of the car.
She was so fucking happy right now.
“I can’t believe your parents finally caved,” Marie said.
“I know. They surprised me with it this morning. Also, we’re having dinner later as well. It’s going to be awesome.” Even as she spoke those words, she knew the chance of her parents remembering or even turning up was slim. They hadn’t told her what the name of the restaurant that was booked or the time of their reservation. She knew next to nothing about that.
“I don’t want to sadden you, Lucia.”
“You won’t. It’s my day, and it’s going to be awesome. I refuse to allow anything to get me down, but I get it. You’re just looking out for me.”
Marie hugged her arm and placed a kiss on her cheek. “Happy birthday, how does it feel to be old?”
“Like I can tell you what to do for a change, so buckle up.”
“Seriously?”
“This is my car, and I have my license, and I don’t intend to lose it. Buckle up.”
Marie chuckled as she pulled away from the curb. Lucia was on cloud nine, and there was no way anyone was going to drag her down.
“Have you had sex or something?” Marie asked.
Lucia burst out laughing. “Are you serious right now?”
“You seem different.”
“I do? I feel a little different. I guess growing old has that effect on you. No, I’ve not had sex or anything. I can’t even believe you’d ask that.”
“You never know. It’s not, like, the normal thing to wait for the right guy.”
“I get that, and I’m not waiting for any guy, okay. Everyone is having sex now. I told you when my parents gave me the talk it was so embarrassing.”
“My parents told me if I come home pregnant they’d kill me,” Marie said. “Then of course my mom got all teary-eyed, and Dad caved.”
“Your parents are awesome.”
“Yours are as well.”
“I guess we can agree to disagree on that. My parents are awesome, but at least yours turn up to parent-teacher night. Mine have a reputation for being no-shows.”
“It could be worse,” Marie said.
“How worse?”
“They could have put your ass in foster care.”
“There is that.” She shook her head. “I can’t even believe we’re talking about this right now. I don’t want to hear another sad comment at all. Promise.”
“Promise. I like this. You’ve got attitude.”
Lucia laughed and turned on the music. The drive to school didn’t last very long, but yelling out words to a song that she couldn’t even remember the title of felt so good.
Parking her car in Marie’s usual spot, she climbed out, beeping it shut.
“Wait, I have your present,” Marie said.
Tucking some of her hair that had escaped, Lucia leaned against the car as Marie pulled out her present.
Opening it up, she smiled as soon as she saw the picture frame. It had the two of them at the beach, and it was one that she really loved. It had been a hard day at home, and rather than mope around, Marie had driven them to the nearest ocean to allow her to stand at the edge and the waves lap at her feet.
She’d loved it as they ate ice cream, and just relaxed.
“This is awesome, Marie, thank you.”
“And this.”
This was a smaller box. Handing the picture frame back to her friend, she opened it up. It was two severed hearts with the words Best Friends.
“This is beautiful.”
Putting the picture frame in the car, she grabbed one necklace and slid it around Marie’s neck, and then her friend did the same to her.
“Best friends forever and always,” Marie said.
Hooking her arm into her friend’s, they entered the school. They went to Marie’s locker first.
“I’m thinking we need to do a Mark Ruffalo marathon,” Marie said.
“You can pick whichever actor you want. You’re the movie buff, not me.”
“We’ve not done it, and I totally watched one of his movies the other night and it was fantastic.”
“Then we’ll do a marathon. Shall I come over to your place? My parents are home this weekend.” She knew that Marie didn’t get along with her mom. It always worked best to keep Pat and Marie away from one another.
“Sure, we can do it at my place.”
“Excellent.”
“What you got right now?” Lucia asked.
“I’ve got art class.”
“That’s opposite of my locker. I’ve got math. You go. I’ll head to my locker and meet up with you for lunch.”
“It’s your birthday. We should have gone to your locker first.”
Lucia laughed. “Stop being such an oddball. I’m fine to walk to my locker regardless of the day.” She hugged her friend before heading back toward her own locker.
Hooking her bag over her shoulder, she pulled it around and opened it up. She took out the two English books, trading them for the math ones.
Lost in her own little world, she let out a gasp as a hand suddenly appeared near her locker.
&nbs
p; “Well, hello there,” Connor said.
This was, like, the fifth time in one week that he’d decided to be nasty and nice to her. She didn’t buy any of it. It was like he wanted to use her or he thought she was an easy target to sleep with. She wasn’t interested in anything to do with Connor. He creeped her out, even when he was trying to be nice.
Jack’s warning also echoed around her head, and she wasn’t about to ignore him.
“What will it take for you to leave me alone?” she asked.
He placed a hand on her shoulder, stroking her cheek. “A little birdy told me it was your birthday today. Happy birthday, Lucia.”
“Cut the crap, Connor. Seriously, right now. It’s boring. You don’t like me. You never have. I don’t like you either. What’s the joke?” she asked. Closing her locker, she placed her hands on her hips, glaring at him.
Being the butt of a joke wasn’t a new thing for her.
It was quite an old and dated one, and she wasn’t interested in that happening now, or ever again. Lifting her dress up was the last straw.
“No joke. I want you to go out with me. Like I said, you be nice to me, and I can make life easier for you. All you got to do is give in.”
She couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, you spent most of our school years from kindergarten to now making my life a misery. Not going to happen.” She spun on her heel about to leave, but he was in front of her, stopping her from going. The look in his eye let her know the bad Connor was back.
“That was a mistake, fat bitch.”
Tilting her head to the side, she stared at him. “Get out of my way, please,” she said.
“Come on, we can have some fun together. Give me a shot and I’ll let you pass.” He leaned against the locker, and she went to walk around him, but he stopped her.
Licking her lips, she stared at him.
That twisted feeling in her gut wouldn’t go away. She didn’t like this, not one bit. For the most part she had always seen him as harmless, but right now he seemed anything but.
“Hey, Connor, I missed you,” Rachel said, running her hands up the front of his chest. With him distracted by his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Lucia left them to it, not wanting to get involved with that drama.
Rachel didn’t like her, just as she wasn’t a big fan of hers either.
Instead of heading to math, she went to the toilet. Gripping the counter, she closed her eyes, and took several deep breaths.
She had never been nervous before. Her heart raced, and it wasn’t a good feeling. Jack’s warning echoed through her mind, and she couldn’t help but wonder why now? Why was Connor taking an interest? She didn’t want his interest, no matter what. He was the most popular guy in school, but she didn’t like him.
“You better stay away from Connor,” Rachel said, entering the bathroom.
Lucia looked up and stared at the queen bee in Beyer Hill High School. They had never gotten along.
“I have no intention of having anything to do with him.”
“Really? You think I don’t notice he’s sniffing around you. I don’t know why. Screwing you is like fucking a cow.” Every now and then she’d sniffle and rub her nose.
“Wow,” Lucia said. She wasn’t going to be brought down by Rachel.
Her mood was too damn good right now to allow Rachel to affect her.
“Is that it? Warning me away from Connor?”
“I saw the way you looked at him. You wanted him, just like all the bitches and sluts here want him. He’s mine.”
“You mean in self-defense class? Are you real right now? I didn’t look at him like anything other than the disgusting pig that he is.” She was tired of being pushed around. “No,” she said, stepping closer to Rachel. “This is not happening. You are not spoiling today. I don’t want your boyfriend, Rachel. He gives me the creeps. I’ve never wanted him, and if you think for a second that it’s to get at you or to be part of your little crowd, you’re very much mistaken. I’ve got my friend, and I’m happy to just have one because at least I know she’s not stabbing me in the back.”
She didn’t even give Rachel time to respond as she left the bathroom. She made it just in time to math class, and she refused to think about her confrontations with both Connor and Rachel.
Moving from class to class on auto-pilot, she did her best to avoid going to her locker. Every time she was there, Connor found a reason to be there as well, and bumping into him was far down on her list of things to do today. He kept making her uncomfortable, either saying nasty stuff to her or trying to paw at her.
It was her birthday, and she didn’t want to spoil it.
Marie made her laugh throughout lunch, and she was thankful to her best friend for doing it. She didn’t know what she would have done without her.
She had science with Ms. Bertram after lunch, and her last lesson of the day was of course English.
The perfect end to a rather rocky day. She took a seat in the back as she really didn’t want to seem like a suck-up, and with their encounters of late, she was nervous.
Mr. Parker was writing in his notebook as the class filtered in. When Rachel and Connor entered, she returned her gaze to her book, not wanting to be part of that drama. Rachel sat in the back on the opposite side of the classroom while Connor took the seat in front of her.
“Yo, teach, I think we should all offer Lucia a happy birthday.”
“What are you doing?” she asked.
Her cheeks heated as every single student turned to look at them. This was the last thing she wanted from everyone. Connor was doing this on purpose. Was this his joke? Glancing across at Rachel, she saw the other girl glaring at her.
“It’s your birthday, Lucia?” Mr. Parker asked.
“Yes, it is.” She didn’t look at him but offered a glare at Connor. He’d never done this, and her heart was racing right now.
“Happy Birthday,” he said.
She looked up at him and smiled. “Thank you.”
Connor did the same and made everyone else do it as well.
“Now you’ve got a good reason to eat cake.”
Instead of rising to his bait, Lucia said her thanks to everyone else and was grateful that it was the end of it. She didn’t want to do this again.
Mr. Parker got started on his lesson. They were comparing two different poems now, and of course it was about love.
Poems were always about love, at least the ones that were considered the greats were. He handed out books, placing them in front of each table. When he got to her desk, he held the book out and she took it, her thumb touching his.
She felt the heat, the warmth that flooded her.
This happened to her every single time she touched him or they were close. She couldn’t look away, but they were in a classroom and she forced a smile before glancing back down at her notes.
He kept on talking, telling them to turn to a new page.
She didn’t want anyone else to see how much he affected her.
Taking notes, she made sure to put the titles of the two poems. This lesson flew by way too quickly as the bell seemed to ring the moment she got into the work. She sat for several seconds and watched as some of her peers rushed out. Opening up her bag, she took her time, aware of Connor in front of her. Rachel came over, and Lucia ignored the two of them until they both filtered out and only she was left.
Standing up, she held her keys in her hands and approached his desk.
Mr. Parker, Jack, smiled at her. “Happy Birthday,” he said.
“Thank you. I don’t even know why he’s doing what he’s doing.” She pointed out the door, speaking of Connor.
“I had no idea it was your birthday.”
“Yep, eighteen today, and look.” She held up her car keys. “My parents finally got me a car. I brought Marie to school today.”
He laughed. “Feel good?”
“Yeah, it felt really awesome, actually.” She tilted her head to the side. “It was a good class today.�
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“Are you loving poetry yet?”
“I wouldn’t say loving just yet, but I like it. So that’s a step in a different direction for me.”
“Good.”
“Are you doing anything special tonight?” he asked.
“My parents are taking me out to dinner. No more zucchini chips tonight.”
“I’m happy for you.”
“This is if they’ll show, you know. Their track record is not the best at all when it comes to being a no-show.”
“They should. You’re their daughter.”
“You always know what to say to me.”
“If they knew what was good for them, they’d show up for everything. You’re a good person, Lucia. Don’t ever doubt that.”
He stood up, and she watched as he moved toward the white board, using the board wiper to completely clear the ink marks he’d made.
It had been a good class, but right now, she didn’t want to go. Marie would be waiting for her.
“Mr. Parker,” she said. Her heart raced, and she couldn’t even think straight as he turned around.
Just do it.
“What’s up, Lucia?” he asked.
She didn’t know what the hell came over her, but she stepped up to him, and before she could even think about all of the consequences, she pressed her lips against his.
Bold.
Scary.
Thrilling.
Exciting.
It was all of those emotions, and so many more all rolled up in one, and she didn’t want it to stop.
Stepping back, she stared into his eyes, and then couldn’t believe what she had just done. “I’m sorry.”
She quickly turned on her heel and walked out of the room.
The first guy she’d just kissed was her teacher.
Jack Parker was a great deal of firsts for her, and now she’d gone and kissed him.
What were you thinking?
She wasn’t thinking. Watching him wipe the board clean, all of her feelings had come crashing all around her, and she’d just reacted.
It was insane.
Crazy.
She didn’t regret it.