"Are you guys going to the Lucas party this weekend?" I open my eyes, searching for the person who spoke last. I spot the male easily, it was Joey Smith. He flashes a million dollar smile at his friends, his chestnut hair blowing in the wind. "Probably." I look over at the next speaker, James Luxenburg. "I heard there was gonna be free beer." His voice doesnt really show any signs of humor and is barely audible in the crowded courtyard of Escort* High School. Tamara Dickson laughs anyways, a annoying preppy laugh, one that I had never been too fond of, "I'm going." She says jubilantly, her bronze arm held in the air. "How about you, Lex?" James looks at me, his green-ish blue eyes looking at her lazilly. I look at James and smile at him. I never really understood how James, or Burg as some called him, wound up being such close friends with me and my group. Most people would classify Burg as a goth or a punk. He always dressed in heavy black clothing and constantly wore jewelry. His jet black hair was quite long but always spiked up and had a shine to it. Not in a manga sort of way but... it was hard to explain. James also constantly wore dark make-up, black lipstick and dark eyeliner. He played in a punk band called No Regard, in which he was the lead guitarist. "Lex?" He asks again after a few moments of not answering. I shake my head and shrug, "I dunno. Sounds kinda dumb to me." I lean back in my chair and yawn, "You know what Tora's partys are like. He just invites all the jocks and preps in hopes of getting some cheerleaders drunk." I roll my eyes, thinking on Tora Lucas' last party in which he tried to make me the victim of one of his partys. "Thats true." Kelli Lancey this time. Kelli had to be my best friend and she always had been, ever since the 2nd grade. Kelli was probably the most popular girl in school. She was definatly the prettiest, with long blonde hair with streaks of red and her baby blue eyes. She was a all-around cheerleader, the captain of the football cheerleading team and the basketball cheerleading team. All the boys in school wanted to go out with her but none had ever done so, for one reason. Kelli was a lesbian and had been since she became a Freshman, thats four years. I know things about Kel that she would never want anyone to know about. I know that she is beaten and sexually abused by her father and brother and that is the reason she had never trusted men, the reason she turned to women for love and nurturing. I also know that her mother didnt leave her 'beautiful' family when she was young. Her mom was shot in a drug deal gone bad when Kelli was ten. I have always felt sorry for my best friend and wondered why she never said anything about her horrible home life, instead she hid it all behind a beautiful smile and happy-go-lucky attitude that had a few hints of bitchiness. I do have one thing that I despise Kelli for. After all the men found out that Kelli was a lesbian, they all turned to the second best... and guess who that is. Now, I'm not saying I hate men or anything like that, I'm just saying I dont like having guys go out of their way to flirt with me or ask me out. I have actually only had two boyfriends in my entire high school career. One was a three-week fling with a guy who went to Ben Franklin HS. The realtionship went bad after I learned he had two other girlfriends at his own school. My second boyfriend was Joey Smith. We were the school poster couple. The Jock and The Prep but it didnt work out quite like we hoped. Joey and I, we just werent good for eachother but the strange thing is, is that we became even closer after the break up. About my sexuality, as far as that goes I'm straight as an arrow. I cant say I havent considered women but I've never found a girl I've been attracted to. The closest I've come to a lesbian relationship is with Kelli. One night she came to my house after being beaten by her brother, I let her stay at my home for the night. We watched some old movie and halfway through it, she just broke down and started crying. I comforted her the best I could and the evening ended up with a shared kiss between me and Kelli then she fell asleep in my arms. We never spoke about the moment again. The bell rings, ending the conversation. I stand and gather my books. I have three classes until school is dismissed and each class is a breeze. Nutrition, Mass Media*, and Art. I like all those classes a lot and have friends in each class. I walk with my large group of friends to our lockers then we all split up to our last classes. I head to Ms. McAfee's class along with Kelli and Laura. Nutrition is a extremly easy class and I dont understand why more people dont take it. It's a easy credit. All we do it cook and occassionally figure up how much calories are in our meals. Not to mention the fact that Ms. McAfee is a awesome teacher. She never punishes anyone, part of the reason most of the clowns were in that class, and she is just a fun teacher. We get to Ms. McAfee's room before the late bell rings and take our usual seats at one of the four tables in the room. Today was one of the rare boring days in which we were actually opening our text books. I pay attention for approxamitly 3.2 seconds until I drift into thought of what we were doing in my 8th period class, Mass Media. It had to be my favorite class in the whole day. My thoughts soon drift to Tora Lucas' party and something suddenly clicks in my mind. Burg never goes to partys unless his band is playing in there and Tora is definatly not a big fan of punk music so I doubt he had No Regard playing there. Burg said he was going because of the free beer? From my memory, James Luxenburg is not a heavy drinker except for the occassional shot of whiskey. I ponder the thought for the rest of 7th period until the bell rings and McAfee sends us off with her usual parting gift, a piece of hard tack candy that she makes out of boredom every night. "Bleh." Laura says and hands her piece of hard tack to Kelli. She waits until we are out of the classroom then says, "I cant stand that candy. How can you guys eat that stuff?" I laugh and shrug. Laura didnt like anything. She was a very picky vegiterrean who only liked a few vegetables. I am stumped with the question of how she lives because all I ever see her eat is cellery and apples. Laura is also a clean freak. She cant stand the thought of germs all over the world and is constantly cleaning something or complaining about the sanitary conditions of the school. "You're quite the individual." That is something I tend to say to Laura daily and that is just the sentence to use when you describe her. There isnt really any other way to describe the 5;2, sandy-haired girl. With a offhanded farewell, I leave my two friends as I head for room 222, the Mass Media room. Half way there I join Burg, the only one of my friends in Mass Media, and two of his goth friends, X and Mary. X is the drummer in Burg's band. His full name is Xzorion Romano. He has very dark skin and bleached white hair that he has grown out to the small of his back that he keeps in braids. He is the only one of Burg's friends that I have ever really talked to much. Mary is a very quiet, gothic girl. She has extremly pale skin and jet black hair. She is short and slightly plump. She has been constantly picked on because she is slow and I dont think Mary likes me much because most of the people who picked on her are my friends. Burg gives a quiet 'hello' and we continue to Mass Media room quietly. The four of us were greeted by the rest of the class, mainly skater boys, goths, and nerds. I dont know all that many of the people in the class personally but a few. Burg is the person I am closest to but then again, he is the only one I actually hang out with outside class. Burg's entire band is in Mass Media and I have met and talked with all of them but every time I talk to them when they are all together, I feel like an unwanted stranger and end up leaving after only a few minutes. I take a seat next to Burg in the classroom part of room 222 and Mr. Finn greets all of us, "Good day, class. I bet you're all looking foreward to todays activities, right?" He smiles brightly and leans against his podium. Finn is a large man with big, wire-rimmed glasses and a pig-like face. He is definatly my favorite teacher. He claps his hands together, "Okay. Today we are working on the Jr. High Video Yearbook. Let's split up into groups. We've already decided that X and Arc are going to be on Radio today so that leaves the rest of us to split into groups and go out and get to filming. So, split up into three groups of four. Grab a camera and get to it, alright?" The class immediatly explodes into talking as everyone tries to find their friends. I keep close to Burg so that I will be in a group with him. Burg has several friends that I dont know but he always seems to fit me into his groups, something I have always liked him for. Burg is sometimes like a big brother and sometimes like a distant relative to me. We are very close, he always looks after me but he also has several things about him that I dont know about. He's mysterious but I dont mind. Everyone in my loop of friends has things about them that they dont want anyone to know about and we all respect that. Burg and I are joined by two other classmates. Nigel, a foreign exchange student from Turkey who has a broken right arm, and Cameron, one of Burg's goth friends. We talk among eachother, deciding on jobs. We elect that Cameron will be the cameraman and that I will be the one who chooses students to be in our videos. Nigel and Burg will switch between who will be on camera. We agree on this and Cam grabs the camera and we set out on our assignments. The rest of the day passes by uneventful. Art is nothing special, Mr. Humphrey a.k.a HP talks about shading and such then tells us about the assignment we are going to be working on for the rest few weeks. We are supposed to draw one individual, someone we have deep feelings for then we are supposed to draw our emotions in color behind the person. Before we dismissed, he said to think a lot about who we are going to choose and he also added that the emotion didnt particularly have to be love. I immediatly decided I'll probably just draw my Grandpa, who is probably the family member I love the most. After school, I get together with most of my friends on campus and we talk for awhile. We are unhappily joined by Tora Lucas and his annoying brother Lance. None of us really like Tora or Lance very well but Tora's family was rich and he used to throw some awesome partys, before he became sex crazed. "So...?" Tora said suspencfully and decided to continue after no one said anything, "Whose coming to da part-ay?" Everyone gave their own answers, most people saying they'd come except for Kelli and I. Kelli shrugged and said she'd have to ask her dad first. I knew that she never asked her dad for permission on anything but I didnt say anything about it. All anyone else knew about Kelli's family is that she lives 'happily' with her big brother and father. I shrugged as well and said, "I probably will. Depends on if anything comes up." Tora shrugged and took the answer. He leaves in a few moments, said he had to go to the mall and pick up 'party supplies.' We all knew he was going to pay his uncle to get them a couple packs of beer. In a few minutes, I excuse myself from my friends when I remember that I was supposed to pick up my grandpa's prescription at the pharmacy. I go through the parking lot and come upon my car, a slightly dented old Honda that I got for my 16th birthday. I take the car out of the school parking lot and drive down the street until I come upon the 'business district' of Escort. I drive along the parking lot of Rite-Aid, looking for a parking spot. All I find is one spot that is between two large vans. When I took my driver's test... I kinda failed the parrallel parking part but I did good enough that the instructor passed me anyways but I didnt want to take the risk of hitting either of the cars so I decide to look for another spot. Finding nothing, I nearly lose hope until I think up an idea. Right across the street from Rite-Aid was Save-A-Ton, a grocery store. It had a large, nearly empty parking lot but there was a sign out front that said 'Save-A-Ton Parking Only.' It was a risk because the local sheriff constantly patrolled this area but... grandpa needs the medicine so I drive into the parking lot and park my car neatly between two others. I jump out of my automobile and jog across the street to the pharmacy where I get in and out in less than ten minutes with Grandpa's medication but when I cross the street, I am disheartened to find the good ol' sheriff standing next to my Honda, he seems to be waiting for me. "Shit..." I mumble as I walk up to the car and smile happily to the police officer, "Is there a... problem, officer?" I wince as I repeat the stupid line that I always hear from movies. The officer looks up at me and tips his hat a little on his bald head, "Did you see the sign, miss? It says that parkings restricted to only this store's customers." I nervously pick a piece of brown hair our of my face, keeping my smile planted on my face, "Yeah, I saw it. I, uh, parked here so my friend could run in and pick up some groceries but I decided to run across the street and pick up my grandfather's medicine while I wait." I mentally pat myself on the back, suprised that I could come up with a excuse so quickly and it actually sounded kinda good. The sheriff appeared disbeleiving, "Is that so? Well, could you run in and get you're friend so I can see that you aint lying?" I want to punch the pig but I manage to hold myself back and hold up a finger, "One minute." I sprint into the little grocery store and try to think of something to do. 'I can always sneak out the back..." I thought to myself as I stroll through the store, "No, then I'll get convicted to resisting arrest or something dumb like that. What do I do...?" I curse silently, watching the tile floor as I stroll briskly through the aisles. Suddenly, I run right into someone else and end up falling right on my backside. I blink a few times and look around, wondering what had happened. I look up and see someone standing in front of me. "Shit..." I say but quickly cover my mouth and fall into apology as I struggle to stand up, "I'm so sorry, I should have been watching where I was going, I-" My hand is taken by the stranger and I'm lifted to my feet. I smile shyly and mutter a thank you. I finally lift by head to get a look at the stranger as I brush off my jeans. It was a woman who was probably in her early 20's. She has black hair with several streaks of red, and chestnut colored eyes. I also note that the woman is oriental, shown by her slanted eyes and tan skin but she is probably only half-oriental because she is tall and has that 'I'm-an-American' look to it. "No Problem." She says with a chuckle. I take the time and noticed that the woman is pretty, not beautiful but pretty. I blush and nod, "Sorry." I rub the back of my head but suddenly something crosses my mind as I turn to scurry away from the stranger. I turn back around quikcly causing my hair to fall into my face annoyingly, "H-hey. Can I ask you a favor?" The woman cocks her head, dsplaying a pierced earlobe with a simply earring hanging from it, "Uh, sure. What's up?" 'This is stupid.' I think, 'I dont even know this person and I just nearly ran her over.' I look at her face, she's waiting for my answer. I smile, "Could you... pretend to be my friend?" She looks confused, taken aback, "W-What? I dont get it..." I giggle, sounding like an idiot, "Let me explain. I parked in this parking lot and went to the pharmacy to get a precription and a cop was going to give me a ticket but I said I have a friend in here and I need you to pretend to be my friend... please?" I really do sound stupid. I barely even made an sense. The woman nods slowly, sorting the information out, "Um... okay, I think. Let's go." She nods, a look of pretend determination of her face. I turn on my heel and walk briskly out of the grocery store, the woman right behind me. I lead her to my car and look at the cop, "Here she is." I say chipperly, "My friend..." I mentally kick myself, we dont know eachother's names! The woman smiles, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, "Yep. My good friend little... erm... girl..." She laughs nervously. The cop looks at us strangely and nods slowly, "So, you were shopping here?" "Yeah." The woman says quickly and I wince. 'She cant act...' The officer puts away his pen and paper, "Okay then." He turns his gaze back to me, "But dont be doing that again. I'll only let it slip this time." The cop wags a finger at me scoldingly then turns around and enters his cruiser. He drives off with one last wave. We both wave back nervously. I look back at the woman and let out a sigh of releif, "Thanks. I owe ya one." She laughs and wipes a hand across her forehead, "Nah, it's fine. That was fun." She smiles at me sweetly then something clicks in her mind, "Maybe we should introduce ourselves in case we gotta do that again. I'm Karen Tanimoto." She extends a petite hand. I nod and take shake her hand, I notice both of our hands are sweaty, "Alexia... uh, LaFayette." She smiles and takes her hands back, wiping it on her blouse. She nods to me, "Well, I'd better be going. It was fun." She turns around and walks back to the store. I smile and get back into my car with a sigh of relief. I turn on the engine and click the radio on before I drive out of the parking lot and get on my way home.
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