Chapter 24

“Are you going to explain now?” Jessie asked once we drove into her driveway. I nodded, getting my bag out of the car. I noticed that her mother’s car was not in the driveway. She saw this and frowned.

“Is everything okay?” I asked her, motioning to her mom’s car usual spot. She nodded assumingly before she smirked.

“Let’s get inside; I want to hear the story.” She told me and I nodded, allowing her to unlock the door.

After we made our way upstairs and I dropped my bag down, I let out a tiring sigh, over exaggerating slightly.

“I’m going to hit the sheets. Catch you later,” I waved and she yanked my arm. I let out a sigh before giving her a slight puppy dog face. “At least let me take a shower. I hate the smell of pool water.” I frowned and she nodded.

I took my bag into the bathroom, getting out the clothes I planned on wearing to bed. Unpacking my phone, I looked at it for a minute before remembering that I’d text Adrian when I got to Jessie’s.

My phone beeped in my hand, scaring the crap out of me. Incoming call from ‘Shirtless God.’ I sighed loudly before answering it, pressing the phone between my ear and my shoulder.

“What?” I asked Adrian, smirking. He let out a small laugh.

“Hello to you, too.” He replied and I gave the shirt that I was taking out of my bag a flat look.

“You act like we didn’t see each other 20 minutes ago.” I told him with a sigh and he laughed.

“Unfortunately I had to see you. I just wanted to make sure that you got there safely,” He laughed and I rolled my eyes, a small smile threatening to form on my lips. “So what’s up?” I stuttered for a moment.  

“Are you on the phone in there? It’s weird to be on the phone in the bathroom!” Jessie quizzed, pounding on the door.

“You’re in the bathroom?” Adrian asked and I coughed.

“No, well yeah, but I’m not, like, using the bathroom or anything. I’m getting ready for a shower.” I explained, digging myself into a deeper hole. It was silent for a minute.

“Do you have clothes on?” Adrian asked and I literally choked on air.

“No, Adrian. Yes, I’m fully clothes. I’ve got to go.” I scowled into the phone and Adrian laughed loudly.

“I’ll talk to you later, my love.” He replied before I shut the phone off. My heart fluttered slightly and I let out a long sigh.

After showering and changing into my pajamas, I exited the bathroom and Jessie had a bag in her hands. Her hair was still soaking wet.

“What’s that?” I asked, looking at the bag. She grinned.

“It’s your surprise.” She replied before I placed down my hockey bag. I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Okay, can I have it now?” I asked, smiling as I sat down on the couch. Jessie was seated on her bed. She shook her head.

“Not until you tell me the story.” She concluded and I shrugged, starting the story from the beginning.

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“So you like him?” She asked and I nodded, giving her a look as if she was stupid.

“Didn’t we go over this about a week ago?” I retorted her and she shrugged.

“What are you going to do about it?” She asked me and I laughed before shaking my head.

“Nothing, absolutely nothing,” I replied and she gave me a confused look. “Sure we talk sometimes, he talks to everyone, sure we ‘flirt’ but he’s a flirt, and it doesn’t mean he likes me. We’re from two different groups and we’re polar opposites. He’s smooth with the ladies while I haven’t even had my first kiss yet.” I told her and she sighed, shaking her head.

“Believe it or not, guys don’t want a girl that’s been with every guy. They want a girl like you. And Adrian doesn’t flirt like that with other girls. At the parties that I used to go to, he’d dance with so many different girls, but he never kissed them. That’s another thing I don’t get about that boy.” She shrugged and I sighed.

“He’s a ‘bad boy,’ not a player. His words, not mine.” I informed her and she smirked.

“We’re just going to have to dig deeper.” She grinned and I stared at her for a minute before snatching the bag beside her.

Opening the bag, I found a rectangular box. I opened it and saw it was hair dye. It was purple hair dye. I grinned widely when I saw it but then my eyes widened slightly.

“What?” Jessie asked, worry evident in her voice.

“Do you think my parents will let me?” I asked and she shrugged, tilting her head sideways.

“How about we do this tomorrow?” I offered and she nodded before furrowing her eyebrows.

“What if your parents say ‘no’?” She smirked and I shrugged.

“Rebels gonna rebel.” I smirked and she laughed, rolling her eyes.

“You? A rebel? Yeah, when pigs fly.” She snorted and I punched her arm.

__

“Hey. Wake up; we’re doing your hair, Ms. Rebel.” Jessie shouted, smacking me in the face with a pillow. I gasped before sitting up and running a hand through my hair.

“Let’s get this over with.” I replied, walking to the bathroom and washing my face. I used my tooth brush that I keep there for when I stay over to brush my teeth and I left on my pajamas just in case the dying gets a bit messy.

“Which parts do you want dyed?” She inquired as I sat in a chair in the kitchen. She parted my hair down the middle. I thought for a minute before telling her. I wanted a strip from my fringe and several strips throughout my normal hair.

“Okay, sit back and wait.” Jessie told me, taking control of my hair. Normally I wouldn’t trust anyone with my hair, but I’ve seen Jessie’s hair get dyed different colors. She’s always been her own hair dresser and she’s did a pretty good job at it.

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“Okay, I think it looks amazing, let’s go see.” Jessie informed me after the long 4 hours sitting in this chair. She’d dyed it, refused to let me see it, and then she curled it for no reason at all. There is no special occasion, either.

I darted out of the kitchen chair and ran to the bathroom. I smiled in pure satisfaction when I saw my hair. The curls were spiraled and loose, flowing down my face towards the top of my chest and the colors went well together.

I encased Jessie in a large hug, repeating the words ‘Thank you’ loudly. She nodded, laughing and pushing away from me.

“You’re welcome, jeez. My dogs are going to wake up and want out of that rom. Now go get dressed.” She told me, pushing me out of the bathroom towards my hockey bag. As if cued, the dogs started barking loudly.

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“I’ll see you tomorrow.” Jessie called out to me as I walked up the stairs to my house. My mother was standing in the living room, her phone pressed to her ear. She turned and saw me before she quickly hung up the phone.

“What is this?” She asked me and I furrowed my eyebrows, confused for a moment but then I realized that she was talking about my hair.

“Jessie and I died it.” I tried smiling but her cold eyes stopped me mid grin. She pursed her lips and I averted my gaze towards the floor.

“I don’t recall you calling and asking my permission?” She asked me and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I don’t recall you ever telling me that I can’t dye my hair.” I replied. This shocked her.

“I’m your mother. You’re 17 years old; I shouldn’t have to make a rulebook. You should already know what’s acceptable and what isn’t. A simply call could have cleared it up!” She retorted back, slamming her hands down onto her hips in a fashion that used to intimidate me.

“Exactly, I’m 17. I dyed my hair; you act like I stabbed a man. It’s my hair, mom! It’s my decision, not yours!” I responded, tightening my grip on the hockey bag.

“You will not be representing me with that gunk in your hair. You can say goodbye to going to any of your father and I’s business parties!” She threatened and I snorted.

“I should have dyed my hair a long time ago!” I stated, walking up the stairs to my room.

Entering my room, I tossed my hockey bag down and walked over to my dresser, grabbing the bag where I left my project after babysitting Mattie.

“Hey, you’re back,” I heard my window open as I tossed the bag across the room and onto my bed. Didn’t I lock my window? “Are you okay?”

“No.” I snapped from the side of my dresser as I started to shed my shoes.

“What happened?” He asked as I began untying my left shoe.

“My mother screamed at me for rebelling against her.” I told him.

“What? How did you rebel?” Adrian asked as I took off my shoes. I walked to the window. He looked at my hair and nodded with a smile.

“She yelled at me for this.” I told him, pointing to my hair and he furrowed his eyebrows.

“For being a dumb blonde?” He humored and I made an attempt to give him an annoyed look but I failed.

“She told me that I should have called her for her approval. It’s my hair.” I told him and he nodded.

“Why’d you do it?” He asked with an eyebrow raised and I sighed.

“It’s for my bucket list,” I told him and he nodded with a smile on his lips. “But anyway, I have to go work on my project. It’s due tomorrow.” I told him and he saluted me before I walked away from my window.

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Today was good so far. Aside from the odd looks from people throughout my school and a few comments tossed at me from Brielle’s cronies, it’s been going okay. I handed in my project and I only have one class after this and I’m free to head home.

“Fiona,” I heard familiar clacking from high heels and I turned and caught sight of a fake looking Barbie. “We need to talk.”

Jessie and I looked at each other, along with the rest of the cafeteria. What does she want? I raised an eyebrow and she told me to stand up. Humorously, I made her say please.

“Say please.” I informed her and she gritted her teeth.

“Please stand up.” She stated and I nodded with a smile, standing up. On the inside, I was scared crapless. What does she want?

Before I knew it, a piece of cake was flying into my face. Instead of getting angry like they’d expected; I laughed. I laughed loudly before I wiped it from my mouth.

“Yum, vanilla,” I stated while wiping my eyes with my hands. I had a magnificent idea. Brielle was glaring at me and I smeared some onto her face causing her and her little minions to gasp and squeal loudly. I wasn’t even putting the vanilla cake onto their faces. “You should try some.”

A chip was thrown at me from her little minion and I watched it fly in a totally different direction. Someone is failing gym. Next thing I know, someone is getting hit in the face with a hamburger.

Brielle and I started a food fight.

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“Do you realize what you’ve done, Ms. Harper?” Ms. Schneider asked me and I was still in shock.

Let me set the scene for you, okay? Brielle and I were sitting the principal’s office. I was composed while she was leaking tears and blaming everything on me. She kept howling about how ‘Fiona started it and this was going to ruin her cheerleading career.’ I was just sitting there, listening to Ms. Schneider comfort Brielle and shout at me.

“I haven’t done anything.” I replied and Ms. S shook her head, giving me a sad look.

“I’m sorry, Fiona, but I’m going to have to give you three days of detention and one day of suspension. Please don’t appear at school tomorrow or else I’m going to have to have you physically removed from school grounds. For the rest of the school week, you’ll have detention from 3 o’clock until 5 o’clock, okay?” She stated and I felt my eyes widen. How was she suspending me? And giving me detention?

“What about her?” I asked, pointing to Brielle who was wiping her mascara stricken face.

“I think she’s been through enough already. You’re dismissed, Ms. Harper.” Ms. Schneider told me and I nodded, standing up with gritted teeth.

I walked over to my car and got into it, my mood neutral. Maybe this was a good thing? Maybe I needed a break from school?

As I arrived home, I saw Adrian’s car into the driveway. I realized that I was about 10 minutes late. I walked upstairs, ignoring the presence of both my mother and my father. I dropped my school bag and stripped off my jacket.

“What happened to you?” Adrian asked me and I turned to look at him. I shook my head and he smiled.

“It can’t be that bad. You’re the schools best student.” He flattered me and I shook my head again.

“I can’t show up to school tomorrow or else they’ll have to physically remove me and I have detention on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday until 5.” I told him and his eyebrows rose.

“Seriously?” He asked me and I nodded my head.

“What about Brielle?” He asked and I shook my head again, allowing a scoff to escape my mouth.

“She made this huge scene where she cried and blamed me. She has nothing, not a detention- not a suspension. She didn’t even get yelled at.” I told Adrian and his eyes widened.

“Seriously?” He asked me and I nodded again.

“What are you going to tell your parents?” He asked and I curled my lips into my mouth, thinking.

“I’m not going to. I’m going to leave in the morning, see a few movies, and then come back when I usually get home from school. If they ask about detention, then I’ll just say that I have a few extracurricular activies.” I created this genius plan and he nodded, shrugging.

“Do you have your classwork and homework for tomorrow?” He asked me and I nodded.

“They had some kid bring it down to the office.” I replied, pointing towards my bag.

“If I were you, I’d finish it all tonight.” He told me, smirking and I furrowed my eyebrows.

“Why?” He just grinned in response. Creepy.

“Trust me, you’ll feel a lot better tomorrow if it’s all done,” He told me and I nodded. “Besides, a full day of fun means you go home and you don’t have to worry about work.” He told me and I furrowed me eyebrows.

“What?” I asked and he just nodded again, reaching his hands out and touching my face. He made me nod my head, meanwhile my face burned from his touch and my blush.

“Do all of your work tonight,” He told me and forced by his hands, I nodded my head. He grinned. “Well, I better let you get started on that work.” He smirked, closing his window. For whatever reason, I did start on my work.

Bucket List

1. Go on a real first date (with someone I actually like) for a picnic, I like picnics.
2. Get kicked out of a store, one I don’t go to because they might ban me and I can’t have that. (Adrian)
3. Skip school for a day and go out, not stay home.
4. Go on a rollercoaster at an amusement park, one that my instinct says ‘No’ to.
5. Dye my hair a crazy color, for example; dying the tips red or blue. Or maybe even streak. (Or two.) (With Jessie)
6. Dance in the rain with someone, hopefully a guy… who has abs, and happens to be shirtless but I’ll settle for Jessie if I have to.
7. Go to a drive in movie. I think this is pretty self-explanatory.
8. Throw a drink in someone’s face because they’re a jerk. (Ethan)
9. Pull an all-nighter and watch the sun rise on the roof, it seems fun. (Adrian)
10. Carve my name into a tree and hopefully it’ll stay there.
11. Go laser tagging, it seems amazing; lasers and tag.
12. Have a paint fight… an accidental one.
13. Go through a drive through on foot, it’ll tick off the worker and it’ll be fun! (Adrian)
14. Have a nerf gun fight, if I can get my hands on some.
15. Jump into a pool with all of my clothes on, or maybe get pushed. Ha, kidding. (Adrian)
16. Play Hide n Seek at midnight, its dark and fun. You have to play it with people you know though; you can’t play with an ex-convict because they can shank you. (Emilia, Trent, Logan, Jessie, Adrian)
17. Have a shopping cart race at Wal-Mart or any other large department store. (Adrian, Jessie, Trent)
18. Go swimming at Midnight, it sounds adventurous and dangerous. (Emilia, Trent, Logan, Jessie, Adrian)
19. Buy white Converse and have people sign them, hopefully there isn’t anything bad on it, though. I may want to wear them to school.
20. Go to the Zoo, I’ve never been there and I really want to go.
21. Take pictures in a photo booth with either a guy that I like or a friend, it seems fun. (Adrian)
22. Play Hide N Seek in a store. If you get caught by a store clerk, pull a Velma. ‘My glasses, I can’t see without my glasses.’
23. Have a scary movie marathon. (Adrian, Jessie, Trent)
24. Have boys vs. girl’s water balloon fight… probably won’t happen. But one can dream, right?
25. Have someone win me a giant stuffed animal. And again, one can dream, right?
26. Get a boyfriend… and I repeat, one can dream!