the beginning of the end

September 7th, 1970

Monday

Refreshing days often end with trouble.

Going to school during fall season is so much fun, for no particular reason exactly. Leaves crunch under my feet, as I walk to Winston Public Highschool, calculating exactly how long I would have to stay in this shit hole. A year might seem like nothing, yet school drags on like a slug, so I am not going to count on it. I'm so tired and the day has not even begun.

I walk into the school doors and glance at my watch. Damn, I'm on time! Considering my history, that's an achievement. I walk to the office and get my schedule for the semester. I scan the card. Not bad, not bad! I got into most of the classes I applied for, except AP Physics. Can't say I give a flying fuck. I go to my locker, trying to get the combination right, my hands slipping around on the smooth lock. I hear a couple making out behind me, but studying at a public school, it's not the least bit surprising. I'm at that point in life where I'm desensitized to it, especially when I've spent twelve long, boring years here. I mean I'm all for PDA and all, but the middle of the hallway at seven in the morning, seems a little too much, even for me.

I grab my things and look up to find my best friend and confidant, Jess, looking at me. "Hey Jess, whatchu looking at?" I say waving my hand in front of her face.

"Nothing, just wondering how I'm friends with the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen.", she says with a smirk.

"Stop pulling my pants, Jess, let's get to class. What's do you have first?" I say, trying to snatch the card from her hand.

"AP Lit. What about you?" she says, her eyes not leaving my face.

"Oh, same! Let's go then.", I say, pointing towards the hallway.

"Yeah, let's get this year rolling shall we?" I say, grinning widely.

The class is filled with old faces, people we grew up with. This town being pretty small, everyone knew everything about everyone, even things you mean to keep private. That's what I love and hate about it. Maybe one day, I can save up enough to move to LA. Until then, let's just hold in our breath in this shit hole, shall we? Jess and I, go to the last seats left in the class, the ones in the front. Just because I was on time, doesn't mean that I was early enough to get the good seats at the back. I glance at Jess, watching her gorgeous shorn hair fall across her face. She looks up and smiles at me, and just before I could smile back, the teacher, Mrs. Rowley walks in, a bright smile on her face.

She looks at me and Jess and comments, "You guys turned up on time for my class! I hope you keep this up till the end of the semester.", she says, looking at us knowingly.

Despite her friendly aura, she's scary as hell when you're at the receiving end of one of her lectures. I smile at her, and so does Jess, both of us, academically talented, yet not very set on doing things as we're told.

"Before we get started, I want to introduce Mr. Elijah Valentine, a transfer student from the prestigious private school from across town. He will be joining us for the entire year and I want all of you guys to be nice to him. Do you want to introduce yourself, Elijah?" she says, glancing at a guy behind me.

I turn around to see a tall, dark-haired guy, leaning back in his chair, a cocky smile on his face. "Of course, Mrs. Rowley. Hi everyone, I'm Eli and I think there's a roach on the babe's hair in front of me.", he says, his eyes finding mine.

His words sink in, horror running through my body. A ROACH? I reflexively swat at my head, and I hear laughter from his table. "There wasn't anything on my hair was there?" I say, annoyed at his laughter at my expense.

"Maybe. Maybe not.", he says, shrugging, a half-smile on his lips.

"Okay that was quite a creative introduction, Mr. Elijah, but I've got a class to take today. You may catch up with Ms. Whitaker later.", my teacher looks at him amusedly. I don't like that kid. It's not like he embarrassed me or anything, just that could he not find any other person to play that lame prank on? I turn around, my face clearly reflecting my emotions. I slowly smile, an idea striking me. I know this year is not getting any better, why not have some fun while I'm at it?

*****************************

The rest of the day passes with little to no eventful incidents. I linger back, fiddling with things inside my locker, trying to act natural, often turning around and checking whether that kid from the morning is around. I wait for a bit, and soon enough I find him walking back, surrounded by our school's so-called popular guys. I mean, I see why he'd stick with them, but I don't know why I feel slightly disappointed. Maybe, I expected him to be slightly different from those blonde bimbos, well that's on me, right?

Anyways, I note the car he drives and locates Jess. I nod at her affirmatively, and she walks up to him. All the guys give him a look, smiling, and walk off, leaving him alone with Jess. I watch her openly flirt with him, twirling her hair, smiling widely. He nods a smile on his face, and takes Jess to his car. She turns back when he was not looking, and hurriedly gives me a thumbs up and a smile, indicating that my plan was going well.

I see them drive out the parking lot, a smirk on my face, reveling in my planning skills. I get into Jess's car and begin following them at a distance. I ensure to keep my eyes on their car, making sure that I won't lose track of them, especially at a time when traffic peaks around this area. Multiple times, the traffic signals didn't favor me, but somehow I managed to keep track of them. Jess's father works for the Valentine family, as a financial advisor or something of that sort. This creates a perfect opportunity and explanation as to why Jess would ask Elijah to give her a ride home. Even better, she agreed to my idea readily and admitted that her father would've made her drive to his house either way.

I memorize the route to his house, my pen scratching on a crinkly paper, drawing a horrible yet efficient map to his house. Now, before you ask me whether I'm over-reacting to the entire situation, I'd agree, but this is just a little bit of fun, teenage fun, as people say. This whole thing is just a little bit of entertainment, things you gotta do to maintain your sanity. I ensure Jess gets to his house safe, and turn my car around, ready for a shift at Betty's.

I reach the diner ten minutes later and find it packed with customers. Not one table is free for occupying. Good lord, this is going to be a lot of work. I quickly go out to the back and change into my uniform. A scratchy dress with an apron, our uniform, by the way, made me look ridiculous, but hey if my boss sees me complaining, I'd be done for. I stand behind the counter, waiting for my coworker, Meena, who then looks up from the register and whispers,"The demon is scary as hell today. I'd stay away from her if I were you."

I nod at her, resolving to do a good job today, at the very least to escape the wrath of the demon herself. Customers begin flowing in, at a rate higher than usual. I try my best to note down all the orders without mistake, carrying multiple plates in a hand. I carry on with my work when I spot the kid from today morning, surrounded by the so-called popular guys from our school. I look around, praying, begging any other waiter to attend their table, my eyes looking for any other free employee. Everyone being busy, I was left with no option but to attend to their table.

"Hi, what can I do for you today?" I ask, my eyes not leaving my notepad.

"Four hamburgers and fries with milkshakes, please.", says one of the so-called popular guys.

"Of course, anything else?" I ask, monotonous as if reading from our How-To-Be-A-Good-Waitress manual.

"Why the sad face, gorgeous? We can cheer you up if you'd like.", says another one of the so-called popular guys. [if it's not clear, I couldn't bother less about what their actual names are]

I give them a disgusted look, and suddenly Elijah looks at me, a look of recognition passing over his face. I turn away and stalk off before he could comment or say any more lewd comments. I'd be lying if I said in Elijah's selection of people he surrounds himself with, is very disappointing, to say the least. I mean, I shouldn't care, and neither do I care, but it definitely irks me enough to think about it. Eh, it's not like he's nice to me either, why would I care? [that's me trying to not care but ending up thinking about him for the rest of my shift]

I shrug it off, and go about my job, making it a point to ensure that another waiter attends to their table from now on. I wait for other tables, sweat dripping my thighs and armpits. All the walking is causing me to chaff between my thighs, a rash forming. I decide that I require a well-deserved washroom break, and go to the staff washroom, nature calling pretty urgently. I pull down my knickers and do the needed, relief flooding my body. I finish my business, and go to the staff lock room, trying to locate my bag. I rummage through it and finally find the rash lotion, rubbing it between my thighs.

As I was doing so, my manager, the said demon, Ms. Hurley, enters the staffroom and looks at me, shocked. "What are you doing in my locker room, young lady?" she says, her expression absolutely horrified. I look at her confused, and before I could begin to process the entire situation, she says, "If your sexual pleasure is of utmost importance during work, I'd say you need not work at all. You are fired. Kids these days have no shame whatsoever.", she mutters. Realization dawns upon me, as I realize what it looks like.

"Ma'am, it's definitely not what it looks like I pro-" before I could finish my sentence she cuts me off and says," Get out, you disgraceful girl." I grab my bag, embarrassment flooding my body. I grab my stuff real quick, my cheeks turn scarlet, blushing furiously. I wonder what my parents would say, especially considering the sequence of events that led me to lose the job. I pray the demon doesn't call my parents and inform them, oh, that would be a catastrophe. The only way I can escape this situation is by lying through my teeth to my parents, who by the way, are great at lie-detecting. Getting another job is going to be really tough though.

I run out the front door, my throat beginning to start blocking up. Tears roll down my cheeks as soon as I get out the door, crying not because I got fired, but why does life get to be so frustrating? I get into the car and begin driving dejectedly, back to my house. I think about the various excuses I could give my parents. My best option right now is to say they're overstaffed. I go with this excuse in my mind, heart-thumping, worrying about what my parents are going to say.

I drop off Jess's car in her house, which is a block or two away from mine, and walk home, shoulders slumping. My home rarely feels like a home, to be honest. I always feel like garbage, even in instances I'm supposed to feel happy. Every compliment was given to me, which by the way is extremely rare, is always laced with criticism. There's ought to be something wrong about me, considering the way they treat me. It's not that I'm getting abused, emotionally or physically, just that it pains me to see my own parents so detached and uninvolved in their only child's life.

I brush my thoughts off, mentally of course, and walk up to my door. My heart thumps hard in my chest, terrified of what drama is going to be brought to the table today. I twist the knob, the cold metal calming, for some weird reason. My sweaty palms create handprints on the knob and I open the door. I find the home empty, or at least it seems so. I walk into the house, my heart thudding.

"Where the hell have you been, young lady? Why are you half an hour later than what we've decided upon?" my mom asks, a stern expression on her face.

What YOU have decided upon, I correct her mentally, always lacking the guts to give them one of my snarky comments. I wish I could though, it would definitely feel good, but considering what it would lead to, I decide it's not worth it. "Mom, I'm twenty minutes late because I had to drop Jess off, relax jeez. Oh and also Betty's is overstaffed so I got fired.", I say, trying my best to sound nonchalant.

"Watch that tone, Lena, don't talk back to me. And what do you mean by fire? What are you going to do for all of that coffee you drink? Who's going to pay for that? Do not expect your father or me to hand you pocket money to supply your caffeine addiction.", she says, her volume gradually increasing.

Here we go again. "No thank you, Mother, I can handle my own "caffeine addiction," I say, resisting the urge to air-quote her.

I think my tone implied the quotes either way because she says," Listen here, Lena. You live in our house. If you think slacking off is going to keep us paying for your tuition, you're absolutely wrong. If you keep this up, I'll ensure you that you'll find yourself in your aunt's Catholic boarding school in no time.", she says.

I sigh internally, knowing that if I do sigh outwards, she'd go off on that too. "Yes, Mother, I'll ensure I get a job by this week. I won't repeat this again, I promise.", I look up, to meet her eyes, my eyes mock-pleading. Watch her fall for it.

"Okay, Lena, you may go up to your room and finish your schoolwork.", she says, a smile on her face. How quickly she switches her emotions up is fascinating, to say the least. "Yes, Mother.", I say, relieved. There are a thousand ways that could've been worse. Thank god it didn't get to that. I climb up the stairs, skipping two steps at a time.

"Don't skip stairs, Lena, it's not ladylike.", my mother yells. "Sorry, Mother.", I say.

"Can't even breathe in this household", I mutter under my breath.

"What was that Lena?", she says.

"Nothing, Mother.", I say. Good lord, does she have eyes on the wall? It's scary as fuck. As soon as I reach my room, I flop on my bed, tired from the long day. I should go and enquire if there's a position open at our local library. I always wanted to work there, but Mother told me that being a librarian is not a "real job". Apparently waiting tables is. Anyways, she can't refuse it this time, considering Betty's are "overstaffed". I chuckle and get out my work for the day.

Gosh, I cannot wait for tonight.

*****************************

I pretend to sleep, my eyes closed, my breathing controlled, slow and rhythmic. Years of practice have made this a piece of cake, my act put together easily and effortlessly. Father comes and checks up on me, his steps stopping two feet away from my bed. He waves his hand over my face, the wind cool on my face. I mumble sleepily [again a perfected act], and convinced he walks out of the door, closing the door behind him. I wait a couple of minutes, ensuring both of my parents are in their room. I breathe out in relief, my hand clammy. I have done this for five years, and yet I still get nervous every time.

"Check up on me so often, and yet never a "good night, daughter.", I mutter.

I wait for a few more minutes, and after I make sure that they can't possibly hear me, I get out of my room, through the door this time. I usually get out through the roof but this is a special occasion. I smile to myself and slowly walk down the stairs, carefully avoiding the creaky steps. I walk down slowly to the kitchen and open the shelf which contains the items. [yes more than one] I put them in a huge bin bag, my hands hurrying to ensure they don't hear the crinkling of the plastic. Given that their room is on the floor above, it's unlikely, but better be safe than sorry.

I lug the huge, now full, bag across the dining room. I search through for the key to the back door, in the millions of keys in Mother's keyring. Moonlight streams through the window in the kitchen, illuminating the kitchen, even if by a bit. I use that light to figure out the key and fit it to the keyhole. I cross my fingers behind my back, praying that this doesn't make any noise. I hear a small click, and with that I am free. I'm out. I close the door behind me, a huge smile on my face. I have never had the guts to pull THAT off. I always resorted to the roof because it's easier and more convenient to get back in. But this, oh, I could never. But without a little effort, life's never fun.

I give Jess a call, my hand slipping through the plastic, wet due to my sweaty palms. She picks up immediately, almost as if waiting for my call. "Where are you? I've been waiting in my driveway for ten minutes. Come quick!" she says, urgency in her voice. But I could sense a lace of excitement in her voice. "Yes, I'm coming! I just got out of the house right now. I'll be there in two.", I say, happiness uncontained in my voice.

I sprint to her house, my trainers hitting the pavement, as I run, feeling freer than ever. I find her in her driveway in her car, an anxious smile on her face. "Finally! I thought you'd never come. Quick, my dad needs me back in an hour. I hope we can execute it within that hour.", she says.

"Of course, I'll ensure that. Now, who's ready to toilet paper roll a rich dick's house?" I say, both of us grinning widely.