I sat at my desk unaware of the constant pencil tapping. After I was brought back from the history homework and into reality, I found out I was unintentionally committing such hindrance myself. I threw the thumb sized object across the room and flung my head down on my uncompleted homework with complete discouragement. So much for making Mr. Martinez think twice about giving me that chilling stare. I couldn’t even complete his assignment.

Before I glanced at my clock, I took a guess at the time. It felt like I hadn’t left school at all in the afternoon with all the homework that was assigned. All my classes were getting ready for finals at the end of second semester. It was always the last semester that encouraged students to commit academic suicide. It was overwhelming enough to get the constant bickering from our teachers, and now five chapters assigned in literature and three worksheets assigned in history? Why even bother?

It was past midnight. My guess of 11:00 was two hours off. Dad and mom had long gone entered into the wonderful world of rest. Mom had poked her head in at half past ten and said a too sweet “goodnight.”

Or, as I interpreted it, “Ha-ha. I get to sleep and you get to stay up all night studying a bunch of useless crap.”

My parents and me? Not in the best of relationships. Certainly not like Tony and his mama. Probably 90% of their solid mother and son relationship was mounted on how delicious she cooked. He needed to have me over for another tiramisu tasting.

Tucking that mental note in the corner of my mind, I slid into my bed and instantly dozed off into the rest I had been yearning for the last nine hours.

All too soon I found myself pleading my mom for ten more minutes after she had forcefully shaken my stiff body.

“Audrey, darlin’, I made you some coffee,” she said, her face close to mine, breath reeking of a possible breakfast delectable.

“French toast sticks too?” I asked hopefully and turned over on my side to face her.

She put her hands on her hips. “Uh, no, honey. I just make you coffee. Nothing all that special.”

I angrily shot up from my bed and brushed past her. She had gone out to breakfast again with dad without an invite for me. And, as always, I would refuse to drink her carelessly made beverage intended to quench my thirst. A pony tail and pair of ragged clothes would do for the day. It was another day for my weak appearance. But at least I was accepted into Summer’s group. That’s all that mattered. Yesterday she had told me that something was up that deserved a group gathering before school today. Since I was eager to find out the news, the usual time of leaving at 7:30 turned to 7:00. All too willingly I left my mother with incomplete homework but a smile on my face nevertheless.

It was something about Summer’s persuasive tone that I found my acceptance was sealed with truth. However, when I arrived at school and stepped to the side of her locker, my casual “so what’s up?” did not win over her attention or recognition of me like it did yesterday.

“Where’s Sav and Angela?” Summer asked, interest more on her new Victoria Secret’s lip gloss than me.

“I got here early so they might be late,” I replied.

Silence. Maybe too much silence to my liking. It was awkward standing less than a foot away from Summer Felled’s locker, the locker everyone had locked in their memories whether to stay far away as possible from or casually peek behind its door to discover its attractive owner.

“Can I borrow some of your lip gloss?”

“Can you do what?”

“I’d like to see how it would like on me. I thought that since, you know, we’re friends now…Chester’s lab report, remember?...we could start sharing stuff.” I held my hand out with palm up.

The faint recognition of the memory etched across Summer’s face. “Right. Here, stand up straight and don’t move a muscle. I’m going to hold up this shade to your lips and make sure it’ll look positively stunning…no, no this certainly isn’t the shade for you…much too dark…”

My shoulders slumped forward slightly in disappointment in an unsuccessful attempt to earn her approval. My role-model’s face brightened suddenly when her two best friends snuck up behind me.

“Love your outfit, girl!” I recognized Savannah’s fake voice right away.

Summer’s face glowed and she shut the locker door as a signal for us to form a small circle. She whispered, “I bet we can pick out even cuter outfits this Friday for the dance.”

Both Savannah and Angela squealed, causing curious passersbys to jump in surprise. Their questions were difficult to understand despite of the jumbling rush.
“I totally forgot about the dance!”

“It’s on Saturday, right?”

“I bet you still have my red sweater.”

I decided it was time to put in my five cents. “Excuse me, but what dance are you guys talking about?”

The trio’s smiles wiped off their faces immediately at my ignorance. Summer put her hands on her hips before leaning slightly in the circle. “The annual homecoming dance, Audrey. It’s every October 19, and you’re invited to come with us.”

I held my breath and was tempted to pinch myself. Was this a dream? I had never been to homecoming before, much less with the queen of attention.

“Will I have to bring a date?” I asked, already knowing the answer. Tony would gladly come along with me to end my embarrassment of not having a date. With his every twirl all the girls on the dance floor would be jealous. This time I’d be Miss Fortunate. I wouldn’t be hidden from the school. I’d get attention that I had been seeking for all my life.

“Yeah, of course, Audrey. I’ll call you shortly after school and we’ll talk more about it.” Summer was already in the process of writing down her number on a scarp piece of paper. I quickly tucked it away in the safest place of my backpack before heading off to my first class.

It was odd that I couldn’t come to asking my best friend such a simple question. The whole day I thought of creative ideas to get his attention and quietly pull him away from other’s questioning looks. Despite my attempts at lunch, the last hour happened to be my luckiest. When Mr. Martinez dismissed us, I pulled Tony to my locker before he could say a word. It was only when we were at my locker did he muttered something profound in surprise.

“Audrey, what are you doing--?”

“Tony, I need to ask you something. I don’t know why the heck I’m all nervous, but I want you to…to go with me to homecoming.”

Pause.

“As friends. Please?”

Tony shrugged before answering. “I’m sorry but I’m already going with someone else.”

I exhaled slowly and noticed a slight blush rush to his cheeks. He looked almost frightened of what I’d say next and ashamed of his decision at the same time. Of course he already had a date. He was the most attractive boy in our class. Who wouldn’t want to go with him?

“So who are you going with?”

A soft tapping on my shoulder interrupted his response. I spun around, livid in the moment, to come face to face with Chester Raby. His face was blotched with the deepest shade of red I had ever seen. He silently removed his glasses and wiped the lenses clean with his shirt waiting for me to talk first. I shot my eyebrows up in response unwilling to play his game.

“Could I please talk with you, Audrey?” Chester peered over my shoulder at Tony. “Alone?”

Tony made his desperate escape with a quiet “later” mumbled under his breath.

Chester looked so uncomfortable that his face turned an even darker hue. I gathered my books together not even bothering to look him in the eye. What was I going to do now that Tony had a date? Not even go to homecoming? I wanted to track Tony’s date down and talk her out of dancing with him. She didn’t deserve this as much as I did.

Chester’s annoying voice brought me back out of my self-pity. “I was wondering if…ah, if…”

I slammed my books down on the ground, not even bothering to be embarrassed about the obvious echo it made through the crowded halls. “Just get to the point Chester and then leave!”

“I was wondering if you enjoyed the lesson today,” he said, nervously putting his glasses back in their rightful place.

“You came all the way down to my locker to ask me if I enjoyed the lesson? Chester, what do you want?”

He took in a deep breath before saying, “I want you to go to homecoming with me.”

It was my turn to blush and look uncomfortable. The reality hadn’t sunk in yet that I was just asked out by Chester. If Summer had known about this incident, she would have thrown me out of her group right away. Part of me strangely wanted to go with him but the other part overpoweringly wanted to still be seen with the trio at homecoming. I needed to destroy the part that some how yearned to go with him and let him down.

“No. Sorry. I’m already going with Tony,” I lied, hoping that would be sufficient enough for him. Instead he looked bewildered at my deceiving explanation.

“But I thought Antonio was going with Summer.”

My eyes reflexively widened in shock before I could strap my bookbag over my shoulders and leave. It was all I wanted to do was escape school but home would be the only place I could run to. Home provided no comfort to my eager tears. I ran away from Chester without word towards the local park located across the school, wishing I never agreed to get into the whole homecoming mess. As I felt my cell phone vibrate in my jean pocket, I wished that I hadn’t even come in contact with popularity in the first place.

--Part three of the story will be published shortly--

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