closer to swipe the tear from my cheek, "I'm actually just Monet Woods and I thought you'd maybe like a friend, not a bully."
The school nurse reentered before I could think of what to say.
"You're free to go, girls," she told us, handing Monet the signed hall pass and handing me my zipped backpack.
The school nurse reentered her office swiftly and Monet was, shockingly, speechless.
I swung my legs over the edge of the cot as my bickering parents got louder, and I thought to stop them before they could embarrass me in front of anyone else. I put on my backpack and slowly eased onto my feet.
"Be careful!" Monet warned me as I slightly stumbled forward, falling into her, who was ready to catch me before I even attempted to catch myself.
As if the entire morning hadn't been a massive fail already, my hair was caught in Monet's marvelous hoops, and she bursted into a fit of giggles as I scrambled to untangle it.
"I'm sorry! Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry!" I frantically apologized and made no progress in hastily untangling it as she stood still.
I froze when she lifted her soft hand to gently nudge mine aside, and I couldn't help but notice the fresh mint on her breath for how close we were as she set my hair loose with inexplicable ease, maintaining jarring eye contact with me all the while. The heat on my cheeks intensified when she spoke again.
"I'll DM you the addy in case you change your mind," she told me, then turned with bouncy curls that just barely grazed my face and left the room, the flustered mess that was me drowning in redness and the scent of mango shampoo in her wake.
Chapter 3
I stared down at my phone, refreshing the page for the umpteenth time that evening.
"'I'll DM you the addy,' she said. 'In case you change your mind,' she said ."
I threw my phone across the room in a flurry of frustration, and then the notification bell rang and I scurried back over to it, stumbling over my covers and clothes along the way.
My face lit up when I clicked on it and saw Monet's message at the top, "The abandoned warehouse on Seven Dunes street at 11:30 <3 Wear something cute and bring your fake ID" .
I cheered exuberantly and jumped up to sift through my closet. I was invited to a college party by Monet Woods. The Monet Woods: youth dance group member, co-captain of the volleyball team, AND member of an ivy league cheerleading squad...
At least according to her bio.
I caught myself smiling as I brushed my hair in the mirror. I lowered the brush, because, wait, why was I even so excited? I'd never been to a party before, let alone a college party. I'd look so desperate following Monet around like a lost puppy the whole night - assuming I could even keep track of her - and not to mention my parents would have a thing or two to say about me leaving the house on a Thursday night. Also, who has a random fake ID on hand?
I sighed and sat back on my bed. What was I thinking? I couldn't go to this party.
Then my phone lit up with a video chat request.
From Monet !
I froze. It was probably the wrong person, right? I'd wait a few moments for her to realize who she was actually calling and then sink back into my despair.
Eventually, because I failed to answer, the video call ended. I let out a lengthy sigh that was cut short by another video chat request.
I started to freak out. How could she make the same mistake twice? What if it wasn't a mistake? Did I look okay?
My impulsivity caused me to swipe up and answer the call before I could logically think about the consequences. I gasped as Monet's smiling face lit up on the screen atop myself, me with half brushed hair.
"Hey," Monet greeted me nonchalantly, seemingly moving around as she spoke.
For several moments I was silent, causing her to look back at the screen with a smirk.
She for sure had to know she was video chatting me by now!
"You do know you're breaking every single social rule in the book by video chatting me purposefully, right?" I said aloud with shock, and she only laughed.
"Am I? I didn't know," Monet replied, feigning an incredulous expression.
I turned off my video camera and frantically drove the brush through my hair, "What made you decide to acknowledge my existence over a call this evening?"
Monet shamelessly propped her phone against something and used a curling iron in her hair with the webcam on, "Are you coming to the party?"
I paused for a moment before answering, "I don't really know."
She put a stick of gum in her mouth before continuing on her hair, "Think fast then. If you need a ride, everyone's carpooling."
I hadn't even considered that part!
"Hypothetically, if I were to need a ride, what would happen?" I asked anxiously, sorting through a drawer of perfume bottles.
"Well, hypothetically ," she mocked me, "Kristen would drive over to your house and me, my brother, and Dee would wait for you to come out. Why'd you turn off your cam?"
I had been so busy picturing the scenario in my head as she told it that her question only occurred to me several moments after it was asked. I flicked off the light switch in my room and turned the camera back on.
"Happier?" I asked, becoming tired of this emotionally draining social interaction.
She rolled her eyes, as she seemed to love to do, "Girl, I can't even see your face."
"Why would you need to?" I asked her, and she set down the curling iron.
"To see if you look better than me, because I can't let that happen," Monet answered, and again, whether or not she was joking was a mystery.
I flicked the lights on and turned the camera to what I thought to be my most unflattering angle, "Well look, there's nothing for you to worry about here."
Monet seemed unhappy, "Aww, crap, you do look better than me. Guess I need to step up my game."
She'd managed to make me flustered yet again, and I could see the curve of a smile form on Monet's lips as her eyes flashed over to the camera through her peach lip gloss application.