Chapter Two

 

<><> Miriam <><>

 

“What am I going to do now?” Jacinta’s voice quivers with rage. “Oh, that guy could really use a kick in the crotch!” The Jamaican accent from her childhood tends to strengthen when her temper flares.

“Do you know who that was?” Bailey asks, her big blue eyes open to capacity, eyebrows arching up to her blonder than blond hairline.

“Who, the driver?” I ask.

Jacinta paces back and forth on the sidewalk in frustration. With a polished nail between her teeth and a hand on her hip, I know she’s mulling over what to do next.

“No, not the driver, the passenger.”

I definitely noticed the passenger, but I don’t dare comment on him now. Not with Jacinta ready to have a breakdown in front of me.

“Chris Loman.”

“Wait, as in Kyle Loman?” Jacinta’s ears perk up and she stops dead. She’s had a thing for Kyle Loman ever since he started dating Bettina Richards, the most popular girl at our high school. Before that, he’d been invisible.

“The one and only.”

Jacinta starts pacing again. “Wasn’t Chris Loman a senior when we were in the ninth grade?”

“Yep. We even knew about him at my school,” says Bailey, who attends the prestigious private school Sacred Hills Academy on the other side of town from our school, East McKinley High.

“He’s infamous and not in a good way. I hardly recognized him under that baseball hat,” says Jacinta.

“Total badass.” When Bailey smirks, I know it’s because she’s impressed. She has a thing for badass boys even though her boyfriend is anything but.

I test the waters. “He’s kind of cute though, don’t you think?” Big mistake.

“Miriam, what are you thinking? He’s been dating Donna Dividi forever. Do you really want to go where someone like Donna’s been before?”

Donna Dividi. Her name alone is synonymous with risk and seduction. How can I compete with that? Would I want to?

“He probably has a sexually transmitted something or other,” Bailey guffaws.

“I bet he’s slept with every girl in the Cat n’ Cradle Pub. Wasn’t he arrested for drug possession a few years ago?” Jacinta keeps it going.

“You may think he’s hot, but he hangs out with tow-truck drivers in his spare time. Really, really mean ones. That’s a turn-off,” Bailey scolds.

“Speaking of tow-trucks, how am I going to tell my mom about her car?”

I grab Jacinta’s shoulders and take control of the situation. “You’re not. Call and tell her you’re spending the night at my place. We’ll pick it up in the morning on your way home. Sound good?”

“Sounds perfect. I’m sorry, Miri, this isn’t how I wanted you to spend your eighteenth birthday. Stranded without transportation.”

“Hey, the night’s not over yet. We can still go to that club.”

“We kind of have to go,” says Bailey as we stride down the sidewalk. “Halton and Ryan are meeting us, remember? Ryan says he’s really excited to see you tonight!”

Her comment gives me a jolt. “Really? He said that?”

“Miriam, can’t you tell how much he likes you by the way his face lights up? He’s totally smitten.”

“Smitten. Now that’s a word I haven’t heard, like, ever.” Jacinta laughs.

“Ryan told Halton he’s going to ask you to prom, so be prepared.”

“Sacred Hills proms are legendary. Lucky you!” squeals Jacinta.

I roll my eyes. “I’m sure they’re not all that. By the way, thanks for spoiling the surprise, Bay.”

“Sorry.”

“Actually, I really am thankful. Now I can hide my disappointment properly.”

“Come on, Miriam, it’ll be fun.”

“I know, but still. Now I’ll have to attend two proms. Can I wear the same dress?”

“NO!” they scream in unison.

“Fine.” I cross my arms over my chest as we get to the corner and stop, looking around to gain our bearings. “Great, more money thrown away on silly stuff.”

“Fashion is not silly stuff, Miri. It’s pivotal.”

“Pivotal? Hmm. That’s a good one.”

“Not to worry,” Jacinta swats the air, “Tashelle always has something up her sleeve.”

Jacinta’s younger sister is all about fashion and is constantly offering to 'make me over', whatever that entails. Like tonight for example. She chose this outfit, which, as far as I’m concerned, reveals a little more than I’m used to. It certainly got Chris Loman’s attention, especially the heels. I saw his eyes lingering on them. Maybe he was just interested in my body and how it looks in this borrowed dress. Maybe, since he supposedly has a girlfriend, he shouldn’t have been looking at me in the first place! What a badass. I push Chris Loman out of my mind as I try to maneuver down the sidewalk in heels. It’s not very graceful and I’m afraid I’ll break my neck. “Alright, this is ridiculous. Lets get an Uber.”

 

 

We bypass a long line of guys waiting to get into Club Bliss and are welcomed with a wave by the bouncer. All girls are. Only guys are made to wait for entry, which I can’t understand. I find the entire procedure sexist, but I stay quiet. Why should the guys have to wait like that? It’s totally unfair. Since it’s a 21-and-under club, we don’t even have to show ID.

We make a beeline straight to the back, the three of us holding hands and dodging sweaty gyrating bodies on the dance floor as we weave our way through the crowd. Emerging onto the beach-themed patio, I take a huge breath of fresh night air once we hit the open space. I slip off my high heels and feel instant relief.

“There they are!” Bailey nods to a small group of guys all dressed the same and slouching the same and around the same height — except for the one short guy with the lopsided haircut and cardigan sweater. Nothing badass about these boys, that’s for damn sure.

“Bailey!” Halton shouts and breaks from the tight pack with the short cardigan guy following him like he’s tethered. Halton leans in and kisses Bailey a quick one on the mouth before acknowledging us. “Hey, Miriam, Jacinta.”

“Hi, Halton.”

I feel a tap on my shoulder and swivel around to face Ryan, a.k.a. cardigan guy. “Miriam, you look amazing! That dress is really…wow!”

“Hi, Ryan. Aren’t you hot in that sweater?” I shout over the much too loud music.

He shrugs and pushes his hair back off his forehead as the other boys join us. They’re all super skinny and 'alternative' and totally Sacred Hills. Private School snobby boys, and for the past two summers they’ve been our little gang. They’re dead protective, even though I’m sure if push came to shove I’d be the one protecting any of them considering my height. They often make me feel like an amazon without even trying.

“Here,” Ryan says, handing me a soda. “I knew you’d be here soon, so...”

“Thanks. That’s really sweet of you.” I sip the straw and sway a little to the music, gawking around and trying not to focus on him too much. Knowing the inside scoop, I’m suddenly nervous about him asking me to his prom. Will he ask tonight? Now? Tomorrow?

“So, Miriam...”

“Yes?” We lock eyes and I sense his nerves too.

“Happy Birthday.”

“Oh. Thanks, Ryan.”

He runs a hand through his hipster hair and shoves the other into a pocket. Awkward. We’re instantly saved when Halton and Bailey sidle up to us all smiles.

“Lets go dance!” Bailey shouts. “We have to celebrate this special occasion. You’re finally legal to vote and fight for your country.”

I laugh and take her hand as she leads me toward the dance floor. Jacinta is already there and she’s owning it. This girl has more rhythm than twenty of me combined. It’s such a draw. I can tell she’s trying to forget about the car incident and move on. Having abandoned my heels on the patio, I finally feel comfortable and let myself go in the moment. Surrounded by friends, there’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now. This has been the most difficult year of my life and getting out of my house – and away from the adult responsibilities I’m facing at home right now – is just what I need. My mom would want me to let loose a little, so I allow it to happen and dance like there’s no one watching. I hug my girlfriends and sway left and right, really getting into it. And then, above the heads of the short men in my life, I spy a tall guy on the outskirts of the dance floor with long dirty blond hair. For a split second, I think it’s Chris Loman and my belly flops while my adrenaline spikes in excitement. Wow, didn’t expect that kind of a reaction. When the guy turns his head, it’s clear he’s not who I thought he was and the degree of disappointment I suddenly feel leaves me confused. I continue dancing, but my mind is solely on one subject now. Chris Loman.

My body may be present as I dance, but my thoughts drift to earlier this evening; how attractive he was in an unpolished kind of way. Unruly. Glancing at Ryan, it’s almost comical how different Chris Loman is from the boys I’m accustomed to. Lean, tall, and muscular, when he jumped out of the tow-truck he definitely commanded our attention. But aside from all the obvious physical traits that make him so hot, there is something about Chris Loman that has me instantly attracted like Velcro; a draw I can’t explain or even describe other than pure chemistry. I feel it, unmistakably. But I’m pretty sure it’s one-sided on my part. Still, a girl can fantasize. There’s nothing better than having a crush.