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It was only Wednesday, and I felt like my entire life had turned upside down.
I took the longest shower of my life and put on my standard jeans and t-shirt. What did it matter? I was going shopping with Jake for new clothes anyway. That meant that today would be the last time that anyone would see me looking like me for the foreseeable future. I pulled my I Heart Inigo Montoya T-shirt over my head. It always cheered me up before, but today, no such luck. If it were possible, I was in an even worse mood.
Joylessly, I flat ironed my hair and put on make-up.
You’re doing this for Ariel, I told myself as I applied my third coating of mascara. You are doing this for Ariel.
When I was ready, I pulled my door open to find my father sitting at the breakfast bar, eating some eggs, toast, and coffee. When he heard me come out, he put down the paper he’d been reading and turned to me.
“Hey.”
He wore a small, hesitant smile. One that matched mine.
“Hey.”
I pulled my backpack closer to me, waiting for him to speak again.
“Look, kid. I’m sorry. I lost my job and I turned our life upside down again. I just ... I...” He held his hands out in front of him, first in fists then opening them, as if letting something go that he’d held on to for far too long.
“I’m just sorry. You shouldn’t have to think about money or stuff like that. You’re a kid. You should be thinking about Barney and dolls and playing dress-up.”
I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at what Daddy thought I should be concerned with. It wasn’t the right time. Instead, I took a small step forward.
“I’m sorry, too. Some of the things that I said on Monday were hurtful.”
He ran his hand over the graying stubble that covered his cheeks and chin. “That didn’t make them any less true.”
“It does. I don’t hate you. I love you, Dad.”
His smile grew, and he pulled me in to a warm hug.
“I love you, too, sweetie.”
The world seemed to fall in place again as he kissed the top of my head and held me tight. My insides turned gooey with love. I hugged him so hard that my arms hurt.
“We’re going to be all right,” he whispered. “I found a job yesterday.”
I pulled away, surprised and delighted.
“You did?”
He nodded.
“It doesn’t pay as much as the old job, but we don’t need much. I put down first and last month’s deposit on a new apartment across town near Central Park. It’s closer to where I’ll be working.”
I gasped.
“Seventy six?” I asked.
He nodded, a smile growing on his face.
“That’s where Ariel and Jasmine live!” I screamed and threw myself back in to his arms.
76 Central Park West was closer to my school, too. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad after all.
“I know.”
“How did you get in there? It’s way more expensive than this place.”
“Well, I went back to the car shop to collect my tools when I saw this guy outside. I’d fixed his car once and we’d talked a little. Anyway, he asked what was going on and I told him that I was fired and that I might have to move and everything that was happening. So, he tells me that his aunt, this woman named Fleckenstein, has two apartments over at 76 and one of them is rent controlled. She held on to the second apartment for years, paying both rents.”
“Why?”
“One is for her, and the other is for Lad, the kid I met. It turns out, he goes to school across town and his parents have this huge house and he’s never going to use the apartment. The lady is cooked in the head or something, I think. Anyway, he told me that he can get us in the apartment, and we’ll just have to pay the rent to his aunt under the condition that he can stay there if he ever needed a place to crash.”
“Oh my god. That’s fantastic!”
“We move in next Saturday!”
I hugged my father again, relief washing over me. We were going to be okay. Everything was going to work out.
“So, what’s the new job?”
He frowned. “Well, it’s not as glamorous as my old job, but...”
“But?”
“You know those horse carriage rides that they give around Central Park?”
“Yeah.”
Was he going to be giving horse carriage rides for fifty bucks a pop? That was a long way from fixing cars.
“Well, I’ll be working in the stables.”
“Just like you did back on Grandpa’s farm?”
He nodded, his smile waning.
“I guess I can’t get away from the farm life, huh, kid?”
I sighed. This was not where Dad saw himself when he left North Carolina. I could see the disappointment on his face, and it made my heart ache.
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I know you had dreams.”
He let out a breath.
“Sometimes, we have to put our dreams on hold for our children,” he said. “One day, I’ll find that perfect formula. But, in the meantime, we have to eat, right?”
I smiled, feeling proud of my father and his decisions.
“Yeah.”
“Good.”
“And I have to go to school, so...”
He stood and grabbed his jacket from the back of his chair. “I’ll walk you downstairs.”
We smiled at each other. Daddy and I were going to be okay. Everything was going to work out. Joy took over as we walked down the four flights of stairs, discussing details for the move and what our new place would be like. I couldn’t wait to tell Ariel and Jasmine.
We reached the door, and I turned to him.
“See you later, Dad,” I said.
“I’ll see you, kid.”
I kissed him on the cheek and nearly skipped to my friends.
Ariel and Jasmine waved. “Bye, Mr. French.”
Dad waved at them before he headed in the opposite direction.
“He’s walking you to the door now?” Ariel asked. “What are you; eight?”
“He was telling me the good news.”
“What news?” Jasmine asked.
“We are moving.”
Both Ariel and Jasmine stopped walking to look at me, wide eyed.
“Moving?” Ariel’s voice sounded on the edge of hyperventilation. “Where?”
“To 76 Central Park West!”
We all screamed and jumped and danced around in a circle.
“This is going to be awesome!” Jasmine cried.
“Super awesome!” Ariel yelled.
“Mega awesome!” I joined in.
The thought of all three of us in the same building filled us all with happiness.
Ariel lived in the penthouse suite with her super rich father and her two sisters. There were seven sisters in total. Four of them were already out of the house and off to expensive in-state colleges. Two of them, Adella and Alana, were freshmen at St. Mary’s. Her apartment was cluttered but swanky, with big windows, a huge pool, and a beautiful patio. Each room even had its very own themed aquarium.
Jasmine’s apartment was no less swanky with colorful walls, intricately beaded pillows and throws, and thick braided rugs. Plus, her father, Sultan Patel, made the best tea I’d ever tasted. Jasmine lived with her father and four brothers, all college aged and super cute. Though I didn’t tell them that.
The news that I was going to be in the same building with my two besties was almost as good as the news that my father had found a job. This day was shaping up to be the best day ever.
Our good mood continued through our train ride and on our walk from the subway to the school. It improved further when Jeff Schwartz met us at the school doors.
“Ladies.”
“Jeffy.”
Jasmine hugged him around the shoulders, while the rest of us waved. Jasmine had recently joined the chemistry club to up her extra-curricular activities for college. Jeff was the president of the chemistry club, though not for long I’d bet. Jasmine had a thing about being in charge, and I had a feeling that she was planning a possibly hostile takeover in the near future.
“You all look well rested and lovely as usual.”
“Aw, Jeff. You’re such a charmer.”
“I try.” Jeff grinned. “Anyway, I am having some friends from school over on Friday. I thought that you ladies may want to stop by.”
“That sounds fantastic,” Jasmine said.
I raised my hand. “I can’t. Plans. Sorry.”
“Plans?” Jasmine asked. “What plans?”
“I got invited to a party on Friday.”
Ariel and Jasmine frowned at me.
“Stephanie Pleasant’s party?” Ariel asked.
I nodded, feeling embarrassed and stupid for going to the same party that I had condemned only a few hours ago.
“It’s a pre-party. Some of the kids are heading to the Stamford Club afterward. I just found out last night,” I said apologetically. “Jake invited me after I hung up with you.”
My friends looked at me with expressions that said, ‘what else haven’t you told us’.
I cringed.
“Next time, Jeff,” I said.
Jeff shrugged, though I could tell that he was disappointed. After all, I was now the coolest girl in school. Having me at his party would have given him a few extra popularity points for sure.
“Yeah,” Jeff said. “Next time.”
Ariel and Jasmine’s judgy frowns made me shift my weight. I decided to use my out instead of explaining myself further.
“I have to meet Jake. I’ll see you guys later.”
I could tell that my friends weren’t happy, but I had no choice. I was doing this for them after all. Well, mostly for them.
I walked down the hallway, my name echoing off the walls as my fellow classmates called for my attention.
“Nice shirt, Bella!”
“Hey, Bella. Want to hang out after school?”
“Awesome sneakers, Bella.”
I nodded, smiled, and called my hellos back to them, even as the flags in my mind stirred. I wanted people to know that I existed, but the fact that it took me dating Jake to make it happen made me feel dirty. If Jake never asked me out, no one would care what I was wearing. They wouldn’t even know that I was alive.
Was this what I wanted? To have my voice depend on who I was dating? What would they think if they knew I got the shirt and the sneakers from a half-off sale at Walmart? Would they still think they were cool? Would they still think I was cool?
As I gazed at the girls around me, I noticed something odd. Whereas before the look was straight hair, aka Dana, today there were way more curls and French braids. For once, other girls’ hair looked like mine.
Not only was I not invisible anymore, I was being copied. But were they copying me, or were they copying Jake’s girlfriend?
I sighed. Suddenly, everything in my life ended with a question mark, and I had no idea how to find the answers. It sucked.
Jake spotted me and smiled.
I forced a smile on to my face and walked in to his arms.
“Hey, baby.”
He smelled like expensive cologne. Like some well-crafted mix of spicy, sweet, and lavender. He didn’t dab it on, either. It smelled like he’d dumped the entire bottle over his head. I struggled to breathe.
“I’ll meet you by the lunch room after this period,” he whispered.
“Fine. But I have to be back by the end of school. I have an English project with your brother to work on.”
“Cole?” He raised an eyebrow. “You two are working on an English project together?”
I nodded. How did Jake not know this? He was there when Ms. Mitchell teamed me with Cole. How Jake passed without doing any of the school work was beyond me. I would have given him a dirty look hadn’t I been so lightheaded over his cologne. What was in that stuff? Meth?
The first period bell rang.
“We’ll talk about it later. I’ll see you.” He kissed my cheek and walked in to his classroom. With his mind-numbing cologne dissipating, I could finally think clearly. From across the hall, Dana scowled at me.
I scowled back.
Then, to my surprise, she walked over to me. Her long blonde hair was perfect as usual, cut into long layers that fell gently around her perfectly heart shaped face. Her makeup was perfect, her seafoam green mini dress fit her perfect body like a glove, and her kitten heels were the height of style. Dana Rich was perfect. Next to her, I felt like a cheap imitation.
She looked at me with bright green eyes that matched her dress and smirked.
“I hope you know what you’re getting in to,” she said. “Being with a Winsted is all fun and games, until it’s not.”
I straightened my shoulders, wishing that I had dressed up today.
“I know exactly what I’m getting in to,” I replied.
She smirked, and took a step back.
“You want a free piece of advice?” she asked.
I nodded, because it felt awkward not to.
“Run.”
Then she turned, flipped her hair over one perfectly pale shoulder, and walked away, her body swaying down the hallway.
Run? From who? Jake?
I frowned. I expected her to say something catty like, “stay away from my man”, or “Jake is still in love with me”. But, run? Why would she say that?
Pursing my lips, I walked to my first period class.
Maybe she was just trying to scare me? Maybe she was still in love with Jake and this was her way of showing it?
If she was, I hoped that she would hurry up and beg for him to come back. God knew I wanted him out of my life.
I put Jake and Dana out of my mind, and slid in to my seat in Art.