Ballad of a Broken Boy

A New Nini

I tossed and turned all night long, unable to sleep a wink. For some odd reason, thoughts of a certain curly-haired boy kept flooding my mind, and I just couldn't understand why. It was the most infuriating thing, especially when I've never thought about him before.

When I went downstairs the next morning my mom seemed to do a double take.

"Whoa, Nini, you look tired, honey. You feeling okay?" My mom asked me. I sighed, shrugging my shoulders. "I'm feeling fine, but I guess I'm just stressed." She chuckled, obviously not believing me. "Hon, you've been back at school for two days. You can't possibly be stressed already." She laughed.

"I guess I just have a lot to get used to..." I sighed. She just rolled her eyes. "Same old Nini, always stressing about everything..." she smiled, walking over to the countertop to pour herself some cereal.

I had a pop tart for breakfast then made my way up to my bedroom. Deciding to be a little adventurous with my outfit today, I went for a low cut white top with puffy sleeves Kourt bought me once and paired it with a light pink ruffled skirt with white vans. I also decided to wear a gold necklace. When I walked over to my vanity to do my hair and makeup, I froze when I saw my face. My mom was right... I looked completely shattered. There were circles under my eyes, and my skin was all blotchy. I was a train wreck. Sighing, I grabbed my makeup bag. Trying not to make myself look too cakey while at the same time attempting to cover all the imperfections wasn't easy, but somehow I pulled it off. I decided to go with a natural look, not wanting my face to look too heavy. Lastly, I finished off the look with some light eyeliner. Finally happy with the way I looked, I got up. I was surprised at myself; I never usually wore anything like this to school. I wasn't sure what had gotten into me, but I could honestly say that I had never looked this good.

"Nina! What on earth do you think you are doing? Go change, now!" Mom said, surprised, when she saw me. I rolled my eyes.

"Mom, relax, I'm just trying something new...you're acting like I look like a hooker." I laughed. Sh glared at me.

"In my books, what you're wearing right now is just as bad. And what is with your face? You look... nice. Not that you don't always look nice, you just look a different kind of nice... a more grown up kind of nice." He said, confused. I laughed.

"Don't worry mom, I'll be fine. And grown up is good; I am seventeen, after all." I laughed, hurrying out the door before she could say anything more about me changing.

LINE BREAK

When I got to school, I met up with Kourtney, who did a double take when she saw me. "Nini? Is that you?" she asked disbelievingly. I laughed. "Yeah. Just trying out a new look...what do you think?" I asked her, doing a little twirl as a joke.

"I love it! Is that the top I bought you? And I love that skirt! Why haven't you worn that before?" she asked. We started walking towards my locker.

"Yeah, it's the one you bought me. And, in case you haven't noticed, I'm usually not the type to wear skirts." I said, shrugging.

"Well, you totally should be! I actually love this new look... and the makeup! For a girl who never wears it, you're pretty damn awesome at putting it on!" she exclaimed. I laughed.

"I kinda like it too. I'm not sure why I decided to do it though..."

"Don't even try it. I know exactly why you're doing this." She laughed. I looked at her, questioningly.

"Why?"

"To impress Ricky, of course. And to show Ej what he lost." She said, grinning. I rolled my eyes.

"Actually, neither of those are strictly true, but I guess showing Ej what he's missing wouldn't hurt. Im definitely not trying to impress Ricky. I don't give a shit what Ricky Bowen thinks of me." I said lightly. Kourt nodded.