It's the start of the 90s, and seriously out of style Vanessa tries to navigate the struggles of growing up without the guidance of her parents. Meanwhile Dallas Winston, the boy next door returns back in town after a year away...
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he WARMS her heart
___
August 12th, 1991. 4:01 P.M.
Avoidance was a coping mechanism that Vanessa had used her entire life. It seemed to work well for the most part, but sometimes she had to confront certain things for life to move forward. She found this out on the way home from school.
Vanessa really hoped to miss him but instead found herself arriving home at the same time as Dallas rolled up in his car. She walked over to him as he locked it up. He was almost pleased to see her. She knew it was time to apologise for how she acted earlier.
"I can't expect you to understand how important it is for me to get closer to Daniel." she wanted to let him know.
"He's my best friend so I understand just fine." Dallas replied with. He didn't see the real issue that Vanessa saw... but maybe that was a good thing.
"And exactly what does that have to do with anything?" she objected.
Dallas plucked a cigarette from his shirt pocket, and placed it between his lips, "You want what I want for him. To find a nice girl and be happy. I told you I would help you but you ran off before I got the chance to make plans with you."
As he lights up the end of the smoke with his lighter, Vanessa boils inside herself again, "I thought you weren't listening to me. Plus you're an idiot and your hair sucks."
"Keep hurling insults at me, baby." he cracked back at her. Both of them grinned, amused by the shared scorn. They had realised they actually had something in common besides the pact.
"Listen, tomorrow is that stupid swim meet carnival, and I really think we could make some head way with it there."
August 13th, 1991. 9:31 A.M.
Compulsory was a word that most people hated. It meant in simple terms, absolutely no choice. The swim meet carnival was one of them. Last year the swim team had seven audience members. So the school decided to boost their support by forcing everyone to attend or face suspension.
