Red Pickle

Chapter one

No pressure... No pressure at all. All I had to do was go up in front of 200 people and not make a fool of myself. See? No pressure.

I stared down on my knotted fingers, beads of sweat forming on my knuckles. I could tell that something horribly wrong was going to happen.
I looked out into the crowd and my eyes connected with my mother's dark brown ones.

She was dressed elegantly in a dark blue flowing dress showing off the cleavage that she was blessed with and her thick head of hair piled high in something sort of resembling a bun. She looked so young and care free that gave me some reassurance I haven't seen my mother look care free in ages.
Since my father went M.I.A while on duty for the military in Iraq my mother's personality changed completely. She went from a bubbly, young miss socialite to a silent moody old woman. And at this moment I could see that she was truly happy. Though I could sense a bit of nervousness in her features, I knew she was worried just as much as I am.

I took small timid steps toward the clearing they had made especially for me. I bent down and unbuckled my 5 inch sparkly red bottom heels, my feet were aching. A familiar melody started humming through the room and my body moved automatically with the music. I could see faces lighting up in the crowd with smiles of amazement, nobody knew I could dance.

I started humming under my breath along with the music, shaking my hips vigorously to the beat. I could hear cheers as I did my big finale, a twirl a cartwheel a split and a fabulous hair flip. The crowd erupted into screams and shouts. A broad smiled ripped across my face, from ear to ear. I actually did it! I took my bow grabbed up my heels and ran toward the bathroom.

I could hear the muffled sound of the mc, a.k.a my step dad, praising my performance. I stared at my reflection in the mirror of the pristine white bathroom. My caramel cheeks were flushed. I performed at my sister's wedding and no one laughed. This is unbelievable.

In the corner of my eyes I could see the silver handle of the bathroom door turning slowly. In came my sister. She looked beautiful. The dress she was wearing hugged her every curve in the most flattering way. The bit of sparkle at the bosom was the icing on the lace filled cake. Her smile was just like mine; it lifted her cheeks to make her face look a little chubby. I stared at her.

"I must admit, I'm still pretty shocked some sorry loser thinks he can put up with you for the rest of his life." I joked, matching her smile. Coca punched me playfully on the arm causing her bracelets to jingle noisily.

"You did amazing picky. I'm so proud of you" she said walking slowly toward me. I knew she wasn't just walking slow to add a dramatic effect but It was because her shoes were unbelievably high and she was afraid she might fall.

"I keep telling you to stop calling me that"
She hugged me tight and squeezed.

"Oh c'mon it's my day I can call you whatever I want."

"Alright, but just for today."
The rest of the night went well considering that I was the only teenager present. I danced and ate till I couldn't eat anymore. I could literally feel the pounds packing on on my already slightly chubby belly.

At home the first thing I did was power up my laptop. I needed to tell someone how my performance went. I logged into Skype and saw Duronie online, but then I quickly averted my eyes from his name. Something was off though, his status and his profile picture. He hardly changed those. It was a picture of a familiar crooked nosed brunette. She had on way too much make-up and she pouted her lips so much it resembled a baboon's butt. Her hair was lifeless and limp but she had jugs the size of basket balls, which always took center stage of every picture I've seen her in.

Recently I've become a bit obsessive when it comes to Duronie, especially his love life. His new fling thing Shemikia is the the new victim of my crazy stalking. Ok, when I say stalking I don't mean crazy like 'go to her house and stab her when she's asleep crazy', more like 'follow her on every social media she has and keep an eye on her crazy'.

I've known Duronie for roughly 16 years, basically my whole life. My mother and his mother are really close friends. They got married at the same time and even planned getting pregnant at the same time. He's been my best friend for years, however in recent times puberty started to kick in and he started to get a whole lot cuter. He annoys me a lot though, take for instance now, his status read:
She's the one I've been searching for my whole life.

A pang of jealously hit me square in the chest. I slammed down my laptop and kicked it off my bed angrily. I could feel my temperature rising and my face getting tight like it always does when someone makes me angry.

I know I should block and delete him from every social media app I'm on, but a don't have the will power to. His boyish grin and short curly hair are enough to make me keep him around.
That night I didn't fall asleep until 2:00am. When I finally did my dreams were filled with disgusting scenes of Duronie making out with Shemikia right in front of my face. Lets just say I woke up the next day feeling pretty sick.