Face Falsa

*Chapter 1: Blood and Oranges*

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"Alright, let's finish strong! 60 burpees and then practice is over!" The cheer captain, Caitlyn, yelled.

I wiped off the sweat dripping into my eyes and followed suit with the others, counting, but not in unison. The freshmen were still behind, even though we were past spring break.

Once we were finished, I took my towel, wiped the rest of the sweat off my face, and took a slow sip of my water, savoring the cool liquid. The rest of the team filed into the locker room, changing and getting the things they needed.

Emma, a junior in my AP Calculus class, turned to me and quietly asked, "Can you cover for me? I need to get some orange juice."

I nodded and smiled, "Of course, I can't wait to see you as a flyer next year."

True to my word, I pulled out my phone and turned it up, Olivia Rodrigo blasting out of my speakers and echoing off the thick concrete walls. The other girls stared at me a bit but shrugged and returned to their business, reapplying makeup, changing, etc.

I continued changing, wiping my gross underboob sweat off with a towel, and dry shampooed my hair. All these years, they still couldn't put showers in the girls' locker room. Of course, the boys had showers, but we couldn't for some reason. 

Then, I quickly applied mascara and some shiny lip gloss. Afterward, I rearranged my hair, straightened my bra out, and checked my reflection to see if anything was out of place like a piece of toilet paper stuck to my shoe. Yeah, never mind, I'm hot.

Suddenly, a freshman bumped into me, screaming along with the song, "I used to think I was smart, but you made me look so naïve-"

God, I hope you don't know what those lyrics mean, I thought to myself, you're too young for that shit. She laughed at her mistake and I smiled as that accident turned into a dance party. I saw Caitlyn out of the corner of my eye as she watched and rolled her eyes at the chaos, but I saw her small smile, her lips twitching up into a smirk. Then, a hot brunette, the new girl, Nora, I think, walked up to me.

"Hey, Lia, wanna grab some froyo with me and some others on the team?" She asked.

I paused, looking for an excuse to stay, but Emma walked out of the bathroom. She clearly looked like she just puked up her guts, but only to someone like me, with experience. To the untrained eye, she looked tired, which after a rough two-hour practice like that was understandable. We all do what we have to do to get on top.

The new girl turned to Emma, "Hi, I'm Nova. Lia, I, and some of the team are getting some froyo. Wanna come?"

Emma smiled nervously and her eyes darted back and forth, between us and the door.

Quickly, I stepped in, "Oh, Ms. Rodriguez gave us so much homework today. Ugh, you know?"

"Yeah, Lia finished it during AP Calc class, she's a genius, so unfair, but I still have a bunch to do. But I'll see you tomorrow, guys. Maybe next time," Emma said, quickly catching on.

Nova tilted her head in confusion, which made my heart race, thinking we were caught.

"Who's Ms. Rodriguez?" Nova asked me after Emma skedaddled, "I have Mr. Palmer for AP Calc."

"Oh, lucky," I said, the tension relaxing out of my shoulders, "I had him last year for Trig. He's so chill."

"Yeah, he said getting a five was our job, so if we wanted less than a 3, we could just sleep. So I got a nice siesta," Nova said as we walked towards the parking lot.

"Yeah...that's great," I said, nodding and smiling.

Nova laughed, "I was joking, Lia. He did say that, but I'm too much of an academic overachiever to do that."

"Oh, that I understand. My parents are like why do you study so hard, you don't need a perfect GPA! They just don't get it," I said, relating to her.

"Yeah, so Orange Leaf? Unless there's a local place around here," Nova said.

"There isn't, unfortunately. But I'll meet you there, alright?" I said as I unlocked my old, but nice, 2008 bright blue Prius.

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Daddy - hey baby, just checking in

Daddy - i know it's late over there

Good morning to you Daddy 🥰

I'm studying for a big

physics exam coming up 🙃

Daddy - do you have water?

Yep!

Daddy - did you eat something today?

I did

Daddy - more than a snack?

...

no

✨Daddy✨is calling

[Daddy] Babygirl, what did we talk about?

[Lia] I know, Daddy, but-

[Daddy] No, no buts. You go make yourself at least a sandwich right now.

[Lia] (sigh) ok, I'm going downstairs

[Daddy] Alright, good, can you tell me about your day, pumpkin?

[Lia] It was pretty good, the JV team finally- (scream)

[Daddy] B-baby? What's wrong?

Call disconnected

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A click. A sound I'll never forget. A shot, a bullet whizzing past my ear. A sound I'll never forget. Pools of blood. A scene I'll never forget. My mother's unmoving body. A scene I'll never forget. Fear. A feeling I'll never forget. Loss. A feeling I'll never forget. Run. Running. Ran. An action I'll never forget. Hide. Hiding. Hid. An action I'll never forget. Copper, from my own tongue, or the bodies below. A smell I'll never forget. A taste I'll never forget. I'll never forget.

I'll never forget.

I'll

never

forget.

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The first thing I saw was the blood. It pooled, reaching the carpet of the stairs. It was nothing like what came out of the lines on my thighs. Standing over two bodies, stood a tall, broad-shouldered man. He had a full face mask on, shiny black. His hair was dyed blond, darker roots. He looked up. I didn't hear my scream. My ears were still ringing. I raised my hands in surrender, the phone still on call. He hesitated. The phone fell out of my hand.

A bang, a gunshot. Cracked glass. Shattered.

I run. I hide. I'm a coward. I don't have a gun. It's common sense to run when they have a gun.

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It was dark, hiding under my bed. It was tight, hiding under my bed. I'm alive, hiding under my bed.

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Last Minor Edit: Apr 11 2024

Last Major Edit: Mar 27 2024