Prom Committee

Happy Girl Antidote

The long eight hours of school passed and I thanked Layla once again for taking over for today on decorations. She was truly a blessing and I told her how much I appreciated her. I sat on the sidewalk waiting for Beck and took out a sheet of paper and a pencil. I made a little 'T' chart and wrote down my feelings from this morning for both guys.

"Hey, I'm ready," Beck said, startling me.

"Okay let's go," I folded up the paper and stuck it back in my bag.

He followed me to my Jeep and threw his skateboard and backpack in the back seat. We hopped into the vehicle and I tossed my bag as well in the back seat. I set my phone on the dashboard mount and ignited the engine. As I pulled out of my parking space I saw a message pop up on my phone screen from Josh. Beck must have noticed it too because I saw him looking at me from the corner of my eye.

"I'm guessing you still haven't said anything to him yet," he cleared his throat.

"No not really," I turned onto the road. "I mean what do you say to someone who you like a lot that breaks your heart?"

I glanced over at him and saw him stare at his lap making me realize that I'm such an idiot.

"Right, sorry," I slouched.

"It's fine because I understand that it's a lot for you to take in. I mean no one would have guessed that I liked you so how on Earth would you know," he stated.

A couple of minutes went by and we arrived at the elementary school. I parked on the side of the street and turned my vehicle off. Before I got out another text message popped up on my phone and once again it was Josh. I decided to ignore them because I didn't want to ruin my mood once I saw Mia.

Beck was already in the building so without causing chaos I settled on waiting outside. A couple of seconds later and out came Beck holding Mia's hand with a giant smile on her face. She wound up letting go of her brother's hand and running in my direction. I couldn't hold back my smile as she ran into my arms giving me a big hug. I leaned down and hugged her gently and then we let go.

"Someone told me that you wanted to see me," I bubbled.

"Yes," she giggled, peering up at me and then Beck.

"Let's get you home," Beck grinned.

I hopped in my drivers side and watched him toss her backpack in the back with her and close her door. He got in the passengers seat and after we were all set I drove off to their house. Every once in a while I looked in my rear-view mirror and saw a happy ten year-old gazing out the window.

"So what do you want to do Mia?" I asked, turning down a road.

"Well I wanted to play some games with you and my brother," she beamed.

"Oh," I grinned looking at Beck, "do you think he wants to play with us?"

He glanced at me and then turned around to face Mia, "You know I would but I have to go to work today."

"Oh," she uttered, slouching.

I saw the sadness in her eyes when I looked in the mirror which almost started making me sad. Obviously she wasn't my sister but she was a sweet kid and I wanted to see her filled with joy. I thought about the predicament and then peered at Beck as I parked in front of their house.

"What if we come with you to work?" I asked, innocently.

"Yeah, I like Tara's idea," Mia applauded.

He smirked at the both of us, "We'll see what mom says."

The three of us got out of my Jeep and both Beck and Mia grabbed their backpacks as well as his board. I followed them into the house and heard low volume music playing in the living room where Dana was doing a crossword puzzle. She heard us close the door and set down her puzzle and greeted Mia instantly.

"Hey sweetie, how was school?" she asked.

"It was good we learned about space and astronomy," she grinned.

"Well that sounds like fun," she turned her attention towards Beck. "How about you dear, anything new with that girl you told me about?" she whispered.

He glanced at me scratching his neck and answered quietly, "Um not really no, nothing new."

My eyes widened a little bit at her question because I fully recognized that 'that girl' was me and of course she didn't know that. Honestly I had no clue that he even told his mother about problems like that. I was kind of curious to hear what advice she gave him though.

She nodded her head and acknowledged my presence, "Oh hello Tara, I didn't even see you there. It's nice to see you."

"Hi Dana. It wasn't my intention but apparently Mia has been asking to see me so here I am."

Dana chuckled, walking into the kitchen, "I swear ever since Saturday you've been all she talks about."

"Awe she's sweet," I gushed.

"So mom," he followed her, "Mia was wondering if she could come with me to work today?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Honey, you know that I don't want her there when you're working," she explained.

"You see I asked Mia what she wanted to do and she told me that she wanted to play games with both Beck and I. So I figured why don't Mia and I just go to work with Beck, we can play games just the two of us and that way she can still see Beck randomly if she wants. And then you can get whatever you want to get done here while we're gone," I uttered.

She smiled and looked at Beck, "Well it looks like you're sister is going to work with you."

"Okay," he sighed. "Mia you're coming to work with me."

"Yes," she shouted running to the door.

"We'll be in the car whenever you're ready," I grinned.

Mia and I strolled out the door and hopped into my vehicle waiting for Beck. She kept telling me how excited she was because she had never been allowed to join her brother when he goes to work. Knowing that she was happy and gleeful made me happy and partially forget about my own problems.

A few minutes went by and Beck finally joined us in the Jeep. I turned the radio on as I drove us down to Slices. Every once in a while more messages from Josh would pop up on my phone and I wanted to cry every single time. It was really hard to accept the reality but deep down I knew that I had to eventually listen to him and forgive him because I really liked him.

"Who's that?" Mia innocently asked.

I peered at the rear-view mirror and sighed, "The guy I went on a date with."

"Oh, why do you sound so sad about it?" she questioned.

Beck turned around, "That's none of our business Mia, remember. If someone wants to tell us about their problems then they will."

"Yes, I know," she pouted.

I pulled into the parking lot and announced, "Well we're here."

"Finally I can see you work," Mia sang bolting out of my vehicle.

Beck and I chuckled at Mia's enthusiasm and then stopped once we made eye contact.

"Hey thanks for doing this Tara. You have no idea how much she appreciates this."

I grinned as warmth spread on my cheeks, "You're welcome Beck. This is what good friends do."

We both stared at each other for a little longer and then got out of the vehicle. I grabbed my phone and my backpack because I knew that I had things to write down.