folklore; conrad fisher

10: skinny dipping

The annual beach volleyball fundraiser had arrived, and nobody was more excited than Belly. It was her chance to finally shine, showing off her impressive volleyball skills and raising the most money each year. The family insisted that I participated, but I opted for cheering in the stands instead. The only sport I was good at was surfing, I told them. I couldn't hit or catch a ball for the life of me.

"Well, I wish you would've participated. You and I would've made a great team... Or I would've had a blast crushing you– kidding!" Belly joked.

I stuck my tongue out at her as she skipped towards the door, eager to leave for the train station where her best friend, Taylor was meeting her. She had come down to be Belly's partner for the tournament after Belly informed her I wouldn't be playing. I asked Steven what he thought of Taylor's return, but he shrugged it off, and I didn't want to pry any more.

I snuck into Conrad's room that morning before he went to work. I took the day off to work on College Applications, though Conrad immediately called me out, saying the only thing I wanted to work on was my 'sun tan.'

He put on a black and white striped long-sleeve and a pair of jeans. I laid on his bed watching him change, wondering how many other girls had seen this side of him. Nicole had. I shook off the thought. He broke up with her, I didn't need to worry.

Conrad kissed me on the forehead, leading me out of the room as he left for work. He wouldn't be playing in the tournament either, but I wondered if he'd show up at all. I hoped he would, it would be nice to have another friend in the stands, seeing as Steven was competing as well.

Once everyone was gone, I grabbed my laptop from my room and brought it downstairs. I sat down on the living room couch, opened my computer, and stared at the white, empty essay box in front of me.

I typed: Since I was a kid, my world always felt like it was cut into halves...

I immediately deleted it.

Okay, let's try this again. When I moved from Pennsylvania to Santa Monica, I felt as though my entire life had flipped upside down...

I erased the text, again, and slammed my laptop shut. Any idea I had was already boring, overdone, and lazy. 50% of marriages end in divorce. How many sob stories would admissions officers have to skip through before they choose the right candidate?

So, I gave Conrad the pleasure of being right, and put on my swimsuit to tan on one of the pool chairs. My eyes drooped, and soon I dozed off the bed. I was woken up to the sound of clattering in the kitchen, which I could only assume was Belly and Taylor arriving from the train station.

I walked inside and greeted Taylor, who was a bit awkward with me, knowing my loyalties lied with Steven. Taylor looked back at Belly and asked her for an update on what I assumed to be the 'Conrad situation.' Belly giggled and told her they had a lot to catch up on. She looked at me too, waving for me to join them upstairs. Taylor and I both looked clearly hesitant towards the idea, but I went anyway. Partially from the guilt I felt about my new something-tionship with Conrad, but also because I was (ashamedly) desperate to know what Belly had to tell Taylor so badly.

The news ended up not being so surprising. As the two changed into neon green and white "TEAM BELLY" jerseys, Belly told Taylor that Conrad had asked to take her to the deb ball. What was shocking to hear, however, was that Belly and Jeremiah had begun somewhat of a romance the previous week. Taylor was adamantly against the idea of Conrad being Belly's escort to the ball, stressing that she had a much better option now that things were stirring up with Jeremiah.

Despite my own jealous reservations, I still argued on behalf of Conrad. I knew how important it was for him to make his mom happy by doing the deb ball. With two opposing opinions at her disposal, Belly looked completely torn. I assured her that she would be able to make the right choice, regardless of our opinions, but she still seemed unsure.