Beautiful Lives

Chapter 2

Chapter 2 – Something New (The Score)

As soon as the bell rang on Friday, I was buzzing with excitement. I ran to my locker, and started tossing books into my backpack for the weekend. Just as I was about to leave, I felt someone poke me in the back.

"Hey you!" Maya smiled broadly at me, and looped her arm through mine. Over the first week, Maya and I had spent a lot of time together, and I'd found out that she was actually pretty good friends with Nate, and was going to the party as well. She'd invited me over to her place to get ready, so we strolled out to the parking lot to get into her car.

"Okay, I have the cutest top for you to wear tonight, you are going to look SO good," she started babbling as she pulled out onto the road, and I giggled. Maya seemed to have endless reservoirs of energy, and she was always talking at a mile a minute.

"What are you gonna wear?" I asked, when she paused for breath. Without hesitating, she launched into a detailed description of the outfit she had planned, and it took her almost the entire drive to tell me about it. Once we pulled into her driveway, she turned off the car, and we headed inside.

"I'M HOME!" she shouted into the house, dumping her bag on the floor, and tossing her shoes into the closet. I followed her into the house – it was huge, and beautifully decorated. A young looking woman with pitch-black hair stepped into the hallway.

"Hi honey," she replied. "New friend?"

"Oh yeah, this is Lexi," Maya turned back to flash me one of her blinding grins. "The girl I've been telling you about?"

"Of course!" Maya's mother smiled warmly, and reached out to shake my hand. "Welcome to Pennsylvania, Lexi,"

"Thanks," I said, returning her handshake. "Maya's really helped me get adjusted this week,"

"Glad to hear it," Maya's mom said. She turned to head back into the kitchen, leaving Maya to grab my wrist, and pull me up the stairs.

Maya's room was huge, and I couldn't help but stop and stare for a few seconds once I walked through the doorway. Our house in Michigan had been pretty sizeable, but the place we were renting in Pennsylvania was cramped, and I wasn't used to being in such close proximity with my family. I was relieved to be in a room with space to move and breathe, even if it was only for a few hours.

"Alright," Maya dumped an armful of clothes onto her bed, and started pawing through them, searching for the perfect outfit. After a few moments, she grabbed a couple of items, and shoved them into my arms. "Try," she commanded.

I wriggled into the combo she'd given me – a tight pair of white skinny jeans, coupled with a black tank top and a baggy, open-backed blue t-shirt. Almost instantly, Maya wrinkled her nose.

"Nope, not your style," she said, pulling the shirt over my head, and tossing it back into her closet. We spent the next half hour going through all of her clothes, before we finally settled on our outfits for the night. She was wearing a short black skirt with a tight red tank top, while I went a slightly more modest route, and picked a pair of black skinny jeans, and a loose Nirvana tank top. We found shoes to match, and moved into her giant ensuite bathroom to do our hair and makeup.

After a few hours of prep, it was finally time to leave for the party. As soon as she grabbed her car keys, my heart instantly started to pound. I wasn't used to the party scene, and I instantly started to worry that I'd do something to embarrass myself.

Maya, my polar opposite, was the picture of confidence. She strutted down to the car, and calmly pulled out into traffic, navigating the way to Nate's house like she'd done it a million times. When we reached his place, she grabbed my hand, and pulled me up the driveway, to bang on the front door.