When The Going Gets Tough

Chapter 3

When The Going Gets Tough

Chapter 3

(Lexi's P.O.V.)

            I really hope that Blake doesn't prefer blondes.  Because then, we might have a problem.

            As I slammed the front door of my house with a frustrated shove, the loud thump of a heavy purple backpack full of binders and books soon followed, as I dropped it to the floor before collapsing on the heavily cushioned couch with a deep sigh.  My Vogue magazine lay just out of the reach of my newly manicured hands, but that problem was soon solved.  I flicked through the glossy pages, contemplating the new spring fashions with a unusual lack of interest.  Another sigh spilled from my thickly lip glossed lips, and I let the magazine fall from my hands to the wood floor thoughtlessly.  My mind was too preoccupied with what I was planning to do tomorrow, and how I was going to do it.  This was becoming way more complicated then I needed it to be.

            A dinging of distant chimes of a clock down the hall proclaimed that it was now four o'clock, reminding me that it was time to begin to tackle the mountain load of homework that was handed out today by the consistently PMS-ing teachers at school.  My clammy feet stuck to the wood floor as I stood up, sweating slightly from the early spring heat.  I padded across the spacious living room and into the kitchen, slowly making my way to the cabinets that were piled high with all sorts of snacks.  As I reached for the brass handle of the cupboard door, my Blackberry buzzed in my hands, the sign of an incoming call.  I glanced down thoughtfully at the name on the screen, seeing with disinterest that it was only my consistently pestering mother.  With a swift click of my index finger, my mother's loud high-pitched voice soon began to spill from the device.

            "HONEY?  HONEY, CAN YOU HEAR ME?  LEXI, ARE YOU THERE?"

            Flinching at her volume, I profusely tried to cut through the screeching.  "Mom, I can hear you-"

            "WHAT WAS THAT, LEXI?  I CAN'T HEAR YOU," again came the voice of my apparently deaf mother, followed by much muttering and scuffling. "…damn thing, how the hell do you work this contraption-"

            "MOM!  LISTEN TO ME.  YOUR HOLDING THE PHONE THE WRONG WAY."

            Silence followed my sudden outburst.  White noise filled the earpiece, and then suddenly the voice of my technology impaired mother came over the line in a much quieter tone.

            "Oh.  Hello Lexi, why do you sound so annoyed?  Is there something wrong?"

            I stood there, staring at the mouthpiece of my hot pink Blackberry, wondering how to even answer back to this headache inducing woman.  "Nothing mom, nothing is wrong," was my slightly miffed reply that was forced through gritted teeth.

            A second silence trailed after my words, and a single raised eyebrow of my mother could be implied through it.  After several awkward moments, the past few minutes were suddenly forgotten as she launched into a boring account of the day's events at her workplace, with the occasional input of "Uh huh," or "That's great!" by me on the other end.  When she finally acknowledged me with a question, I was so zoned out that the words didn't even reach my ears until it was too late.

            "Lexi!  Did you hear me, have you even been listening?  I said that I'm going to be a bit late today, because there is a monstrosity of a traffic jam right outside your school, I think it's because there's a baseball game tonight for the boy's.  So you're going to have to make do tonight with what's left in the fridge, I think there's some chicken cuisine left-" was all that I heard as an idea sparked in my mind.