The Label Maker

CHAPTER EIGHT: APOLOGIES WITH APPLESAUCE

Monday night, Gwen made sure she got enough sleep so she would have enough energy for Tuesday. She showered that morning, curled her dark blonde, almost brown hair, and put on a nice floral printed dress with wedges. She went light on makeup for she only applied mascara and a light shade of rose lipstick. She went easy on jewelry as well. She wore the necklace her parents got her for her sixteenth birthday along with her favorite bracelet from Farrell. She made her way downstairs quietly. Her parents were still asleep. She knew because their door was still closed. She set her backpack down on the kitchen table and drifted to the fridge. She pulled out an apple and began to cut it up into small chunks. Gwen always hated eating apples whole. She didn't like the way it got stuck in her teeth.

"Well don't you look nice," Farrell notes, wandering into the kitchen. He pulled open the fridge and snatched an apple as well. He sat at the breakfast bar and watched his little sister cut up her apple.

"Why are you up so early?" Gwen asks, bagging her apple into a ziploc.

"I gotta go into work early today," he informs. "Why are you so dressed up?"

"I always dress nice," she protests, setting her knife in the sink.

"Yesterday you didn't," he reminds.

"Well yesterday I didn't get a lot of sleep," she states.

"Me too. Did you hear Mom and Dad Monday?" He asks. She shakes her head. She bit her lip and looked down. She didn't want her parents to keep fighting. She still didn't know what they were fighting over.

"I have to get to school. I'll see you later. Have a nice day at work," she dismisses. She shoulders her backpack and heads for the front door.

"Gwen," Farrell chases. She turns around. He gives his sister a hug. Tightly, she squeezes back. "It will pass. It'll get better. I promise."

"Don't make promises you can't keep Farrell," Gwen whispers, opening the front door. Farrell shouted something to her, but she didn't hear because she was already in the car. Through the rearview mirror she could see her brother calling her name and eventually giving up because he knew that she wasn't going to turn the car around. She drove to school with a loud radio as she tried to clear her head. She didn't want to show up to school early. It wasn't like her. She always knew how to handle herself in certain situations. She was unraveling when she didn't want to be. At least no tears came out. It would have ruined her makeup for it wasn't waterproof.

By the time she got to school she was better. She plugged her headphones in and listened to music to distract herself. She stopped at her locker and dropped off books that she would need later in the day. She swapped out her financing book for her chemistry book which she brought to class every day even though she rarely ever had to read out of it. She was early to class that morning. She kept her headphones in up until the bell rang. RJ didn't show up to class. Gwen figured that he was just going to show up late like he almost usually does. But as time progressed throughout the class and as her hand continued to cramp up, she realized that he wasn't coming. He was skipping. She hoped that it wasn't because of her. She didn't mean to upset him. She was going to explain herself as well, but he never gave her the chance. Whether she was the reason or not, he didn't show up to class. Gwen was almost thankful, for with him being gone there was no one to distract her from notetaking. By the time class was over she had three pages of detailed, yet messy notes. She was going to have to restate them in pink during seventh period when she had study hall. She could have done it third period, but she normally helps Mrs. Algobram shelf books that period. She counted it as volunteer work, so she did it most of the time.

By the time fourth period rolled around Gwen was glad to see a familiar face. She sat in the back next to Emma like she normally would. She scooted her desk closer to Emma's so she didn't have to lean over the metal bar to talk to her best friend. Old Ms. Witz didn't notice. She never did. After an entire class of discussing some of Emma's personal problems, it was already lunch period. They waited for Chris at their table then stood in line for lunch. When all three got their mozzarella sticks they sat down. Their table was in the heart of the cafeteria. From where they sat they could see everyone and everything. With only three other people sitting at the table, it was a total of six, leaving three open spots. No one ever filled them. As Chris started talking to Harper, Amy, and Vanessa about an upcoming accountings test (something Gwen didn't want any part of), she took the opportunity to talk to Emma about her parent's situation. She knew that she shouldn't be telling anyone anything about it, but since Emma's parents were divorced, she knew she could count on her best friend to give her good advice.