White Flower Petals [#Wattys2016]

Eight

Rose Mitchell woke up with a decision made. She knew what she needed to do to stop the unwanted staring once and for all.

She went to the kitchen and snatched up the scissors from the drawer. She also grabbed a brown paper bag for her lunches. She cut two peepholes into the brown paper bag, and retrieving a black marker she scrawled big bold letters that spelt, 'DON'T LOOK AT ME'. Rose Mitchell wasn't done, she raced back upstairs. In the bathroom, she proceeded to cut her hair.

Rose looked at her unevenly shorn hair in the mirror. Unsatisfied with the results she reached forward and swung open the bathroom cabinet doors rummaging in search of her mother's face lotion. Rebecca Mitchell's face lotion happened to contain aloe vera. Rose Mitchell just so happened to be extremely allergic to said aloe vera.

Rose unscrewed the lid and rubbed a small amount of the lotion on her face. Within seconds the skin beneath the lotion burned and itched and an ugly red rash had developed. Rose grimaced at her reflection, then she smiled, victorious.

In the hallways of Aspen Crescent High School, the girl with the paper bag over her head was the centre of attention, and the focus of all stares and whispered conversations. Everyone did the one thing the bag said not to—stared. Students laughed and jeered quite openly by lunchtime, and by the end of the day the teacher's concerned glances turned into whispers of finding out what was going on at home, and getting the apparently disturbed student to talk to the school counsellor. Everyone stared, but it didn't bother Rose Mitchell. Under the brown paper bag and the ugly rashes Rose smiled. No one was staring at her.

"Rosie, baby I'm ho—"

Rebecca Mitchell stood in the living room archway staring at her daughter open-mouthed.

"Rosie, what have you done?" She exclaimed breathlessly when she saw her daughter's shorn hair.

Rose turned to face her mother.

Rebecca paled. "Rose Mitchell!"

Rose spoke steadily to her mum afraid she might pass out. "Mom, don't freak out. I can explain."

"Don't freak out? Don't freak out?! Rose Mitchell, I am freaking out! And I would love to know what on earth possessed my daughter to cut her beautiful long hair, and smear aloe vera all over her face! Do I need to start keeping all sharp objects and allergic products under lock and key?" Rebecca raged.

"No, Mom. It's not like that. I just had to do something drastic. I had to make a point."

"Point? What point? To whom?"

"I don't want people looking at me. I'm proving I'm more than just my looks. I needed to prove it by drastic means."

Rebecca shook her head slowly from side to side. Then she sighed and visibly deflated.

"Baby, I just don't understand this, I really don't. But you're grounded. You're not to read a single book outside schoolwork for three months!"

"Mom!"

"Go to your room. Don't come out again tonight."

Rose hadn't expected such a reaction from her mother, but she obeyed without protest.

~•~

Maria sat alone at the picnic table. She hadn't spoken to Ashley since the day after their celebratory Chinese takeout. Ashley had been so angry with her, and her dad who had called Ms. Marshall and had given her a very stern telling off. He had told her that if she wanted to risk anyone's stomach, then not his daughter's, and not with some poxy Chinese takeout. He had also said that should Maria get food poisoning, he would hold Ms. Marshall responsible.

With all that, it was no wonder Ashley had been so mad. Maria had pleaded with her dad to apologise. God alone knew what Ashley and Emma thought Maria said to him. Marcus Carlini had grudgingly called to apologise, but Ashley still hadn't uttered a word to Maria.

Maria really needed her best friend.

She hadn't been as close to anyone as she had to Ashley.

Ashley Marshall raced into the picnic area of Aspen Crescent Middle, and began searching the picnic tables trying to spot—

"Maria-a-a!"

Maria looked up at Ashley.

Ashley burst into tears, pouncing on Maria, clutching her tightly, and sobbing uncontrollably.

Stunned, Maria sat in Ashley's arms speechless. She managed to wriggle an arm free so she could comfort her friend, stroking her back. It was a while before Ashley had enough composure to say anything. She tried at first, but Maria made no sense of it, and so waited patiently for Ashley to try again.

"Ma.. Ma.. Maria! I'm moving! I'm moving..." She stuttered, and the tears started anew.

Maria stroked Ashley's hair. "You are?" Tears sprang to her own eyes and she couldn't speak again past the lump in her throat.

Ashley nodded against her shoulder. "My mum got transferred. Well, that's what she tells me, but I know she's just missing Pierre, the Belgian Boyfriend. So, we're...we're g-going back...!" Ashley wailed.

"Oh..." Maria uttered groggily. A tear spilled down her cheek.

"She doesn't even care about how I feel about this whole thing! I'm just a pawn in her 'epic love affair'..."

"Sh-h-h, don't say that. She's your mom. You have to do what she says. Even if that means moving away to B-Belgium." Her voice quivered, but she continued. "At least you get to see your old friends again."

Ashley rolled her eyes. "Oh, please! Those people are not my friends! Not a one of them has kept in touch, except to ask for something when they happened to remember they know someone in the US. We all just...tolerated each other. You're my friend, Maria, and I've been giving you the cold shoulder for weeks! Now, I'm moving and I might not ever see you again, and all the time apart has been wasted!"

Maria pulled away from her friend. There were tear tracks down both of her cheeks.

"It wasn't time wasted. It was a lesson learnt. We won't ever fight again, and when you're away in Belgium we'll talk every day, or every other day when it can't be helped."

Ashley gave a watery smile. She looked at her dear friend, her best friend, committing her sombre dark eyes and kind face to memory.

"Oh, Maria Carlini, I love you-u-u!" She squealed pulling Maria into a bone-crushing hug. Maria clutched her friend tightly and squeezed her eyes shut not wanting to let go.

A/N: Hey there, hope everyone is having a good day. Thanks for reading! Please don't forget to vote. :) xx