Keep Your Enemies Close

Chapter One Accidents Happen

I ducked through a large gap in the fence as I made my way into the woods. My best friend, Penny, limped on her right leg as a result from badly crawling through it.

''They should really fix that fence, it just isn't right," Penny complained as she grabbed a water bottle from her backpack. I rolled my eyes.

"Shush up Penny or they'll hear us coming. Or do you want that?" Penny groaned as she proceeded to take a swig from her bottle. We stopped dead short as we heard voices not far away. We had already made it to the clearing of the woods.

"Why are we even doing this? I-"

"Get behind the tree!" I yelled at Penny, her words escaping into the air, as I pushed her against a massive oak. She groaned.

"Thank you very much, Mabel, now I'll have to double rinse, and you know what happens when I wash my hair, it gets all-"

I clamped my hand over her mouth.
"Will you please shut up, Penny, you keep on yapping and I don't have this kind of patience," I snapped. She scoffed, but quietly peeked from behind the tree.

"There's Brooke and so's Haven, the twins. And there's Ronnie! Poor guy, in love with both of them. But can't decide because they both look the same."

I looked over. Penny was right. The beautiful twins, who were just fourteen, looked like super models, gazing over at the shimmering lake, while Ronnie tried to maintain the conversation. They both had long, blonde flowing hair that shone golden in the sun and the same caramel skin; their father was an international businessman so their family traveled back and forth a lot which caused them to have a somewhat exotic tan. They wore matching white summer dresses which flowed behind them as they strutted barefooted into the water.

Ronnie was a short, skinny kid for his age. No one knew exactly why he always hung out with the twins; they had nothing particular in common. But I knew. The girls were really nerdy and smart. They loved to enjoy nature and play video games. How did I know this? I've known them since kindergarten, and even then, everyone adored them, including my mother who was always saying things like, 'Mabel, you should start acting like them, they're so polite and smart!' I wasn't jealous of course, but I wasn't too fond of them.

Penny sighed deeply, staring at them in awe. "I wish I was that beautiful, with long blonde hair like them. Everyone loves-" I grunted, interrupting her before she could finish.

"Penny, stop yapping, you are beautiful! You don't have to be blonde to be gorgeous." I made sure I emphasized 'blonde'. Her eyes widened. "Are you sure? I feel like that's only what guys like these days. Blonde hair, blue eyes, perfect skin."

I groaned. Penny was never going to understand this; even though she was more of a tomboy than a girly girl, she was still pretty and noticeable. I was also sure that Jodey Henson, a guy from our grade, had a crush on her. It was certainly obvious. He had always called her cute at school. Sometimes to her face. Knowing Penny, she probably thought that he was insulting her.

When Penny and I were younger, we didn't really care how we looked. But as soon as we attended middle school, things changed. Penny had started to envy the other girls for their looks and how skinny they were. I always tried to tell her that even though they were pretty, they probably wore loads of makeup. And being skinny wasn't everything, I also told her. But she still denied it.

Her hair was always kept wavy and short and was the color of the tree's bark she was now cuddled up against. But still, she seemed insecure about it.
This summer, she had grown her hair long and kept worrying about how it looked compared to other girls' hair. She had skin that was pale, probably paler than mine, and a few freckles on her nose. To me, that just made her prettier. Penny was a worrier, as always, but even when I got annoyed, I was still there to comfort her. That's what friends do.