Identified: The Maya Price Story

Part One: Chapter Three

"Summer, I love you, but I really hate this"

It was five thirty and the See Ya Later! Picnic started at six. Pete was picking up Maya at five forty-five and he was perpetually punctual. However, Summer was busily moving around Maya's seated form, checking the make-up she applied, the hair she styled and the outfit she had chosen for her sister. Maya sat grouchily in Summer's swiveling desk chair, watching her sister make her over. She hated make up, hairspray and had no desire to wear the trendy western boots or the tight blue top of Summer's (with no straps!) But Summer loved making people over and there was some unwritten code of sisters that decided you sometimes allowed your sister to torture you. It was unconditional love at its best. At least, she did not have to wear Summer's pants. Her sister was half a foot taller than her and they would have never fit Maya. Summer's legs, hips and breasts filled out her clothes much better than Maya's did. In fact, the little shirt was already starting to sag over Maya's non-boobs. She though she looked quite mannish with her muscular arms and flat chest. Oh well.

"Come on, Maya. You look awesome!" Summer exclaimed, as she pulled off her own shirt and began rustling through the mounds of clothing to find something to wear. Maya could see that her face was disappointed and suddenly felt very guilty for commenting at all.

"Yeah? You don't think I look like a little girl playing dress up? " Maya looked down at her A cups again and wondered if the shirt would stay up. She hoped her insincere question would return Summer to her cheerful self.

"No way. You look totally hot! And I think Pete will think so too." She momentarily stopped tossing shirts around the room and winked at Maya.

"Will you shut up about that already? There is nothing going on between me and Pete!"

"Ok, ok I'm sorry. But isn't he going to pick you up soon?"

"Yeah. I'm going to go wait for him on the porch. I'll see you up there ok?" She kissed Summer lightly on the cheek and said quietly, "Thanks for fixing me up. I really appreciate it. I love you."

Summer looked embarrassed, but gave her sister an awkward side-hug nonetheless.

"Are you sure you don't want me to ride with you?" Maya asked nervously, half hoping the answer was yes.

"Ummm no, I want you to go now. Besides I'm supposed to meet Mark there."

Mark. Maya repeated in her head, not liking the sound of the name. She had never really liked Summer's ex-boyfriend. True to form, Maya kept quiet. "Alright, I'm leavin'. I'll see you at the picnic. Au revoir."

As Maya shut the door to her sister's bedroom, she suddenly discovered what it meant to have a racing heart. Even when running her fastest time, Maya's heart rate only rose slightly higher than the normal beat per minute resting heart rate. She had visited many a doctor's office to test this abnormally slow heart rate, but the results of all tests were normal. Until the day of the picnic, Mara never knew what it was like to experience a racing heart. On this particular day, as she flew past Carl's room to avoid the inevitable taunts from her younger sibling about her outfit, she could feel an incessant, uneven pounding in her cheeks, stomach and fingers. Why was she so nervous? Pete picked her up all the time for school. You know it's different this time, said the annoying voice in her head. You're both about to move away. You're leaving and now is your only time to say something.

Maya soon found that her spring down the poorly carpeted stairs and past Judith's unblinking stare was unnecessary. Her typically irritatingly punctual best friend did not arrive at five forty-five, as he had told Maya would, leaving her to calm down on the porch.