A Lifetime's Worth

Chapter 1

"You didn't need to come all dolled up. We are not going for a party or anything!" Martha called out.

"Well I did get my hair done earlier today. I figured a little bit of showing off won't hurt anyone." Ariana said grinning, as she reached the end of the street where Martha was standing, waiting for her. "Don't you be so jealous!" She added jokingly as she poked her in the belly. Martha laughed as they headed in the other direction.

"So..you went out shopping today?" Martha asked.

"Yes. School's opening after summer break in a week and I was bored with my old outfits."

"You got a whole makeover for your wardrobe when 10th grade ended. What is wrong with you? It has hardly been 2 months!" She complained.

"Aw don't nag." Ariana implored as Martha looked at her in disgust.

"You went out with Natasha and Shannon?" She asked. Ariana knew what she meant by that question. There were so many reasons why she and Martha shouldn't even have been friends at all. Martha was one of the nerds in school while Ariana belonged to the cool crowd. They had become friends since the 9th grade as they had a few classes together. They were made lab partners and that was the only reason why they even spoke to each other for the first time. Eventually Ariana realized that Martha actually was a good person. Natasha and Shannon on the other hand were Ariana's best friends since junior high. Them, along with Peyton and Sarah were a clique. Although Ariana had tried to iron out the creases between them and Martha, the maximum that she had achieved, was getting everyone on talking terms with each other. So although there was't a lot of bad blood between them, they weren't necessarily excited about each other's existence. In fact, neither could understand why Ariana hung out with the other.

"No no. With mom. She had some work in Philly." Ariana answered truthfully.

"Just asking." She said, although Ariana could swear Martha looked positively happier.

"What did you do all day?"

"Hung out with Sammy., read a little" Sammy was Martha's best friend. "Oh, BTW, Lana will be coming too. She was actually the one who told me about him. She'll meet us at Tom's" She said casually. Tom's was Ariana's favorite diner in town. The hours that her, Natasha, Shannon, Peyton and Sarah had spent there gossiping over coffee and snacks were countless.

"Oh. Grreaat." I said in the most sarcastic tone she could muster, which Martha ignored. Lana was one of the new girls in school. Her parents had moved to Riversdale from God knows which place and she was just another addition to the weird nerd gang. What else could Ariana have expected. After all, she was going to meet a tutor for Math. Needless to say, she didn't want to have anything to with this but after continuous F-grades in the Sophomore year, her dad pushed me into doing this and wouldn't take no for an answer. He had big dreams for her, Ariana's father. Also she was ridiculed at for a whole summer break when she told her friends about it.

As they approached Tom's, Lana pacing on the sidewalk. She gave her a forced smile and said, "Hurry up! We're late already! What have you been doing?"

"It's only been five minutes!" Ariana complained to Martha in a hoarse whisper and Martha quietened her with a little shush. Both of them followed Lana about two blocks down south and then as she turned right. A few steps later, Lana stopped in front of a six storied apartment building. She pressed the button for apartment 5B and spoke through the intercom. "Hi! This is Lana.." She began.

"Oh..yes. Come on in." A voice came from the other side, interrupting Lana mid-sentence. Oh, the glee that Ariana felt when she saw that look of slight annoyance on her face on being interrupted. The guy buzzed them in and they began to climb their way way up to 5B. By the time they reached the apartment, they were all panting. They stood for a minute to catch their breath, wipe little sweat beads off their forehead.

"Who lives on the fifth floor of a building with no elevators?" Ariana complained, with her back to the door. "I swear to God if I ever get this dumb, I will.."

"I apologize for forgetting to tell you that the elevator's out of order." A deep voice came from behind her. Ariana's eyes became wide with horror. She turned around slowly to face what she thought was the most beautiful face ever. His black hair was messy and was dressed in a simple white T-Shirt and cargo pants. He looked like he had just dressed up hurriedly. But the best thing about his face were his eyes. So warm and brown it would make you fee like you were flowing in molten chocolate. "If you look down the lobby in the opposite corner, you'll see a sign. But I don't blame you. It has been put down since it was out of order."