Her Absent Memory

Chapter Five

I was talking on the phone with Riley last night when there was a loud noise on her end of the phone. Then, she hung up. Maybe something surprised her or scared her and she got caught up with it. I haven't thought about it too much, since I'm sure I can ask her about it when I get to school today. I head out the front door and get into my car. As I back out of the driveway, I look in my rear view mirror and see Cora tossing her things into the passenger's seat of her mom's Volkswagen Beatle. She pulls out of the driveway and speeds off like a mad woman.

I roll my eyes and begin my peaceful drive to school. When I reach my parking spot, I stop the car and get out. I stroll up to the front doors of the school and bravely face the busy hallways. I reach my first class of the day, which goes by painfully slow. My second class seems to go by even slower. When I reach my third period, I get excited. I take my seat and wait for Riley to arrive. She walks into class just as the bell rings. She takes her seat and I instantly notice the black eye she's sporting. I also catch a glimpse of a cut on her forehead and another on her upper lip.

"Riley! I-What-"

"Sorry I hung up," Riley begins, "I fell down the front steps of my house. I'm really clumsy."

"You... Fell down the front steps?" I ask, clearly skeptical.

"Yeah. It was an awkward fall." She says, averting my gaze.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. How'd you get my number?" She changes the subject.

"I got it from a friend of a friend." I explain, "His name's Thomas. You know him."

"Ah! Tommy boy," Riley grins, "He throws a mean party... Hey, speaking of parties, there's one tomorrow night at Fallon's house. You should come. It's gonna be wild."

I pause for a moment to think. I haven't had much experience with parties, to be honest. The only ones I've been to haven't been that fun. In fact, I don't consider myself to be a 'party animal' in any way. I could probably have fun at a party, but I'd rather be in my bed. I look at Riley's face for a second and see that she's smitten with excitement. Maybe this time I'll have fun.

"Sure. Why not? Live a little, right?" I cave.

"Awesome! It's gonna be tons of fun. How about I pick you up at 8?" Riley asks.

"That would be excellent." I nod.

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I stand in front of the mirror and curl my hair into perfect ringlets, examining each one as I go. My hair is almost done. I pull open a drawer and pluck out a hair tie, using it to pull two tiny braids on either side of my head back. They meet in the back of my hair and I wrap the elastic band around both ends of the braids. I take a final look to make sure I look okay and I'm pretty pleased with how my hair looks, so I decide to start on my makeup. I'm careful not to go too heavy or too light. I have to look great for Ri-Wait. What?

No. The party. I have to look good for the party. I shake away my funky train of thought as I focus on my reflection and finish up with some mascara. I go back into my bedroom and pull on my trusty pair of black jeans. After that, I put on one of the shirts that I rarely get the chance to wear. It's a white tank top, with a back that looks kind of like it has been shredded open by a maneating shark. Cora gave it to me for my birthday last year, but the dress code at our school doesn't really allow us to wear stuff like this. They claim it's "distracting". I can't really disagree with them as I give myself a final once over. I look good.

I almost want to thank Cora for giving me this shirt, but we still aren't talking. I just don't get her. Why is she so mad? Is she jealous of Riley? Is she scared of her? She doesn't have anything to be scared of. Or even jealous of. Sure, Riley is beautiful and funny and nice... But Cora is gorgeous, too. And sometimes she can be funny. I suppose everyone looks up to different things. Lots of girls are jealous of Riley, but lots of girls are jealous of Cora too. Cora knows this, so it doesn't make sense why she's so intimidated by Riley's very existence. Especially since she could ruin her in a heartbeat.