The Makeover

Call the Cops!

Hey guys! Sorry for the day late update! Promise to update more in the summer! School ends tomorrow! HIP HIP HOORAYYYYYY

"Noah, if you don't get off my lawn I will call the cops on you!" I shout out my window at him.

He doesn't move; he is lying down on his stomach (still on the blanket in my front yard) staring at me.

"I mean it!" I say taking out my cell phone to show I mean business.

Still no response.

He might think I won't follow through with this, but I am.

"Hello?" I say after having dialed the police station number.

"Hello, this is Lori speaking, how may I help you this fine morning?"

"There's a man on my front lawn and he won't leave."

I hear the rustling of papers and then the click of a pen. "Do you know this male?"

"Yes."

"What is your relation?"

"Ex-boyfriend."

"Ughhh. I hate when that happens. Some just can't let go. Address?"

"5678 Treeway Lane"

"Thank you ma'am. And who is the Kingston police force completing this favor for?"

"The name's Addison. But I have to go to school soon, so it's pretty urgent."

"Okay I'll send an officer out there right away."

"Thanks Lori!"

"No prob girlfriend!"

Wow. I always thought girls on the police force were mean and scary. Turns out they're just like me! I just had a conversation about ex-boyfriends with one!

I have already eaten a bowl of Froot Loops and am dressed in jean capris, a vintage-looking beige sweater with a tank top under it. I am all set for school and just need to have Noah removed from my lawn. Then I can leave.

I lie on my bed thinking about this whole situation. I've gotten all the crying out, but now I'm just thinking.

Should I forgive him? That's the big question. No, I shouldn't. Because of his lack of trust in me, he betrayed me by sleeping with another girl.

That's my mind speaking of course. What I really want to do is run down the steps and out the front door and kiss Noah as passionately as I can to let him know that everything is okay and I forgive him and I love him too.

Do I love him, though? He's the only boyfriend I've ever had, so I can't really tell if this is love....

After a few more minutes of pondering my next move and some walking to my besroom door and then walking back to my bed in an indecisive matter, a police car pulls up.

It parks in my empty driveway (my mom has already left for work) and a tall, burly man gets out.

"Are you the lad causing all this ruckus?" I hear him ask Noah through my open window.

"I suppose so."

"Get up."

"Yes sir." Noah says obeying the command and rising from his picnic blanket in the front lawn.

"Now..." Says the officer. Here it is. HERE IT IS! Noah will be arrested for trespassing and I will never have to see him EVER again because he'll be locked up in jail. Then I won't have to face the impossible decision of whether to forgive Noah or not.

"Give me a hug!" says the police officer pulling Noah into a hug.

Noah smiles brightly. This is not working out. Who is this police officer dude? What tactic is he using? Hugging? What the heck....

"Uncle Jimmy! How ya doin'?" Noah says pulling away from the hug.

"Just fine, how about you?"

"Eh. Could be better."

"I see, I see."

"How is everybody. Haven't seen ya'll since last Christmas!" Noah says.

"Well, we've been so busy with Delilah's actress dreams and Billy's numerous baseball tournaments that we just don't get a chance to come up here for a fay." Uncle Jimmy explains. I know his children. I've been to Cassie's when they were there before. They're nice enough.

"Oh, how is Delilah's career goin' for her?" Noah asks.

"Oh, just dandy! She's really getting a lot of major parts in her plays now. She is very good at her expressions and memorizing 'dem lines, too. Sooner or later, she's gonna be on Broadway or in a major motion picture and you'll see her name on all the billboards and televisions!" Uncle Jimmy says making some elaborate hand motions to help Noah visualize his cousin, famous.

"That's nice. How many home runs is Billy hitting a game?"

"He ain't got one yet, but he will! He is so close! So close! You should come to one of his games, you'd like it and he'd like it and everyone'd like it! Or a play. Or both."

"I would like it, too! Then, Noah wouldn't have to be standing on my front lawn." I say chiming in.

"Oh hey there! Forgot all about'cha! You're that Addison?" says the policemen.

"Yes sir. I am Addison."

"Why, is my nephew here causing you trouble?"

"I'm afraid so. He is trespassing on my front yard. It's been more than a day now and I am too scared to leave my house with him sitting near the sidewalk."

"I see. Boy, go home."

"I'm not goin' home without a proper talk. Can't you understand , Uncle?"

"I do, but I am not about to get fired, so if you really want to stay and protest your unfortunate break up, I'm sure Miss Lolita across the street would love to have you as company."

"Great idea!" Noah says.

"Thanks a lot!" I shout to Uncle Jimmy as he hops back in his car.

"Welcome!" He yells as he drives away and I shake my head. Why? Out of all the policeman working at the Kingston force, Noah's uncle is the one to come and get Noah off my lawn.

Ughh this is so frustrating.

I stuff some tomatoes in my backpack and run to school. I'm officially armed and dangerous.

I pass by Noah who just stares at me and says, "All I want is another chance to talk."

"Well, I've already said everything that I wanted to say and you've laid out your cards, so that won't be necessary. Also, I'm late for school, so bye!" I say as I hurry by the house, round the corner, and start up the way to school.

I arrive in first period just as the bell rings. I receive a glare from the teacher and then start to zone off.

I'm considering my options. Reviewing the choices I have.

I thought of a new option! Ignore Noah completely!

But then the stubborn fool would just stay out on Miss Lolita's yard and that would just be creepy.

Maybe I could file a restraining order?

Okay, maybe that is a little over the tip. And then I wouldn't be able to go hang over at Cassie's house whenever I wanted.

Decisions, decisions...

After the bell rings to let us out of the class, I go to my locker. The halls are crowded and full, and since there are more people in the halls at this time, I can hear the whispers
about Noah and I.

Some people were pretty happy about our break-up. "Well, yeah. That b*tch completely deserved that. She is trash. Who does she think she is throwing her t*tties around school. A desperate attempt for attention from the opposite sex. That Fletcher could totally do way better than her! I mean, hello. I'm single and yeah, available." I hear one snob say. Her friend giggles about the whole "available and single" thing.

I felt like saying, "Screw you. You're the b*tch." to that girl. But I didn't. I simply ignored the gossiping girls. Alexx would not be proud of my actions.

Anyways, there are the team Naddie (Noah’s and my couple name) girls who are like, "Aww. Darn it! They were so cute!" Those hopeless romantics don't get it. They don't get real life. Real love. There're not a lot of the Team Naddie people.

Did I just think love? Oh my gosh, I did think love. Does that mean I love Noah?

Well, it doesn't matter. Even if I did in fact love him, I surely do not any longer. My so called "dream boy" is actually turning out to be a sneaky, deceiving cheat with a lack of trust regarding his 100% trustable girlfriend, who is creepin' on his ex and her house from across the street at the moment.

The worst gossip of all is the pity. I can't stand pity. It's the absolute worst and besides Alexx (well no duh), I am getting stupid pity from EVERYONE! And the whole story is way exaggerated too!

"I heard she wasn't satisfying his needs, so he cheated on her. I mean, what do you expect? If you don't do it with a cute boy, he'll desert you for someone else! Does she not understand that Fletcher has a ton of other options?"

"That just sucks for her. Her life must really suck now. We all have those bad moments. Let us bow our heads in prayer for this poor, poor girl."

"I feel so bad for her! She must be crushed; if that happened to me, I'd still be crying into a pillow around this time."

Just snippets here and there. But I'm good at piecing snippets of stories together to find a bigger picture.

Classes drag on and on. I'm still tired ad exhausted and just worn out both physically and mentally. I don't feel like talking to anyone, so I shut them out. I don't feel like sitting in my own deafening silence either.

I'm sort of like...a video camera. I'm on, but on standby. Nothing that goes on matters. I'm not listening to the conversations going on around me and when my friends try to bring me into them I mutter a word or two and go back to my daze.

When the final bell rings, I don't feel like going back home. I know what awaits me.

But at the same time, I don't feel like staying at school either. And I don't have discus practice.

I decide to go to Lily's mom's art studio with Lily. Lily's mom is just as spontaneous and passionate as Lily if not more. She welcomes Lily and I into her studio with a smile on her face.

"Hey, Lily! How are you, Addie?" she asks me after gving Lily and I a kiss on the cheek.

"Good, thanks. What about you?"

"Fine! Thank you! I haven't seen you in forever, but I think I know why you are here." Lily's mother says.

It is true. I mean, about me not being here in absutely FOREVER! In middle school, Lily and I used to come here every Wednesday after school (it was about a mile or two from the school, so we just walked). I remember that we had very good times painting. Some days Lily's mom would give us a lesson on a particular kind or Lily and I would just agree on something to paint and make a competition out of it (when we asked her mom whose was better, we'd always be told that our paintings were "both spectacular in different ways" like all moms say). She was better at painting precise images and I was an expert on color coordination and abstract murals!

"Oh no, not again. Mother!" Lily complains.

"Shhhh, youngster," says Mrs. Danburr witha small grin on her face. She has a small hobby, Mrs. Danburr. Talking to spirits.

She tried to run her own business as a psychic, but they made no money whatsoever and only had one or two customers each month. And one was this creepy, perverted old man who constantly flirted with Lily's mom.

Now, I think Mrs. Danburr does her whole psychic routine just to get a reaction from Lily. I would have to agree with her that it is pretty amusing.

"Mom, please don't!" Lily pleads.

"Now’s not the time! I am channeling the spirits for an answer!" Lily's mother says.

She makes some weird humming sounds that rapidly increase in speed and loudness. Some artists stop to stare at her. Then, Mrs. D starts talking in tongues and walking in circles flapping her arms up and down like a decapitated chicken. Lastly, there are some weird ballet moves...

"You are in a rough patch right now, but have no need to fear! With the strength of your loved ones, you can get through anything! Please, please, take a seat and put your soul into your painting! Let it clear your mind!"

I obey and walk over to a rusted coat rack in the back left corner of the room. I pick up an apron and tie it around me. It is a dingy pink cover, but most of the apron is covered in paint, so I suppose it would now be considered rainbow.

Lily does the same and we pick up a paper plate from a stack on a small wooden table. We squirt different colors on the paper plates and we make our way to an empty canvas.

Lily and I don't talk much as we paint, which I am grateful for. I need to forget for a little while and painting is a better alternative to drinking.

Every once in a while, I check on Lily's painting. She is working slow and steady taking her time. At first, it looked like a gaint booger or maybe barf. Just a big, green glob. Now, I can see she is painting a large field full of grasses, animals, and wildflowers. Happy and cheery: Just like Lily.

My painting reflects my mood also. At first, I didn't have any idea what I wanted to draw so I just chose a random color and made random swipes at my canvas. Later, I transformed the autumn shades of red, yellow, orange, and brown into a fire.

A fire shows the anger inside of me. Noah. Noah. Noah. Why?

I finish my painting way before Lily has even painted the sky in hers, so I think about what else I can add.

Smoke? Nahh, not enough room. My fire consumes most of my paper.

Is there anything that should be in the fire? Not that I can think of. Maybe something symbolic...

I grab the brush and pick the black. I paint in a rich, fancy cursive style the words, "hope", "dreams", "love", "future", and "Noah".

Everything that is gone. Not that my future is gone, of course. Well, not all of it. It's just, the future I had planned is gone. I guess you can't plan your future though. Anything can happen.

I start to pack up, but with a second thought, I take my brush back out, dip it in the black paint, and write, "myself".

Maybe I haven't lost myself forever, but right now, I am completely and utterly lost.

Lily's eyes widen as she sees my painting. I move it to the drying room. I pick it up before I go and start the two and a half mile walk home.

The sun is setting as I arrive home. Noah is outside on the lawn across the street, but his hair looks wet like he just got out if the shower and his clothing has changed. I didn't expect him to sit out in this heat all day!

"G'day my lady!" he shouts as I walk up my driveway. I ignore him and punch in the code to my garage door.

"Oh come 'on! I want to talk! You need to try to understand things from my perspective! You're being unreasonable." he continues to shout at me.

"We did talk. Nothing more could be said. If I look at things from your perspective, I understand that you've had more time than I have to carefully craft a strong argument and make up more insane excuses as to why I should forgive your sorry ass."

I close the garage door before he can respond.

I am so done with that boy.

After eating a Caesar salad, I bring my backpack upstairs to my room and plop it down on my bed. I take out all my homework and study agenda. After scanning my agenda, I decide to start with math.

An hour goes by and it's almost pitch black outside.

From out of nowhere comes a familiar song and I know Noah has taken out that guitar of his.

I run downstairs and grab three tomatoes from the fridge. I take my slingshot (practiced every day in the summer of seventh grade on this thing) and shouted to Noah, "Leave!"

Just as I expect, the response is, "Not until we talk."

I aim the slingshot at Noah and fire rapidly three times in a row and hitting Noah's chest, hair, and his cheek. Bulls-eye.

I slam the window shut, and without thinking about Noah for the rest of the night, I finish my homework and go to bed.