"Darling, do you have your notebooks? Your lunch?" Gemma leaned against the stairwell in her black silk robe.
"Thanks Gemma, but I'm fine. And I can buy a school lunch." Or not eat. I said, smiling. I was hoping that she couldn't detect the bitterness in my voice.
She inhaled deeply, pursing her lips.
"Okay sweetie, have a great day." She smiled big at me, showing off her shiny-bright whitened-once-a-week teeth.
"Thanks." I grabbed an apple and walked out the door.
Perfect timing, Kenzie swerved into the driveway.
"Get in loser!" she yelled out the window.
I sighed and walked over to her car, my new brown combat boots click-clacking on the stone driveway. I opened the door of her red jeep and jumped into the passenger seat. There were two Starbucks cups in the cupholders.
"I got you coffee." Kenzie smiled quickly at me, then began backing out of the driveway, much carefully than she had come in.
"Black?" I asked, looking at her, then to the coffee cup, picking it up.
"Just the way you like it." Kenzie smiled at me, taking a too-long look at me, but I guess for other people it wasn't that long. I just didn't like people watching me.
"Thanks, Kenz."
"No problem babe. So, how's the stepmonster this morning? Did she and your father wish you good-luck on this lovely day?"
"No dad, must've gone to work early this morning, but she was there. She's so nice it almost pains me to hate her so much."
"It would be weird if you didn't hate her."
"I suppose thats true. Its just she's so like...vanilla extract." I cringed, dropping the apple I was holding into my school bag.
Kenzie chuckled, "what?"
"Well you know how when you sniff vanilla extract, its sweet, so sweet, you want to just like swallow it all?" I raised my eyebrows at Kenzie.
She slowly nodded, but she looked at me like she was expecting something more.
"Have you ever tasted vanilla extract?" I looked at her, taking a swig of coffee.
"I think my mom puts it in her cakes, you know," Kenzie paused, "when she actually makes cakes."
"Yea," I rolled my eyes, "but have you ever tried vanilla extract by itself? Its fucking nasty- Kenz! Watch out!" I sloshed my coffee all over my lap as I pointed at something that darted out in from of the car as we we turned on to Sycamore Avenue. Kenzie slammed on the breaks and we screeched to a stop. We were both flung foward and for a second I thought the air-bags were gonna blow.
We sat there in silence for a couple seconds, heaving.
"Did we hit it?" Kenzie asked, for some reason she was out of breath, and her mouth was gaping open.
"Hit what?! I have no idea what that thing was!"
