Macy jumped at the sound of her alarm clock, her lucky pen flying out of her hand and hitting the mirror across the room. She flinched at the penetrating ding the mirror and pen made. Her alarm squawked repeatedly, and she beat it violently with her fist. The squawking terminated as Macy heaved a sigh. She glanced at the screen of her laptop one last time. Monologue No. 297 was displayed across the top. Below the title were five thousand words of Macy’s thoughts and feelings.
She shut it reluctantly and set it on the manila carpet beside her bed. She admired her freshly cleaned room, finding any excuse to remain in bed. It was Monday, and it had been three days since she’d spent the night at Brittany’s. She could not, no matter how hard she tried, erase the image of Dan and Brittany pressed together from her memory. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Dan’s hands caressing Brittany. She saw his lips glued to hers. What were supposed to be the back of her eyelids were her best friends so close they could’ve been the same person.
But she thought of Thursday morning… Macy brushed her fingers across her shoulders, still being able to feel Dan’s arms around her, like a ghost. The pressure of his head on hers seemed to return. She clenched and unclenched a fist, recalling the material of his T-shirt in her hands. Swinging her legs over the edge of the bed, she gazed at her reflection in the mirror. She focused on her cheek; the exact spot Dan had wiped away smeared makeup. Then Dan’s voice echoed in her head, “Why would I ever be jealous? I would never want to go to homecoming with you, Macy. I would much rather go with Brittany!” Macy bit her lip to keep it from quivering as she stood slowly and approached her dresser.
She opened the drawer and filed through the contents, deciding it was a Monday and she wanted to be comfortable for marching band rehearsal in the morning. She withdrew her baggy Chicago sweatshirt and a pair of black leggings. As she squirmed to pull off the sweater she was wearing the bandage on her forearm detached itself from her skin. She tossed her sweater into the hamper hidden in the corner and studied the cuts. They had finally scabbed over. A fresh wave of guilt washed upon her. She regretted it. She felt undignified… Like she’d bled away any innocence she might have had spared from her childhood. Who was she kidding? Casey had wiped out any childhood innocence years ago.
Macy tore a brush through her hair, now fully dressed. It was still straight from church the day before. Her mascara bottle waited in the corner of her mirror by her lucky pen, but she ignored it. If she didn’t wear makeup Casey couldn’t say anything about it. Besides, she had a date to homecoming.
Just the thought of dancing with Stephen filled her with sunny warmth. She reflected on all of the preposterous scenarios Kimber had dreamt up. Still, though, part of her wondered if she deserved Stephen. Part of her wondered if she was cheating him because she was still, and always would be, head over heels for Dan. But Macy justified the date by reminding herself that Dan wasn’t an option and going with Stephen would put many issues to rest. It’s only one night. She constantly prompted herself.
After a final glance in the mirror, Macy swung her bedroom door open wide and set down the hall to the stairway. As she was descending the steps, Nikko disappeared through the front door and reappeared in the window. His blonde hair flopped with each step he took to the bus stop, a small backpack strapped to his back. Her mother raced to the window frantically to watch him go.
YOU ARE READING
Freak Genius
Teen Fiction"She’d been told everybody loved her. She’d been told everybody liked her. If this was true, why did she feel so isolated? Hatred and longing boiled up inside her chest, threatening to burst. It bubbled and hissed. She almost wished it would burn a...
