She's First [gxg]

3. The Day Before Friday

I woke up to the same "Amazing Grace" alarm on my clock that I immediately slammed the cross shaped snooze button on. That dumb buzz of a song was the one thing I was sick of waking up to.

The other was my mom's erratic rants.

"Olive! Are you up?" Damn, speak of the devil. Damn, the irony.

I dragged my feet out of bed in order to respond to my mom through my door, then slumped into the bathroom across the hall.

After brushing my teeth, washing my face and applying a small amount of makeup, I threw a sweatshirt and jeans on and shimmied downstairs. Breakfast was already done and a plate was set for me and my mom, but my dad was already at work by now.

After a small prayer, my mom asked me the same question she asks me every meal. "So, what's God going to do in your life today?"

I had to practically stuff my face with eggs to avoid saying something completely rude. In between mouthfuls I said, "I don't know, something?" which actually came out more like "Ri dun knu, some'in?"

Before she could answer me, her phone rang. I could tell it was business from the way she spit out all the food in her mouth and headed towards the study. My mom worked from home, which was a way she could be the stay-at-home mom she always wanted to be but also make enough money to fuel her growing shoe collection. Even though I knew all this, I never specifically know what she actually does, like what her job was. Watching someone constantly answer business calls and furiously type away at her computer was so general that I had never figured out myself. And asking her wouldn't work because she might actually think I care about what she has to say. Needless to say, I didn't.

As I picked up my bag that contained my car keys and headed outside, I remembered everything that had happened yesterday. I mean, it's not like I really forgot, but the girl leaning on the side of my car reminded me of it. I just hope she wasn't still too mad or too worried. If Tara gets too mad, she gets sugary sweet and then immediately changes moods the second you bring up something about the subject she's pissed off about. If she gets too worried, then she'll stick to me like glue and never stop asking if I'm okay.

As I walked toward the car, Tara noticed me. She gave a small smile and an equally small wave before ducking down into the car I had just opened. When I had plopped down into the driver's seat and gotten my stuff thrown into the back, I turned towards Tara. She was already staring me down with her deep chocolate eyes, not portraying any emotion whatsoever.

The flood of apologies that I had not said yesterday finally broke through my dam of pride.

"I'm sorry that I scared you yesterday, okay?" I grabbed her wrists to show that I was serious. "We've been best friends for a lifetime, it seems. I know you care. And I should of said this yesterday, okay? I'm sorry."

I searched her face with my eyes and found tears trailing down her face. "I just don't want to lose you, okay? I love you, Olive."

"I love you too, Tar. Now wipe those tears, hm? Sad is not a good color on you."

I saw her lips curl at the edges as she reapplied her makeup in the little car mirror above her. "Sad isn't a color, dummy."

"Well neither is shut the hell up, but I'm about to paint your face with it."

Tara laughed as I started the car. We continued our friendly battle of wits until we reached the school. When I parked my car in my designated space, Tara and I got out and headed towards the back of the school.

The back of the school had the outside basketball court on the pavement, where the boys would play in the morning. The only reason Tara and I would go back there was to watch Sylvia drool over her boyfriend, Alec. He was the only guy on the team that wasn't completely pizza-faced or just gross and pervy, so we watched him too. Staring at anyone else would bring us an invite to their house. Tara says that it isn't an invite to us, but an invite to our boobs, because that's all they'd be staring at anyways.