Different

18

My dad woke me up around 6 to tell me he was leaving for work and he'd see me later. I wasn't going to school because my foot was fresh. After my dad left I went back to sleep until 11. I sat up in my bed and sighed. My foot was really in a cast and my dad was to blame. I stood up and grabbed the crutches near my nightstand. I went into the living room and made myself breakfast. Not long after the phone rang. I slowly made my way to the phone. I picked it up and my fathers voice came through.
"Hey Dani. I have to work overtime tonight Okay so I won't be home until really late. Okay I have to go bye." He said.
Just as soon as I was on the phone it was over. I shrugged and went back to my spot on the couch. I watched a movie that was on tv and read over my script. I was suddenly reminded of rehearsals today. I quickly called the school and asked if I should still come in for rehearsals. They said if I was feeling up to it they were at 4 and I could go but didn't need to. I decided to myself I'd go to rehearsals, James needed me there so I'd go for him.
   At 2:30 the phone rang again. I limped my way to it and answered.
   "Hello?" I said.
       "Daniella?" James said.
  "Yep." I said smiling to myself.
     "Oh hi it's James. I was just calling to check in on you and make sure your okay." He said sweetly. My heart fluttered.
   "Oh yeah I'm fine but I was wondering if you could give me a ride to the rehearsals tonight." I asked sweetly.
"Oh yeah I'd be happy to take you! I'll be there in 20 minutes." James said and hung up. I giggled at his enthusiasm.
I got dressed in the clothes that fit over my cast and brushed my hair. I put my script in my bag and waited for James. Soon enough there was a knock at the door. I hobbled my way to it and opened the door to reveal a smiling James.
    "Dani, Hey!" He said very happily. It was nice to hear someone want to see me. He glanced down at my foot and his face fell.
   "Oh my god! What happened?" He said frantically.
   "Oh, uh nothing. I just tripped and fell the wrong way. It's no big deal." I said reassuring him.
    He seemed to take my bullshit lie and helped me into his car. We drove to school while making pleasant conversation. We turned into the parking lot and he opened my door for me. I loved how much of a gentleman he was. We walked to the auditorium through quiet halls. We go to the auditorium and could hear the buzz of the cast from inside. James opened the door for me and I made my way down the center aisle to find a seat. James walked by my side as the room got quiet. Soon enough the only sound was my crutches hitting the floor and worried murmurs. Nancy ran up to me.
    "Holy shit Dani!" She said trying to help me move, but I was doing fine on my own.
  "I know, look everyone I just fell and landed the wrong way." I said addressing the whole room.
   I looked around and saw Billy glaring at me before storming out of the room. He knew. He had to know that my dad did this, he's the only one who witnessed me being abused. I shook off the thought of Billy and sat in the front row with James, Nancy, and Jonathan. Me Murphy made his way to the center of the stage.
    "Thank you all for being here. Today we're going to run some lines and some of you will discuss costumes." He announced.
   -
   We had been running lines for a while and my foot was killing me. I sat on the stage for most of my parts. It was mostly rehearsing stage directions and character backgrounds. At the end Murphy explained to us that Monday would be a rehearsal for lead roles. We were leaving when  James pulled me aside in the parking lot.
    "Dani, I was wondering if you might want to go to the diner. Get some food?" He said rubbing the back of his neck. I thought it over for a second, then I looked up and saw Billy with his douche friends. Billy had a sleazy blonde all over him, but he wasn't paying much attention to her. He was aggressively starring at me. I looked back to James and smiled.
    "Sure I'd love to." I said smiling. He smiled back and we made our way to his car.
   As we pasted Billy the blonde started to sloppily kiss him. It sounded like a dead fish. I laughed to myself as I got into James's car. Billy was over there with some blonde he barely knew and I'm here in a car with the most charming boy I've ever met. And Billy fucked me over. But why was I so sad. James drove us to the diner and asked for a booth. We sat across from each other. The older waitress came over and asked us what we'd like to drink.
   "Oh I'll have a coke." James said.
"And I'll have a coke with cherries in it please." I said kindly. She nodded and walked away.
     "Oo cherries. That's new. Why not just get cherry coke." James chuckled.
    "It's different. Not as genuine." I giggled. He smiled at me and flashed his perfect white teeth.
    The bell on the diner door rang as the gang of dickheads came in. They asked for a booth and of course were sat right behind us. I could see Billy's eyes glance at us angrily.
     "So Dani, I've been meaning to ask you, would you want to come to my baseball game?" James asked.
    "Baseball? Isn't it out of season?" I laughed.
"Well yeah but me and the guys on my team like to have a game in the colder months so we don't get rusty." He smiled.
    "When is it?" I asked.
"It's next Tuesday." He said happily. I racked my brain for something that I thought was happening on Tuesday. Then it hit me. Billy had invited me to see him play basketball that day, before we had broken up of course. I saw Billy's  expression change as he heard the date. He was obviously eavesdropping.
    "Yeah James I'd love to watch you play." I smiled rubbing his hand. I watched Billy's jaw lock. He was obviously furious.