The Final Seven

Chapter 7

June 13th, 2014 9:02 A.M.

When I woke the next morning, the sun had the presence to be shining brighter than it had appeared for the entire last year.  I took a deep breath of the freshest air that I have inhaled in a very long time.  Even my breakfast seemed to be full of new, enticing flavors that I was experiencing for the first time.

It felt like the world was finally balancing the scales for me.  Life had given me the trials of my lifetime, and I had given testament to my will.  I had passed the test.  Now, it was time for me to reap the rewards.

I saw Mother in the living room watching television.  Even her demeanor seemed to be influenced by my attitude.  She appeared freshly showered, and had even put on her makeup.  Though I knew she would refuse to leave the house, because her supply of alcohol was fully stocked, it was nice seeing her take a step in the right direction.

After I was finished eating, I went back up to my room.  As I got inside, I received a text on my phone.  This time, instead of saying “Unknown Caller”, the caller ID read “Jason”.  I opened the text with anticipation, and it read, “Are you able to meet me at the coffee shop at two?”

My fingers flew across the keyboard.  “You bet!  What r we doin?”

After a minute, I received a reply.  “It’s a surprise.”

“A surprise?”  I said aloud.  “I hate surprises.”  I went to go find something to wear, when I received another text from Jason.

“Bring your bathing suit.”

“Well that narrows things down a bit,” I said.  I called Reyna and she picked up on the first ring, again.

“What do you need, Jess?” she asks directly.

I told her about my messages from Jason.

“Okay, Jess, it’s simple.  Not as much makeup as last night.  Actually, wear hardly any at all.  You don’t want that stuff to smear on you.  Also, bring another outfit.  If you are going swimming, bring some shorts, and a nice tank top.  Make sure it’s bright clothing, your skin will look better – less pale.”

I rolled my eyes.  “Yeah, thanks for the confidence building.”

She continued on, completely ignoring my interruption.  “You body is great, so wear that pink bikini you had on last summer at the pool.”

I knew exactly which suit she was talking about. “Okay, anything else?”

“Of course.  What happened last night!”  I had to pull the phone away from my ear as she screamed at me.  I could still hear her through speaker.

“I was waiting all night for you to call me, but I didn’t want to interrupt anything, in case…you know!  But, then you didn’t call me this morning either!  What the hell, Jess!”

I waited for her to breathe, and then I told her about my night with Jason.  When I got to the part about us kissing in the fun house, Reyna could hardly contain herself.

“Yes!” I heard he scream through the phone.  She drew out her scream like a maniacal villain in a movie.  I pulled the phone away from my ear, once again, as she continued on her rant.

“It’s about damn time, girl!  How long has it been since you’ve kissed a boy?  Wait, I mean, have you ever?  Oh my God.  You haven’t, have you?  My Jess just got her first real kiss!  Yes!”  She ended her speech, after answering her own questions, with the same maniacal cry.

I attempted to give my eardrums a break and calm her down.  “Okay, now that you’ve gotten that out of your system, is there anything else I should bring?”