think pink.

9 spill the beans

"And that's not even the half of it!" I put my hand on my right hip to stop myself from biting my nails as I leaned against the wall where the telephone hung high on the wallpapered wall. 

"What did you do?" June's voice boomed through the small speaker into my ear. I could feel the scolding. I could imagine her in her room where she had her phone sat upon a polished but cluttered nightstand. 

"I didn't do nothing!" I replied, pulling on a stray string that hung from my hand-me-down sweater.

I felt her take a breath to continue questioning me about my assumed wrongdoings.

"But," I began. "There's a televised dance."

"Oh, I have heard!"

"Who knows the drama that could come with that." 

All of the many wrong avenues this could take kept my mind spinning on the topic. I assumed I'd go alone, or with the new found group of girls and tag along with their dates. What good could possibly come from Leo seeing me on TV being all friendly-like with the T-Birds and Pink Ladies that I was supposed to despise? I needed to tell them all about my past with him and I knew that, but most definitely before the dance, or that football game coming up. The last thing I need was being stuck at this school to complete my high school life was Leo outing us and then all of the hip kids at Rydell turning against me.

June had given me a pep talk and also filled me in with everything on that side of town. I had told her I was going to be with the Pink Ladies tonight as they invited me at the diner yesterday, so I assured I'd spill the beans back. 

Getting off of the phone after my mother bobbed the conversation, it was only about an hour and a half after school let out and I was set to be over at Frenchy's in about an hour after dinner. 

"Come sit with me," my mother said lowly as she twisted the knob of the timer that sat by the stove. 

I slowly kicked my legs out in front of me and made my way to the end of the table nearest to me over in the bare dining room that connected to the kitchen. The kitchen was seemingly coming together in my mother's spare time. Beige colored cabinetry complimented pale pink counters with a warm undertone and a satin finish. The dining room was nothing more than a white and silver table. No decor lined the walls or sat on the table compared to our previous home that admittedly felt warm and was quite lived in.

My mother sat adjacent to me promptly placing her fist under her chin. She looked run down and I know she's been on the go since the move. I had made sure to make her not feel so pressured to attend to me. My mother was always so beautiful and put together and you'd rarely see the tired version that I was seeing now.   Her light hair was styled tight in front, as usual, a wave traveling from the top of her head to her painted lips, the rest of it twisting towards her face. She'd worn this look for as long as I could remember.

"Tell me how you've been." She closed her eyes briefly, inhaling and pushing her lips up in a faint smile.

"Fine," I replied, realizing I should have given her more than a one-word answer.

She rubbed two fingers across her forehead and under her eyes almost soaking in the silence. "Are you going out with June?" she continued.

"Actually with some girls from Rydell's." I played with the ends of my hair that were draped over my left shoulder.

Her lips turned up at the edges. "Really?"

I nodded running my nails across the smooth, white surface of the table. "Mmhmm."

"I knew you'd find some fine company over there." She patted her lap, smoothing her skirt as the small kitchen timer rattled. "I heated up some leftovers if you'd like to eat before you go."

"Sure." I stood up from the chair. "Fine company," I mumbled at the tone of a whisper as I turned to push my chair in.