Twisted Connections

Adley

Adley was ready for today. She'd written out her plan in her diary, she'd taken vitamins in the morning, which she hardly ever did, and had made sure to plan and perfect her outfit until the last minute. Her hair was curled, with parts of the light caramel strands in braids. Her legs had been tanned, faked obviously, she hardly ever tanned despite her summer abroad, and today was the day she was going to do it with Roland.

She was sure of it. It had been two months she had started dating Roland, after they had hooked up at the start of the summer, and despite her mentioning it a couple of weeks ago, nothing had happened. But today it was going to happen. She was going to invite him back to her house, her parents were out of town on a business trip and she was going to do it. Even if she didn't really want to. Of course she wanted to, and so did he. Roland was a playboy, and she had locked him down, and so what if she was nervous, she should be. But Roland liked her, and he was just being respectful that was all. She was going to do it.

Her parents had left her a message on the home phone, which she played as she plopped a vitamin water into her bag. "Hey darling, its us. Wishing you luck for the first day of school! We've sent over something to your account in case you need anything. Sorry we couldn't be there, the trip's going well though. Love you!" Adley clicked open her debit account, and almsot dropped her bag when she saw the amount. $350 dollars. Her parents had sent over $350 dollars for the first day of school!? She stopped the question that popped up in her mind. Her parents' business was not her problem.

Driving over to Tessa's apartment, she played her music especially loud so she could block out her thoughts. Her parents had offered to get her a driver to take her around, but Adley liked driving. She liked when she could speed around corners, push red lights and do anything that could give her a rush of adrenaline. Anything that could turn her thoughts away from her life. 

Tessa skipped out of her apartment, giving a wide smile to Addie. A flare of jealousy went up through her. Tessa was dressed simply, as she always was, yet she looked way better than Adley. She was so slim, with her long tanned skin, despite spending the summer in the city. She let herself fall easily into the seat next to Addie, and despite the pricks of jealousy, Addie felt a surge of warmth for her best friend. She almost considered telling her about her worries with Roland, but stopped herself. Tessa was chatty, but mysterious, and Adley couldn't help but feel as she chatted on that Tessa slightly judged her. She wouldn't tell Tess about Roland. Because, she thought, drumming her fingers, it wasn't a problem. Today was the day.

They pulled into their usual parking lot, and Adley felt her heart rise at the heads that stared. Tessa and Adley, along with their group, which had now merged with Roland and his friends, were popular. Everyone knew that. Danny pulled up next to her, and almost as if they had rehearsed it, she began walking slightly ahead as they pulled around her in a protective formation. Hannah and Gabbe passed her, and complimented her outfit, and Adley felt better by the minute. She even heard Roland wolf whistle as she pulled up to him, and she met his lips with a gentle kiss. Of course he was interested in her. She felt Tessa and Danny pull away to their lockers, but she didn't mind, because Roland had her caged against the wall. This year was going to be perfect.

"Hey," she said, looking up beneath her eyelashes. Roland's eyes were closed, but he pulled away from her to look her up and down. "Hey," he responded.

"So I was thinking, if you were free after school today, we could go back to mine." She tried to push the scared edge out of her voice. He liked her. He would say yes.

"Aww Addie, I can't." Or maybe not. "We have tryouts, and coach wants us to practice so that we can beat Westoak for the quatre finals." Adley tried to push down her disappointment.

"Sure. Maybe another time." He was being slapped on the back by a couple of his friends and didn't reply, but Adley knew that it was only a matter of time. Roland was famous for sleeping with girls. And Adley was the girl. As she thought this, she saw Cara walk past in the corner of her eye. Her bleached hair was tied up so short bits came out in spikes, and she fixed Addie with a death stare as she walked by. 

"Head banger," she mouthed, watching the girls eyes narrow as she pushed past. Head banger was a nick name that had stuck to Cara since the start of freshmen year, when in trying to hook up with Roland, she had banged her head against his...Roland had done a funny re-enactment to the entire year, and just like that everyone had started to advoid Cara. The nickname was crude and not even that inventive, but everyone said it. At least he wanted to sleep with her, Adley thought. Cara flipped her off. Adley turned back to Roland. Fine, tomorrow night.