Tangerine ((ON HOLD))

3

In the morning Holly was suffering from a hangover but still managed to get herself ready for school while my mother cooked us breakfast. 

"Oh my god, Lori! What am I going to wear today?" she asked staring hopelessly into my closet. 

"Here" I said, grabbing a white polo shirt with tiny red and blue stripes on the sleeves and a navy blue pleated skirt. "Take these or you'll be sent home for wearing what you wore last night." I threw a pair of white knee high socks her way, which she caught, mid-air. At times we were so starkly different from one another it was a wonder we had ever tolerated each other's presence, but sometimes we were so perfectly in sync that it was obvious that we were best friends. 

Holly rolled her eyes. "Whatever." 

After eating, my mother reminded me that I had to babysit the Harrison twins after school at five thirty. Before class, at our lockers, I decided that I needed to tell Holly about everything from the night before. "Listen Holly, I need to talk to you about what happened last night at the Whiskey."

"Oh, yeah, what was it? Did someone compliment you on your cute little Mary-Jane's?" she joked. 

"Just listen. You'll never believe it" I smiled. 

She closed her locker, her books in her arms, and looked at me. "Ya gonna tell me or not?" 

"Well, after you got up and started dancing with that one guy, Jimmy...uh, Jimmy Page came over to our table" I started. Saying it aloud made it seem quite unrealistic, even to me. 

"What?" Holly laughed. 

"And he asked for my phone number" I continued, smiling. 

"And Elvis Presley proposed to me last night. Dream on, Lori, dream on" Holly said mockingly. She started to turn away but I grabbed her arm, stopping her. 

"I'm serious Holly! He really did!" 

"Is that all he said?" 

I thought about it, trying to put myself back into the moment last night. I sighed. "No, that's not all he said, Holly." I recalled every word he had uttered to me, almost to the point of including his adorable accent. "He said I was very beautiful and that he wanted to see me again, and he was glad that I didn't smoke! He said that, Holly, he did! Maybe it was nothing, but it felt like the world." 

"You sound ridiculous, you know that right?" The bell rang at the moment she finished her sentence. 

"Oh Holly, why won't you believe me?"

She looked down and sighed. "Well honestly, Lori, you didn't really stand out much last night especially in the eyes of a rock star."

I thought for a minute about what she meant. "Wait so you're saying that I'm not pretty enough for some guitar player to notice?" 

"Pretty much." 

"Why are you being such a bitch today?" I yelled, a little louder than necessary. 

"Tell the girls in the bathroom today your little story. See how many of them believe you." She turned and walked away toward her class without another word. 

On my way to first period I pondered why Holly was acting the way she was. Granted, it was a little surprising for Jimmy Page to have noticed me, but she was my best friend, and she should know that I wasn't lying. She should be happy for me. Wait until I get a call from Jimmy, I thought to myself. 

The day passed by rather uneventfully, and ignoring Holly's "advice", I told no one about my night at the Whiskey A Go Go. Despite having most of our classes together, Holly and I did not talk to one another again until we were both outside of the school on our way home. We usually walked home together everyday and I was hoping today would be no different. Deciding that I had better say something or else risk walking alone, I said, "Holly, are you coming?"