Lies Don't Die

Chapter Five

        “Kailyn! Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn!” Nicole hollers from the end of the long hallway. I shut my locker and speed walk toward my next class. The click-clack of her heels echos after me. Nicole would probably harass me about the date last night and ask if Michael tried to kill me. I just can’t deal with that right now and try to block out her high pitched voice. “Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn! Kaitlyn!” A hand lands on my shoulder and I’m abruptly spun around.

        “Why were you ignoring me?” Nicole whines.

        I plaster a huge fake smile across my face. “What? I didn’t hear you.” I lie.

        “Well, how was the date? Was it scary? Did he try to hurt you?” Concern rings throughout her voice and her eyes widen with worry.

        “No. Not at all. He was really kind. He-” I start to say but Nicole cuts me off.

        “You’re saying he was nice? How can a punk dude be nice? Just saying.” Nicole juts out her hip a little bit just to make our conversation seem more dramatic. “I have to go to class. We will talk more about this later.” Nicole spins around and heads down the hallway with her orange hair flapping on her back.

        I let out a huge exhale and power walk to my class. I’m one of the first people there and I sit in the back next to Michael. A surprised look crosses his face. “Oh, hi.” He awkwardly says and looks the other direction.

        “Is anyone sitting here?” I say as I place my books down. Michael turns back around and shakes his head. As I sit down, more people come in and sit down. “So, how have you been?”

        Michael looks my way and flips some hair out of his eyes. “I’m pretty good. How is your day going.” His voice sounds low and shy. Was he nervous? This was probably one of his first times talking to someone in school. “Are we still on for tonight?”

        “Yeah, of course! Why wouldn’t we be?” I give him one of my biggest smiles.

        “Well...usually everyone ditches me after the first time we hang out. It’s not only girls, when I try to make friends, they also leave me.” He looks at me with a sad smile and then looks down at his copy of Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman. His sad smile haunts me like a ghost and it feels like a part of my heart has been ripped out. Michael was really lonely and I was his only friend. Maybe even more than a friend.

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        When I get home, I start working on the small amount of homework we were given to do. A book review was due in seven days, next Tuesday, and a science lab worksheet is due in two days on Thursday. My phone buzzes as I reach out for my homework binder. I take it out of my pocket and look at the screen. A picture of Calum pops up and he was looking for us to skype. Quickly, I hit answer. His face pops up and a huge smile spreads across his face.

        “Hey Kaitlyn! How have you been? How’s school?”

        “Calum! I miss you so much! School is good I guess and I’m pretty good. How’s Australia?” A huge smile spreads across my face that I could not hold back. Off in the distance, I can hear music and singing. “Who’s singing?”

        “Oh, that’s Ashton. He’s the second lead singer. Ashton! Come over here!” Calum yells over his shoulder. “Australia is good. I’m with my old friends Ashton, Zayn, and Adam. Life’s good.” A small smile takes place of his huge smile. “ASH! Hurry up and meet my friend!”

        A small laugh escapes me and I stare blankly at Calum’s face on the screen. I’ve missed him so much and at the time I really need him, he’s not here. Soon, a tall guy, a few years older than Calum, shows up in the screen. He has huge shaggy brown hair that is held back from his face with a teal bandana. “Hey.” Ash says putting his fingers into a peace sign.

        “Hi. So, is it fun having Calum back?” I ask sheepishly, not really knowing what to ask him.

        “Pretty good, I've missed him a lot.” Ashton runs his hand through his shaggy hair. “I have to go back to practice so I’ll leave you guys alone for a bit. Bye Kaitlyn. I’ll probably talk to you again soon.” With that, he leaves the view of the camera and I’m left alone with Calum again.

        “Hey.” I say quietly. I hadn’t realized how much I missed him until now. He was at least 10,000 miles away and I was having a hard time.

        “Hi, how is life back in Maine?”

        “You know Michael Clifford?” Calum nods. “Um, I think he asked me out and we have been hanging out for a few days.” I bite my lip a little bit.

        “What? Wow. Is he nice? He must be really nice if you're dating him.” Calum smiles back at me.

        “Yeah, I guess so. He’s not mean or anything. Nicole won’t give him a chance though. She still thinks he is a really evil man that wants to kill me. I wish she could see him the way I see him.” I look down at a random stain on my cream carpet. “I have to do homework so will I talk to you soon?” I ask, not knowing when I’ll talk to him again.

        “Yeah, of course. I’ll skype you next time I have free time. I miss you. Bye!” Calum gives me a small wave and logs off skype. I’m left in my room, alone again. Soon my phone bings to alert me that I have a text message. I look down and notice that it is from Michael. It reads; Hey! Where do you want to go tonight? Do you want to meet there or do you want me to pick you up?

        I think about it for a second. Do I really want my parents to meet him this early in our friendship? Maybe I’ll let them meet him when things get more serious. Will things get more serious? I decide that it would probably be best if I met him there so I text him back.

Wanna go to the new diner downtown? I heard that it is really good and we can meet there if you'd like. I patiently wait for him to text back, but it doesn't take long.

        Oh yeah I’ve heard of it. I’ll see you there! Bye :)I smile a little bit and put my phone away. I walk over to my mirror and grab my makeup. Quickly, I brush on some mascara on my full brown eyelashes and dab on a tiny bit of pink blush on my pale cheeks. I've never really worn makeup before but I decided to try it. Calum gave it to me as a birthday present last year. He thought that I could try it out and see if I like it. I don’t really like it but I thought this was a good occasion to wear it. A few seconds later, I head downstairs and head toward the door.

        “Bye Mom! Bye Dad! I’ll be back in a couple of hours!” I yell as I grab the front door knob. I hear my parents quickly hustling to the door.

        “Where are you going? Somewhere fun?” My mom says when she reaches the front door.

        “I’m just hanging out with a friend. I’ll let you meet him some day. We’re meeting up at that cool little diner that just opened up. I’ll be back in a bit.” I lean in and give my mom a huge hug then go and give my dad a hug as well.

        “Okay sweetie. Have fun - wait is that makeup?” My dad squints his eyes a little so he can get a better look. “Oh this must be a very special friend if YOU'RE wearing makeup!” My dad says jokingly. “Well, have fun kido!” With that, I walk out the door and toward my car.

        I decided to wear my red and black flannel shirt with a white shirt underneath, and a pair of faded blue skinny jeans and a pair of red converse. Since it was freezing out, I should have brought something warmer than flannel but it’s too late now. I start up the car and start to drive downtown.