The school year was almost over, meaning everyone was going off to college or finding jobs. Even though I was young, I was also two years ahead of everyone in my grade. I've already been taking most college level classes. I basically have a whole semester of college completed in my senior year of high school when I should be as sophomore and there's only four months left. I've been very active in life by taking ballet classes, along with piano, and singing lessons. I can ride horses and nearly do everything a 'proper lady would and should know' as my mother, Andreea, taught me, for whatever reason she profoundly believes we come from a line of the royal families in Moldova. So we should in a sense keep some of our royal attributes. I, myself am a skeptic of it all. My father, Calvin, doesn't really care much at all about where she came from, just that he loves her for being herself. He met her on a trip around the world with his school buddies visiting neighboring countries on the plane. They were row buddies and chatted the whole ride on the plane. Even picking up a taxi to the same hotel. Turned out they all booked the same trip together and hit it off really well. Kind of romantic, but something I'll never find. Plus, there's no sense of urgency for me to find love in the first place. My mom, I know wants me to be the best I can be, I'm very privileged she says. I don't feel privileged about much of anything though. Yes, I know I can do almost anything I'd want in life, but what is it worth to do anything spectacular if you are numb to everything you do. Being perfect at everything means nothing if you aren't doing anything that is worth something right?
I put on a smile every day, do my morning pilates-barre stretching and warm up then go downstairs and tell my mother how wonderful her cooking is before leaving the house. I walk to school by taking the streets away from my known classmates' houses. If I even walk within eyesight, they drive by me and holler out some of them most repulsive names. Sometimes they'll pretend they are ballerinas or riding a horse around me on the streets only because my father dropped me off to school with the trailer of horses once. I'm strong, I can shrug it off at the end of the day. Only some days get heavier than the others, and after six years of it during public school, the rest of the days beforehand being home schooled made the days get hard to go through as the weird girl who knew too much and was perfect at everything. I screamed internally at myself each day. Maybe I didn't want to be a perfect good girl. I just wanted to be a normal girl, but the only thing I wanted most was a good friend.
The only person I found friendship with was Jayne. She too went through an enormous amount of bullying as well as me. Only she could take it more easily than I ever could.
Jayne had dyed black hair with her bits and pieces of natural red peeking through her roots. We always laughed at how backwards we were together, me with green eyes and hers being hazel. Mainly it was because she was the redheaded soulless demon, and my name was Lilith. Together we make a perfect pair. As dark as she really was, Jayne is my light of every school day.
I could see the bright sky and clouds outside. I could escape the laughter and mocking in just another moment. Halfway to the door just seconds away from the sweet escape of the outside, the doors burst open revealing a very upset Jayne and her boyfriend stormed in. Her make up donning heavy blacks and almost a psycho killer clown make up with a septum and eyebrow piercing. Her boyfriend matched with the blacks and creepy killer clown vibe with safety pins sticking out of his ears and lip. Jayne walked in wearing her classic gothic outfit design; a blood red corset covered in bats and two pairs of stockings on with multiple holes in them giving an old rugged look to it. She wore a tight black tutu on top of the corset that covered only the hemline. She wore extremely short shorts underneath with the words 'cute but psycho' on the rear end. Her upper body also had a mesh or fishnet type of top that hung off of her shoulders and hooked around her thumbs. Of course, Jayne's chest length hair was crimped and teased leaving enough space to put them into low pigtails on either side of her head. Her boyfriend, Ian, wore black and white lined jeans with chains all around them. He wore three shirts for sure. The bottom was a long striped black and white shirt that he had his thumbs tucked into cut sleeves, on top of that was some band t-shirt that looked to replicate a horror film instead, lastly was a white hooded vest that had a combination of black and white pins and patches all over it.
Jayne walked right past me in a storm letting her blocky wedges hit the floor like thunder. She got up into Abigail's face and stared only seconds before slapping Abigail across her left cheek.
Some gentlemen stood up and a lady dialed the police right away, almost before Jayne arrived. The restaurant grew quiet, shocked by what just happened. A cook came out to the room along with some waitresses. Abigail's friends all stood up to stand behind her, a few holding Abigail as if she were dying. Some of their boyfriends sitting across the way were ready to tear Jayne a new one but were stopped by the crossed arm Ian standing his nice six foot five and all of his two hundred and seventy pound blocky size in front of their table. The boyfriends were even mostly all football players, kids that Ian once played with and taught how to properly tackle and be a great defensive linebacker, but overall Ian had a commanding aura that emitted from him. Ian still holds the gym record within the guys at a certain bench weight that he could press. The man was more ripped than most of them now. He never said a word but gave small grunts instead before smiling, which showed his filed down pointed teeth all throughout his mouth. I bet that was a fun mouth guard to fill.
Some adults blocked off the girls, mostly Jayne. They separated them, leaving me standing by the door horrified and shocked.
Jayne hissed at the adults like a feral animal before belting out a sour toned laugh. "You people are so damned oblivious! You all want to save the rich pretty girl! What about my best friend who has just been patronized by all of these other stupid teens! The same ones you are so worried about and protective over. Trust me, if I had my complete way, that porcelain doll face here will shatter under my fists! Lilly has been sitting and waiting over in the corner alone for the last five hours for a boy who asked her to lunch. They tricked her to bully her! How can you just sit back and let it happen! All of these years and you all love anyone who seems perfect. Why not help the broken? Lilith is more perfect than those fake tanned barbies!"
Abigail scoffed, "Uhm, excuse me, but nothing can help you and Lil know it all! You freaks! Go join a Circus!" The girls around her all started to laugh and giggle.
Jayne gave an intimidating glare to the other girls then blew a kiss to Abi before walking away flicking her tutu's back side at Abigail and the girls. Walking back she swayed her hips in a small dance before she linked her arm with mine upon leaving the building. Ian followed and stuck his tongue out licking the air as creepily as he could with his long pointed tongue as well. He gave a sinister smile following us both hot on our heels. Ian's arm around Jayne, hers around his and my waist as she swung her hips to the car.
I loved long car rides, the feeling of going eighty miles an hour but never actually moving your body as well. I nearly broke down crying on the way home. Ian drove us to his house, which still was his parents' even though he was out of high school and in college. His parents are the most loving and warm hearted couple in the world. Almost nothing could stop their happiness. Ian being goth was only a way of his 'soul expressing itself.' They loved him regardless.
His mother came from her office at the sound of the front door opening. She smiled warmly and with a chipper voice she sang out, "Welcome home Ian! Is my lovely angel Jayne with you?"
Ian was softer than a teddy bear around his mom, almost as much as he was when he would be around Jayne, he shook his head while holding up his hand to his forehead, "Mom, please not now… We have a problem on hand."
Stella took one look at me before dropping every happy tone in her body and a hard exterior grew like a bubble covering her body and grew to our bodies. It's like her motherliness overwhelmed our bodies in a protective casing, "Who do I get to kill this time? Your fathers are both out hunting together. I'm sure I can call them in if you need me to. They will listen to reason. And I am Reason." I loved seeing the side of Stella where Ian got his attitude from.
Jayne sat down on the black leather couch, guiding me to sit down with her. "I'm definitely going to kill Abigail…" I thankfully obliged by sitting down next to her. Careful to not sit on her or on her outfit.
"Oh, honey tell me what happened this time." Stella knelt down next to the couch in hopes to comfort me along with Jayne.
I stared into my shaking hands as all the emotions rose back up from the pit in my stomach freezing my heart as they passed. With regret and trying to fight back the tears, I started to cry softly again, leaving what little of my make up I wore to smear along my blue cardigan's sleeve. I'm pretty sure I've lost all of the make up I put on today. My lips were red and sore from biting them throughout the last few unhealthy hours. Jayne hugged me tight, keeping me pressed with my cheek to her shoulder. There was no escape from this endearing grasp. Ian's mom is so lovely, Jayne is so lucky. They are the perfect couple with the perfect family.
"I know my dad will be here soon if he took his walkie with him. Regardless, the girls got the new kid to ask Lilly out on a date sort of deal-thing and didn't even have him show up. If I see that kid in school, I'm ringing his neck, or shoving his head through the wall. He won't survive me." She spoke gritting through her teeth, trying to stay calm despite her recent motivation to kill.
Ian smirked in an endearing way before leaving the room. He loved when his woman was as protective and feisty as his mother. It was a trait he most enjoyed in women above anything else.
"I'll talk with him at practice later next week. He's a theatre kid… Jayne, I'm actually surprised your dad hasn't done much about this bullying."
"Oh, he has. But I'm pretty sure Abi's rich dad is paying the school thousands to not let anything happen to his little precious snowflake." Jayne hugged me tightly and let me sob my life away into her chest. Not long into her talking she noticed I already started to scratch at my arms and legs out of habit again. I was almost about to break skin if she hadn't caught me soon enough. She quickly slapped my hand a bit hard and shook her head. "Stop it. You don't need to punish yourself over their stupidity."
Ian came back from wandering around the house and handed me a makeup remover towelette, which felt great on my face. For a guy, he only buys the finest of the make up products for himself and Jayne. I scrubbed my face clean and free from the makeup debris then sat up straight inhaling deeply shaking my tears away. I tried my hardest to put on a brave face. The same one that I'm sure is worn out and decayed by now. As if I were an antique mask left to be in a forgotten trunk inside the farthest corner in an attic.
Jayne ran her fingernails across my back smiling at me knowing that it would make me feel better when dealing with anything tough. "I really don't care if I go to jail for slapping Abi. She deserves it, and worse. I've got a great case to go against her if I need."
My smile faded away as I looked at my phone again, "I just want to run away from this life J. You know that probably more than anyone." I only watched the clock change time then turned off the screen. I pulled my knees up to my chest, willingly letting my body scrunch into the seat. My thought was that I would be devoured into the cushion, my consciousness only trying to escape everything right now. "I just want to graduate and go to college. I need to get away from them. Maybe move out of the country. Go back to my roots. Take Mom on a trip to Moldova. Or find our actual family tree with one of the website DNA tests."
"That would be cool. Maybe you can do something like that for your graduation trip. I bet you would have so much fun, Lilly." Stella stood up moving to the last open seat across from Ian's chair.
Jayne got up and went to sit on Ian's lap wrapping her arms around his neck while moving her legs stretched out over the arm of the chair, "Honey, you really need to prove to them how much better you are than they could possibly ever imagine." Jayne watched me with sad but angry eyes. "Become a laywer and take their egos to the grave!"
"I already do! I'm sixteen and everyone is clearly envious of me! I want to escape everything with those girls. Monday is going to be hell. I just know it!" I accidentally let a small snicker escape my lips and stretched out over the couch trying to hide my face from Jayne. "If I make it till then."
Jayne's scoff was the last thing I heard before a pillow was thrown into my face, "Take it back! If you do anything I will personally send my demons after you, bring you back here then chew you out!"
I let out a blood curdling scream kicking wildly as Jayne leaped off of Ian's lap to the couch landing on top pinning me into the couch cushions. She held the now retrieved pillow above her head threatening to hit me again with it with the evil brow raised in a threatening way. I pulled Jayne in for a hug, and all of my feelings bubbled up to the surface threatening the mask I now wore. I sat up with her help and began crying almost uncontrollably, this time into her neck as she stroked my hair as if I was a small child who fell down and scuffed their knee.
How could I think this way with such a perfect life after all?
Was it really as perfect as I'm told though?