[Mandy's Diary Today]
Thank God, the ring is still breathing under the leg table. Immediately I picked it up, then pinned it on my index finger. I stretched my legs closer to the bed, then dropped my back on it in slow motion like a royal princess, stretching my arms across the bed until it hit Candice's face. The dark blonde-haired girl pushed my hand away from her face.
"I can't believe we're graduating in two days," I whispered, more interested in observing the ceiling than Candice busying herself with stroking her nails. "And Justin promised to marry me after I graduated." My hand moved to touch my chest, feeling my real heartbeat there. "Gosh, I feel like I'm going to die of happiness."
"Don't die yet," Candice replied from where she was and turned her body to the side, propping her head up. "You won't be able to experience your first night with Justin Bedington if you die first."
My eyeballs rolled to the side, showering Candice with warning glances. "You have more hormones than mine, Ms. Fields."
"That's because you're not normal."
Spontaneously, I jerked my head to the side, supporting my head so that now my eyes could meet Candice's gray eyes. "I'm normal, you fool. You're just too pervert."
Candice chuckled softly, making her shoulders shake. She lay back staring at my ceiling, observing the carvings around the lamp above.
"I will miss our time together if you have a new life, Drama Queen," Candice suddenly lowered her tone to a sad one.
"Aww… we stick together, Babe. We're best friends. Always and forever."
Candice's gaze turned to me. We exchanged glances for a moment, then wrinkled our noses and poked each other's noses followed by cheerful laughter.
Candice was asleep on my bed. I was the only one still awake in this house. I was sure that Steve, Dad, and Mom were asleep. The clock was pointing to one in the middle of the night. At the study table with a reading lamp lighted up, I did the daily routine that couldn't be separated from me since long ago; journaling. In this journal, all my secrets and lies were written in full, complete honesty. No one would ever know where I hid this journal. Not even Candice, whom I've been friends with for years. She must have been angry if she read my journal. Of course. I made a lot of mistakes and lied to her at times she did not know. To be more precise, I hid a lot of secrets behind her.
Well, everyone has their secrets.
[Dear, Diary
As usual. I screwed up the euphoria at The Bedingtons' mansion. Justin's birthday cake I made myself fell on Grandma Mag's head and face. She was really angry. Her gaze was savage like a leopard that had lost its cub.
Even to this day, I still can't believe myself. Really? Gosh, I've been living with Justin for four years. The man I've been in love with since elementary school. In the past, he never saw my existence, never even knew me. And I doubt he'd have caught my scent if that stupid meeting between us hadn't happened. Say it's dramatic, but I need to be slapped into realizing every second that this isn't some crazy dream or daydream.]
I slapped myself on the cheek. Ouch, it hurts. This is reality, not my crazy dream. I pulled the corners of my lips into a wide smile, then drew back the ink of my pen.
[Ouch, it hurts. This is not a dream. If this is a dream, I don't want to be woken up from a dream like this. It even felt too real. You saw it, right? He kissed me hard and wet. Until the existence of the goddamn Thumbelina messed things up. I hate that stupid dog.
As usual, don't tell anyone about my little secrets xoxo
Mandy G.]
I closed my journal and put the pen to the side. I made sure Candice was sleeping and didn't know what I was doing every night. The sound of her snoring reached my place. Good, she slept very soundly like a hibernating bear. I climbed into the chair in front of the desk and tucked my journal behind the large pile of Oxford dictionaries in the top locker. I pushed the locker carefully, not wanting to make any noise.
"Mandy, what are you doing?"
Candice's voice suddenly made me flinch. Suddenly I fell off the chair, swinging freely under the floor until there was a harsh, painful thump. My ass! I feel like something crushed my ass! Damn.
I looked up to see Candice still closing her eyes with pursed lips.
"What are you doing? Don't touch that thing you could blow it up. Get out of there, Trouble Maker!" Candice waved her hands. Oh, looks like she's slipping away. "Don't touch it, Mandy!"
Gosh. What is Candice's dream-like? It seems so terrible. I rolled my eyes and got up from the floor feeling my back hurt. I lay down beside Candice. She no longer babbled, instead of rolling over to the side and kicking me hard until I fell a second time to the floor.
"Ouch…" I winced in pain, pressing my waist tightly. "Fuck you, Fields."