THE GIRL WHO LIVED (yeah. Harry Potter much?)
Being a kid in the 21st century America's not as snazzy as you think,
believe me. Coupled with the fact that the pressure to succeed is KILLING,
you've got to pick a career that sounds professionally UN-fashionable just
to look good. You're either an engineer or something KA-bonkers, like a
physiotherapist or a paleontologist without even the slightest fashy ring to
it. But believe me, if my mom thinks I'm a total nerdy genius with the KAYRAY-ZEE ambition of becoming a lawyer or a doctor ( Eek!) then she's
crazy. I've got to deal with the fact that my older brother Henry's a
colossal idiot and Danny a 2 feet 10-inch size grenade waiting to explode
to handle studying stuff that doesn't even sound REMOTELY sensible.
But then there's the worst of all American horrors.
HIGH SCHOOL( Gulp!)
I'm not ugly you see but for some reason, I've never really had a
reasonable boyfriend. I'm tall, slender, and light-skinned with your nice cool
blonde hair which I believe is the trademark of every potential diva queen
and high school CCP which BTW means cute cool, and popular. That's what
high school girls with money, beauty, popularity, cool hair, and most of all, a
cute hunk BF call themselves. It's the clique of the blonde and beautiful.
The cool and popular. The hot and rich. And that clique is chaired by Cathy
Walker, the school's meanest, nastiest witchiest CCP there is. Cathy's
night in daylight, winter in summer. And God do I hate her! I mean, every
dork and a social freak in school hates her, even her clique of friends that
call themselves the B&B's, the blondes and beautiful. They're almost
always gossiping about her behind her back. To everyone else, Cathy's a
queen, the A student, the nice cheery cheerleader. But to we dorks, she's
Halloween at Christmas. Cathy doesn't make lemonades out of lemons. She
just squeezes the juice into other people's eyes. And she's my every
a nightmare come true.
I'm sure you're wondering where Summer Scotts (obviously me) fits in.
Well, let's be explicit, shall we?
I'm your typical high school cutie, jeans and shoes and all but I'm
majorly a dork. A fashion-obsessed dork. Yeah I know you can't find that
anywhere but it's true. And that's why Cathy Walker HATES MY GUTS. I
don't get laughed at, or bullied, or ruined online. Up until now, the worst
thing that could have possibly happened to me was having a bad hair day or
a gigantic pimple on homecoming night. But all that changed as soon as I
met Cathy Walker.
On any normal day, I'm either in class or out hanging out in the loos with
my besties, Shayna, Carlizza, June, and Dawn. We've been friends for like,
FOREVER and together, we make up the EPC, short for the event planning
committee. We plan and organize small events in town. Birthday
parties, discos, grad school parties, and any event we can make
money from. and that's exactly what I was doing on that cold chilly
September morning of my freshman year, hunting desperately for events
and parties to organize before Christmas. The EPC has a really
long history, starting with the fact that Shayna, June, Carlizza and I have
been friends since seventh grade while Dawn and I since like forever. The
EPC was finally born in tenth grade ( cheesy story hunh? NOT!)
So there I was, hunting people down and begging for party offers from
jock to nerd with a cup of hot swirling coffee in one hand and a small sign
up clipboard. Yeah, no one said success comes easy. Cathy was giving a little
vote-me-for-prom-queen speech on a raised platform held by Jenny and
Jess, her two gum-addicted minions. And I didn't mean it though. It was a
complete accident but then I slipped shamelessly over my own feet,
tripped over Cathy's platform and my hot sizzling coffee came spilling
through her champagne Zac Posen party dress and her smooth obviously
FAKE tan skin. In one hilarious minute, Cathy'd migrated from cool, hot, and
popular to REAL hot and dress-all-soiled. She jumped and squealed, yelling
for help and going hysterical over her 'poor delicate skin', her
'expensive dress that could easily be replaced but still' and her ' poor
brain choking in the epic embarrassment'. Yeah, I felt terrible about it. I
hadn't meant to embarrass her, not that I haven't fantasized about it,
course I have. The thing with Cathy's that she a little psycho...
understatement... very psycho. And when she hates you, your life's a living
hell. Literally.
Long story cut short, I grabbed a tissue from my emergency supply of stuff I
keep this in case the world gets colonized by aliens and tries to wipe the mild coffee
stain that looked too much like bluey ( don't ask. I beg you). I've had this
terrible paranoia of aliens taking over the world ever since I'd watched
terminator as a kid. Now, I carry an emergency bag everywhere, not wanting to
be taken unawares in case it finally happens. The bag had been four feet long
ten years ago so a normal bag pack size IS a welcome change and a reason why
I'm not called dorka the bag pack like Mary Parker in tenth grade. However, no
amount of preparation had me prepared for the humiliation I suffered after
that day. Or the embarrassment afterward. That guys was the beginning of my misery. Cathy never forgot that day and till today she claims that I'd ruined
her dress and her self-image. She put beetles in my locker, stained my seat at
every class we had with mud that made me look like a kindergartener with
diarrhea. She got me into detention over and over again. Name it, Cathy's done
it. The only thing that's got me going is my very best friends, Dawn, Shayna,
Carlizza and June. Apart from the EPC, we call ourselves the we-biz-girls and
we're the dorkiest dorks in Heather-Ville's world of dorks. And we're pretty no
doubt about that and pretty normal, without the freckles or food problems and
weird sense of fashion. Well excluding June. She's as nerdy as Cathy's mean
with freckles and yes, a very weird sense of fashion. Never seen someone wear
plaid skirt and a chequered shirt to a school disco party? Well, June can and
WILL wear that donned up in a leather jacket and pantyhose even when the
skirt's knee-length. If that's not your definition of weird then I don't know
what is? Nonetheless, she's pretty, with shoulder-length brown hair and a
straight model-like figure.
After school, we like to have our meetings in the loos. We don't do much.
Just check up on our progress events but Dawn takes it VERY seriously. She's
always there 10 minutes early with a punctuality book and with, like now, a tight
crossed frown that makes her look like a weasel... no offense there. She wants
to be some business CEO or something and is always looking for who to practice
her boosy skills on. Just wait till she speaks...
" You're two minutes five seconds late Summer" Uh-oh
" It's actually two minutes two point three seconds considering the fact that
she's been in here for two point three seconds already" June piped dawn glared
at her.
" Yeah, June we all have math notes and watches. The point here is that she's
late, not two point three seconds" Yeah that's Dawn alright, power lady, and your
A-type control freak. She's tall and willowy with long waist waist-length blonde hair
and dark blue eyes that she got from eye-color-changing classes. Dawn's a
survival mode expert, an amateur engineer, and knows a thousand other things
she learns just in case (I still don't know what 'just in case' means) Dawn's
weakness; Give her something she can't handle and she freaks out. Believe me
you DON'T wanna see her freak out. The last time that happened, she pushed
me of a tree house and I wore crutches for two weeks. Ask me why. Cause I
told her she couldn't have a party, homecoming, and homework in one day. Then she
put me to a bet and lost! And she's still pissed off about it, believe me.
" Wanna have some choco chunkies?" Shayna said, beaming at me with chocolate-stained teeth and holding out a hand filled to the brim and overflowing with
every chocolate flavour in the world and believe it or not, she's got a hundred
more in her bag. Yeah, that's Shayna alright, a living breathing junk and stuff.
Shayna could totally gobble an entire sack of dirty skeezties and a box of
chocolate in ten minutes and be still fit enough to shove down a triple fudge
ice cream cone topped with something as gross as hot dog or something even
worse. Shayna's sunshine in winter, an unstoppable force of energy just waiting
to be free. I have to tie Shayna to my bag to keep her from
cartwheeling her way to every class. Plus, she's addicted to junk, a
terrible stress eater and the joker of the crew. Shayna's stress eating is a bag
of toffees, ten buckets of popcorn, and a sack of sweets. and believe me, when
she's heartbroken she eats two times that size in one sitting. Wonder how she's
still willowy from it all, don't know. And like I said, she's pretty, very pretty in
fact with long brown hair and shiny blue eyes that lighten up whenever she
smiles. I sat down beside her and took a toffee with a smile.
" Thanks" Carlizza glared at my hand and the toffee.
" That is so unhygienic Summer. Do you what a chocolate toffee contains?"
" Chill out Carliz," Shayna said with a mouthful of chocolate " It's just one"
" You're a hopeless junk addict and it's contagious. Don't corrupt her"
" Too late," I said, grabbing another " Come on Carlizza. It's just chocolate.
Can't you see how cute it is? See." I held it up and did a perfect impersonation
of the gingerbread man. " Look at me. I'm so teeny weeny and cute and I'm
going down Summer's cute little belly. Weeeee!" Everyone laughed and Carlizza
shuddered when I held one out to her.
"You should try one. It's tasty"
" Or not. I'm a vegetarian remember?"
" Oh. Your self-imposed curse" Shayna muttered. " Got it"
" It's not self-imposed. It's a healthy living lifestyle"
" Yeah I'm so not doing that till I'm old and gray," I said.
" I agree though the vegetarian lifestyle is becoming a trend now. just last year
over 30% of the Asian population's vegetarian and that's like 30..."
" June!" We shrieked. Trust June to turn a harmless conversation into a uni-lecture.
" Yeah, that's enough chatting for today," Dawn said, whipping out her clipboard
which is like so out of place in ANY high school. " we've got work to do. it's so
UNFASHIONABLE, it's gotta be banned in some schools"
" You're late Summer by the way so that's one more dot in the punctuality list"
She muttered, murmuring to herself as she wrote " Two minutes five seconds..."
" Three" June corrected.
" Three is not late so chill Dawn. What's up? You look tense"
" Why wouldn't I be? We just got chosen to organize homecoming howl!!!!"
" What?!!!" I shrieked " Really? That's great news" Carlizza squealed, June
yipped and Shayna did a cartwheel.
" Yeah, it is," Dawn said " That's why we have to put in our very best". Yeah
Dawn's the vice president of the EPC and though she was all in support of me
becoming president, I know she still wishes she was president and that is
something I don't want to see happen.
"So, are there any events or shows for the week?" Dawn ran her eyes through
her clipboard, ticking stuff off.
"Well, there's not much to do. We've just got to do a few decorations at the
Miller's, cater at the Horseman's party and perform at the grand gala opening
down the street."
"Then that's no problem. Dawn and I will do the decorations, and Carlissa will cater
at the Horseman's and Shayna will perform at the gala. Can I have the days and
time Dawn?" She checked.
"The Miller's on Friday by 4, the Horseman's Saturday by 8, and the grand gala's
next week."
"Then that's a lot of free time. I guess we should start planning"
"It's going to be the grandest!" Carlizza cried.
"It'll be the most AMAY-ZING day in the history of Heather-Ville High!" Shayna
shrieked, flailing her arms out wide. Dawn shot up to her feet and did a little
twirl.
"We'll paint, decorate, and put everything together splendidly. It'll be the best"
There and then, June decided to speak.
"But what if we don't get the gig?"
"Aw!" We cried " Come on June! You're better than this!! Why spoil the mood?"
We all said all at once, crumbling down to the floor. June's analytical no doubt
and smart and brainy and all but she's the most negative person ever. She always
manages to see the bad side of everything.
"Come on guys! I'm just being realistic. What if it proves too much to handle?
We've got to be sure first"
"You don't have to be so pessimistic all the same June. Who else could handle
Is homecoming better than us? That's enough to keep us positive" I said. June only
grunted something that obviously didn't mean 'Ok-I-got-you-now'.
" I've learned to expect disappointment and never get disappointed. You should
learn that too" She muttered.
"No thanks," Dawn said, hissing quietly and rolling her eyes at her. We're best
friends and all but for some reason, June and Dawn don't click.
"Ok girls," Shayna said, brightening up the room with her cheekiest smile. " So
how was your Summer everyone?"
" Aaaaah!" Everyone but me cooed. Mine had certainly been bizarre.
"My summer was the best!" Shayna said with a twinkle in her eyes. "My mom and
I went shopping and now, I've got a whole year's storage of junk. We went to the
beach, the movies, and even attended a short concert in Paris"
" Paris!!!!" We screeched, wide-eyed in shock. She was definitely telling the truth
because she'd left on a short trip last week. I envy Shayna sometimes. She's got
the perfect parents. Her mom's rock star pretty, hot, chic and so new school.
The last time we went for a sleepover at her place, she'd taken us shopping twice
the next day and then to the cinema the next. She knows practically every dress
in vogue and has an entire room full of designer bags, clothes, and shoes. Boy!
Shayna's so lucky to have such a pretty fashionable mom. Some of us just don't
get all the good things in life you know.
" Come on!" Carlizza said wide-eyed. " Tell us all about Paris"
" Oh Paris is such a lovely place," Shayna said dreamily. "We got to see the
restaurants, bays, the Eiffel Tower, it was just beautiful"
" Oooooh…" We cooed
" We went to the cinemas and ocean sides"
"Aaaaah…"
"And…I fell in love!"
" You fell in love?!!!!" We screamed.
" Yes, dearies. He's tall, cute, blonde, and super hot!"
" Oh tell me more!" Carlizza said excitedly, snuggling closer. Give any random boy
an accent and cool hair and he's Carlizza's soulmate. " Tell me, what's his accent
like?"
" Up and right down French"
" How'd you meet?"
" Oh well, it's kinda funny. You know how crazy I am about chocolate bars?"
" Wait let me guess you stole his?" I tried.
" Exactly! It was at a hors d'oeuvres restaurant. He wasn't really interested in
the bars so I stole them when he wasn't looking"
" And he caught you red-handed?" Dawn asked.
" yeah. We bumped into each other on a train the next day and we got talking"
"Did you get his phone number?"
"Yeah. We've been madly in touch ever since"
"Oooooh!" Carlizza shivered, looking up dizzily. "What a blast! Imagine how fun
it'd be to have a foreign boyfriend"
"But you're not going to see him again are you?" June asked in her usual sullen
manner. Trust June to always spoil the fun. Shayna looked at her quizzically.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, you can only call him up and probably chat but that's as close as you can
probably get"
"Don't be silly June" Dawn said.
"But I'm being realistic. What's the use of having a boyfriend you can't see or
touch?"
"That's why it's called a pen pal June" Dawn scowled. "And that's why you have
WhatsApp and Facebook" June glared hotly at her.
"Of course, I know what Facebook is. My question is, how can you call him your
boyfriend when you don't even know who he truly is. For all we know he could be
smooching off with a girl right now…"
"June!" I shrieked, placing my hand on her shoulder. Was there no limit to her
negativity? "Please, for once could you keep your 'realistic' thoughts to
yourself?" She looked away and didn't say a word.
"Good! Thank you!!" I sighed and turned to Shayna " Tell us more about Mr. Cute.
What's his biceps like"
" EXTREMELY fit!" She shrieked wide-eyed and we laughed. Dawn had spent
most of her holidays at the beach and cinemas, Shayna had gone on several
shopping sprees, Carlizza had taken a vacation to Florida to see her aunt and
looked better than she'd ever been with a nice little tan that suited
her just fine. Sincerely, I'd wished that someone had had a terrible vacation like
me but no one had; Not even June whose life has barely a tint of fun. She'd had
a swell time staying in a small holiday inn beside the sea. She told us all about
the roller coaster rides, Ferris wheels, the cranium shakers, and things that were
a lot more fun than camping out with a bunch of dumb kids. When it came to me,
I was lost and high dry.
"Well it was fun," I said simply.
"We know it'd be fun. Just how fun. Tell us everything."
"Just fun. Quirky and fun"
"Come on Summer!" Dawn said. "Tell us" I sighed.
"There's nothing to tell 'cause there was no Summer. I spent every day at home.
Though there was a lot of food and peace and a few picnics " The girls
went quiet and I nodded.
" Bizarre right? Yeah, I know."
"Absolutely not! "Shayna said. " I didn't enjoy mine. All the shopping and
outings and having to meet people... I didn't get any time to just sit back
and relax"
"Same here. My aunt's mean and my cousins are SO lame!" Carlissa said.
"I know you're just trying to cheer me up but you don't have to"
"no summer," June said "
we
're serious. We'd rather spend a day just whiling time
and watching the sunset rather than doing all the things we did" I stared at them,
dumbfounded.
"Are you serious?"
"Darn serious" Dawn piped. I frowned and looked at them, feeling bad and
worried that my crazy Summer story had driven my friends certifiably mad.
Then we talked about homecoming and who we were going to ask but believe me,
no jock or high school hunk was on our list. That would be a total waste of time
spiced up with MASSIVE embarrassment.
"I'll ask Harry Taggart. He'll say yes!" Shayna said.
"And I guess Elan Burner's ok" Dawn added. "He's just too nerdy to be comfy
with"
"You're nerdy too," I said, nudging her "You're the perfect match. How about you
Carlissa? Who are you asking?"
"It's Carlos forever! He's the best and do you know that he speaks Spanish too!!"
"The accent guys" Dawn whispered, shuddering. Accent boys meant a term's
worth of watching Carlissa babble Spanish like the ultimate girlfriend. Last time
that happened, Carlissa directly insulted the Spanish teacher and got a month's
worth of detention. That just goes a long way to prove that the more the
accents, the more the trouble.
" Who are you going with June?" Shayna asked.
" No one"
"What?!!" We shrieked "Why?"
"Because I don't want to"
"Come on June! You've never missed homecoming. Why now?"
"I have no one to ask," She said sadly.
"Oh," We chorused sadly as well. June's a bit of a nut crack case. She actually
has this massive crush on the school's uptight top-notch detective journalist,
Cameron Williams writes for the school newspaper and magazine. Cameron
Aka tattling weasel Aka nerdy swarms swot is the uptown boy who feels like the
world's under his bathroom flip-flops and likens having a crush to being under
the devil's influence but above all, the dude's a jerk. And that's who
June chose to crush on( Crazy much?) And as much as we all know that
Cameron'd never feel the same way for her till pigs probably fly and aliens
invade earth, we're still solidly behind her and almost always giving her boy
advice.
The worst thing is that she hasn't even talked to Mr. Weasel yet. The last time she
tried, she choked on a cheeseburger ( The mystery of where that burger came
from has NOT been solved) While Cameron left an I-wish-you-could-see-howstupid-you-look-right-now glare on his face with a can't-you-see-I'm-so-NOTavailable-and-will-never-be pasted all over his forehead and now I still wonder
why June JUST CAN'T SEE IT!!!!! Everyone falls for the prince or at least the
prince's friend and NOT the villain.
"Well, you have Cameron…" Dawn began.
"He won't say yes. He doesn't even speak to me. He hasn't not even once"
" Then you could ask someone else. Consider Barry Monde, Rick Schemer, or even
Coby Tar…"
"no! it's him or no one else" she said stubbornly, glaring.
"Come on June. There are a dozen thousand boys in school to make your pick
from. It doesn't have to be Cameron"
"No! it has to. I like him. I like him so much and it's him or no one else"
Shayna rubbed her shoulder affectionately while the others huddled
round looking sorry. I felt so sorry for her as well but boy, she's got
to grow up. Cameron Williams is a total NO go already. Why would she even
want anything to do with him?
But as they say, with some girls, you never really know ( Ok now like WHO
says that?).