《D A N I S H E S》


 ONE: Average Teenaged Breakup Story- But Not Mine!

    I throw back the rest of my fruit punch like a shot, and stand up.


    "Nat- Nat! Please don''t! Nat for the love of GOD!" Sophie is laying on the couch, eyes covered, begging. Too late. I press the picture on my phone screen, and start the playlist of cheesy breakup songs. I press the first one, and pick up a spoon to use as a microphone, flicking my hair behind my back in my best blonde, skinny, overplayed pop star imitation.


    "CAUSE BABY NOW WE GOT BAD BLOOD-" I start singing along with Taylor, trying my best to overdo every syllable, every shoulder wiggle. "Nat..." Soph buries her face in my moms favorite throw pillow.


    "SO TAKE A LOOK WHAT YOU''VE DO-ONE." She begins laughing as I try (and fail) to dance along to the rapper''s part. "IT''S SO SAD TO... uh... YOU AND I!!" I prance around the room for the rest of the song, being more dramatic and showy than even I usually am, as Soph tries not to laugh.


    At the end of a few songs, I flop down on the couch at her feet, even my panting dramatic. She reaches over to slap my arm, but is trembling so hard with laughter that I barely feel it. Plus, she''s laughing, which was the whole point of my serenading her with some of the cheesiest breakup songs known to man. Since her now-ex, Miran, started acting toxic towards her, she hasn''t laughed much. And that also meant our end of the school week Thursday sleepovers were off. But now they''re back! Hallelujah!


    I catch my breath and turn on our favorite mindless plot movie, then go make us some ice cream sundaes. I make mine like normal, vanilla with whipped cream and too many cherries, but I pile hers high with all the chocolate and sugary things I can find in the kitchen. She needs it.


    I walk back in and she moves her legs so I can sit on the inside of the couch. I plop down, handing her the sundae, and put my head on her shoulder. At 5''6", I''m always taller than her 5''2", and this is one of the only times I even get to feel smaller than her. She''s also super skinny, which never aides the illusion. But I''m perfectly proud of my curves, even if I''d kill for even half of her metabolism.


    "See, Soph? Isn''t this better than underage drinking parties? Bet you missed this!" I reach over to tickle her, but she slaps me away, and I giggle. "Yeah, I missed this. But don''t judge, you liked those parties too." "Yeah, I did. Once. Guess we''ve both matured, eh?" She nods, and we get back to watching the old movie we could probably both recite by heart at this point. A few minutes later, she speaks again. "Yeah, I missed these even while I was at the parties. They didn''t have gummy bears!" She holds up a green bear and laughs, and my heart swells. I don''t have a crush on her- and I will get defensive on that, because we''ve both had and gotten over crushes on the other, and it''s a sore point.


    I wrap my arms around her waist and hug her, and even though she weighs next to nothing, my arm is crushed into the couch. "I love you, Soph." I sit up a little to drop a kiss on her forehead. "Love you, too."


    Somewhere in the middle of the movie, she falls asleep. She says she always sleeps better next to me. It''s sweet, really. She has anxiety, has for years, and barely sleeps because of it. So seeing her feel comfortable enough to sleep around me is a magical experience. Come to think of it, she''s a lot like a cat. I reach over her to grab my phone and the remote off the coffee table. She doesn''t stir.


    I only fall asleep quickly in new places, doesn''t matter who I''m with, so I scroll social media for a while after turning off the movie. Once I get tired I put my head back on her shoulder and fall asleep with a smile on my face.


    I don''t see her again until the next school week. Even then I don''t get to see her until lunch because she ''overslept her alarm''. My class is all the way on the other side of the building from the cafeteria, and here is right next to it, so I know she saved me a spot even though the room seems full. I walk between two kids I''ve never met making kissy faces at each other from opposite tables. A regular Romeo and Juliet. I then dodge a chili dog that just got heaved across the lunchroom by some jock I''ve been in school with forever. I think his name is Rocky or something. I don''t know.


    Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.  At our table, I slide in across from Sophie. "How?" I ask. "How what?" "How do we survive this place?" "Nat, my friend-" she pops a baby carrot into her mouth and chews thoughtfully, waving her fork at me. "I have no idea." We laugh and sit in the comfortable silence usually upheld at lunch, when we aren''t making dirty jokes or having a deep discussion. Then Maya sits next to Soph.


    "Hey Nat..." her voice is sing-song, and I get worried. "Don''t look, but Jameson is looking at you. Staring, really. Big heart eyes."


    I whip around, and she laughs as I meet his eyes and blush. He really was staring at me. Why? The rumors- they haven''t gotten to him, have they? Actually, why do I care if they have. They aren''t true. Okay, parts of them are, but not enough for it to be important. Damn that Olivia. She''s just mad I hooked up with her not-boyfriend.


    "Ah, okay. He''s cute, I guess. No Olivia, though..." they laugh at my jab at the prettiest- and meanest- girl in school, the one who spread rumors about me being pregnant. Like I''m dumb enough not to use birth control. "I didn''t know you had a thing for nerds, Natalie," Maya says, laughing. "I don''t. He''s a geek. Soph, on the other hand, is a nerd." "Hey!" "Also, I''ve been trying new things. Like this tiny tomato. Who knew?" I grimace as I bite into one. "They''re still gross, though."


    "I can''t believe you''ve never had a cherry tomato." Maya shakes her head in mock disappointment. Soph and I laugh, and then we all move on.


    The week passes, and then it¡¯s Thursday, last hour biology, Jameson is quieter than usual. I mean, he¡¯s always quiet- in this hour, anyway- but today he¡¯s even quieter than usual. He doesn¡¯t even respond to my, ¡®hey¡¯, he just smiles a little and nods. So we do our paperwork in silence. I do try to initiate conversation a few times, but he doesn¡¯t talk to me until after class.


    As I¡¯m putting my binder in my backpack, he lays his big hand gently on my arm. In all And then jerks it off.


    ¡°Hey, Nat?¡± I¡¯d answer, but I¡¯m bent half-over, trying to wedge my binder into my bag. I¡¯d, foolishly, chosen a cute but too-small bag at the beginning of the year, and I suffer for it every day. I pop back up, and I just know my hair is dissheveled. I try to smooth it, but strands still hang down in front of my eyes, so I blow them out of my face.


    ¡°Yes, Jameson?¡± I gesture for him to speak.


    ¡°So, uh. I was thinking. Could I drop by tomorrow morning? Just real quick. Like- five minutes? I need to tell you something.¡± He starts standing up, and smooths down his black hair, and begins massaging the back of his neck. He¡¯s pink.


    ¡°Tomorrow morning? Okay. Seven? That¡¯s before your practice, right? Basketball?¡± Yep, he plays basketball. I¡¯ve heard he¡¯s really good, being 5¡¯11¡± and lean, but I almost never go to, much less pay attention to, basketball games, so I wouldn¡¯t know.


    ¡°Oh! Yeah. Yeah, that works. Great, uh, see you then.¡± He walks away really quickly, and I watch him, head tilted, legs crossed, bag over shoulder. I also watch Sophie enter the room and stand, propped up, beside the door frame.


    ¡°You coming or not?¡± She says, making my gaze shift from where Jameson walked out to where she is now.


    ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m coming.¡±


    **please comment! I''ll answer questions and might include suggestions.

 Joint Hallucination?

    I wake up, bleary-eyed and laying partly on Sophie, most of me not even on the couch. I blink, and then realize someone is knocking on the door.


    I drag myself off the couch, and go to open it. "Coming!" I yell before unlocking the latch and opening the door.


    I jump back a few feet when I see who it is. It''s Jameson, who I''d forgotten was coming, holding a small bouquet of flowers. I''m in an old, too-tight and too-short stained t-shirt I''ve had since I was ten, and grey sweats.


    "Oh god. Sorry, I forgot you were coming. You look good. Did you gel your hair?" He turns pink and nods, then shoves the flowers into my hands. Roses. I hate the smell of roses, but it''s nice that he thought to get them, so I smile and take them. I step away to put the flowers in a vase and (hopefully) smooth down my thick, brown hair that probably strongly resembles a birds nest. Or really thick cotton candy.


    "Hi, Nat. I''m not intruding, right?" I shake my head and he goes on. His voice is quiet, so I''m easily distracted by the scene behind him. I''m too short compared to him to see over his shoulder, but I can see around his body.


    A silver-hair man in a black suit, holding a briefcase, is running down the sidewalk. He looks behind him and clutches the case to his chest, and that''s when I see the two big men chasing after him. I grab my phone out of my pocket and look up at Jameson.


    "Sorry, I just-" I push past him, and run down the lawn as one of the big men surges ahead and knocks down the man with the briefcase. "HEY! LEAVE HIM ALONE!" I hold up my phone, showing that I''ve dialed the police, and my finger hovers over the call button. The two look at each other and rush away, hopping in a black car and driving away. I turn off my phone and kneel down to help the, up close, salt-and-pepper- (mostly pepper) haired man.


    "Are you okay?" I reach to take his hand and help him up, and he looks at it for a second before letting me. He''s the same height as I am, but he seems taller. "I''m Phillip Daniels," he says, "but call me Phil." "Okay, Phil." He hands me a business card, which reads:


    Phillip Daniels,


    <em style="font-weight: bold">Assassin


    "Huh?" "Oh, sorry, wrong one..." He has a smooth, British accent. I love it. He begins rummaging through his coat before finding another card. He reads this one over before handing it to me.


    Phillip Daniels


    Government Official


    "Oh, okay." I smile awkwardly. Assassin? "Makes more sense. Much less concerning." He laughs at my weak attempt at humor, the last defense of the utterly confused, and then another black car pulls up. I reach toward my pocket, ready to call the police for real this time, but Phil just looks slightly annoyed.


    The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.     "Hey, Nat?" A light touch rests on my shoulder, and I turn around to see Jameson. "Oh, hi. This is Phil. He''s a... government official." "Okay." He smiles, but he looks worried. I never noticed he had dimples before. Cute. I kind of want to poke them, but before I can give into the urge, the window of the car rolls down.


    A paper bag, held by a slender brown hand with magenta nails, is held out of the window. It''s followed by a very pretty face, with magenta lipstick to match the nails. Her eyes are big and brown, and her hair is styled in a small Afro, kept close to her head. "Hey, Phil! I got you a danish." She calls. "Dammit Blaire, I almost died because you weren''t here!" Her face falls, and she lowers the bag. I think it''s from the pastry shop a few minutes away. "The DAOBO guys?" She asks, eyes wide with fright. "YES, the DAOBO guys, who else? If it weren''t for this one here, they would''ve caught me." His voice is very nonchalant for someone who is pretty much saying he was, apparently, in a great deal of danger.


    She looks like she''s frozen for a sec, then retreats in the car. A second later, she climbs out and rushes over to hug me. "Oh, thank you for saving my Philly Cheesesteak-" he sighs, deeply, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I''m Blaire." "Nat." "Jameson."


    She shakes Jameson''s hand, then Phil looks up. "I don''t remember meeting you. I''m Phil." He shakes Jameson''s hand, and smiles. "Nice grip. Have some agents I''ve trained that could''ve used one like that. Anyway, we must be going."


    We wave goodbye as they walk back to the car, but Phil turns just before getting in. "Here''s my number. You might need it. Those DAOBO idiots don''t mess around." "Okay, thank you." He nods and gets in the car, and they drive away. Jameson and I watch them leave, then turn back to each other.


    "Was that real?" He asks, and I have to shrug, because frankly, I''m not sure. "Maybe it was a joint hallucination?" "Makes sense." He smiles and ducks his head, and I again have to resist the urge to poke his dimples. His eyes close when he smiles. He''s cute, really. He gives a light chuckle, and I hold out my hand, offering to walk him back up to my house and his car. He must have practice soon.


    The look on his face changes, but he takes my hand. And then he smiles at me, and we start walking. "You have to go, don''t you? I didn''t mean to keep you so long." He nods, and gets into his car. "Bye, Nat." "Bye." I stand on the small porch, arms crossed, and watch him drive away, smiling, before I turn back and walk into the house.


    I make Soph and I some coffee, and sit on the opposite side of the couch until she wakes up.


    "Uuuuurgh... Nat? What are you doing?" "Made you coffee." "Thanks." She sits up and grabs the cooling cup.


    "You won''t believe what just happened," I say after letting her drink about half the cup. "What?" "Jameson came over. He''s the one who brought the flowers." I jut my chin at the roses, still in the vase on the table. "Oh?" "And I saved a guy from getting beat up." I take a long sip of my coffee to hide the smirk. I love forcing her to deal with suspense. "And got his number." "Oh?" "He''s like forty though." "Oh."


    "Anyway. Want to see if you can spend the night tonight, too?" "I can''t. I promised my little sister I''d take her to the zoo. Sorry." She doesn''t really like spending time with her little sister, but she does it anyway. Mostly because she has to. But I don''t really want to stay here all alone all day. "Can I come?" She smiles at me. I think it was more than she''d hoped for. Even with years of friendship, she still doesn''t want to ''force'' me into spending time with her. "Hell yeah! Let''s go."