CHAPTER 3

            It's now seven-thirty in the morning, the radio pops on with Johnny Nash singing 'I Can See Clearly Now'. How appropriate is that? I love this song, especially today, this could be the day that changes my life. The combination of the song and the whole thoughts of the day to come help me to get straight out of bed and into the shower without trouble. No more of this hard-to-wake stuff, not today anyway.

            I take a quick shower, just enough to wash my hair and freshen up. Make-up was never really my thing, so I didn't have to worry about spending twenty minutes in front of the mirror. I just comb and dry my hair, and then get dressed. I made sure to look myself over in the mirror before leaving the bathroom, making sure that I looked somewhat decent. Not that I ever really cared, but I didn't know these people, and I didn't want to look like a freak show.

            I look at my watch and notice that it's already five minutes to eight. I quietly walked back to my bedroom and slipped on some shoes. I grabbed some cash out of my nightstand and shoved it in my pocket, I never know when I'll need it. I then tiptoed downstairs, being careful not to wake either one of my parents. This was about the time they started waking up, and I didn't want them to wake up until I was out of the house. As quietly as I could, I grabbed a rice cake from the pantry and headed out the door.

            The morning air was nippy, I could even see my breath. The sun was almost completely up now, so hopefully it would warm up later in the day. I was glad I dressed warm since I can get cold fairly easily, and I probably wouldn't have been able to make it through the day if I hadn't. I was always nervous walking through my neighborhood though, even now. So much of my towns’ crime happens in or around my neighborhood. The slums, the ghetto, whatever you call it, it's my neighborhood. Mom always says I should be happy to be here and not expect more, since we are 'white trash' after all.

            I kick a small blue stone as I walk, trying to keep my eyes and my mind off of the houses and noises around me. Already there are people yelling and screaming so loud that I can hear it from outside the houses, dogs barking at nothing apparent, being screamed at occasionally by their owners. I pass the Webster’s house, an empty and abandoned house at the corner that used to be used by dealers before it was busted by the police.

            I arrived at the library just about a quarter to nine, early enough, but not too early. I looked around for any sign of them, but couldn't see them anywhere. I went inside, but the library was still pretty much empty, with the exception of a couple librarians. I stood and looked through the new-book rack, which was positioned right in front of the front door, so I could see if anyone showed up. I actually found several books that looked interesting, I might just get them on my way home.

            Okay, nine on the dot, still no sign of anyone. No problem, I'll just stand here and read through this book. I have to see if it looks good anyway. It reaches five minutes past nine, and still there's no one. The librarian stops to ask me if I need help, then spends a couple minutes on why she thinks a certain book would be just right for me. Okay, now it's ten minutes past nine, and I'm starting to wonder where the heck they could be. They told me not to be late, and I wasn't, so where were they?

             It's now twenty-three minutes after nine, and I'm about to break. How could I have been stupid enough to fall for this! I should have known it was too good to be true. Just because they talk to me doesn't mean that they want to be associated with me, I'm still a loser, still white trash. I start debating on whether or not to leave, but remember what I told my parents. Coming home now would definitely tip them off, then I'd really be in trouble.

            Just as I was about to call it quits and give up, a bright red SUV pulls up to the sidewalk out front. I stare at it for a second, not sure what to think. Then I see Kira almost fall out of the vehicle as she gets out. I put my book back on the shelf and head over to meet her as she's coming in the door. My heart comes back to me as I realize that I really haven't been stood-up like I had originally thought.

            Kira comes up and puts a hand over my shoulder, "What's up, Coolie! You ready?"

            "Shhhh!" comes a noise from behind the bookshelf, as a librarian stepped out shaking her finger at us, "This is a library, no yelling and no talking."

            Kira frowns at the librarian and drags me out the door, "Man, she really needs to chill, no one's even here yet! So you ready for this?"

            I try unsuccessfully to control my smile, "Yep, I'm ready. We just need to be back by six or my parents will beat me into a pulp."

            Kira laughed hysterically at that, she didn't know that I was dead serious, "No problems, Coolie, we'll get you home by then."

            Kira opened the side door and motioned me in. I climbed in and got into the back seat next to some boy, who was pretty darned hot if you ask me. Kira got in after me and shut the door behind her. I looked her in the eyes and grinned, almost giggling. She then bumped me with her elbow and winked as she looked at the boy sitting next to me.

            Kira cleared her throat, and starting at the driver, worked her way back, "The driver up there is Sam, and this is his vehicle he's so kind to let us in. Adam couldn't make it. In the passenger seat, as you already know, is my boy Brandon."

            "Hey Coolie, glad you made it!," Brandon interrupted.

            Kira rolled her eyes at him and turned back to me, "Ok, that's Morgan and Alex, they're together. Then you have Tania, but you can just call her Taz, and her man, Nick."

            She then grinned at me as she looked past me to the boy next to me that I'd already figured out to be Mickey, "And that, if you haven't guessed, is Mickey. And finally, everyone, this is Taya!"

            Everyone waved or said hello at random. Kira leaned in front of me and winked at Mickey, "Taya's a single."

            I blushed as I hit her hard with my elbow. Kira jumped, "Hey! He already knew you were single, I told him when we picked him up."

            I turned to Mickey trying not to blush, and reached over to shake his hand, "Yeah, I'm Taya."

            He smiled at me as he shook my hand, "Yep, and I'm Mickey, just like the mouse. So, how have you been?"

            I forced myself to keep smiling and lied, "I've been good."

            "Kira told me four days ago that she'd get you to come with us so I could meet you," Mickey said as he looked me over, "I'm glad you were able to come."

            I blushed again as I turned to smile at Kira, and then turned back to Mickey, "You're not so bad yourself."

            And he wasn't. His smile alone melted my heart. He looked a whole lot like Tom Cruise, which was definitely working for him. Despite all of his good looks, his smile and his eyes were all I could really focus on. He seemed to be really nice too, which was awesome. Not only that, but he was a high school man. I hoped and prayed to myself that this could work out, I just knew he was the right guy for me on every level.

            We talked all the way to town, about anything and everything we could think of. He told me about his extended family, I lied about mine. He definitely had my attention. He even gave me a silver necklace, with a small silver heart that had an inscription that said 'Beauty Comes from Within'. He told me to always remember that, and told me that I was the perfect example of it. I felt bad since he didn't really know about all of the ugliness that was tucked away inside of me. He held my hand the whole way into town, a whole forty-five minutes without letting go.

            Morgan and Alex spend almost the entire ride just kissing, pretty much ignoring everyone else in the car. As we drove into the city, Taz and Nick turned around to face us.

             "So, Taya, is this your first time in the big city?" Taz asked me.

            I nodded, "Yeah, it is actually. I never really go anywhere but in town."

            Nick smiled at me and grinned, "Oh you will have fun, we always have fun!"

            Taz started laughing hysterically, starting up Kira and Nick. Morgan and Alex remained in total lip-lock. Taz gasped for air as she tried to force herself to stop laughing, "You so should have been with us last time we did a big city adventure! Sam ended up on the front page just like Adam did."

            "Hey now, you don't have to go tell her the whole story now, do you?" Sam shouted from up front.

            "Of course I do, she's one of us, now!", she shook her head again and looked straight at me, "Yeah, last time Sammy had himself a little adventure of his own."

            Kira poked me so I turned to look at her, she was tapping her index finger to her lip, "Let's see here, how did it start... How can we forget?!"

            Taz took over again, using massive hand gestures as she talked, "We were walking along the beach last time, when Sam decided to get himself a little drunk..."

            Sam threw an empty soda bottle at Taz. Taz just laughed it off and kept going, "Anyway, he thought it would hilarious to see what would happen if he were to walk downtown, in the freezing weather, with only a towel on him."

            Sam mocked Taz as she started, "I'll get you somehow, Taz, you just wait!!"

             "Okay, so we stop at this department store and buy this hot pink bath towel," she says as she tries hard not to laugh, "We head down to the end of Main Avenue, where we walk into a bathroom in some cheesy restaurant, and he gets himself changed..."

            "As soon as he walked out of the bathroom, the restaurant owner came over and told him he needed to leave, since he was bothering the customers," Kira piped in as Taz started to laugh, "We had to stay behind for a minute because we were laughing way too hard, we were crying. We couldn't believe he was doing this."

             Taz waved Kira down and took back control of the story, "We leave quietly, trying not to laugh, and follow Sam as he makes his way up Main Avenue. The looks and stares he got were hilarious, we were laughing the whole way. But we stayed behind him about half a block so that we wouldn't look like we were with him."

            Kira took her turn again, "He was dancing and spinning as he made his way, making every single person turn to look at him. There were even people coming out of businesses just to see him. No one dared stop him though."

            "As we were nearing the end of Main Avenue, we walked across the street and ran past him, and then crossed again, heading into some apartment complex," Taz said just before getting hit by another flying soda bottle, "After a few minutes he comes running in screaming that the cops are after him. He drops his towel, so now he's running absolutely naked through this apartment complex. We don't really care, we just run after him."

             Mickey and Nick both shake their heads laughing. Kira raises her hand and starts shaking it in the air, "Okay, okay, my turn! We all pile into this tiny furnace room underneath the stairwell, bumping into each other in the dark. We help get him dressed and sneak back out, running straight for the back door."

            Kira was now laughing out of control, you'd think she was having seizures. I myself was starting to laugh. Taz nodded her head and tried to get Kira to shut up, "Alright, so we escape out the back through the fire exit, which of course sets the fire alarm off. So nobody in the complex even knew what happened, so they all come running out both doors. We're just across the block watching as these people come pouring out of this complex..."

            Kira stopped herself long enough to take over again, "We watch as police try to get inside of the building, which is difficult to do with all of the people. The fire department shows up, lights and sirens and everything. We just walk back to the beach and continue on our way, never even getting stopped. It was so freakin' hilarious we could barely stop laughing for like three days."

             Taz stopped laughing for a second, her face was bright red now, "The next day we read the headlines of the local paper that reads 'Man in pink towel struts his stuff down Main Avenue, and disappears after dropping his towel'."

            By now almost the whole car is laughing, including Sam. Alex and Morgan giggle, then continue to tongue wrestle. Nick nods his head at me, "I think I still have that article in my bedroom somewhere..."

            Nick smiles at me, "You'll have fun with us, trust me. Just wait until you hear what Adam did."