Ella's Twisted Senior Year (4 page)

My phone starts blowing up when we leave the Burger Barn. I glance down and see a text that says my neighborhood was on TV. Before I can reply, my phone beeps again and again as several texts come in at once. I’m guessing all my friends saw the same news channel and want to tell me the same thing. Kennedy grabs my phone and shoves it in her pocket.

“What the hell?” I say, stopping in front of my truck.

“You’re with your girlfriend right now. You don’t need to be texting people.”

“Oh my god,” I mutter, running my hand through my hair. “You are insane.”

She punches me in the arm. “That’s an incredibly rude way to talk to a woman.”

Toby puts his fists to his mouth and yells, “Damn!”

Keith just laughs.

I’m standing here wondering why do these guys try to hook up with Kennedy’s friends when they’re all the same way she is? They’re going to bust my balls over the way she’s treating me when all of her friends would do the same thing to them. And what exactly have I gotten myself into with this girl? She was so sweet when she first set her eyes on me after the Valentine’s dance. I’d skipped out on the dance, of course. That kind of thing is even stupider than prom and I was single at the time so there was no reason to go. I’d been with Toby and Jose at the Burger Barn when Kennedy and a few of her friends walked in, all dolled up and professionally styled. We’d told the girls they should ditch the dance and hang out with us, and Kennedy wrote her number on my receipt and said to call her.

So I did, and then we were a thing.

And now she’s a completely different person. Mom had warned me that girls like her tend to get possessive, but this is a whole other level of crazy. And apparently I’m not allowed to tell Kennedy when she’s being crazy.

I’m silent as I drive back to Kennedy’s house, but the guys make sure to keep the conversation going without me. When we get to her house, Kennedy leans over the front seat and plants her lip-glossy lips over mine.

“You can have your phone back if you say please.”

I pull away and stare at her, my expression blank. “You have no authority over my phone, babe.” I hold out my hand, palm up. “Hand it over.”

She blinks. “Ethan! God, I’m just playing.” With a roll of her eyes, she hands me my phone and then moves in for another kiss. I’m really not in the mood for this, but I kiss her back, if only to end the night sooner.

“Goodnight,” I say, watching as she walks away. Normally I’d walk her to her front door and as much as I love awkward small talk with her massive ex-football-playing father, I opt out of it tonight.

Toby knocks on my window and I roll it down. “What’s up?”

“Dude, that girl has it out for you,” he says, shrugging unkempt hair out of his eyes. “How did you screw up so badly?”

I lift my shoulders. “She was rude to Ella Lockhart and I didn’t stick up for her.”

“Ella?” Toby says, recognition dawning in his eyes. We’ve been friends since little league so he’s aware of my past with the girl next door. “Like,
the
Ella?”

“Dude, it’s not like that. We haven’t been friends in years.”

“But that’s the one you were obsessed with, right? Does Kennedy know?”

“I was not obsessed with her and no, Kennedy doesn’t know.”

He nods. “Good.”

I stop him before he walks back to his car. “Do you think I should break up with her?”

His eyes go wide. “Kennedy? Like you could ever date higher on that totem pole,” he says with a snort. “You should hang onto that as long as you can.”

I scratch my eyebrow. “I’m starting to hate her.”

“But she’s
Kennedy Price
,” he says as if the legal name on her birth certificate is somehow a legit reason to stay with someone.

I let out a sigh. “Maybe she’ll get over it and be cool again.”

“She will. Just suck up a lot. Buy her a present or something.”

We say our goodbyes and I drive all the way home thinking about Toby’s advice. Sucking up to Kennedy is probably a good way to get back on her good side, but I’m just not sure that’s how a good relationship should work. I shouldn’t be this miserable all of the time.

With the exception of a couple random dates that were more awkward than romantic, I haven’t exactly dated anyone seriously, so this is all new to me. I know real life is nothing like in the movies. If it were, Kennedy would be a hell of a lot nicer to me.

The sun is beginning to set as I turn into my neighborhood, the lake in the center of the road turning orange and yellow. I jam along with the song on the radio and I can’t believe I don’t notice it sooner.

Ella’s freaking house is gone.

I pull over on the side of the road a house down from my own because there’s too many people standing around in the way. My parents aren’t home yet, judging by the empty driveway, but I don’t go inside to check just yet.

My chest aches as I approach the scene. It’s exactly like the stuff you see on TV. Destroyed leftovers from a natural disaster, only this time I am seeing it with my own eyes. I look up at my house, which is only missing a few shingles from the roof. Across the neighborhood, two more homes look worse off than Ella’s, if you can even call it a house anymore. Ella’s house has one remaining wall and part of a roof that’s leaning against said wall.

People are everywhere. I put a hand on my mailbox in an effort to slow everything down. I can’t believe my eyes and for the first time in my life, I’m having trouble understanding what’s in front of me.

The whole time I sat next to Ella in the hallway, while the tornado whirled all around us, ripping her house to shreds, she had no idea. We had no clue how this day would end drastically different from how it started.

My lip begins to bleed and I realize I’m biting down on it too hard. A sob catches my attention and I look down to find Ella right there, crying on the curb between our houses.

“Ella,” I say, moving to her. “Are you okay?”

I drop to my knees and pull her into my arms as she cries. Suddenly I’m back in that closet with her, the storm raging all around us, and I’m telling her it’ll be okay because I’ll keep her safe. Her hair smells like green apple and I can’t believe she still uses the same shampoo after all these years. Only now the brown of her hair has been streaked with highlights of blonde. Her body stiffens beneath my grip.

She pushes me away, palms slamming hard against my chest. “What are you doing?” she says, her beautiful features twisting into a grimace.

“I’m just—” I begin. Another tear falls down her cheek as she glares at me, her chest heaving with each breath. “I’m just making sure you’re okay.”

“That’s none of your business,” she snaps.

I swallow and rub my forehead. “I’m sorry, Ella.”

“You don’t need to be sorry,” she says with a sigh. “Just go away. We’re not friends.”

I pull the starchy white hotel sheets up to my chin and roll over, facing the window. The movement was supposed to alert my parents to the fact that I am awake and can hear everything they’re saying, but they carry on, oblivious to my existence. Three nights ago when we checked into this one bedroom, two bed hotel room, I’d been creeped out and a little worried about sleeping just two feet away from my parents. I mean, they would know better than to do any adult activities with me around but it was still weird.

Of course, hearing them argue about money was the last fear on my mind yet that’s all they’ve done all weekend. Argue about money and take turns freaking out. Sometimes they freak out at the same time.

I can’t blame Mom for being pissed at Dad right now. He’s the one who let the house insurance lapse three months ago. Apparently things have been tighter than I realized, and my parents’ salaries are barely getting the pills paid. Dad blames Mom’s new Lexus and the rising cost of healthcare and Mom blames Dad’s tendency to order restaurant take out for every meal when she’s at work.

“We have to be out of here by noon,” Dad says, sounding resigned. “If we stay another night, we’ll max out the credit card and we can’t let that happen.”

“I understand Ben, but where else are we going to go? Our parents both live too far away to commute to work.”

“How’s the loan idea going?” Dad asks.

Mom’s silent for a long time and I imagine her shaking her head, or maybe holding back tears. When she speaks, I can’t tell what emotion is on her face. “My parents think we can figure this out ourselves. You know how they are.”

It sounds like they’re hugging, and even over all of the arguing, I’m glad they still love each other. I sit up and pull off the blankets, turning to face my parents.

“We just need a game plan,” I say, somehow thinking that if I keep talking, the answer to our problems will fall out of my mouth. “I can stay with April and Dad, can’t you stay at the station like you do on overnight shifts? Mom, could you stay with Aunt Donna and just drive further to work?” Aunt Donna lives in a halfway house so it’s not like we could all stay, but I figure one person could stay temporarily.

Mom shakes her head. “We’re not splitting up. And this is just temporary, Ella. You don’t need to worry. We’ll get paid soon and we should have a tax refund in a couple weeks. We’ll rent an apartment or something.”

Dad nods while he makes coffee in the hotel’s tiny coffee pot. “This is just a little setback, Punk. You don’t need to worry.”

“How long will it take to build our house back?” I ask.

My parents exchange a look. “We won’t be building it back. We’re putting the land for sale.”

“I grew up in that house,” I say, frowning as my chest tightens.

Mom nods. “But it’s not the same house anymore. These things happen. We’ll bounce back.”

I nod, and the lump in my throat tells me that she’s wrong.

We spend the weekend at our old house, packing up as many things as we can find that are still intact. I find some clothes that are still wearable after being washed, a few Knick knacks and one bottle of nail polish.

Ethan’s truck is in his driveway both days, but he never come outside. I still don’t know what he was thinking when he tried to hug me. One thing I do know for sure: Ethan is not the same scrawny kid from my childhood. He’s filled out in every possible way and his hug felt like I was being wrapped in solid muscles. That’s why I had to push him away. He’s not my friend anymore. He’s Kennedy’s boyfriend.

*

Although my parents take off work on Monday, they make me go to school. April meets me next to the massive shark statue that guards the entrance near the student parking lot. My best friend is tall and thin which makes a sharp contrast to my short, kind of stocky frame. She gives me a quick hug, making sure not to crash into me with her coffee.

“Did you bring me one by chance?” I ask, giving her a big, innocent grin.

She holds out the paper coffee cup and my name is scribbled on the side. “I already drank mine,” she says.

“Thanks,” I say, taking the cup. “You are the
best
, best friend ever.”

She flips her hair over her shoulder. “I know.”

We still have a few minutes until the first period bell rings and April wants to know everything that happened this weekend. I wasn’t able to tell her all the details since I was never away from my parents for long enough to talk privately. It’s been a rough forty-eight hours and only part of that has to do with losing my house.

“It’s weird,” I explain as we walk toward first period. “Like I was watching TV and I thought that my feet were cold, so I wanted socks. And then I realized all my socks are gone. Or like, I had a craving for a honey bun and then I realized I can’t go into the kitchen anymore and get one.”

April frowns. “That is so sucky. Your whole life is like, gone.” She makes a poof gesture with her hands.

“I know. Mom cried for ten minutes when she found the hard drive with our family photos on it. It still works so she’s like freaking out about it.”

I’m trying really hard to maintain the conversation, but it’s nearly impossible as we walk down the hallway. Everyone is staring at me. And I’m pretty sure this isn’t one of those situations where you think you’re being watched but you’re really not.

“Hey, April?” I say quietly.

She nods as if reading my mind. “People are staring.”

My cheeks redden. “Why?” I groan.

“Well the rumors are you’re the only one who lost their house. Some freshman kid lost their barn and this other guy’s grandfather got hurt really bad. But you’re the big story. Your dad was on the news and everything.”

I let out a slow breath, watching the red specks in the tile flooring as we walk. My dad is pretty well known around here because when we were younger, he’d always volunteer for career day and tell stories about gory disgusting EMT patients he’s had over the years. In a small town like Hockley, everyone knows my dad.

“This is going to be a nightmare,” I mutter as I lean against the lockers outside of my first period class.

April puts an arm around my shoulders. “My mom told me that you’re all welcome to come crash in our living groom if you need.”

April has six siblings and a three bedroom house. I’ve only spent the night over there once. The rest of the time she comes to my house so we can have privacy and our own bedroom. I smile. “Thanks, but my parents are going to figure out something.”

“Are you the girl who lost her house?” some freshman-looking kid asks me while two of his friends stand around waiting for the answer.

“That’s me,” I say. “Tell me if you find it.”

*

All four of my morning teachers go out of their way to talk to me about what happened. It’s not like I lost my entire family in a murder-suicide but you’d think it was that dramatic by the way they act. I get asked a lot of questions and many people want to know if my dad’s okay. I’ve spent all seventeen years of my life blending into the crowd so suddenly being the center of attention is like Mother Nature’s idea of torture.

In lunch, I’m grateful to see that my lunch account still has twenty bucks on it. I can no longer pack a lunch from whatever’s in the pantry and the last thing I want to do is ask my parents for money. April and I get cheesy fries and a soda and settle into our spot at a round table near the windows that face the courtyard.

Because my luck is astronomically awful lately, I look up from the table at the exact moment that Ethan walks by, his girlfriend right next to him.

“Hey,” he says, giving me a little wave.

What the hell?

I just stare at him. I don’t know why. Maybe I’m exhausted from being forced to talk to entirely too many people today, maybe because I’m running on crappy hotel room sleep and I haven’t been able to take a single breath in the last three days without that tornado on my mind. Whatever the reason, I just stare.

His steps falter and those gorgeous dark eyebrows pull together. “You okay?”

“She’s fine,” April says, her voice heavy with sarcasm.

“Yep,” I say when Ethan won’t stop looking at me. “I’m peachy.”

I don’t have to look at Kennedy to know she’s glaring at me. The fact that she doesn’t want her boyfriend talking to me, the girl he thinks is a gross stalker, is enough to make me smile. Why waste her time and precious brain cells being threatened by me? I am no one.

Kennedy takes a step back and opens her arms wide. “Attention everyone!” she calls out, putting her cheerleading lungs to good use. “Hello! I need everyone’s attention, please!”

I turn back to my cheesy fries but it’s obvious this is about me.

“What are you doing?” Ethan asks her.

Kennedy says, “As we all know, one of our students lost their house in the tornado. She’s clearly wearing the same outfit she wore on Friday, the poor thing.”

From across the cafeteria, I see Mr. Brown’s face redden and he begins walking toward us. But Kennedy has everyone’s eyes on her now. “Please, everyone. Let’s take up a food donation for Ella, okay? I’m sure her family could use all the help they can get. The poor girl looks like she hasn’t even showered in days. Maybe we could take turns buying her lunch every day, hmm?”

My entire body seems to vibrate with anger. People laugh and others go back to eating. Someone shouts something I can’t quite make out, but Kennedy has proven her point. If I talk to her boyfriend, she can easily embarrass me in front of the entire school.

Ethan hisses something to her and she rolls her eyes.

I slap my hands on the table and stand up, nearly knocking over my chair.

The entire cafeteria goes quiet once more and I make eye contact with the teacher who is still walking over here. I figure I have about ten seconds until he gets to this side of the room, so I better make it quick.

“Now that Kennedy has your attention, I’d like to organize another fundraiser as well.” My heart pounds and I’m nervous as hell, but the desire to make her feel as small as she’s trying to make me feel is too strong. I won’t let her win.

I point to her. “I’ll be collecting donations to help Kennedy Price get the one thing she doesn’t have. A personality. I hear they sell them in Japan, but they’re pricey, especially since the doctors will be working on someone as vapid as our head cheerleader.” My face goes numb from nerves but I force myself to keep talking. “Donations of any amount are appreciated.”

“That’s enough, girls!” Mr. Brown growls, pointing a chubby finger at me. Kennedy grabs her boyfriend by the arm and tugs him away but Ethan meets my eyes for just a second.

He grins.