FIRST LOVE

Chapter 21

The day flew by pretty quickly since Rebekah was by my side and even though I was picked on a few times it wasn't that bad because she was always making me laugh. I never knew that she was this funny and I kept asking her how on God's green earth we weren't friends sooner. We spent our free time talking about our future and she told me about how she had a scholarship to go to Markley's School of Arts, which was an institute that dealt basically with singers, dancers and actors. It was the best in our country and I wasn't surprised that she got in.

When she told me about her family and how diverse they were I couldn't help but to feel pity. She usually threw huge parties and got into trouble because her family literally didn't care. They spent their time traveling and she hasn't seen them in three years. She was being taken care of by her nanny and had just turned 18 when she threw her last party and no one else knew but me. She was leaving her family as soon as she graduated.

The bell rang, signaling the end of a long day and I reluctantly said my goodbyes. It felt amazing to finally get a friend. I walked slowly to the principal's office and didn't even bother to tell Ms. Colleen hi as I headed past her. I barged into my mom's office without knocking and she looked up at me.

"Sit." Was all she said as her eyes returned to her files.

I quietly took a seat and waited for her to address me. After a while she put down her papers, took off her glasses and leaned back in her chair. She had on her professional expression and my body instantly became alert.

"Lillian, I called you in here today to speak to you about Nationals." She spoke business-like and I nodded.

"As you know Nationals is in three days and I wanted to make sure that you were mentally and emotionally fit."

"I am." I said without a doubt.

"Good. I can't have childish behaviors or inadequacy or even incompetence coming from my team. If you're going to represent then I want us to win. Our rivals are weak and for lack of better words, stupid. So if you know you can't handle the heat let me know and I'll take you out of the fire."

"I'm ready." I said flatly.

"Good."

She picked up her files and placed her glasses back on. This was her way of dismissing me and I gladly stood up. As I was walking to the door she stopped me.

"Lillian."

"Yes?" I said, my back to her.

"Don't disappoint me again."

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"Hey Lilly." Mel says cheerfully as I locked the door behind me.

She was sitting on the couch with a big bowl of popcorn and looking at reruns of Lab Rats.

"Hi"

"Come join me."

She patted the seat next to her and I wearily dropped my bag as I joined her. I kicked off my shoes as she raised the blanket and I slid underneath. We sat in silence for a few minutes just eating popcorn and laughing at the series. Even though she was 20 she stilled watched kids stuff and laughed crazily at it. Her laugh was infectious and it was difficult not to laugh along with her.

My phone buzzed in my pockets and I pulled it out. The screen showed that the number was blocked so I had no clue as to who it was. I excused myself and went into the kitchen.

"Hello?" I said clearing my throat.

"Please don't hang up!" Came the frantic reply.

I recognized the voice as Deon and my first thought was to hang up but then visions of earlier flooded my mind and I paused. I heard him exhale when he realized I was still on the line before he spoke again.

"We really need to talk. Whatever you think you know or don't know it's not what you think. Just give me a chance to properly explain myself and I promise you-"

I cut him off as I started to get pissed.

"Look Deon. I made it clear to you that I wanted nothing to do with you. You took my innocence and then you corrupted me, maybe you did it for popularity or maybe you didn't mean for it to blow up but I really don't care. I have Nationals coming up on Friday and I really can't deal with any distractions so I'm begging you to just leave me be okay."

I slammed down the phone and walked back into the living room. I sat back down and tried to focus on the show but he had already spoiled my mood so all I could do was brood. Mel was obviously getting my vibe because she turned off the tv and faced me.

"Do you wanna talk about it?" She asked softly and I could hear the motherly concern in her voice.

I don't know if it was because I had so much anger in me or because I didn't have many friends or if I just needed someone to talk too, all I knew was that as soon as she said that my mouth started spewing forth words like the Nile river.

By the time I was done I was shouting and walking around the room. It felt so good to finally speak my mind and I was grateful that Mel allowed me to vent. When I finally returned to room temperature Mel spoke.

"That is just horrible." She said with scorn.

"I know!" I shrieked.

I shook my head and sat down. Mel got up and walked to the kitchen. Seconds later she was back with a giant container of cookies and cream ice cream and I laughed at her 'comfort food'. We spent the remainder of our time together just eating ice cream and talking about our bad experiences. At the end I was laughing so hard I thought I would get sick. She had so many bad experiences growing up that it was a miracle Shane had found his way into her life.

Shane came home later that night and we were still laughing. She left me to go off with him and I retired to my room to continue practicing for Friday.