Divine Deception"Estrange"
"Okay, open your eyes, honey," my mother tells me before adding, "Happy birthday, I hope you enjoy it!"
Once my eyes adjust to the morning sun, I can see what she's referring to. A black car, that's the best way that I can describe it. The paint is the shiniest of them all. The exterior glistens in the light as if it's always wet and the vibrant blue streak seems to have a way to illuminate all on its own. I can't see an emblem and when I squint at the top of the hood, I can see a small block that I assume the statuette-like emblem descends into in case somebody decides to try and steal it.
"My own car?" I ask, turning to my mother. She nods and I do nothing other than fling my arms around her and squeeze her tight. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, now hurry up. You don't want to be late for school." She pauses. "It's up to you now."
"Yeah, yeah." I've already gotten myself into the car and pulled on my seat belt. I won't be late for school. Not now. Besides, I am way too excited to even eat anything so I am saving time by not having breakfast. I turn the ignition and the car purrs to life around me. The GPS asks me where I want to go. When I put the car into reverse, the screen changes to the rear camera so that I can see where I am going and the music booms around me as if I have a Magico loudspeaker in every corner. I almost don't hear my mother when she knocks on my window. I turn down the music and put the window down. "Yes?"
"And don't even think about skipping. Just because you have a set of wheels does not mean to take advantage of them. Don't make me regret buying you this."
Skip school? I wouldn't even think about it. At least not today. Today we have a field trip and I'll be able to drive myself there and not have to take the loser bus. Also what that chick Alicia said last night still has my blood pulsing on a burning level. The lies she made up about the Alto name and how worthless we are. If there's any day that I'm not going to skip school, it's this one. I'm going to show her, as well as everybody else at that school just what the Alto name has to offer.
But when I get to school, nobody's paying much attention to the sweet ride I just pulled up in. I get the occasional glance here and there, and Heather comes over to comment on how the blue is almost the same colour as her cousin Katy Perry's eyes, but other than that, everybody is up at the front of the school. From the outside, it looks like another fight has broken out. I won't be surprised if Tom has started teasing Jordon again about the way he dresses.
It's not Jordon, though. I mean, Jordon's there, sure, but there, in front of three other jocks, is Keith Sanderson, captain of the football team. He's also my date to the Fall Ball. We've been going steady for three months now. He's got the average boy next door look. Brown hair, blue eyes. A jaw that goes for miles. His tee-shirts always look a little too tight, pinching into the lines of his muscles, and from getting to know him I've learned he likes it that way. Yet, today he looks almost unrecognizable. His hair has been split down the middle and is tied into pigtails just like Jordon's hair. The three jocks behind him look normal, but an argument has broken out and the three of them are defending Keith. People see me and then roll their eyes. Some shove me back while others defend me. I can't make out for a second what is going on. Voices hiss.
"Great, she's here."
"Go home!"
"Typical Alto, treat people like dirt."
"She thinks she's better than everybody else."
My heart is racing and beating so hard that I can barely hear them. I squeeze between the countless bodies and make it to Keith's side. "Keith, what's going on?" I can't help but eye his choice of hairstyle. I think it's a joke, that he's teamed up with the rest of the school in mocking Jordon. Although there's something in his eyes that tells me differently.
"So, you thought it was funny yesterday?" he asks me. He's not quiet. He's loud, like he wants to make a scene. Wants everybody to hear.
"What are you talking about?"
"You know," he urges me. "You got everybody revved up."
I lean back and cross my arms. "That was Tom--"
"Liar!" somebody yells from behind me. I turn to see who it is and all I can see is a group of angry students. They aren't students of any worth. They're the nerds, the goths, the nobodies.
When I look back I see Keith pulling something from his knapsack. He quickly tosses it at me. I catch it and unfold the pink dress. It's not mine, but it's still ugly. "What is this?"
"Isn't this what you suggested for Jordon yesterday?" He rips it back from my grasp and pulls it over his own clothes. "What happens when I wear it? Are you embarrassed of me?"
I snort. "Okay, you've made your point, Keith."
"No, I haven't... We're done."
I am taken back and I have to clear my throat to speak again. "W-What?"
"I'm breaking up with you. I thought you were different, but what you say... what you do..." He's shaking his head from side to side and I can't find any will to defend myself. I am speechless. "Yesterday was proof enough that you're just another rich girl who cares only about money and what people think about her, and will go as far as hurting somebody else to make sure that she's okay. I don't like girls who spit venom. I'm leaving you to swallow it." And he turns and makes his way inside. Before he's completely out of sight, he turns back to me and says, "Oh, by the way, nice car."
Students shuffle past me, pushing me like I'm not even visible anymore. When the bell rings to notify us that class starts in five minutes, only those who support me stand outside with me. "Oops!" I say to them, trying to hide my embarrassment. I laugh like nothing is wrong and pretend to laugh so hard that the tears in my eyes look like they're from that and not from the fact that I am fifteen seconds from bursting into tears. Nothing can hide my humiliation and shame, so I casually make my way to the girls washroom and clean myself up. When I am done, I get back to my car and follow the bus to the theatre.
I meet up with the rest of the class who waits for me at the bus. Miss Wanabango hates when we are off schedule and today is no exception. It's the same lecture every time. She always tells us how in the working world being late means less money. While it makes sense, I've always believed there to be more to what she's saying. Now, I can see irritation in her caramel eyes, but to my surprise she doesn't open her mouth to give me a good verbal lashing. Instead she tells me that I am the final student and we step inside.
As we are led to our seats, I can see classes from other schools. Boys from Dribbleline Sports Academy are ahead of our line while Smuggsworth bring up the rear. I notice what I assume is a class from Riverview just arriving. They are all decked out in long sleeve sweaters, track pants and toques. It has to be Riverview. While I've never travelled there, from what my mother has told me, their cold weather starts a lot earlier than ours here in Sunset Valley.
We take our seats and the play begins. It's a long, boring piece that I could have done without. Half the time I pull out my phone and text Heather when Miss Wanabango isn't looking. Heather tells me that Keith has started a new trend and both boys and girls have started the pink dress and pigtails look as if just to spite me. When the play is over, Miss Wanabango leads us back to the bus. I am about to cut away and head back to my car when she calls me back for a quick announcement.
"Before everybody heads home, you have homework."
"Homework?" somebody in the back whines.
"You will be paired up and by the end of class tomorrow I want a two thousand word essay on what you believe the true meaning behind
Estrange was." She pauses and starts to name off the pairs. "And finally, Delilah and Alicia."
Disbelief. It's the first and only thing I feel, which is preposterous. After the day that I've been having, it seems only fitting that I get paired up with the girl who had a good laugh screwing around with my vision of my family. If anything I should have expected it. But still, the girl who said my family was trash, that suckered me into going to dinner with her, pointed her finger at me for siding with Tom yesterday... Why shouldn't I have thought being paired with her to do an essay wasn't coming down the tubes? Today seems to be about as ludicrous as it gets. Why stop at my boyfrined dumping me, humiliating me in front of the whole school, on my birthday of all days?
"Here we are again," Alicia says as she makes it to my side. She looks as happy as I feel about this little arrangement. When she motions for me to head to the bus, I shake my head and tell her, "Get in the car." When I had said I wanted to show my car to her this morning, this wasn't what I had in mind.
"How does that sound to you?"
Alicia has just read our final statement out loud and all I can do is nod. "It sounds fine," I tell her. I told her the same thing the time before she rewrote it. And the time before that. And the time before that. And so on. Before yesterday I didn't know much about this girl and at this point in time I still don't, but there are two things I do know. Alicia is a perfectionist, and never be paired with a perfectionist if you want to finish an assignment.
The door opens and my mother walks around the corner. "Delilah, you can't park your car on the lawn. There's a specific spot for it for a reason--Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know we had a guest."
"Miss Wanabango gave us an assignment that we need to finish tonight," I explain as I make the final corrections to my draft. "My car is just there until I drive Alicia home."
"Alicia?"
"Sorry, Alicia, this is my mother, Vita and mother this is Alicia."
The two of them lock eyes and stay there for a moment. "Uh, hi," they both say right at the same time as if cued to do so. They don't say anything else, but they still look at each other as if speaking in a language that doesn't involve using ones own vocal cords or opening their mouth. I glare at both of them with a hint of hysteria growing inside of me. What was going on? Before I can say anything, my mother speaks up again.
"Deli, dear, you're almost done I take it?" she says to me. "It's still your birthday and I was hoping we could go dress shopping for the Fall Ball. It's only a few days away."
I shake my head. "I'm not going. It's been one mess of a day." I can see something in my mother's face I can't quite put my finger on. Impatience? Affliction? "Keith broke up with me," I explain to her to try and smooth out whatever she's feeling. It doesn't work. She's as agitated as ever.
"Well, maybe he just needs some time. Maybe he's dealing with something personal. He'll probably ask you again, apologize for whatever he's done. Let's just make sure that you're ready for it." She places a hand on my shoulder and another one of Alicia's. "When the two of you have finished, we'll drive Alicia here home and then I'll take you out for something to eat. We'll talk. We've got a lot to talk about."
I squint at my mother, though she's unable to hold my gaze. Her face has gone pale and the whole time that she was trying to convince me to take her suggestions, I could hear the anxiety rising in her voice, her inability to hide it. I sigh and shrug my shoulders. "Fine, I guess you're right. Keith has done this before." And he has. He likes to make a big deal of things and then comes crawling back. Still, as I finish up with Alicia, I can see my mother in the back, watching us with eyes of a hawk.
