MY ORDINARY AVERAGE TEENAGE LIFE

 

 

This is a story that I'm writing with another friend. Wherever there's a double * is where her part of the story will go. I actually started writing this last year with a list of english vocab words sitting in front of me. see if you can't pick them all out in the first paragraph... I'll post the answers on the wiki home page in a few days...

 

 

 

            “KEEHAN!!!” My Government teacher’s garrulous voice jolted me from my inevitable daydream.

 

            “Sir yes Sir Mr. Gonagan.  What was the question, Sir?”  His military past was evident from the absolute way he ran his class.

 

            “I asked you, Keehan, what the minimum requirements for a senator are?”  As I rattled off my impartial answers, I could tell he was surprised. 

 

                        Score: Keehan-1 Gonagan-0 

 

            While he turned to the next unfortunate soul to fall under his impetuous glare, I deflated and slouched in my seat with a sigh of immense relief.  I look down the perfectly strait rows, no one catches my eye.  I straiten and keep looking…

 

            “Damit!  Where is he?” I hiss. 

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            ‘There he is.’  I think as he slides into his seat in the back of the room.  ‘I just hope Gonagan-’ 

 

            “RAFIA!”  I wince.  Too late… “Where have you been?  Never mind, don’t answer that cadet.”  Another wince.  I forgot he’s in ROTC.  Well, it’d be kinda hard to forget that, what with his toned biceps…

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            “Snap out of it Lis!”  I turn to my friend Anne.

 

            “What?” I say, somewhat dazed.

 

            “The bell rang five minutes ago.  Gov is over!  Hell, school is over!”  Quickly, I pull my strait black hair into a ponytail and grab my bag.

 

            “It’s so freakin’ light with no books!”  We ran towards the bus and slid into our seat just in time.  We both exhaled.  Someone had taped up a note on the back of the seat in front of us…

 

SCHOOL IS

 

OVER!!!

 

do you two

 

want to just

 

come hangout

 

with me this

 

afternoon?

 

-D.R.

 

            “Who is that?” Anne said.  “Did you hook up with some guy I don’t know about, Lisa?”

 

            “It’s David.”  Blank stare.  “You know?  David Rafia? ROTC? Hottest guy to ever walk the face of the earth?”

 

            “Oh!  You mean the buff geek?  I didn’t know you were friends with him.”

 

             I sigh. “Yes, that’s him.  Works the electronics for the drama kids.”  We sit in silence except for my iPod, which is steadily ruining our hearing blasting Pop/Rock.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            Finally, the academy bus pulls up to my stop.  I grab back my earbud from Anne and jump down the steps, my over-the-shoulder bag flapping.  My green eyes flash over the guy, standing on the corner.  He’s closer today.  I flick him off and keep walking.  The Neighborhood Pervert.  Everyone has one, most don’t notice them, but we do.  This one’s actually been to jail.  I walk up my driveway and dig through my bag for my keys.

 

            The hairs on the back of my neck prickle.  I don’t turn around until I’m in the house with the door locked.  I look through the curtains and burst out laughing.  My dad is standing there, staring stupidly at the door that I just shut in his face.  Still laughing, I open the door for him.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            “But Mom!  School is out for the summer!  Why can’t I go?”

 

            “For just that reason.” she replied, shaking her head.  “We’re going out to celebrate your brother’s perfect 4.0 GPA.  ALL of us.” she added pointedly.

 

                        Score: Mom-1 Lisa-0

 

            I stomped upstairs to call Anne and David and tell them I couldn’t go.

 

            “ ‘Your brother this, your brother that’, when will she stop comparing me with Alan, the perfect little genius?  Just because he skipped a grade in his “Advanced School” doesn’t mean he knows everything.  In fact, it means that if I get a perfect score on something, then we should celebrate.” I muttered some other stuff too but then HE walked in just as Mom was about to yell at me.  She snapped her jaw shut and into the world’s largest grin.

 

            “Where do you want to go for dinner, sweetie?” 

 

            I roll my eyes and keep stomping.

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            “Im a grl who likes blck & is wearin pnk.”  I text Anne.  “some1 shoot me, please!”  Anne texts back…

 

            “BANG!!!”  I laugh right out loud.  Everyone in the restaurant looks at me. 

 

            ‘A vegetarian in a steakhouse.’ I can almost hear them think.  ‘What’s next, flying pigs?’  My mom glares at me.  I glare right back.  She stuffed me into a pink shirt and a skirt instead of my usual black shirt and blue jeans.

 

                        Score: Mom-2 Lisa-0

 

            The tension is so thick at our table it puts the teenage boys at the next table off their appetites.  My mom looks away first.

 

                        Score: Mom-2 Lisa-1

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            As soon as we get home I run upstairs and change.  ‘I have got to burn that shirt.’  I think, slipping out of it.  ‘And the skirt.’ as it comes off.

 

            “That’s much better.”  I say, my grin returning as I put on my clothes from earlier.  As if those are the magic words, my cell phone starts playing a rock song.

 

            “Hey Anne,” I tell her, “I need to change your ring tone to something a little less obvious.”

 

            “Can you sneak out tonight?  I have to talk to you.”  Her voice is all choked up.  Something’s wrong.

 

            “Hell, I’m not even gonna wait ‘till tonight.  I’ll meet you at the park in five.”  She sniffs and hangs up.

 

            Gently, I open my door.  My parents are downstairs and Alan is on his laptop.  (Another GPA gift)  Ever so quietly I tiptoe to the office balcony.  Looking around to make sure none of the neighbors see, I jump down, landing on the balls of my feet, like a cat on the prowl.  At the fence I remove one, two, three boards.  I slide through and replace them.  I could have just used the gate, but it squeaks and besides, this is way more fun.  As I jog down the street toward the park I smile.

 

                        Score: Mom-2 Lisa-2

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            As I approach the park I slow.

 

            ‘Where’s Anne?’  I think to myself.  ‘There she is!’  I run toward the swings.  Anne is sitting there with her head down.

 

            “So what’s the big emergency?”  I ask.  “You haven’t asked me to sneak out since-”

 

            “I’m pregnant.” 

 

            I’m silent.  “Anne?  Are you sure you’re not pulling my leg?”  I meet her eyes.  She glares at me and I look away.  My mom should take staring lessons from her.  “Who’s the father?”  I ask tentatively.  She mumbles something incomprehensible.  “What?”  I ask, mystified.

 

            “MINE!”  Anne shouts and begins to sob.  I nearly fall off the swing.  I knew her family had problems, but I mean, COME ON!  Incest?  But now some things begin to make sense, like the way she’s always over at my house, how we never had sleepovers at her house, stuff like that.  We hold each other while she cries on my shoulder.  Then she asks me,

 

            “Will you be the Godmother?”  I start.  Anne’ll be having her baby during school.

 

            “You know I will, why would you ask that?  You made me promise we would be Godparents to each other’s children.  Just because it’s sooner than either of us expected, doesn’t change anything.”  She gives me a watery smile.

 

            “Thanks,” Anne says.  “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”  I grin back, but inside, I’m crying too.

 

                        Score: Life-1 Us-0

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            Anne and I sit there for a little longer, then get up and walk around the lake to ‘our spot’.  we sit down and stare at the sunset. 

 

            “Have you told anyone else?”   I ask.  A sharp

 

            “NO!” is my answer.  “And don’t you tell anyone else either!” 

 

            “But you’ve got to tell your mom!  And your teachers eventually, otherwise they’ll guess and tell your mom then.”  Anne just stares out water.  She sighs,

 

            “I guess you’re right…”

 

            “Aren’t I always?” I ask, grinning.  “And you know you have to call me as soon as you go into labor.  I’ll be there as soon as I can get a hold of my mom to drive me there.  When are you due and have you thought of any names yet?”  She actually laughs.  What a wonderful sound.

 

            “December 29^th, but I’ve only got a girl’s name.  It’s Alana Marie.  Do you mind?”  Tears start falling from my eyes again.

 

            “That’s fine.”  I say, hugging her, touched that she would use my middle name as her baby’s.  “That’s just fine.”

 

                        Score: Life-1 Us-1

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

            I make sure Anne is ok (well, ok other than being pregnant) and well on her way before I head home.  I walk this time, trying to absorb everything that just happened.

 

            ‘Anne is pregnant?!?  Oh, Man!  What will our teachers think?  Especially Mr. James… didn’t we just talk about teen pregnancy in his class?  Oh, MAN!!!’ 

 

            Before I know it I’m back at the fence.  I slide through again and walk across the deck.  It’s pitch black out, so my whole family’s asleep, but my mom’s a light sleeper.  I guess it’s back in the way I came out.  I jump up and grab the edge of the balcony.

 

            ‘Finally, all those pull-ups in gym are coming in handy!’

 

            I drag myself up, and summersault onto the main flooring, executing a perfect round-off and landing with my arms flung wide.  As I bow to my imaginary audience, I am surprised to hear slow clapping.  I open my eyes and see my mom standing there.

 

                                    Shit.

 

                        Score: Mom-3 Lisa-2

 

 

 

*

 

 

 

*

 

           

 

            I am grounded to the end of the century.  Lucky for me my dad stepped in and brought it down from the rest of eternity.

 

            Score: Mom- 0 Dad- 1

 

            I am, however, stuck in my room minus meals (and eventually school) for the next four months.  That means no phone, no TV, no computer… basically the only contact to the outside world is shouting through the screen on my window.  My world has been compacted into a 20 foot by 20 foot square.  I sit at my desk and sigh, staring out the back of it, which happens to be a window. (My dad helped me build my desk into the window. It's pretty cool. During the summer I can just open it and basically be outside with none of the bugs.) I let my eyes roam the treeline of my neighborhood, and they come to rest on two small figures riding their bikes. 

I squint and as my contacts adjust, I realize that it's Alan and Anne's half-brother Syd. His full name is Sydney Stoichiometry Dipole, but only because his father (and the father of Anne's baby, I realize with a jolt) was going trough a period of drunken love with chemistry. I need hardly say that Syd hates his name and science with a burning passion.