Fitting In (Is Hard to Do) Semester 1

THE WINTER FORMAL DANCE was poppin’ and everyone were enjoying themselves. Jaylen and Spirit stayed on the dance floor. Jaylen especially loved slow dancing with Spirit. It was the most action he’d gotten from her since they had started dating years ago.

  Willow and Ryder had come together as each other’s dates. They’d dance to a few of their favorite fast songs but sat out on all the slow ones.

  “I-It’s messed up th-th-that Amber couldn’t come. I know she was really lo-looking f-forward to Winter… Formal.”

  “Ryder please… I’m about done feeling sorry for Amber. She gets what she deserves.”

  “Th-that’s mean.”

  “Maybe a little. She’s probably glad she’s on punishment because she couldn’t find a date. I wouldn’t put it past her if she got on punishment on purpose to have an excuse.”

  Willow and Ryder grabbed some punch that was already poured into cups sitting on the punch table.

  “I-I still can’t b-believe she snuck out?”

  “I can’t believe she lied and fantasized about Roman liking her.”

  “W-why you so-so hard on her?” Ryder took a sip of his punch and waited for Willow to respond.

  “I’m not hard on her!” Willow glared at Ryder and scanned the room with her eyes. “I wonder where her little squad is. The only ones I see here is Spirit and Jaylen, but they don’t really hang with them, anyway.”

  “W-why you-you checking for ‘the squad’? I h-had a chance to h-hang with them and they w-weren’t that bad.” She walked away and left Ryder standing there.

  ♥♥♥

  “Aren’t you tired of dancing?” Spirit asked Jaylen as they swayed to another slow jam. “My feet are hurting in these shoes.”

  “Nope.” He pulls her in closer and lays her head closer to his heart.

  “Hold up.” Spirit reaches down and removes her heels. Jaylen, being the gentleman he is, grabs them and hold them for her and they both continue slow dancing. “I wonder where everyone is?”

  “Well, Hunter and Q broke up, so I guess they’re not coming. And I don’t really know where Symphony and Roman are. He’s probably somewhere heated because we got into it.”

  “Who got into it? You and Roman?” They stop dancing and Spirit drags Jaylen to a little quieter place to talk.

  “It’s not even that serious Spirit.” Jaylen didn’t want to talk about it. “You know how heated Roman gets over nothing.”

  “Well, tell me the nothing he got upset about? What happened?”

  “I don’t know.” Jaylen paced back and forth. “He came back home to get his cell off the charger. He acted stupid. We fought. He took my grandma’s car. He left. That was it. He’s probably with Symphony and she decided to just babysit him.”

  “Hmm… that don’t sound right.” Spirit grabs her cell from her purse and calls Symphony. No answer so she leaves Symphony a message to call her. “You call Roman.”

  “No.”

  “Why?”

  “I’m not talking to that dude. Period. He can die as far as I’m concerned!”

  “You’re not supposed to say things like that, Jaylen! Take it back!”

  “No!”

  “What could he have done to you that was so bad it got you wishing death on somebody?”

  ♥♥♥

  “I’m going to stay right here in the parking lot. Your dad gets off at midnight, so we have to be home well before then.”

  What else was new! Classic Cinderella story. Amber thought as she and Quincy got out of Melissa’s car and headed inside of Westbrook High. The plan was to walk into Winter Formal, say hello to a few people so Amber could floss, and have one slow dance with Quincy. He told Amber that she at least deserved that. To go to her first Winter Formal and have at least one dance. The two however, convinced Melissa to take them and she agreed, as long as it was the three’s secret.

  “Oowee! I got the hottest date in Westbrook!” Quincy yelled as he handed the ticket handlers two tickets. One of them originally meant for Hunter. He kissed Amber on the cheek and grabbed her by the waist as he led her into the gym.

  “Wait!” Amber stopped dead in her tracks

  “What? You ain’t getting cold feet are you?”

  “Never that! I just need to go to the ladies room. That’s all. Wait for me.”

  “Oh, I ain’t going nowhere bae.” Amber’s heart fluttered from Quincy’s soft tone and word choice.

  She couldn’t believe she was finally here at Winter Formal, with a date, and looking fly as ever. She click clacked her heels, (well, Melissa’s heels, but she was owning them tonight) and sashayed her rear because she knew Quincy was looking. To her, it was all a dream. Forget Roman’s ugly self. Maybe he ain’t my type! She thought about the comment that Roman said before he left her father’s house. Those words he said to her cut her deeply. She felt that hurt throughout her soul. He talking ‘bout don’t be that chick. Humph! “I am that bitch!” She said aloud to herself in the mirror as she fixed the bangs on her wig.

  “Omygosh! Amber?” Willow came out of the bathroom stall and washed her hands as her mouth hung open the whole time.

  Amber however, had forgotten all about Willow being at Winter Formal. “There go your snitchin’ self!”

  “I can’t believe your mom let you come! And dressed like that!”

  “What you mean, dressed like that?” Amber was already mad and getting madder. Every time she makes a come up on something, someone always has to ruin it for her. Amber refused to let anyone take this night from her. It was her time to shine, and she was going to shine brighter than any star in the sky. She might not have been with Roman, but Quincy was the next best thing.

  Thoughts of Roman’s words floated in her head again mixed with Willow’s words of how Roman didn’t really like her. Right now, all Amber felt was hatred. Amber wiped the water sprinkles off the countertop with a paper towel. “You know what, Willow?” Amber carefully removed her wig, placed it neatly on the counter, and removed Melissa’s four-inch fuchsia heels. She walked over to Willow and eased her fingers through Willow’s immaculately decorated bun.

  “Amber. Stop. What are you doing?”

  “I hate you!” Amber pulled Willow’s bun a loose as she yanked on her hair and punched Willow in the face repeatedly. Even though it was Willow’s face that was taking all the abuse, inside Amber was pummeling Roman as well.

  “Stop!” Willow cried. “I’m tellin’!”

  This just added more fuel to the fire. “That’s all you ever do is tell!” Amber hit Willow a few more times before she slung Willow to the floor dirtying up her canary yellow ball gown. Willow sat there on the floor stunned about what just took place. She held her face in her hands and sobbed. She could feel the knots forming on her forehead and cheekbones.

  Willow looked up at Amber placing the wig back on her head and fixing her way too short dress. “You’re just jealous.” Willow said in between sobs.

  Amber adjusted her breast and blew a kiss into the mirror. “No boo! Not today!”

  Willow looked down at the bloodstains covering her formal dress. She reached up and snatched a paper towel to stop the blood from pouring from her nose. “You’re crazy!” She grabbed her cellphone and scrolled through to find her mother’s number. “Wait until I tell my mom! You think you’re on punishment now!”

  Amber ran up to Willow, grabbed her cell phone away from her, and hurled it to the floor. She took her heel and crushed the screen into pieces. “Runtelldat! Snitch!” Amber ran back into the hallway to find Quincy so she could have her one dance. Instead, Quincy comes running up behind her with Jaylen and Spirit tailing behind him.

  “C’mon… we gotta go!”

  “Go where?”

  “Jaylen just got a call from his grandma, said Roman has been in a bad accident. You think Melissa can drop us off at the hospital?”

  32 CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  I just want you that's it. All your flaws, mistakes, smiles, giggles, jokes, sarcasm. Everything
. I just want you.