One of the Boys

For the next month, I was tormented by the noise that was Buzz's voice. He just couldn't shut up! He chattered on and on like a dog barking at a mailman.

Loud. Annoying. Gibberish.

He was like the booger you couldn't flick off your finger.

I barely ever paid attention to what he was trying to say. I stared ahead at the board, letting my hair sweep down in front of my face to veil my eyes from him. As much as I hated to admit it though, I found myself drawn in by some of his conversations at times. When he asked me what bands I liked and I responded with Avenged Sevenfold, Nirvana, and The Offspring, Buzz smiled and agreed with my musical taste.

That sparked a conversation I hated to admit was genuine.

"Ever seen A7X in concert?" he had asked.

"I wish," I'd replied.

"Maybe we can go to one of their concerts together," he'd suggested.

I'd laughed so hard, soda almost shot out my nose.

At least now I was away from him, the weekend saving me from his rambles. However, I was stuck working on the farm, Eliza breathing down my neck over what my duties were. I'd woken up to the loud screech of a rooster at the ungodly hour of 5 in the morning, just to pick corn in the field and bag it. Shockingly, Annabelle was out in the field with me, mud smeared across her face, arms, and legs. Our clothes had been reduced to piles of mud and corn husk. A normal kid would have to wask the dishes after dinner, but I guess we weren't normal.

I had wanted to go to the Mud Hops with Squirrel and Sapia today. Squirrel slapped monster truck wheels on his ride and set his sights on entering and showing off. However, I wasn't able to go and cheer him on from the stands. No, instead I had to manage the produce stand with Annabelle, selling all the corn and other produce we grew to stuck-up rich bitches in their Mercedes.

I slumped back against the wagon, watching cars buzz by as Annabelle picked the dirt out from underneath her nails. I began to scratch the fuzz off of a peach, wishing that the next five hours would fly by. Annabelle hadn't really tried to start a conversation, or really tried to talk at all. Besides, trying to keep one going with all the people pulling in constantly was no easy matter. Now that it was after the lunch rush, though, there seemed to be less people pulling in, allowing us to have a bit of a break.

"You hungry?" Annabelle asked suddenly. I turned my head to look at her, then glanced at the peach in my hand. I rubbed the rest of the fuzz off onto my jeans, then took a huge bite out of the helpless fruit.

"Nope," I said with a mouthful, a bit of juice dripping off my lower lip. Annabelle nodded without a word of insult, staring off at the road as though her eyes would reel in customers.

"Lydia?" she asked suddenly. I looked at her, my mouth full of peach with some of the juice sticking to the corners of my mouth.

"I'm sorry," she said. I choked, the peach catching in my throat as I began to laugh.

"Sorry?" I managed. "For what, Princess?"

"I haven't exactly been the greatest person to you," she said. "And you haven't to me, either, but that's my own fault."

"You got that right, sister," I said. I continued eating my peach all the way down to the pit, my fingers sticky and dripping with orangey peach juice. I chucked the pit into the weeds, Annabelle watching it knock down a patch of knee-high grass as though the blades were bowling pins.

"Yeah, well, I wanna start over, if that's okay with you."

I sighed heavily and shook my head. "Listen. We are two completely different people, and our worlds just don't mesh, alright?"

I think that was the nicest I've been to her this entire time I've been here.

"Do you really think I'm all bitch and no brains?" she asked.

I smiled.

"Ugh," she sighed in disgust. "You're just like everyone else, thinking that there's nothing more to me than a Hollister frontal."

"Yup." I worked on my second peach.

"Well you're wrong."

"Prove it, Fitch."

Annabelle stood up, scooped a handful of dirt off the ground, and smeared it across her figure. She threw some onto her cheeks, rubbed it into her shirt and jeans, then rubbed it across her arms like a lotion. I watched her, chewing on peach and wondering what cables were snapping in her precious little head.

"And?" I asked.

"You're not afraid to get dirty, and neither am I. Just cause I compose myself in school doesn't mean it's real. I only dress the way I do to fit in a little better. Haven't you ever done that?"

"Nope." I took another bite, feeling a sense of victory inside because she admitted to being fake. Annabelle heaved a heavy sigh, one that sounded as though it was holding back tears. I looked at her, blinking in confusion, her eyes sorrowful and the constant smile missing.

"I'm just sorry," she said. "I shouldn't judge you, I shouldn't try to change you. I just wanted to help you out. I was never offered any. I had to build myself up on my own."

There was nothing I could think of to say. There was genuinity in her words, so I kept my mouth shut except for when I took a bite of my peach.

"So you're not really all that much of a Hollister girl?" I asked.

"No, I never liked that store. I mean, some of the clothes are alright, but too highly priced. I usually get the knockoffs," she replied.

I felt the same way.

I was about to speak again when a Ford Ranger pulled into the driveway, the sound of gravel crushing against tires one I had become accustomed to. I peered in through the passenger side window, a stab of anger riding up my spine when I recognized the driver.

Buzz stepped out and mosied his way over, his lips pulled into a smile. I grimaced, but at the same time, it felt as through my stomach twisted inside out. I swallowed roughly, taking another bite of peach to steady myself from leaping forward and shoving a speech down his throat.

"Hey Belle, Lydia," he greeted.

"Chuck! Hi!" Annabelle greeted happily. I remembered how Buzz had said he and Annabelle had been friends since elementary school. I noticed they were pretty tight throughout school.

"What in God's name are you doing here?" I snapped.

"He always visits me," Annabelle said.

"Yeah," he agreed. I grimaced again, chucking the peach pit across the yard.

"I feel like you don't have the ability to leave me alone," I retorted, jumping down off the wagon and leanng against the side of it. Buzz had already walked around to our side, standing next to Annabelle. "Employees only," I added.

Buzz ignored me as he removed an envelope from his pocket, the words 'Annabelle & Lydia' scrawled across the front in a fancy cursive script.

"Jenna's going away party," he said.

"B.Y.O.B.?" I asked.

"We've got that covered," he replied. "So I take it you're coming?"

I pondered this. I had become somewhat of a heartthrob around school being the new girl, and although I wouldn't define myself as a smokin' hot girl, most guys were drooling over me. I didn't take much liking to being the fresh meat everyone wanted a piece of. It was completely different from how I was treated previously.

So if I attended a big ass party that most of the drooly guys were going to be at too, well, things seemed risky. Joe Brown, everyone's favorite redneck, had already asked me out. Rednecks tended to catch my eye, but I turned him down, figuring we were better off as friends.

"I'll consider it," I stated. Buzz smiled at me and set our invitation down on the wagon.

"I really hope you'll be there," he said as he took a step toward me, his fingers grazing mine and his lips planting a peck on my cheek. My body felt like it had been hit with a bolt of lightning, the strike trailing up my spine and leaving me breathless, speechless, and entirely too confused. My fingertips touched my cheek, but nothing felt different. It just felt like skin. Nothing was melting, but something inside felt like it was.

Buzz smiled as he stepped backward and began to walk back to his truck. As I looked out at the parking lot, though, I realized someone else had pulled in. My throat felt like a giant lump was caught in it as I noticed the Bronco parked before me. Sapia, Squirrel, and Pugsly all stared through the open car window at me, their eyes wide with shock. Sapia looked as though his jaw was going to break off from his face and hit the floor.

I guess they had seen it all.