Windows of the Soul

By the end of the day word was around that Jess and Jace were dating. People gawked and whispered as the "happy" couple walked down the hall. Everywhere they went they got stares and whispers. Truth be told, I was so sick of it.

"I wish people would stop staring and whispering," I told Penny as the end of the day came. Thank God it was Friday; I didn't think I could stand another creepy stare from Jace.

"I know. It's so annoying. They're not even that cute together anyway," Penny huffed. I could tell it went deeper then that.

Tomorrow night was one of the biggest parties of the year; Bel's SnowFlakes Bash. Though she hated us, she was forced to invite everyone in the school, so we were invited. Normally we never went, but Drew had to go with his football team to make an appearance, so he had asked me to come this year. Of course, I couldn't say no to my boyfriend, so I asked Penny to come with me as well. The Bash was formal; you didn't have to wear a dress but the other girls looked down at you if you didn't. The Bash went throughout the night, and there was a DJ, a pool (in the late fall), a hot-tub, and anything else you could think of. Since I was going for the first time this year, and I was sure that Bel would snicker at me all night, I decided to wear a dress and try and show Bel up. Besides, I'm not all that dressy, so Drew hasn't seen me in a dress for a while now.

"What do you want to do tonight?" Penny asked me. We normally had sleepovers of some sort every Friday night, and tonight was no exception.

"Maybe tonight we can go out, catch something to eat." I told Penny as we hopped in her car. Jess and Jace were walking towards Jess's car; Jess was waving enthusiastically, and Jace looked bored with his hands in his pockets. Penny smiled at Jess, though I could tell it was fake, and we pulled out of the lot.

"Sure." Penny said. I only lived a couple of miles from the school, so it took all of ten minutes to get to my house. When we pulled into the drive, I saw that my mom's Civic was parked there.

We got out and walked in. I heard a thump, and then my little sister Tessa rounded the corner. At five years old, she looked like a little Barbie doll with curly blond hair and big blue eyes. She jumped into my arms right as I put my backpack down.

"ALI!" She yelled and enveloped me in a bear hug. Before I could say anything she jumped off of me and ran to Penny, treating her the same way. Since Penny was practically my sister, she was Tessa's too.

"Nice to see you again, Penny." My mom said, coming around the corner Tess just did. She wore a pair of navy sweatpants and an old long-sleeved shirt. Her hair was pulled into a messy ponytail. My mom worked as a caterer, and sometimes didn't have a job. Most of her jobs were on the weekend, so a lot of the time I watched Tessa or she went to a friend's house. My dad was out of the picture; I didn't remember him at all because he left us when I was merely three. Tessa's father and my ex-stepdad was found cheating on my mom, so she promptly divorced him and vowed never to marry again, quite possibly becoming a nun. Of course, she never did.

"And you too, Lauren." My mom was very informal, and didn't like being called "Ms. Pennington" because that sounded so old.

"Can you watch Tessa tonight, Ali? I have a wedding to do." I thought about me and Penny's plans, and glanced at Penny. She nodded her head, understanding we wouldn't go out tonight.

"Yeah, that's fine. We do have that party tomorrow though, Mom." I reminded her, because she sometimes forgot.

"Of course, I already called Julie." Julie was Tessa's babysitter, and she watched her when both my mom and I were busy.

"Well, I have to get ready, so have fun tonight girls. I probably won't see you until the morning." Mom kissed my cheek and hugged Penny, then disappeared back into our dining room a.k.a. Mom's catering room, where she was promptly packing the items she'd need for tonight.

"Why don't you go get your dolls, Tess, and we'll play with you?" I told Tessa. Her eyes lit up, and she sprinted into the living room to gather all her dolls. I straightened at looked at Penny, who laughed and smiled along with me. I was so lucky to have such a good friend like Penny. All my Jace thoughts were forgotten...for now.