Daisies at Dawn

My mom would always chastise me when I would roll my eyes. Whether it would be at a stranger, or her rediculous demands, I always found my eyes running in a circle. It had been a bad habit, and I had stopped doing it, but I couldn't help myself when the pilot spoke over the announcer and said that we could leave our seats and collect our belongings to get off the plane when three men jumped up, flipped open the overhead bins, snatched their luggage and dashed towards the front.

I stayed seated and slowly marked my place in my book, tightened the cap on my waterbottle, and stood and stretched while the plane emptied out. I grabbed my black, and beaten backpack and struggled to get my bag from the overhead bin. I was assisted by a flight attendant, who told me I could get off the back of plane where there was less commotion.

When I stepped into the warm air I giggled and frowned wishing I had someone to share this awesome moment with. I felt like the US president, walking down the stairs of the plane and onto the runway. I stopped and looked over into the world and relished in the organic view.

Finding the baggage claim was easy, and spotting my hot pink, over sized luggage set was even easier. I had three bags: two and a half were clothes and the last half was just random necessities such as make-up, perfume, and accessories.

I looked for the driver my aunt had ordered for me and giggled when I noticed his creativity.

“Are you Dawn?” He asked as I walked over.

I nodded,”Your very creative.” I motioned towards his drawing of a sun rising, instead of my name.

“When I get the opportunity to, I like to draw my clients names. Are you ready to go, Miss Dawn?” I nodded and handed him two of my bags while I carried my other two.

The youthful, lanky driver lead me outside, and again I smiled at the warm, cleaner air. My eyes bulged when he started to put my bags into a sleek, pink limo.

“This...I...My...What?”

The man laughed and took the other bags from me.

“This is what was ordered.”

“Wow.”

He opened the door and I slid inside with no friction between my sweatpants and the fake leather seats.

I put my headphones on and completely blocked out the world. I didn’t know how long this ride was supposed to be, but I figured it was long enough for a nap.

-x-

I sat up and put my headphone back in my ears normally, an unknown song flowing from them. I looked outside and all I could see were trees. A small white house passed by, and it must’ve been another five minutes when another small white house appeared.

My foot involuntarily tapped against the floor as a song with a good bass line came on. I sighed. I just wanted to get to my aunt’s house, I wanted to have some iced tea, and I wanted to gossip with my cousin. I slammed down on the long limo seat and let out a puff of air.

I could feel the car slow and I shot up to glance out the window. The ride became a bit bumpier and I cheered silently knowing we had arrived.

The car hadn’t even fully stopped when the door was ripped open and I was tackled by my cousin. I giggled and screamed as we rolled onto the floor of the moving limo. I tightened my grip, mostly out of fear, but kissed my younger cousin’s cheek multiple times. I was again tackled by my other cousin. The limo, by this time, had stopped.

“Guys let me get out!!” I laughed and attempted to push both of my cousins off of me.
I put my backpack on my back and slid out of the limo, only to be picked up off my feet and spun around. 

I didn’t get to see who did it, but because there were no boobs, I only assumed it was the younger cousin.

I was placed on my feet only to be grabbed again, and this time, I felt boobs.

“Okay! Lets stop attacking me!” I laughed and pulled away from my older cousin.

I had to look up to see her face, which was odd, because only three years ago, she was the same height as me. 

“Damn girl, you grew.” 

“Maybe you shrunk.” She laughed.

“I missed you, Leah.” I said hugging her again, but this time, more camly, and civilized. 

“I missed you too Dawn.”

I turned and looked at my other cousin.
“Hello baby cousin.”

His face turned emotionless, and then he frowned.

“I’m taller now. And more mature.” He crossed his arms and stuck his nose up.

“I’m older, shorter and at the same maturity level as you.” I giggled and ran at him.

He caught me again and spun me around.

“Oh, I missed you.” He whispered in my ear.

“I missed you too Seth,” I whispered back. “I am so so sorry I missed the funeral. I hope you got the flowers I had sent.”

He smiled and hugged me tighter, “They were great. A giant pink flower made from smaller flowers.”

“Dyed Daisies.” I mumbled.

He put me down and smilied at me, “And I’m sorry I missed that. But now isn’t a time for sorrow. We have a party to go to in two hours. Go! Go get remotely easy to look at.” 

I glared at Seth who smirked.

“Aren’t you going to show me to my room?” I laughed and motioned to my luggage.

He frowned and picked up two of my bags, and I carried the other two.

We walked down into the basement and we set my bags in the closet of the basement guestroom.

“We installed a bathroom on the otherside of the basement, next to the food cubbard. Theres a shower, toilet and sink. You can make it yours. Theres a window in your room because there used to be a window there before we extended the basement, and if you keep the shade closed you can’t see through it. And you can use the TV, and anything hooked up to the TV whenever. Me and my friends usually hang out down here, but if you want us gone, we can just go to someone else’s house.”

“Thanks Seth.” I smiled and started to empty my backpack.

“And there is a minifridge that my mom doesnt know about in the back of your closet and it would be rally great if you didnt tell her ‘cause it has beer and shit in it and I really dont want to get in trouble.” He said really quickly.

I looked up at him dumbfounded, “Only if I can join in the festivities.”
He smiled and rubbed my head, “Any time, cuz. Now go get ready. We’re leaving at eight.”

He left and closed the door behind him and I dug through my suitcases to find an appropriate outfit.

I showered and dried my hair and applied light make-up.

I had a flat and skinny frame. Minimal breast, cup size A to be exact, no ass, and no hips. While some girls would envy my figure, I hated it. I wanted to be curvy. I didn’t want to look like every girl in Cosmo, or Vogue, or Elle. I wanted to be able to put my hands on my hips and not have them easily slide down.

I slipped on a pretty pink cami, a mini skirt and a cardigan that covered my shoulders just incase it was breezy. The summer was always warm, but sometimes at night it would get chilly.

I ran upstairs and found Leah relaxing on the couch watching television.

“Where are you headed?” She scowled at me and sat up.

“Seth said I’m going to a party with him.” I said as I made my way to Seth’s bedroom.

“Ayo, are you ready?” I leaned against the door frame and watched my cousin put on a gray t-shirt and a zip up a hoodie. 

He looked up and smiled, “Yeah I’m ready. Where are your shoes?”

I held up a pair of black and white flip-flops.

“Good; car should be here in a minute or two,” Seth’s phone began to ring, “Or now.”

Seth reached the front deck and jogged towards the car and I stayed at the door for a moment to say bye to Leah and put on my shoes.

After climbing into the backseat Seth set the front seat back to he could fit. He looked back at me, “Musical preference?”

“Anything, really. I’m pretty universal.” He smiled and turned on the radio.

I watched as the driver and Seth mumbled to each other. I sighed and turned to look out the window. 

I leaned foward into Seth’s ear, “Hey, where are we going? And how many people are going to be there?”

Seth turned around again and smiled at me, “The beach, and theres going to be quite a lot. Bonfire, booze, and beats. I’ll make sure you know who is in the pack...of friends I have, and everyone can keep an eye on you. Its the start of the school year party, so it can get a bit hectic.”

He smiled and I frowned, “I can take care of myself, Seth. And I’ve been to New Year’s Parties on the upper east side, so I can handle hectic.” 

He smile faltered a bit, and I turned to look back out the window. The car slowed to a stop and I looked to see another boy, who was quite large run out of a house that was similar to Seth’s.

He climbed in next to me and the driver set his seat back, and in under a minute we were back on the road.

My eyes were glued to the window for the remainder of the ride, and my ears stayed foused on the music and not the boys’ mumbling. The car stopped again and this time we were on the edge of the forest, where about thirty other cars, and countless bikes were abandoned.

Seth helped me out of the back of the car and I adjusted my skirt and cardigan. “The beach is right through the forest, its kind of like closed off and secluded so we don’t disrupt anyone, and so its less likely the police will crash the party.” I smiled up at Seth and followed him when he turned around to walk the human-made path.

I was second in the line, Seth ahead and the two other boys behind me. It was about a ten minute walk to the beach and we passed only four couples hooking up along the way.

When we got to the beach I stayed close to Seth. He was right, there were a lot of people here, more people than I expected, but less people than the average parties I used to go to.

He walked over to the area where the alcohol was obviously being served. I grabbed a can of beer while Seth and his friends opted for cup filled from the kegs. Seth smilied at me and I smiled back, cracking open the can and holding it up. “To Summer,”

Seth laughed and knocked his cup against my can, “To summer.”

We walked together, Seth, his two friends, and myself, for a bit. I kept quiet as the boys chatted away about something. Two other boys came up and said their hellos and immediately jumped into the conversation.

We made our way over to the food table and I grabbed an eggplant sandwhich while the other boys piled the food onto the indestructible plates. I watched in both awe and horror and they wolfed down the food and went back for more.

Seth sat next to me and I would occasionally steal fries from his plate. “Oh, shit D, I forgot to introduce you to everyone, I’m sorry.”

My smile was small as I looked up at Seth. “I don’t really…” 

“EVERYONE THIS IS D!” I glared at Seth.

“My name is Dawn, not D, Seth.” I snapped.

“EVERYONE THIS IS DAWN.” He repeated. I smiled and waved as the boys waved at me, “She is my cousin, and she is staying with me for a while.”

Seth stood up and walked towards the alcohol.

My half full beer rested in the sand between my ankles. It was still cold when I picked it up and I walked down the beach. I smiled as I watched the sun set on the horizon. I sipped at my drink and placed one hand in my pocket.

The scene was so beautiful. I wish I still lived in upstate New York. I wish my dad never got that new job when I was ten. I wish we never moved into the flat in the city. I want my old life back. I wanted the Ranch-style house we had upstate. I wanted everything old.

“You alright?”

I spun around and looked at the kid who was standing closest to me, staring at me. He was the boy who had driven me here in the small car. I smiled and shrugged.

“Jetlagged, mostly.” The boy nodded and took a sip from his plastic cup.

“Oh, I am Jacob by the way. I drove you here.” 

“As you know I am Dawn. And should you be drinking if you are driving?”

“Apple juice,” He laughed holding up the cup.

I smiled and shrugged, “Just checking. Don’t want to get killed.” 

“Understandable. Do you maybe want to go back to the party? Seth sent me over, he was concerned you’d get yourself lost.” 

I looked to where the party was and surprised to find I had walked quite a distance away.

I handed Jacob my beer as I took off my flip flops and took it back once I held my shoes in my hand. Together we walked towards the party. 

“So where are you from?”

“Born and raised in New York.”

Jacob’s head bobbed, “Thats cool. What part?”

I squinted up at him. He had to be two feet taller than me; this kid was huge.

“As if you’ll know what I’m saying: I was born in upstate New York and stayed there until I was ten, and then we moved to a flat in the city.”

“So are you like...Blair Waldorf?” I raised an eyebrow.

“Seriously? Well, no. Definitely not. How do you know who that is?”

He laughed and shrugged, “I have two older sisters.”

“Oh, yeah, okay.” I said suspiciously.

“So what makes up your family?” Jacob kicked the sand into the water and I listened silently to the sand hitting the resting water.

“Just me, and the parents, and a dog. And I have a half sister.”

“What kind of dog?” 

“Adopted golden retriever, named Aspen.”

“And your sister?”

“She’s in Texas, she’s a teacher. Married.”

“What’s her name?”

I winced, “You’re going to laugh,”

“Promise I won’t” He said smiling and placing a hand over his heart.

“It’s Starbright.”

Jacob cracked a smile, “That is quite the name. Now why would someone name their kid that?”

“That’s a story for another time.” I said running over to Seth who seemed to be falling.

Seth wobbled on his feet, “Hey cuzzie,”

“Hi Seth, you okay?”

He smiled and patted my head, “Just dandy. Everything is spinning a bit, but I’m good.” 

Seth began to tip and I rushed to catch him before he hit the sand. I stood to catch him, but his weight was too much for me, and I just went down under his weight.

I struggled under Seth’s weight, and was relieved when one of his friends picked him up, and another helped me to my feet. 

“Can we get him home?” I asked turning to Jacob,

He nodded and the boys rushed to get Seth to the car. We stopped twice along the dirt pathway to let Seth empty his stomach. I had to turn away and cover my nose or else I too would be puking.

The car stopped and I didn’t notice the scenery.

“Where are we?” I asked to the boy sitting next to me.

“At a diner, if we bring him home now, we’re all gonna be in deep shit.”

I was helped out of the back of the car by the boy and walked in next to Seth who was very pale.

I sat next to Seth in the booth and across from the boy.

“I dont believe we were formally introduced, I’m Dawn.”

“Nice name, man.” He said, holding up two fingers. I couldn’t help but roll my eyes.

“Embry.” He said sticking out his hand. I grasped it and shook and then returned my hand to Seth’s back.

When the waitress came over I ordered a house salad with bleu cheese dressing and I ordered Seth pancakes with bananas and no bacon.

“I want bacon.” Seth whined.

My eye’s made contact with his and I glared at him.

“Alright, Dawn, no bacon. Sorry.”
When the food came I made a face at Embry’s choice of a deluxe cheeseburger, and Jacob’s choice of a BLT and chili cheese fries.

Seth was drinking his coffee as I cut up the pancakes for him. This had been a ritual for me, I had often been left to take care of my old best friend after parties and I found pancakes were the best thing from a diner when you were drunk.

“Okay?” I looked up at Seth and he nodded taking his fork from me. He drowned the fluffy cake in syrup and I continued onto my salad.

“Why didn’t you get like eggs or something?”

I looked up at Embry who was chewing on his burger and looking strangely at my salad.

“I wanted a salad.”

“Bullshit.” He said pointing a fork in m direction. “I want the real reason.”

“She’s a veggie eater.” Seth said, spewing pancakes across the table.

Embry looked at me oddly. “You’re a vegetarian? Why?”

He wiped his meaty hands on a napkin and placed it back on the table.

“That how I was raised.”

“So you’ve never eaten meat?”

I tapped my finger to my chin and then shrugged, “No, I suppose not. We’ve never had meat in the house, even my dog is a vegetarian.”

Seth giggled, “Poor Aspen.”

Embry continued to look at me oddly.

“Do you want to try some?” He asked holding out his burger.

“Oh! Please, no! Can you take that back?” I pressed my back against the seat.

He placed the burger back on the table and shrugged, “Whatever.”

When the check came Embry picked up the tab and explained how whenever the ‘guys’ ate out, the tab was picked up by one person each time. He said there was a system I wouldn’t understand.

We sat in the diner for another hour as we forced coffee down Seth’s throat. Caffeine and peeing always helped, but mostly the peeing.

I sipped at my coffee and placed my hand over the top so the steam would warm my palm. It wasnt that this coffee was shitty, but it definitely wasn’t what I liked. I mean don’t get me wrong, I loved Starbucks just as much as the next New Yorker, but my favorite was always from the little bakeries or cafes you could find on side streets in the city.

Seth stood up to go to the bathroom again and as soon as the door to the bathroom’s closed Embry’s head snapped towards me. “So, Dawn, why are you here?”

“Hey, be a little nicer.” Jacob said putting a hand on Embry’s chest.

Embry shook his head, “Sorry, so what brings you to the west coast?”

“The parents decided I needed a change of scenery. I got into a fight at school, and then it was goodbye Manhattan and hello La Push.”

“You fought a girl? That’s hot.” I wanted to roll my eyes, but I would only be getting myself back into my bad habit.

My chin rested in my hand, “She saw me talking to her boyfriend, who was my AP Chemistry lab partner, and she basically just attacked me.”

Embry nodded and sat back in his chair arms crossed, “Please, tell me more.” His arms tightened in an obvious attempt to make his muscles look bigger. I had to resist in rolling my eyes.

“She went girly. Hair pulling, cat scratching, bitch slapping. I kicked her in her crotch and when she lunged at me again after I punched her, and knocked a tooth out.”

“And you got expelled?” Jacob asked.

I shrugged, “Yeah, so did she. But I was in high honor classes and I had just enough credits, so I was able to graduate with my highschool diploma.”

Embry nodded and relaxed his muscles.

I took another sip of my coffee as Seth emerged from the bathroom.

“You ever have a boyfriend before?”

The look on my face was blank as I turned toward Embry.

“Yeah, you still dating that Kyle kid?” Seth asked sliding in next to me and resting his head on my shoulder. I rubbed his back soothingly.
“After the fight we broke up. Bad for publicity.” I said looking at Seth

“She was dating the state senator’s son.”

“How’d you land a kid like that?” Embry laughed.

“We had drama class together for the first semester and then we were together in Cinema studies for the second semester in tenth grade, and we were dating for a little over a year before I got expelled.”

Silence fell at the table and I took another sip of my coffee.

“I think I’m mostly sobered up.” Seth said finishing off his coffee.

Together we made our way to the car, and I climbed into the back seat behind the driver. Jacob drove Embry home first and everyone said goodbye before Jacob made his way to the Clearwater residence.

Seth and Jacob did their guy handshake as I waited to walk to the door with Seth. 

“Night, Dawn. Nice meeting you.” Jacob waved and I waved back.

Seth linked arm with me and we walked back into the house.

“Where’s Aunt Sue?” I whispered just incase she could hear us.

“Oh, no worries, she works the night shift at the local hospital ever since my dad passed.” Seth smiled and I smilied back. He seemed to be doing well.

Leah was asleep in her room when we got back and I kissed Seth goodnight before making my way downstairs. I opened the window above the desk to let some fresh air in and changed into boxers and a different, plain cami for bed.

I brushed my teeth and hair and put it up in a messy bun. My iPod was shuffling through it’s library as I closed my eyes. I knew I probably wouldn’t wake up untill late, but I set my alarm so I could make it easier for myself to adjust to the small time difference.