Pretty Follies

Crappy hip-hop music crackled through the gym speakers as the mass of kids pushed through the gymnasium. Many of them squabbled foolishly with one another, some of them gossiped about the latest couples and others complained about the assembly that was about to take place.

It was middle school. Girls had finally gotten over the fact that boys had cooties, however they still weren’t willing to throw themselves at them. Dating wasn’t familiar and having crushes was still a little embarrassing and something that friends easily made fun of.

Greasy and stinky, preteens found their seats in the pulled out bleachers. Constant chattering was floating in the fluorescent lit gym.

Amongst the commotion, a group of obnoxious boys made their way to where they saw a bunch of familiar looking seventh graders. With teachers spread through the student body, the group of boys were immediately recognized and put in the first row of bleachers due to their known mischief.

The immature boys smacked each other and laughed obnoxiously to not-funny-jokes as they waited for something to start. The boys were throwing joking insults at their friends, calling them “pussies” and “gay” for the things they were doing.

“Hell man, I’m not afraid to do anything,” one boy said loudly. The puberty riding boys all smirked.

“Oh yeah?” one questioned.

“Yeah,” the boy who spoke up said. “I’m not a coward.”

“Alright,” another one smirked. “Next girl that walks by, you pull her skirt down.” All the other boys chuckled and the boy who was dared smirked along.

“Sounds easy enough.” The bold boy started to scope out the girls who were walking by, hoping one would walk close enough from him to get his hands on. Finally he saw his victim.

A strawberry blonde girl walked on the end of a line of five girls who were tentatively walking to try and spot an open place to sit with all the hustle and bustle around them.

“Yo, Alex, tall chick at ten o’clock.”

“Already see her man,” the brave boy said proudly. “Lorraine Johnson,” he mumbled with a cocky smirk on his face.

It wasn’t as if he had a grudge on the girl. He knew her. He had talked to her. He didn’t mind her. He could have chosen any girl. They all wore a pleaded skirt and sweater. It would have been easy. But unfortunately for Lorraine, she chose to walk by the wrong boy.

&&&&

As I thought about the memory, I couldn’t help but smile. Pranks were such a touchy thing. How people react is even stranger. It’s odd to think that a simple dare of pants-ing a girl led to tear-jerking rumors, suspensions and hatred that had lasted for over seven years.

A strawberry blonde girl walked into my line of sight in the midst of my reminiscing. Her body was an exact replica of a twig; she had no hips and extra long limbs. I was sure I could wrap my two hands around her upper thigh and still have a space between her skin and my fingers. I watched as she walked closer to me and my eyes traveled up her from her purple converse, which looked too big for her petite bones, all the way to her strawberry blonde hair. “What’s up, Laney. Long time, no see,” I ridiculed the girl as she walked past. I could honestly say I missed seeing Lorraine for the mockery, but other than that, the girl was burden. But seeing her for the first time in a year didn’t change how easily the snarky comments came out of my mouth.

“Shut up, Alex,” Lorraine scoffed as she walked past me, not loud enough for anyone else to hear. “Hey Jim, hi Mary,” Lorraine greeted sweetly to my parents. “My parents said they are ready to go whenever so they are going to drive down here so you can load some extra chairs and stuff into the back before we take off.”

I pushed off of the family car I had been leaning on and walked around the back to shut the trunk. It was full of my parents and my thirteen year old sister, Alyssa, and my own luggage. Going on a six day camping trip required heavy packing, especially when we were going hardcore. Sleeping bags and tents, roasting ribs over a fire pit and mosquito bites that will most likely end up turning into scars.

I shielded my eyes from the sun and walked up the driveway and into the garage of our suburban house to get away from the August heat. I had been away from my family all year, not getting to spend much time with them with the exception of holidays and a couple weekends, so I was looking forward to spending a week with them.

Of course, with the Gaskarth family, the Johnson family always tagged along. My parents had been family friends with the Johnsons even before my birth. We lived a few houses down from each other, making it very convenient to always see each other. Barbeques, garage sales, monthly dinners, you name it, we’ve done it.

The Johnsons had one son Christopher, at twenty-two year old. He was always the odd one out because the Johnson family also had a nineteen year old, who was my age, and a thirteen year old, Kate, who was my sister’s age. Alyssa and Kate were inseparable and were usually the ones to convince our parents to do everything together. The main cause of their alliance planning was the fact that Lorraine and I didn’t get along; the two younger girls took charge.

It turns out pulling up Lorraine’s skirt to reveal her blue polka-dotted panties to the entire school, in fact, doesn’t sit well with her. Ever since then, it had been a war between the two of us. She initially fought back by planting a letter in the principal’s office with inappropriate topics and inexcusable language, signed “Yours truly, Alex Gaskarth”. I wouldn’t have minded if it hadn’t gotten me suspended and both of us transferred to public school.

After the abundance of pranks, the rumor war started. Questionable homosexuality, virginity status, and poopy pants were the big ones. That phase eventually died out sometime in high school and that left us with smart remarks and offensive insults. Not that I minded. We were both remarkable with words so it was easy for me to shoot back incomprehensible statements that only Lorraine could understand and outdo me with, using even more perplexing words.

It was like a never ending game, but it is all we’ve ever known. I knew how to push every single one of Lorraine’s buttons, but on the flip side, she could drive me up the wall and leave me hanging in my own screams of annoyance.

My parents finished loading all the supplies we would need and our vehicles were stuffed to the brim of all the random things for the trip. I saw Hank and Cheryl back into my driveway and Lorraine walked over to talk to her parents.

A flash of strawberry blonde hair jumped out of the Johnson’s car and Kate, a replica of her older sister, ran up to my dad. “Please, please, please can we ride together? Please, please?” Kate begged, soon joined by Alyssa. A smiled beamed across my mom’s face and I only knew what that meant. She had a “marvelous idea”.

“I have a marvelous idea!” she exclaimed. “Kids, why don’t you drive in one car and us adults will drive in the other.” I saw everyone nodded their head except Lorraine and I. I held a strait face, pleading ‘no’ with my eyes but no one even glanced my way.

My dad tossed me the keys to our four-door car. I saw Kate and Alyssa talking animatedly in my peripherals. I groaned; three girls for a seven hour car drive. “Hank will lead the way,” my dad instructed me. “You just follow behind.” I nodded and turned to the future passengers. Kate and Alyssa were already climbing into the back seat of the car. Lorraine was at the top of the driveway, locking the doors and closing the garage door for my mom.

“Where’s Chris?” I asked Kate about her older brother, sticking my head through the open window.

“He and Sophia are driving up separate,” Kate said distracted as her and Alyssa tried to untangle their iPod headphones. Sophia was Chris’s fiancée. I groaned inwardly. With Sophia there, Chris would be spending the majority of the time with her, meaning I would be stuck with no one to talk to. This was turning out to be great.

“Laney, think fast!” I shouted, lobbing the keys at her.

Lorraine was completely lost in her own world to react fast enough to the flying metal coming at her. By the time I had her attention, the keys were soaring straight towards her face. She let out a quick squeal and tried to jump, causing the keys to hit her in the neck. I chuckled and climbed in the passenger seat as she gave me her signature death stare.

She walked over to the passenger’s side and yanked the door open. “Why am I driving? This is your car,” she said dumbly.

“Because I don’t want to drive. Now come on, Laney,” I taunted. “Hop in”

I heard Alyssa speak up urgently from the back seat. “Lorraine, your parents are starting to drive away.”

She cursed under her breath, but nonetheless, ran to the diver side and quickly started the engine. “You suck,” she commented as she leaned to put the car in drive. I smirked. Let the games begin.