A Rare Truth

This was, by far, the best house they had ever lived in. It was also the biggest. Shannon’s room was the size of all of her previous bedrooms combined. She didn’t have enough stuff to fill the entire room. A shopping trip to the closest Target or Walmart was a necessity in her near future.

“So what do you think of the place? It’s nice, right?” her mom asked in passing as the two of them tag-teamed unpacking the kitchen. “The previous owner was some big shot broker on Wall Street, but his family lived here because they didn’t want to pull the kids out of school and away from their friends. When the market started to drop, he lost his job, and, in turn, lost the house.”

“That’s so sad,” Shannon said. “That poor family…”

“Anyways, they were desperate to sell the place and put it on the market for almost half of what it’s really worth. We’re renting it, for now, but who knows…”

“It’s a really cool house, Mom. I’m glad you’re happy, though. That’s all that matters to me in the end.”

“As long as both of us are happy, Shannon. It doesn’t work unless both of us like it.”

“Well you don’t have to worry about me on that one. I’m all in.” Shannon tore open the cardboard box sitting in front of her, labeled ‘Mamaw’s China’. She started to carefully remove the plates, made in the 1940s and in extremely fragile condition, but leaving the newspaper and bubble wrap around them.

“I’ve forgotten how much I love these dishes,” her mom said, reaching out and taking hold of one, slowly unwrapping the plate from its protective layers. “I think of my mom every time I even think I see a calla lily in the corner of my eye.”

“I miss Mamaw too, Mom,” Shannon said, “but she’s always with us. As long as we keep her in our hearts, we can think about her whenever we want.”

Debbie wiped a tear from her cheek. “Why do I always feel like you are too grown up for your age?”

“I’m sixteen. I’ve lived,” Shannon joked.

“Why don’t you call that new friend of yours…what’s her name? The one you met at the store…”

“Who, Kelci?”

“Yes! I can finish up in here by myself. You should go out, have some fun. Be sixteen, for crying out loud! It’s Saturday night! There has to be something exciting going on.”

“Are you sure? I’m more than happy to stay and help finish unpacking. We’re almost done in here…”

“We have all the time in the world to unpack! Go, call Kelci. I’m fine, I promise.”

Shannon put down the plate she held in her hand and made her way up to her room, shutting the door behind her when she got inside. If she was going out tonight, she was going to need something really nice to wear. But, the problem was, the majority of her clothes were still packed, considering that all of her time in the new house had been spent helping her mom downstairs.

Focus, Shannon! she though to herself. First find out if you are, in fact, going out. Then you can freak out about clothes.

She pulled out her phone and found Kelci’s number amidst the four other numbers she had saved in her phone. She hit send, and then held the phone to her ear, waiting for Kelci to answer. After five rings, she heard Kelci’s voice.

“Hey guys, it’s Kelci Newton. Sorry I’m not here to answer your call. Please leave me a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as possible. Thanks! Have a great day!”

Beep!

“Hi, Kelci it’s…um…Shannon Montgomery. I don’t know if you remember me or not, we met yesterday afternoon at the store you work at. Anyway, I was wondering if you were free tonight for that tour? I’d love to get out of this house, even if it’s just for a little bit. Give me a call back, my number is seven-one-two-five-five-five-one-zero-seven-six. I guess I’ll talk to you soon. Bye.”

She spent the next twenty minutes unpacking, listening intently for her phone to ring. When it finally did, it wasn’t a phone call, but a very detailed text message, sent from Kelci.

Of course I remember u! I’m going 2 a party 2night & u r welcome 2 join. B @ my house @ 9? The address is 722 Skywalker Point in Lafayette. O & dress cute! Ur future classmates will b there. C u then!

Shannon entered the address in the GPS on her phone. It was a 25 minute drive to Kelci’s house from hers. That was definitely do-able. But it was almost 8 now. She had only about half an hour to get dressed for a party. She was almost certain she wouldn’t be able to do it. For any girl, this would be an impossible task.

To save time, she decided against washing her hair, just jumping in the shower to shave and freshen up. She put her bright red hair in a low ponytail on the right side of her neck. She paired dark skinny jeans with black knee-high leather boots and a white t-shirt and a leather jacket. She kept her make up simple, as she always did. Less was always more in her opinion.

“I’m going to Kelci’s,” she announced as she re-entered the kitchen. Her mom was on her hands and knees on the tile floor, looking under the refrigerator. “What are you doing?”

“My earring fell…wow, you look nice! Did you get a hold of Kelci?”

“More or less,” Shannon answered. “The joys of texting.”

“What are you two going to do?”

“She said something about going to a party,” Shannon said. “It’ll give me a chance to meet some of the kids I’m going to be going to school with soon. When’s curfew?”

“One,” her mom said. “You’ll call me if you can’t drive home?”

“Like that would ever actually happen,” Shannon laughed, “but yes, I promise. You have my word. If I decide to throw my cares away and drink until I can no longer stand up right, I will call you.”

“That’s my girl,” Debbie giggled. “Ah! There’s my earring! Don’t move.” She bent down at Shannon’s feet and picked up a small white pearl from the floor. “Have a great night, sweetie.” The two shared a quick embrace and Shannon turned to leave, grabbing the car keys from her mom’s purse. “Make some new friends!”

“Easier said than done,” Shannon mumbled under her breath. She didn’t know how to make friends. She would probably spend the whole night either clinging to Kelci for life or sitting in a corner alone while she people watched. “I just hope that they like me.”

"You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine. Just own the night like the fourth of July! Baby you're a firework, come on show 'em what you're worth!" - Katy Perry