Snakebite Hearts & Bubblegum Smiles

I woke to the sound of Mom’s knuckles rapping against my door. “Brooke, get up!” she called. “You can’t be late again!”

Using all the mental strength I had, I sat up. “I’m up!”

I peeled the covers off my body and navigated my way to the bathroom, my eyes still sealed shut. When I came back, I went into my closet for something to wear. Since the weather was finally starting to warm up, I grabbed a Glamour Kills T-shirt and my favorite pair of cutoff jeans. Dangerously close to running late, I pulled my hair to the side in a long braid and quickly did my makeup.

I flew down the stairs and into the kitchen, where I found my mom pouring herself a cup of coffee. Before she could even put the pot down, I hurried over and swiped her mug, taking a big gulp for myself. She shooed me away like she did every morning. She always threatened me by telling me the caffeine would stunt my growth.

If being 5’6” for the rest of my life were the price I had to pay for not stumbling around like a zombie, then I would happily pay it.

“Brooke.” I sensed another caffeine lecture coming on. Luckily for me, she was interrupted by a car horn honking outside.

“That’s probably Alex,” I said. “Bye, Mom.” I kissed her cheek and went out to the front door, where my backpack was waiting for me. I slung it over my shoulder and went out the front door. Parked at the end of my driveway, engine running and radio blasting Third Eye Blind, was my best friend, Alex. He rolled down the window as I walked over.

“Hey douchebag,” I said when I saw Jack sitting in the passengers’ seat and Lisa sitting all alone in the back. “What is this? You’re making your girlfriend sit back here all by herself?” I opened the backseat door and slid in next to Lisa.

“Well maybe if she hadn’t taken forever to get ready, I would have picked her up first,” Alex said, putting the car into drive.

Lisa rolled her eyes. “Excuse me. How long did it take you to do your hair this morning?” She narrowed her eyes at Alex. He said nothing and turned the music up louder. Lisa folded her arms across her chest, a satisfied grin on her face. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.”



When lunchtime came around, I grabbed a Snapple and slice of pizza from the cafeteria line and sat down next to Lisa at our regular table.

“Hello, hello!” Kara came over. She set her tray down across from mine, brushing back her long brown hair before she sat down. As if on cue, her boyfriend Rian appeared and gave her a quick kiss before pulling a chair out for himself. They’d been together for almost three years. Sometimes I thought they were the sweetest couple and other times I found their cuteness nauseating.

“All right you two,” I said. “Let’s keep it PG today. I’d like to keep my lunch down for a change.”

Kara smirked and grabbed Rian, planting a big passionate kiss on him. I shot them a disgusted look, pushing my tray away from me. “Gross.” Lisa just shook her head at all of us and laughed.

“I think someone’s a little jealous,” Rian teased. “What’s wrong? No action in the sack, Mitchell?”

“My metaphorical sack gets plenty of action,” I said.

Rian was about to come back at me, but Kara cut him off. “Anyone know what we’re doing for Spring break?”

“Did someone say Spraang break?”

I looked up at the sound of Alex’s voice. He and Jack were walking over. Jack sat on the other side of Kara while Alex squeezed a chair between Lisa and me.

“Personal space…” I said. “Seriously, look it up.”

He shrugged and bit into his sandwich. “Sorry, gotta sit with my woman.”

“You’re such a dick,” Lisa playfully shoved him away when he tried to wrap his arm around her.

“And I’m all yours,” he said, nestling his head in the crook of her neck.

Lisa smiled and pretended to ignore him. “Before you rudely interrupted us, we were talking about Spring break plans.”

“We should go somewhere. Like a road trip or something,” Jack suggested.

“To where?” I asked.

“Does it matter? Road trips aren’t about the destination, they’re about the journey.” Everyone stopped and stared at Jack. “What? I saw that on a fortune cookie once.”

“My uncle has a beach house on the Jersey shore,” Rian said. “We could go there.”

I could already hear the ocean waves and feel the sun beating down on my bare skin. “I vote Jersey shore!” I shot my hand up. Everyone nodded in agreement and within seconds it was settled. Our last Spring break together would be in Jersey, on the beach. I hoped it would be one for the books.