Fragile

It had been one week since the first day of school, and I have to say, I’ve been doing pretty well with keeping my crush on Mr. Haner a secret. No one knew, not even Mary. It felt weird not telling Mary about my feelings for him because we have always told each other everything. When we were three, we made a pack to tell each other the truth about anything and everything, no matter what. It was killing me. I wanted her to know so badly, but I was afraid that she would judge me.

I plopped down on my bed, propping my feet up on my pillows. Letting out a sigh, I closed my eyes and imagined me and Mr. Haner together as a couple. He would hold my hand, squeezing lightly to let me know that everything was alright. His lips would graze over mine enough for me to taste his soft lips. The smell of his cologne would make me keep coming back to him. No! I can’t think about that. He’s my teacher, nothing more, nothing less.

My phone let out a loud ring, letting Mary’s ringtone that I had set on my phone just for her go off. I rubbed my eyes with my small hands, before picking up my phone and looking at the screen. Mary’s name was indeed on the screen.

After a moment more, I answered the phone, “Hello?”

“Hey!” Mary chirped. “What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Just chilling in the house, looking up at the ceiling. What about you?”

“Same, but I’m watching my dad yell at the TV because the Steelers are down by seven points,” she said in an annoyed voice. I listened closely, and sure enough, I could make out her dad’s screaming. Her dad isn’t really the best at taking his favorite teams losing.

“Do you want to hang out or something? I know we’ve seen each other at school and stuff, but it seems like we never have time to hang out anymore,” she inquired.

I shrugged my shoulders, even if she couldn’t see me, replying, “Sure. Where do you want to go?”

“How about the beach? I need to work on my tan a little bit, plus we could meet some cute guys with hot bodies there too!”

I giggled and said, “Alright. Pick me up in half an hour?”

“Yep. See you then,” she told me before hanging up the phone.

I was actually glad Mary had called me. I’m still contemplating whether or not I should tell her about my Mr. Haner fantasy. She is my best friend, after all. I just shook my head lightly and dragged my body into the bathroom. Even though I might go in the ocean, I was going to put makeup on. My mom had always said not to because it was a waste of my time to put makeup on if I was going swimming, but I would probably meet a cute guy, like Mary had said. I put a light purple eye shadow on my eyelid then applied a thin line of eyeliner around my eyes. Tons of layers of mascara were placed on my eyelashes, making them look volumized and making my eyes pop. I decided to leave my hair the way I had woken up to: curly. I didn’t necessarily like my natural hair because it was poofy and frizzy; I just didn’t feel like straightening it today.

As I stepped out of the bathroom, my mom walked by me, giving me a curious look. She stopped in her tracks and asked, “Where are you going looking all dolled up?”

“The beach with Mary. Don’t even begin the lecture about wearing makeup to the beach because it’s a waste of time,” I told her, making my way back towards my room.

“Fine. I’ll give it to you when you get back,” she called out to me.

I opened my closet, eyes scanning all the items of clothing inside of it. My fingers rummaged through the many choices that I could wear. Finally, my eyes stopped on a pair of washed-out short shorts and a black and white striped tank top that had a V-neck to show off a little cleavage. I decided to wear my hot pink bikini that had a strapless top so that I wouldn’t get tan lines. I quickly threw on my bikini and other clothes, sliding on a pair of black flip-flops simultaneously.

Just as I grabbed my black beach bag that held all the essentials, a loud honk sounded from outside. I skipped down the stairs, saying a quick goodbye to my parents, before getting into Mary’s car. She wore a similar outfit to mine except that her tank top had polka dots on it. I could see that she was wearing her zebra print bikini through her shirt.

“Ready?” she asked, glancing over at me with a smile.

I nodded vigorously and told her, “Oh yeah. I need me some serious girl time. When we get to the beach, I need to tell you something, as well.”

“Why can’t you tell me now?” she question, keeping her eyes on the rose in front of her.

I shrugged and answered, “I just need to think of a way to tell you it.”