My Gorgeous Nightmare

“Why can’t you just be a good daughter?” My mom screamed at me. “You barely passed high school, you work at a dead-end job, you go out for the night and come back at 2 in the morning making enough noise to wake the entire neighborhood. You never contribute anything to this household but a headache from what you call ‘music’ blaring through the house.”

I sat on my bed, listening to her. It was the same shit she was always going on about. She was almost done though, which was good because my day had been shitty enough without this.

“And look at the way you dress. It’s all black and your jeans are ripped like you’re some homeless person that can’t afford nicer things. And you do your make-up like you’re a corpse. You never go in the sun so you’re pale to begin with, but then you make your face even paler with your rings of eyeliner. And don’t even try saying that those disgraceful colors you dye your bangs brighten anything. All I wanted was a daughter I would be proud of. Why can’t you be more like your friends? They dress decently with more than one color, and they’re all preparing for college. Why couldn’t I have one of them for a daughter? Why did I have to have you?”

I watched her stalk out of my room without another word. I listened as she walked down the stairs and slammed the front door behind her. I waited for the sounds of her car to fade before moving from my seat. I pulled out my notebook, needing my escape. I wrote what was in my head, my thoughts taking the form of poems. Even when I had written all I could, I still wasn’t feeling better. I pulled my pack of cigarettes out from their hiding place and sat in the backyard. While playing with the flame from my lighter I began feeling a little better.

I pulled out another cigarette, losing myself in my mind. I couldn’t let Dianna get to me. She had habits I didn’t like, but I was still her friend, so why couldn’t things go both ways? It’s not like I was smoking right in front of her; I’d gone to the opposite side of the club, which was already full of smokers. I just had to keep reminding myself that she’d come around eventually, just like she always did. I watched the sun go down as I thought about the shitty day I had at work, only to come home and have to listen to my mom. It wasn’t the first time she’d wished she didn’t have me. Another few weeks and I’d be out of her house. As long as Dianna and I fixed things.

“A.C., get ready, Max is coming to pick us up and the two of you are taking me out to eat,” Ronnie shouted from inside the house. I got up and went to find him.

“Does it have to be tonight? It hasn’t been a great day, and I’m not really in the mood to be around people,” I said.

“Please?” Ronnie begged. I mean, he actually got down on his knees and begged me to go with him and Max. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone do that in real life. But it worked. I had an hour to get ready, so I ran upstairs to shower and do all that shit that I do to get ready.

I managed to finish just before Max showed up, and we all climbed into his car and were driving towards the Strip, following Ronnie’s directions. Somehow we made it to the parking garage at Paris alive, though there were a few close encounters. But that’s driving in Vegas for you. Max and I followed Ronnie through the casino, to the elevators, and up to the halls with the rooms. We walked up and down the mazes, only stopping to wait for the next elevator. I jumped occasionally, trying to touch the ceiling, but it didn’t work too well. I think Max felt bad for me after a while because he lifted me up so I could reach the ceiling. Sadly, that was the highpoint of my day. So far.

Ronnie finally led us back the ground floor and stopped in front of the elevator to go to the top of the fake Eiffel Tower. “We’re eating at the restaurant at the top,” he announced.

“Hell no!” I shouted, Max protesting as well. “You do realize it’s $15 to just ride the elevator, right?” There was no way I was paying that much, even if I was only paying part of the bill.

“Calm down you two, I was just joking. Did you really think I wanted to eat while looking at this hell called a city?” I glared at Ronnie, not saying anything.

“Can we go eat somewhere now? I’m starving,” Max whined. I agreed.

Ronnie led us to the Denny’s that was randomly sitting in the middle of the Strip, where we waited for almost an hour before we got our food. Max and I passed the time by playing football with the sugar packets. We pissed off more than one person near us with our bad aim. Ronnie would make some apology about not being able to take kids anywhere these days, while Max and I pointed at each other, not wanting to take the blame. At least we didn’t get kicked out.

It had taken some convincing, but I got the Smiley Face pancake I wanted, and stole from Max’s endless pancakes and Ronnie’s fries. Seriously though, who goes to a pancake restaurant and orders an sandwich and fries? I think the kitchen was running out of pancake batter by the time we left, since the pancakes looked smaller each time a new plate was brought out. Oops.

Ronnie went outside to smoke while Max and I waited for the waiter to come back with the check. Max refused to take my money, even when I reminded him that he’d paid for me at McDonald’s. “I want to pay for you,” he said.

The three of us spent the rest of the night wandering in and out of the casinos, making fun of people and just having fun. A few times Max and Ronnie were asked for their autographs and photos, which they were glad to do. They didn’t let me get away though; Ronnie told everyone I was his little sister, and a few times, we told people Max and I were together just to see how soon the rumors would start.

In the end, I got a stuffed dragon from Excalibur. I’d done that Guess Your Age game, and since I look like a 14 year-old, the guy got my age wrong, since I’ve been 21 for a few months now. And I’d always wanted a pet dragon, so I was happy.

The three of us ended up watching movies until early in the morning when we all crashed in the living room. If only things could have stayed like this.