All That Glitters

Braylen’s eyes fluttered open and her jaw dropped. For the first time in months she had a good night’s sleep without the same nightmare forcing her awake. A smile spread across her face and she hopped up stretching her arms up above her head and yawned again. She turned back to her bed and saw Caitlin still sound asleep, she’d slept their since they’d fallen asleep while talking. Braylen started getting ready, she was so excited about how well she had slept she simply skipped to the bathroom. Once Braylen had dressed in denim shorts with black tights underneath and pulled a navy blue sweater over a t-shirt and put on all her make up she glimpsed at the clock and cursed realizing school was starting in ten minutes.

Caitlin let out a snore, Braylen smiled before sitting on the bed next to her and bouncing up and down. “Wake up, sleepy head,” Braylen chirped, her voice raising and falling in volume as her body did on the bed. “Caitlin!” She sang, until Caitlin smacked her back harshly before moaning something and stuffing her face back into a pillow. “Ow! Hoe bag,” Braylen said narrowing her eyes and stopped bouncing.

“Then don’t wake me up bitch!” Caitlin giggled before turning over and rubbing her eyes. She laid flat until she glimpsed at the alarm clock on the bedside and her eyes bulged and she jumped out a bed swearing under her breath.

“So now you know why I was waking you up,” Braylen sang walking into the bathroom, to brush her wavy brown hair and double-checked her appearance. She smiled as Caitlin repeated ‘shit’ over and over again pulling on a dress and braiding her hair quickly before running into the bathroom to do her own makeup. Braylen pulled on some brown ankle boots and grabbed her purse.

“I hate school, seriously! Why does our school have to start this goddamn early in the morning!” Caitlin putting the final touches of bronzer on her cheeks and walked over into Braylen’s room with a forced frown on her face until they both started cracking up and made their way to school.

As the girls pulled into a parking spot, Braylen waved to Caitlin as they went their separate ways, Braylen looking straight down at her feet. She felt insecure as her footsteps echoed loudly in the empty halls. She turned and walked into the class room and as soon as she walked in she heard his evil voice, “Well, well, well Ms. Huntington, late again I see?”

“I’m sorry Mr. Burns,” Braylen muttered insincerely while rolling her eyes. As she started walking towards her desk.

“No, Ms. Huntington, you have a referral, please go see the vice-principal,” Mr. Burns said smugly with a villainous smile and Braylen’s face dropped again. She whipped around with a raised eyebrow.

“Why?”

“Because you walk into my class whenever you like, with no respect for authority and continue to do so despite numerous detentions, please immediately report to Mr. McIver,” Mr. Burns spoke with a pretentious tone and held out a yellow carbon copy and Braylen rolled her eyes, snatching the sheet.

“Asshole,” She muttered under her breath, a couple kids hearing it and snickering, but before Mr. Burns could say anything she was already out the door and making her way to the vice-principal’s office.

“Huntington!” A voice called out, Braylen turned around to see John with a similar yellow sheet in his hand. She smiled and waved. “Well, that wouldn’t happen to be an office referral now, would it?” John smirked waving his in the air as he jogged to catch up with her.

“Yeah fucking Burns. I hate him,” Braylen spat.

“Oh yeah I had him last year, so what are you in for?” John asked with a crooked smile on his face, as they continued down the hall towards the senior class office.

“I don’t even know,” Braylen laughed, looking at the sheet and reading it for the first time. “Ms. Huntington continually disrupts my class and has issues with authority despite the fact she has faced disciplinary action on multiple occasions. She is rude and disrespectful and I request her to be transferred out of my class,” Braylen read. She frowned before looking up at John, “Dude, I was in my class for like ten seconds, that little prick had this pre-written!”

“Ha-ha, that sucks dude. Mine says that I am a disruption because I’m hilarious!,” John explained before he started muttering, “and for trying to type inappropriate words with my calculator…” He spoke faster hoping that Braylen wouldn’t hear him. She almost didn’t until she paused and digested what he was saying.

“God, what are you in fifth grade? Let me guess eight-zero-zero-eight?” Braylen laughed loudly at John’s expense, double checking his sheet to see if he was being serious. She rolled her eyes as John blushed slightly and they walked into the senior office.

“Hello Mrs. Merriweather,” John sang with his head turned and an innocent smile on his face, passing her the yellow sheet. Braylen raised an eyebrow at John before smiling at the older woman behind the desk. Braylen followed John’s action and passed Mrs. Merriweather her sheet as well.

“Back again, John?” She laughed before reading Braylen’s sheet, “Alright Braylen, why don’t you take a seat until Mr. McIver can see you?” She said sweetly.

“Yeah, Mrs. Allen just has it out for me our something…” John crossed his arms taking a seat next to Braylen. “I don’t know why…” John added on with a childish tone and rolling his eyes.

“Seriously? You have no idea?” Braylen scoffed as she saw the same look of disbelief on Mrs. Merriweather’s face. It was awkwardly quiet in the office, while Mrs. Merriweather played solitaire on her computer. Every time John thought of something to say to the girl next to him, the silence made him shy away from the idea. Braylen didn’t even notice, staring at her shoes awkwardly and when she turned to John he was looking away.

“Alright, Huntington and O’Callaghan, get your asses in here!” McIver called out, retrieving the yellow sheets from Mrs. Merriweather. John and Braylen both exchanged looks before looking at the former military man, completely dumbfounded. “Together!” He stated sternly and Braylen shot up and practically ran into his office. Everyone knew that if you didn’t do exactly as McIver said you could be in detention till graduation.

“O’Callaghan, I see you in here practically ever day. Frankly, I’m sick of seeing your face around here! I hope you realize if you want to play basketball this season or baseball in the spring, I would recommend getting your act together. Detention today and if I see you again, you’ll be getting suspended,” McIver said as if he had rehearsed it, but as many times as John had been in trouble, he had said it before and he would probably say it again.

“Damn, McIver, it’s Friday!” John complained slouching down in his chair.

“I don’t care!” McIver mocked John in an extreme whiney voice and he turned his attention to Braylen as she straightened up and prepared herself for a similar rant. “Braylen, I’ve never seen you in here, you have a couple detentions, all from Burns. So, I’m transferring you to Mr. Allen’s class still first block and still Pre-Calculus, but just defusing the situation, but because of your attitude problems, detention- today!”

“When should I start going to Allen’s class?” Braylen asked meekly, picking at her fingernail polish and for some reason feeling really nervous.

“Well, there’s four minutes left in first period- so Monday morning. Don’t be late! And if I see you in my office again, you’ll get suspended!” McIver spoke loudly and sternly, making Braylen sink into her seat. She waited as McIver typed the schedule change into the computer, as both her and John stared awkwardly, unsure of what do do.

“Out! I have more kids coming in!” McIver stated sternly pointing to the door. Braylen and John both darted towards the door and out of the office as quickly as possible. John waved goodbye to Mrs. Merriweather and Braylen sighed awkwardly as the halls began to fill completely with the student body.

“Jesus, I can’t decide if he’s more of a dick or just scary…” Braylen chuckled and started making her way towards her dance class, pulling her notebook towards her chest, looking over her shoulder to see with a giant, creepy smile on his face. “What…?” she asked darting her eyes back and forth.

“Nothing, it’s just I got in trouble writing inappropriate words on my calculator in Mrs. Allen’s first period pre-calculus!” John chuckled awkwardly. Braylen wasn’t sure if she was happy or more creeped out on how excited John was.

“Oh yay!” Braylen smiled sarcastically. “Well, I’ll see you in detention,” Braylen tried to leave the awkward tension and get to the gym. She turned and saw John was still following her. She cursed under her breath at how the awkwardness just kept escalating.

“I have basketball,” John smiled staring down at her with a smirk.

“Oh, I’ve never seen you before! Are you always in the gym during second period?” Braylen asked, wondering how it was possible to make it half-way into the semester and not notice someone. To be fair, the soccer team, the basketball team and the dance team had second period all in the gym.

“Yep, I’m on the varsity team! But yeah we all see you,” John chuckled with a perverse smile on his face. Braylen smacked him, letting out a laugh and even blushing a little bit.

“Well, that’s creepy. Call me crazy, but when we practice we actually concentrate on what we’re doing,” Braylen laughed as they entered the gym. Braylen waved goodbye before turning right towards the girls’ locker room and John had to go left towards the boys’.

“Yeah well, we concentrate on the spandex pants!” John called out right before he walked into the locker room. Braylen whipped around, unsure if she was offended, angry, flattered or a combination of all three. She decided to ignore him and continue walking into the locker room.

After Braylen had changed into black spandex capris that showed every curve on her thin frame and a grey tank top with an Aztec on her chest and her black sports bra showing, the same outfit every girl wore for dance team practice, they came out onto the large gymnasium and began stretching. As Isabelle, another girl on the dance team grabbed hands and helped each other deepen their splits, a boy wolf-whistled. Both girls shot dirty looks, to them this was sport, just as important as basketball to the guys. There was no surprise to see John and Sterling on their toes waving obnoxiously to Braylen as she began to pull her back leg into a scorpion position. She waved back and laughed as their coach slapped them in the back of the head.

The girls started doing their routine to a Swing by Savage, throwing their legs in the air and contorting their bodies in unison, this was Braylen’s favorite routine. She let all her thoughts go and concentrated into moving her body, it was a freedom nothing else allowed her. After they perfected that, they began practicing their next song so they had a enough routines for both the pep rally later today and the game tomorrow. Braylen stood up straight and felt her smile grow once she was done. All the girls were taken back in surprise when both the basketball team and the soccer team started applauding.

“If you can’t control your boys we’ll started practicing in the student center!” Mrs. Bixby, The Sundancers coach and all around sassy woman shouted across the gym. Suddenly there was an erruption of complaining from the other teams. Braylen jutted her bottom lip at Isabelle who was blushing. Then the coaches began blowing their whistles and shouting. “Okay, girls cool down, meet back here at three o’clock to start changing. Also I want you girls stretched.” She said before excusing them to take a shower.

“Mrs. Bixby…” Braylen approached her shyly smiling. She had been captain of The Sundancers since it was her senior year and the underclassman loved her.

“Braylen! Girl, what am I gonna do once you graduate?!” Mrs. Bixby exclaimed, her flawless ebony skin dimpled with a big smile. Braylen laughed shyly before clearing her throat.

“I actually have detention today…” Braylen dragged out awkwardly.

“What?! What’d you do?!” Mrs. Bixby’s eyes grew big and Braylen let out a chuckle. “Never mind I’ll call McIver and tell him to just let you make it another day. Be here at three, okay?” She dismissed before waving Braylen away.

“Thanks!” Braylen called out over her shoulder before entering the locker room and managed to change, joining in on a shallow conversation with a couple of the other senior girls. All of them shameless about their bodies they worked so hard for. Braylen of course was late, and after saying goodbye to Clara, a junior found herself alone in the hallway again.

“Bray!” Sterling yelled out, leaning against the wall, his backpack hanging from one shoulder with a smile. John stood behind him with a bright smile. She let out a wave.

“Aw, did you guys wait for me?!” Braylen exclaimed, over exaggerating how flattered she was. “Oh dude, guess who’s coach got them out of detention for the pep rally!” Braylen bragged with smug smile with two thumbs out pointing towards her.

“Me too, I guess athletics do really come before academics here,” John laughed out into the empty hall as she walked towards her next class, feeling extremely happy in that moment for the first time in a long time.