To Be Wild and Precious

3

In life, there who get worried and those who cause worry: the people who are offset by the smallest of troubles and the people who are the source of trouble.

Beth falls under the former category. She can’t handle stress well, or, perhaps, unnecessary stress. When the problems are put upon by herself, when she is the one who is packing on all the APs or setting all those crazy goals at Ivey league standards, she’s perfectly fine; she could deal with pressure. But when there are outside forces at work, when the universe begins to conspire against her, she crumbles. She wobbles under the weight of the mere idea of unscheduled obstacles.

Obstacles – Exhibit A: “There is something we need to talk with you about.”

What is that supposed to mean? Beth was frightened about the possible meaning of those words. She was caught by surprise with the suggestion, unprepared for such an attack. She must always be prepared, and, when something flies in out from left field, it throws her completely off balance.

However, there’s nothing she could do but grin and bear it. In most cases, the idea of failure, of disappointment flashing in her parents’ eyes, would crush her. But this wasn’t a normal situation.

This happened to be one of those “special cases,” the kind where ‘none of the above’ applied. So Beth shrugged off the fears and the stress. She knew that whatever came her way was certainly well-deserved. She shouldn’t have been out so late without really letting her parents know that she wasn’t going to actually be staying over Val’s house, which had been the initial intention for the previous night. But things seem to have a way of getting a life of their own. The events of the night before grew farther than she would have ever imagined: both friends completely drunk (one passed out, the other delirious} and the potential for a boyfriend. Well, it was just a first date, but first dates tend to lead to more. So Beth felt it safe to say that she gained a potential boyfriend that night.

Despite the newfound ease she felt from knowing that there was really nothing in her power to control the outcome of her confrontation with her parents, Beth couldn't help but be nervous about the impending scolding for her escapades the previous night. She realized that it was now or never. She had to abandon the comfort of her bed and brace the cruelty of the morning. With a new day came the potential to bring about more disappointment in her substandard life. Then again, it’s also one more opportunity to make improvements on the crap that is her existence. It could be a blessing or a curse.

Some days are just better than others.

She rolled out of bed with some difficulty, as if there were hundred-pound weights of dread attached to her feet. She leaned on her nightstand as she let a loud yawn escape from her while she reached for the ceiling and stretched out her left side.

Beth’s phone, which she left to charge overnight, was sitting next to her right hand and curiosity was gnawing at her insides. She was wondering if Liam actually had kept his word. She snatched it off the table and slide the keyboard open to check for messages. There were four.

The first and fourth were from Liam. It seems that he wasn’t lying when he said he was going to text her.

She read the first one, “hey beth. its liam. u left pretty quick. is evrythng ok?” It was sent only about half an hour after she left his side. Her phone must have already been dead by that time because she hadn’t seen it.

Her heart was all aflutter. He cared enough about her to send a text and ask her what had happened. He actually had missed her. So maybe she really wasn’t as invisible as she had thought she was.

The next text in her phone was from Rose. She skipped over it. And then passed over the next one too when she saw that it was from Valerie. Rose was probably just looking for sympathy and Val was most likely going to apologize for being such an ass. Well, Beth didn’t feel like dealing with that right now. She didn’t feel all too merciful just yet. Maybe after going through the parental confrontation will she be willing to forgive and forget. Right at that moment, though, she just wanted to check the next text, the one that said, “Sender: Unknown,” but was already distinguished by the previous text as belonging to Liam Nash.

Beth clicked it open. “hey so I was wonderin if u wanna go out soon lyk 2morrow mayb. Txt/call me”

She checked what time he had sent it: 3:46 a.m. So is the tomorrow that he meant today or actually tomorrow, Beth thought. She was so puzzled. She looked at the clock for what time it was. It was 9:37 in the morning. There was no way that someone who went to sleep less than six hours ago after partying that much would be up.

But Beth didn’t want to pass up on the chance of her first real date. So she held the phone in her hand and thought, text or call, text or call.

Before she could stop herself, she pressed the green call button and let the phone ring. It rang once, twice, three times. By the fourth ring, Beth felt desperate; she was ready to hang up and was about to, but then a handsome voice answered.

“Hey.” It said.

“Um…” Beth did not expect him to actually pick up the phone.

“Beth? Is that you?” Liam asked. His voiced was slightly muffled like he had just woken up.

“Uh, yeah. It’s me. I was just, um…I was calling you about the text you sent me last night – early this morning? Whatever, I just wanted to let you know that I do want to. I mean, I do want to go out. I um – “ She was stumbling on all of her words.

“Beth,” he stopped her. “Beth, are you free today?”

Beth did a mental check of the day: scold from parents, forgive best friends, work on the AP summer reading, and, well, it seems the rest of the day is completely free. So she replies, “Yes. Today I’m available.”

“Cool. Okay, so how about I pick you up at four? Sound good?” he asked.

“Yup.” She didn’t even hesitate for a second. “Sounds great.”

“Awesome. Kay, so I’ll see you then. I’ll text you later. Bye, Beth.”

“Bye, Liam.”

Beth hung up the phone and threw herself onto her bed and rolled onto her stomach. She felt like she was on cloud nine. Apparently, this was going to be a good day. Nothing that her mom or dad could tell her now would be able to crush her spirit. She was going to go on a date with a boy, a very beautiful boy for that matter.

With that in mind, she stepped into her slippers and skipped down the stairs to settle down at the kitchen table. Her mother was making pancakes and her father was eating every other one that came off the skillet. Beth gave each parent a kiss on the cheek and announced “Good Morning!” as she covered the distance from one parent to the other with a twirl. She leaned her upper body on the kitchen counter and rested her chin in her hands. Physically she was present, but mentally she was imagining her date later that evening.

Her mother glanced up from the stove-top and noticed Beth’s distant expression. “Oh, sweetie, what’s wrong?”

“Wrong?” Beth asked. “Absolutely nothing is wrong. I’m just happy. Unless that is a problem, then there is nothing wrong at all.” She dropped on arm and was just cradling her head in her right hand.

Beth’s parents exchanged concerned glances. “Sweetie, I think that we should talk.” Beth stopped daydreaming and focused on her mother’s words. Her eyes widened with fear over the possibility of punishment, like grounding perhaps. She just got asked out, and now to not be allowed to go would be terrible. “I think you should sit down.”

Bethany obeyed, afraid of further ruining any chances at staying on her mother’s good graces. She sat in the nearest chair and gently folded her hands together, waiting for what the two adults beofe her had to say to her. She was ready for it.

“Bethany, your mother and I,” he began. “We’d like to let you know that this is very difficult for us to tell you.”

“It breaks our heart. Really, it does. What with how much this decision affects your life as much as it does ours.”

Bethany looked from parent to parent sitting on opposite sides of the table. She voiced a tiny critter of fear that had been nibbling its way to the surface of her mind the moment they had begun talking, “Are you guys getting a divorce?” she asked timidly.

“What? No. No, not at all.”

“That’s absurd. What made you think such a crazy thing, sweetheart?” her mother inquired.

“Well, I mean, the way you guys were talking – “

“Sweetie,” her mom answered. “There’s nothing to worry about in regards to me and your father. We love each other dearly.” She put a hand over his and clasped it; he squeezed hers right on back.

That was a relief for Beth. But she was still confused as to what the purpose of this confrontation was. “Wait, then what did you have to talk to me about?”

Her father tightened his grip on her mom’s hand, most likely for moral support. “Well, Bethany, this is hard for us and I know it will be much harder for you. But I lost my job at Century 21 a couple of weeks ago. They were cutting a lot of us loose because of the troubles with the economy.”

“What? You lost your job?!”

“We didn’t tell you earlier because we didn’t want to worry you. In the meantime, your mom and I have been job hunting. And Kevin from the office helped me out a bit, too. He found me a great new company to work for. I already went for the interview and I got the position. The only issue is that I’d have to move into its general location.”

Beth was still stuck on the fact that her father, the man who never failed at anything, ever, had lost his job. She understood that times were hard, but that still didn’t soften the blow. The idolized image she held of her father would forever be crushed, firstly, because it actually happened and, secondly, because he had waited so long to even admit to it.

“What? Where’s its location? What do you mean?” She was so confused.

He sighed, clearly troubled by having to relay this information. He looked towards his wife for assistance.

“Sweetie, your father’s new job would require us to all move to New Jersey.”

“WHAT?” Bethany shot up from her chair. “Mom. Dad. It’s my senior year. I can’t just get up and leave my friends and school. How do you expect my GPA to carry over into a completely different state. I’ll lose my ranking. No. I can’t lose all my hard work like that.”

“Sweetheart, we really have no choice in the matter. Your father needs to get a new job. And he’s already accepted that one. We’re leaving at the end of next week. We’ve already –“

“NO! No. I can’t just leave.” Beth was in tears. “I cannot just walk away from everything that I have here. Kenton is my home. I’ve lived here my whole life. I can’t leave it.”

“Bethany, it’s only two states away. It’s barely even a trip. You could visit your friends on holidays if you want.” Her father tried to reason.

“So you just want me to make new friends. Just like that. In my senior year. Dad, it took me six years to make two friends. And they’re the only friends I have. How do expect me to adapt anywhere else? I can’t. I just can’t. I’m sorry. I can’t leave.” She turned to leave.

“Bethany.” Her father said forcefully as he rose from his seat. “This is not up to discussion. We are leaving Ohio for once and for all and the end of next week whether you like it or not. You have no say in the matter. Go upstairs and start packing.”

“Dad –“ Beth pleaded, tears streamed down her face.

“No. Just go and pack.” He pointed in the direction of her room. “This is not up for discussion.”

She looked to her mother for assistance, but she just avoided her daughter’s gaze. Bethany understood how it was.

She turned on her heels and slammed the door to her room. She quickly changed out of her pajamas. She checked her phone for messages and saw another one from Rose.
And for once, she did not obey. Beth grabbed her purse and stealthily slipped out the back door.

Some days are just better than others. This day was certainly one of the worst.