Foreword:
The wait was long, but hopefully it was worth it. Please leave a comment or reach out to me if you enjoyed the story.
Shapes whizzed by in a blur out the window. With enough speed, even the boring, familiar route home could be terrifying. I sat in the passenger seat, sweaty, legs splayed, trying to catch my breath from the run to the car.
"Aren't you driving kind of... fast?" Outside, we flashed past a yellow light. "I thought Mr. Lunder wasn't coming over for another..." In my head, I puzzled with the mental math. After a few moments, however, the notifications on my phone saved me. "Well, not until later tonight..."
"We only have an hour and forty minutes, honey." Hair whipped across mom's face as she changed lanes. The car lurched. All the while, mom kept a white-knuckled grip on the steering wheel. "...And you will need every bit of that time to get ready."
Only half paying attention, I nodded, mostly focused on taking a picture of myself. Soccer practice had left my cheeks flushed. Still, I looked cute with my tongue sticking out, ponytail draped over my shoulder. Snapchat was all about finding the right angle, though honestly, every angle was working for me. '
Post workout vibes'
, I typed, and sent the message out.
"Uh... I probably won't need long." I responded, already thinking ahead. Before dinner, I could lay in bed and watch some match highlights from the day's games. The time would also be useful for planning next week's workouts.
"Jessie." Mom laid a hand down, obnoxiously blocking my phone screen. What did she think she was doing? Indignant, I glared over at her, trying to yank my phone clear of her hand.
"What?" I spat, wrestling with her hand.
"This dinner is important." Mom surveyed me, pursing her lips as though I were a bundle of dirty linens. "You need all the time you can spare if you're going to look presentable."
"Why should I bother? It's not like there's anything worth dressing up for." Doing the minimum makeup for school was exhausting enough. Showering and reapplying everything after school was a special kind of torment. Besides, it wasn't like I needed it, I looked good already. Anyone with eyes could see that.
Mom pursed her lips, foretelling an impending lecture. "You're exhausted from practice, I understand, but no daughter of mine is going to dress like a slob. All I'm asking is for you to do the minimum to be a good host. Can you do that for me? Please?" Mom said. The lines on her face deepened. She sounded tired. "Besides, when you're done freshening up, you'll be glad you did. Otherwise, the surprise won't be any good."
Surprise? The way things had been going recently, it was easy to forget such things existed. What could mom be planning? When I left for school, nothing had been out of place, but maybe I missed something. "What kind of surprise?" I demanded.
In the driver's seat, mom smiled slyly, revealing sparkling teeth. "Oh, you're going to love it." She turned into our driveway. "But I can't say anything until you at least clean yourself up."
No matter how diligently I scrubbed, there always seemed to be a stubborn spot of dirt. I targeted my knees with soap until they were pink, but to no avail. It had always been that way, much to my mom's exasperation. Still, I made an honest effort. Usually, I preferred to spend my time enjoying the warm water, rather than fussing over myself. If I picked out something below the knees, I would look great, dirt be damned.
Gentle plops of water drowned out the world beyond the shower stall. I stared into the drain. My toenails were chipped, an inevitable toll of time spent wearing cleats, but the green polish held up surprising well. I drew my arms to my chest, drawing in warmth. Festering in the back of my mind, like a splinter, was the knowledge Mr. Lunder would be having dinner with us in an hour. Not for the first time, I dreaded what would happen when we met face to face.
The past two weeks had required a lot of sneaking around. Cutting through yards, and slipping in the back door when no one was looking. At home, I spent most of my time in my room, under siege, watching soccer and browsing on my phone. Outside, the warm weather cried out, teasing me with tantalizing rays of sunshine. Instead, my backyard soccer net sat unused. Going into the yard was out of the question. Not if there was a chance of seeing him out there. Instead, I kept my blinds firmly closed. On the other side, somewhere out in his yard, Mr. Lunder would be prowling, waiting for me to show up. I didn't want to give him that opportunity.
Tonight, despite painstaking efforts to avoid him, I would have to see him again. Hiding had failed me. Perhaps, it had never even been possible. I ground my teeth. The position mom had put me in wasn't fair. I didn't deserve this. Spending an evening with Mr. Lunder was a nightmare. No one got to boss me into it. If I didn't want to go to dinner, I wouldn't go. I could just lock myself in my room.
There was one small nagging problem. The promise I'd made. Ever since losing her job, Mom had been in a strange mood. Her job made no sense to me, but I'd wanted to cheer her up. So, I agreed to her awful dinner idea. Now, there was no choice but to go through with it. The alternative was upsetting mom further. In her fragile state, one small thing might push her over the edge.
I stepped out of my sanctuary into the cold world beyond. Once in front of the mirror, my work began. Green eyes glared at me, frowning at my every inconvenience as I methodically slogged through my well-worn routine. Before High School, Mom had drilled me relentlessly. In those days it was the subject of frequent sobbing and shouting matches. Until I realized it was easier to do it than to try and get away with skipping it. Now it was simply a thoughtless task.
Makeup was a waste of time. So was doing your hair. There was no point. Both quickly got messed up when I ran around outside. It was just another inconvenience that couldn't be avoided. A lot of things were pointless though, so what was one more thing?
The finished product spoke for itself. My eyes were captivating. There was no way to avoid admiring them for a while. The rest of my face was no less exceptional. For a moment I scanned my reflection, looking for some flaw or imperfection, but of course, there was none. Honestly, there probably wasn't a face in the universe as captivating as mine. I smiled spectacularly--bathing the room in warmth--before returning to an emotionless frown. It was a waste of time getting all dressed up, especially when no one that mattered would even see it.
Clad in bra and underwear, I stomped up to my room. Shivers ran down my arms from the draft. Makeup and hair, an undeniable waste of an hour. Even homework would've been a better use of my time. Plus, there was still the matter of picking out what to wear.
