Poison -20- by Melanie Brown

Poison

By

Melanie Brown
Copyright © 2024

Part 20

There was a light punch on my shoulder.

“Hey Diane,” said Gene, looking embarrassed. “I just wanted to talk to you for a moment.”

I frowned. “I don’t want to be attacked by your crazy girlfriend, so go away.”

Gene grimaced. “I don’t blame you for feeling that way. Rhonda can get a bit intense. But she’s in the bathroom right now. I wanted to take the time to apologize for her.”

Feeling my anger build, I growled, “That bitch needs to apologize for herself! She needs to thank me for saving your ass!”

“You have to understand Rhonda. She…”

I poked a finger into Gene’s chest. “I really hate saying this since you’ve been so nice to me and all, but Gene, you’re a coward. You’re letting a girl, a girl, walk all over you.”

He stiffened. “I’m not a coward! No one is walking all over me! I’m grateful for your help, but Rhonda’s told me we need to break up.”

Feeling confused, I said, “We were never together in the first place.”

Before Gene could say anything else, Karen popped up between us. “Hey guys! Are we having fun yet?”

From across the room, Rhonda shouted, “Are you talking to her again?”

Karen grabbed my arm. “Diane, you need to go the restroom.”

I shrugged. “I’m fine.”

Squeezing my arm, Karen hissed, “Let’s go.”

“Well, since you mentioned it…”

Karen led me through the maze of kids to the girl’s restroom. I opened the door, and she followed me inside. Inside was a cacophony of girls’ voices. In my more masculine days, I’d’ve referred to it as a hen party.

Karen pulled me to one side. “Sorry about that. But Rhonda was headed your way.”

I stood stiffer. “I’m not afraid of that bitch, and I’m not going to hide from her!”

Karen glanced back at the door as if she expected it to fly open. “I know. Though sadly, I think she could take you. She’s beaten up a few girls. But I wanted to give her some space to calm down. She got herself worked up and was ripping you a new one right here in the restroom.”

Frowning, I asked, “That time of the month, huh?” I frowned again, thinking of my own tampon. “What’s her deal, anyway?”

Karen shrugged. “She gets jealous. Like really jealous. She’s kind of the queen bee around here.”

I shook my head. “Well then, she can just buzz off.”

Karen nodded. “Trust me. Nobody likes her. Nobody.”  She backed up a little and stared at me. “When did you start wearing make-up?”

I pointed at my face. “My mom thought I should for tonight.”

Grinning, Karen said, “Your mom did your make-up?”  I nodded. “I thought so. We want to give Rhonda more time, so come over by the mirror, and we’ll fix your make-up.”

I shook my head. “I’d rather just wash my face. I really don’t like make-up.”

Looking frustrated, Karen said, “Come on. Let me redo it. You want Brian to notice you, don’t you?”

I giggled, “He already has.” Do I really want Brian to notice me? I mean, really? A boy? That’s crazy talk. He’s a good gamer, though.

Karen chuckled. “Yes, he’s seen you. He’s talking to other girls. You want him just to notice you, right?”

“Maybe.” I was pretty sure I didn’t.

Karen pulled me over to the big mirror. She set her purse down on the shelf and opened it. “First rule: you don’t let your mom do your make-up.”

“Look, really. I…”

She pulled some items out of her purse. “You don’t need a lot. Johnny was right. You’re very pretty…almost as if you were grown in a lab.”

“Stop saying that!”

Over my objections, Karen went to work on my face. More mascara. Some lip gloss. And other emasculating liquids and powders.

“You’re not supposed to share make-up, you know,” I said seriously.

Biting her lower lip as she worked, Karen asked, “Are you diseased?”

“Well, two weeks ago, I was a man.”

She stepped back and chuckled. “You’re hilarious. I’m almost done. Every boy is going to just love you.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea. Let me just wash my face.”

She grabbed my shoulders and turned me to face the mirror. “What do you think?”

I stared in shock into the mirror. “Holy shit.”

Karen giggled. “You’re naturally very pretty. I just enhanced it a little.

I turned back and forth, looking at me. I don’t want to sound vain, but damn! I was hot. Should a thirteen year old be hot? Maybe this once.

Karen grinned. “Brian will definitely notice you now.”

I waved my hand dismissively and shrugged. “Even if I was hot for Brian, Mom won’t let me date anyone.”

Karen shrugged. “Maybe she’ll let you have supervised outings. That’s what my Mom does. I’ll have one Friday night with Corey.”

I nodded. “She might go for that.” What am I saying?! I don’t want to date.

We left the restroom and immediately ran into Corey. He straight away asked Karen to dance. I didn’t even know Corey knew how to dance. After just a few moments, it became evident that he didn’t know. But he had the chutzpah to ask. I never could ask a girl to dance. Well, not right away, at least.

Not seeing hide nor hair of Gene or Rhonda, I walked over to the counter and got a complimentary can of Dr. Pepper. It was one of those small 7.5 oz cans. As I took possession of the can, a boy I remembered from my English class walked up to me. He smiled nervously at me.

He stared at me for a moment before looking embarrassed and said, “Hi.” He was kinda cute, actually.

“Y… you…you’re Diane, right?”

I smiled back at him. “Yes. That’s me.”

“I was just…just c…curious if you… you’d like to dance?” Oh my gosh. He’s scared to death to talk to me. I remember being terrified to talk to girls at his… well, my age. Now that I’m a girl, I’m wondering what the big deal is. I took pity because I’d been in his sweaty shoes.

I grinned at him. “Sure. You’re in my English class. Craig, right?” I had to dig deep to retrieve that name.

His face lit up at the mention of his name. As he took my hand to lead me to where the other kids were dancing, he said quietly, “I’m afraid I’m not a good dancer.”

I laughed. I said, “That’s okay. I’ve got three left feet.”

He looked confused as he glanced down at my feet. I said, “I just meant that I can’t dance either.” We started to awkwardly to dance.  I gave Craig an encouraging smile.  It dawned on my just how much power girls have over boys unless the boys are assholes. And even then…

After several minutes, I could see confidence growing in Craig. He didn’t talk much though.

“My turn!” announced a boy pushing his way between us. Why did my heart jump when I saw who it was?

“Brian! Hey. I think you’re supposed to ask to cut in.” I felt my smile broaden.

Craig just stood there, unsure of what to do.

Brian said, “Sorry. My bad. You look really great.”

“Thank you.”

He looked over at Craig and said, “I’m cutting in.”

Brian locked eyes with me. “Sorry, I’m not much of a dancer.” I giggled. Brian was a regular Fred Astaire compared to Craig.

“I think you’re doing great!” I giggled I couldn’t take my eyes off him. What’s come over me?

We danced for ten solid minutes. It seemed like mere moments. Brian stopped dancing and asked, “Do you want a snack?”

I nodded. “Sure. Thanks.”

As he started to walk away, he asked, “What kind of Coke?”

“Dr. Pepper.” He nodded and got in line at the snack bar. I found a place to sit down.

I opened my purse and was surprised Mom had packed a compact. Well, I was wearing make-up when I left the house. That’s when I noticed I had a text message. It was from Mom, and I received it about five minutes before.

The text read: “Hope you’re having a good time. You’re actually past curfew. Would you like for us to come by and pick you up?”

I frowned when I read the word “us.” That could only mean Mom and her date. Should she even be dating yet?

I held up my phone and said, “Hey, Siri.”

Siri replied, “Yes?”

Talking into the phone, I asked, “How long should you wait before dating after the death of a spouse?”

There was a pause, and then Siri replied, “If you have important decisions to make, you should wait at least a year. The waiting times have been changing over time and varies from region and religion.” There was a long pause, and Siri added, “However if your spouse was merely transmogrified and not actually dead, about two weeks is normal. This information is provided by Mulberry University.”

I sighed heavily. “I guess I’m fucked.”

Siri said, “Yes.”

End of Part 20