I know The Devil

I closed my eyes. I shouldn’t be thinking about Law. A guy that ghosted me then got on with my nemesis after fooling me to believe that there could be something between us. My mind, if it could talk, would tell me how I was a walking poster for a pitiable teenager at this point to still be thinking of such a guy.

I should enjoy my remaining days of high school, and roll with whatever was going on now besides the least he owed me was the popularity ride his involvement with me has brought me and when I don’t feel this ache at the side of my chest whenever I think about him maybe I could set my sight on a guy more attainable, real and within my league.

“I’m not just used to being handed stuff, I always have to work for it.”

Mariah smiled, “But we are friends right?”

“If you were aiming to be friends with me going by the first impression I have of both you and your sister, you girls have serious work cut out.” I chuckled even as she grinned then I felt her hands on mine making me meet her eyes.

“It was definitely not the clothes that made the Law Tyler notice you. I mean that guy has more than 6 Tumblr fan pages and no offence we weren’t expecting a girl like you to be the one he finally deem worthy to settle for. I don’t know why he isn’t with you anymore but I think he is foolish if he really saw what I think he did and still walked away, Prudence because you’re the most beautiful person I have ever come across at Evans high school, inside and out.”

“Even with the, I love boobs t-shirt?” I teased.

“Especially with the, I love boobs t-shirt.”

We chuckled.

“Where have you been?” Stacey whisper yelled angrily as she dragged me to the side the minute I walked into the diner.

“I have been covering your shift and covering your ass so you better open your mouth and confirm that there was a good need for that and what are you wearing?” Her lips curved at the last part of her sentence to what I want to assume was good enough to pass for an amused face start. Was that even a thing? You know the face you made when you’re trying hard not to laugh then eventually… Totally not a thing.

I sighed knowing that when she said a good need for that she meant family emergencies not a last-minute fashion shopping spree for a party.

“I went shopping,” I said eagerly rushing in to explain at the look in her eyes. “Look it was completely unplanned from the jump. I have this friend at school and his cousins who were bored decided that they were up for Dilly dallying using me as their lab rabbit but this time to experiment with fashion and I didn’t want to go but it wasn’t like they were asking or___”

She chuckled interrupting my rant. “Did you have fun, Prudence? Because I was beginning to get uncomfortable with how you never get to do any high school stuff ever!”

“Yes,” I gasped out totally surprised but that was the truth. “And I’m going to a party later this afternoon. A beach party.”

“You’ll give me all the dets later as for now let’s go back to minding our tables especially since Garrett has been in an extra cranky mood. Rumours had it that his fourth wife just filed for a divorce.”

“Honestly I’m not surprised. Nobody can live with that man.”

I quickly wore my apron and started serving the tables. It is a beautiful day, isn’t it?

“So I’m guessing you have a hot bikini to wear to your beach party since you went shopping and all?”

I smiled a little, shaking my head as I turn in my notepad to the chef while waiting for the meal.

“I don’t think I’ll be courageous enough to wear a bikini and show that much skin. But…” I lingered, “I got a really cute dress so that should count right?”

She arched her brow, “That would count to make you stand out as a sore thumb wearing a cute gown in a yard full of bikini and tits.”

I shrugged, now carrying my tray to table 15 with Stacey behind me, holding onto hers.

“I don’t really mind, you know?”

“Being noticed or being different.”

I chuckled, “I’m taking baby steps with the whole dip in the pool thingy.”

“Yeah, you think? I doubt there is anything like baby steps when doing scary things. Just take a leap of faith, babe besides it is a shame you’re not aware of how great your body looks.”

“I just don’t know everything is happening all at once and it is damn confusing…”

“It isn’t high school if it isn’t confusing, Prudence. Just make the best of this moment because you only get to be 17 and in Senior year once in your lifetime. Make it count.” She pretends to be cleaning the already spotless counter just in case Mr grumpy shows up in the absence of tables to serve while I sat down on a barstool ditching all forms of appearances.

“I just don’t want to embarrass myself or something,” I muttered biting the insides of my chin.

“And you won’t. You my girl would make lots of men gawk long enough to lose whatever girl they came with and how on Earth is that embarrassing?”

I chuckled amused, “When the jealous girlfriends ambush me.”

“Am I missing something or what? Now how is that a bad thing? It only makes you even more popular and dope.” She looks up her hands spread out, “Most beautiful girl in school gets ambushed by the not-so-privileged vengeful jealous girlfriends for snagging their boyfriends.” She read out like it was in a banner while I resisted the urge to chuckle because it always felt so good when Stacey does this thing where she makes you feel validated enough even though I couldn’t tell her that being ambushed by the popular girls in the private school I attend was every teenager nightmare unlike the public one in our community. After all, that would mean opening up to her and telling her that I didn’t slip and fall during those periods I always came to work with new multiple bruises.

Because what could that possibly achieve rather than dampen the hopes of others struggling to get out of this hood soon like I once wanted and strived to do?

So I just gave her a tiny unsure look, “I’m still not sure that I’ll like to be ambushed.”

“Okay but just make sure you pack a bikini just in case you know. You’ll thank me when you get gawked at but this time for a lot of wrong reasons.” She assured me then muttering under her breath how I think wearing clothes to a beach party was okay was yet another thing about me she couldn’t wrap her head around, she walked to the newly occupied seat by two acne-faced teenagers on her row to take their orders.

On a normal day, I wouldn’t give Stacey’s words a second thought because she was in quite another diverse world from myself. A world of freedom and void of hostility but to be fair on a normal day I also wouldn’t be invited to “the” party of the weekend that I was aware more than six guys in my history class has made an Instagram page for.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

I was never going to be a teenager ever again right? So how hard could it be to take baby sprints? And what harm could wearing a bikini underneath a big t-shirt and playing truth or dare with a bunch of other people cause?

Garrett comes out giving me an angry huff seeing that I wasn’t preoccupied, I held his gaze even until he looked away and angrily walked out, banging the door of the din behind him while I couldn’t help but wonder how he turned out to be this man.

Perhaps he was the only teenager that didn’t wear a swimsuit to a beach party.

I shivered. Definitely taking Stacey’s advice. Besides the point in baby steps was to blend in not stand out.

“I couldn’t help but overhear you and Stacey.” I shivered in fear just realizing how far off I was deep in thought as I turned to see Diane who had that look in her eyes. Winter dance queen twice in a row in La Paz public school, it should not be a surprise to anyone that discussing bikinis and parties could make Diane’s eyes shine. So I waited for her to ask for an Invitation as discreetly as two bangers going off in my face while I pretended like I didn’t catch her hint which was impossible to and took great effort since it was always in my face but I couldn’t afford to invite her to my supposed circle and having her glimpse how I was being treated there though that would make the idiom, all that glitter isn’t gold finally make sense to her, it’d cost my mother a panic attack.

So imagine the surprise in my eyes at her next word:

“Would you need help getting ready for the party?”

“Thanks for the offer, Diane but if you had listened harder you could have been able to tell that it is a beach party and I’m not sure there is much to do in readiness.”

She gave me a duh expression, “And many things could go wrong. You know with deciding the right bikini, not too tacky because there is beauty in not exposing too much but showing off just the right amount to prove your point and of course, nobody really goes to a Beach party to swim, more like a hooking up, chilling out spot so you’ll need minimal makeup and…” She touched my hair, giving me an identical look to the one the Baker twins gave me when I first stepped out of my room. “This here haven’t seen a stylist in a long time I can tell. But not to worry, in this hood when you go to parties often you definitely learn after shaving your eyebrow, burning your skin with a hair stretcher and poking your eyes with a mascara stick how to do it right.”

I gave her an uneasy smile and I was literally saved by the Bell as the ding of the doorbell signalling a client rang as a couple walked inside the din.

I moved quickly to them but not before mouthing out to Stacey whose eyes widened immediately as she grasped the message. “Help Diane is being nice and wants nothing in return.”