Bridgette’s POV
Usually Brooklynn and I don’t hang out in school, but her friends usually know more about the ‘gossip’ than some of my friends, so I paid attention. G and Kendra leaned toward us, and Chanelle pulled out her phone (probably to call some stupid boyfriend).
“Alan likes you, and he broke up with Perrie!” She shrieked. I rolled my eyes and left their little group. I love my sister, but some of her friends are just too much. Kendra is fun, but for the most part, I don’t like her friends.
“Hey, guys.” I said, taking a seat nest to my friend Leila.
“What’s up, Bridge?” She asked. Most of my friends call me by my first name, but almost everybody else calls me Valen or Valencia. I shrugged. “How are Paris’s friends?”
“They’re freaking out because Alan broke up with Perrie, and now he likes Brooklynn.”
Mike, one of my other best friends, frowned and pulled his laptop onto the table. Everybody knows that Mike likes Brooklynn, but nobody knows if she likes him. “Don’t be sad, you have a shot.” Derek joked. Mike’s face turned red and he punched Derek playfully.
“Oh, and most of our summer plans have been ruined, by the way.”
“What? Please, you can’t go to your cousins again!”
“Oh, I’m not. I’m going to another one of my cousins’ houses, and I don’t even know them!”
Wyatt walked up and sat next to me. He’s the sweetest person anyone will ever meet. We’ve been going out since sixth grade, and everybody says we make the perfect couple. Before we started dating he was my best friend, and he still basically is. We do almost nothing to acknowledge that we are a couple, but everybody knows we are.
“Are you leaving again?” I nodded. “Aww, Bridge, I’ll miss you. Please don’t.” I shot him an ‘are-you-serious’ look and let out a quick laugh.
“Valennnnnn. You promised you’d stay here this year!” Leila complained.
I gave her a menacing look, “do I look like I want to go to the middle of nowhere for summer vacation?” She shook her head. “But I did get a new phone.”
“What kind?” Derek asked, reaching across the table.
“The kind that I won’t let you touch.” I joked, “It’s an iPhone 5.” My friends ignored my ‘no touching’ rule, and grabbed it from my hands. “Give it back!” I shouted.
A few kids from other tables sneered at us and we just laughed it off. “My mom said I can’t get one until the end of the year.” Leila said. It was close to the end of the year, so none of our teachers were making us do any real work. The rest of our classes were spent talking and doing fun projects, and we were even let out early. Sports were over, but Brooklynn and I decided to go for a quick run before dance. We were running through the woods when I tripped and fell.
“Miss Carrol is gonna kill you!” She yelled, helping me up.
“She would’ve found something wrong anyway.” I pointed out. Brooklynn shrugged and we finished our run. I tried my best to clean up the scrape before entering class, but there wasn’t much I could do.
“Good afternoon girls, thanks for being on time today.” We nodded and ran in before she could notice the scrape on my leg. Everybody was excited because this weekend was the last competition before our break, and the last thing Brooklynn and I would be doing before we were shipped off to the middle of South Carolina. Miss Carrol walked in with a smile, but it faded when she saw the scrape on my leg and the dirt on Brooklynn’s arms. “What were you doing?” She asked. Neither of us answered. IT wasn’t that she was scary, it was that we had broken her rule of ‘no running’. Apparently it’s ‘bad for your joints’. Personally, I think contorting your back will hurt me more. “How do you expect me to send you to a competition like this?”
“It’s just a little dirt and a small scrape.” Maria, another girl on the team, pointed out. Miss Carrol didn’t seem to care, and she began teaching us the group dance. Brooklynn and I would be learning solos tomorrow, and we were going to learn our duet after pointe.
“I love that dance!” Maria exclaimed as we exited the studio. Jillian and Willa agreed, and then they left for tap and acro classes. Brooklynn and I put our pointe shoes on and headed back into the studio. Pointe is Brooklynn’s favorite because she likes being ‘graceful’, but I just like pique turns, anything lyrical, and being able to do tricks. Of course, all of the teachers love that Brooklynn likes pointe, and they always tell me I need to be more ‘enthusiastic’ about it.
“How do you like that?” I asked, putting a banded on my blistering feet. Brooklynn shrugged and walked back into the studio for the last time that day. “What do you think it will be about?” I asked, referring to the duet. Brooklynn said she thought it would be something sad or angry, and then we saw Miss Carrol.
“Ready to begin learning the duet?” She asked. We nodded and she began to choreograph to routine. It was lyrical, so I would like it, but the core dancing was ballet, so Brooklynn would like it. Miss Carrol’s phone rang in the middle of class, and she told us to choose some music while she was on the phone. Brooklynn and I walked over to her computer and looked through the playlist “Brooklynn and Bridgette’s duet”. We scanned the list and both immediately pointed at ‘Please Don’t Go’ by ‘Barcelona’. She hit play and we began to run the dance with the music.
“I cannot believe Mom and Dad are sending us to South Carolina.” I stated. It was probably the hundredth time she had heard me complain about it, but I was still upset.
“What do you want me to do about it?” She asked. I shrugged before leaping over her. “Besides, we always find something fun to do.”
“I hope so, I mean, Nate and Kelsey have to do something for fun.” I was trying to think positively, but it was hard. Kelsey is a senior in college, so she hasn’t lived in South Carolina for almost four years, and even though Nate is only eight months older than Brooklynn and I and is in our grade, he seems to think he is ‘too cool’ for his cousins. The last we heard, he had vandalised his school and had been suspended for the second time that year. Why my parents want us to spend our summer in South Carolina with a delinquent instead of in Encino with our friends and nanny is beyond me.
“That’s the spirit!” She said lightly. I cracked a smile. “When do we leave?” She asked, a little less excited.
“Monday.” I answered. It was Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were mostly field trips, Friday was graduation and a few parties, Saturday and Sunday were the competition, and Monday we would be leaving. “I’ll miss everybody.” she said solemnly.
“What happened to your up-beat attitude? We’ll only be gone for a month.” It was like we had completely switched mind sets. We do that a lot. One time we spent a week fighting about who would wear which dress to our cousin’s wedding, and by the time each of us agreed to switch, we changed our minds.
Miss Carrol walked back in and we explained our song choice to her. “Good! I love that song!” The person she had talked to on the phone must have had good news because she was never this happy. “Okay, sorry to keep you waiting. How about we run through this with the music a few times, and then we will meet again tomorrow?” She suggested. We nodded and went to the side of the floor. She started the music and we began. “Nice, Paris, but straighten your right leg! Valen, your left foot is sickled!” As the music ended, Brooklynn and I walked up to her, panting. “You guys did a great job, but the middle, when you are jumping over each other, is still sloppy.” We ran the dance a few more times, and then we were released to go home.
“Finally,” I breathed, “we can go home!” Brooklynn laughed and slid her sweat pants on. “I’ll call Andre and tell him to pick us up.” I said. Andre is our only brother, and even though he doesn’t finish school yet (he’s in his second year of college) he came back from Texas early to see us graduate from middle school. I dialed his number and he picked up quickly.
“Bridge, what’s up?”
“Can you come get us?” I asked. He didn’t answer but I could hear him searching for his keys. “We’re at dance.”
‘Oh, yeah. Sure. Do we have direction to that?” He asked.
“Sylvia has them in the folder of information in the kitchen.” I explained. Sylvia is our nanny/housekeeper. She lives with us almost all of the time, but since Brooklynn and I will be away for a while, our parents told her to take the month off, so she is in Argentina, visiting her family.
“k. I found it. Thanks, bud. See you soon.” I scowled and hung up the phone.
“Did he call you bud?” She asked.
I nodded, “Yeah, Brook, he did.” she stuck her tongue out. She can’t stand being called Brook, and I hate when Andre calls me bud. Andre pulled up in our Mom’s black Cadillac and hollard to us from the parking lot. We waved ‘good-bye’ to everybody and ran to the car. I dropped my phone, which caused me to lose our race for the front seat. I didn’t mind too much though because it meant Andre wouldn’t be trying to read my texts, at least not while he was driving.
I looked down at my iPhone 5. I had owned it for less than a day and had already dropped it once. Wyatt, Leila, and Derek had texted me. I answered Wyatt first because I knew he was the only one who would answer.
Wyatt: Hi :)
Bridgette: Hey!
Wyatt: what’s up?
Bridgette: driving home from dance :p u????
Wyatt: jc. I cant believe we graduated fri.
Bridgette: same!!!!!!!!
Wyatt: at least we’ll be in high school together, but I’ll miss u when u’re in SC
Bridgette: ill miss u 2!
Wyatt: love you, Bridge!
I rolled my eyes and hesitated before answering ‘you too’. Trust me, Wyatt is the most amazing boyfriend ever, but he is always saying ‘I love you’ and then acting like we are best friends, not a couple.
“Is that Wyatt?” Brooklynn asked. I nodded at her through the car mirror. “Awwww! You guys are so cute!” I rolled my eyes.
“Wait! Bridge, are you still dating that kid?” Andre asked, completely seriously.
“Yep.” I answered, popping the ‘p’.
“Wow.” He smiled, “Any new boys for you, B.P.?” That was a new one. ‘B.P.’, it’s an interesting nickname, but I doubt I’ll ever call Brooklynn that.
“Nope. That’s why I’m Mom and Dad’s favorite.” She joked. Andre laughed too, and then pulled into our circular driveway. It was 9:15, so it had just gotten dark, and we rushed inside.
There were two plates with left overs waiting to be heated, and the folder with the directions to the studio on the table. Brooklyn and I heated up our plates, and talked about the end of school while we ate. When we were done, we went upstairs to our rooms, showered, and then hung out in the 'lounge area'. The house was large enough to literally devote the third floor (which was just as large a the other two and the basement) to the kids. The second floor had our parents bedroom and their offices, the first floor was the main living area, an the basement held Sylvia's wing, the gym, and the cinema.
"What should we pack for South Carolina?" I asked Brooklynn. She just shrugged. I'm not sure she had paid attention tO the question, but I didn't really mind. At 11:30, I went into our closet to get an outfit ready. It was predicted to be about 75 tomorrow, so I grabbed some combat boots, a short, red, tanktop, a floral skirt, a vintage necklace, a cute ring. I set the outfit on the chair next to the Morris jn the closest, and went to my room. Brooklynn had pulled out her outfit while I was in there, but I hadn't bothered to look. I climbed into bed, "Night, Brooklynn." I called. The doors were closed, but we could still hear each other.
"night." she called back.
The next few days were nice. Nothing exciting had happened, and everybody was just talking about how excited they were for high school and summer. Brooklynn and I would be at Sierra Canyon School, with almost every famous high schooler in America, but most of our friends (including Leila and G) would be at Loyola School. Wyatt would be at Sierra Canyon too. Everybody had exciting summer plans, too. G was going to the Bahamas with another one of Bridgette’s friends, Alan and Derek were going to some fancy football camp, and Mike, Wyatt, Leila, and Kendra would be staying here. Leila and Wyatt said they would miss me too much, and would sneak away to South Carolina, but everybody knew it wouldn’t happen. Over all, everybody was looking forward to next year.
“Hey, kiddos!” Andre called as we walked inside after the first of many graduation parties. “Your dresses and shoes and girl stuff are upstairs.” We squealed and ran up the winding stair case faster than humanly possible. We flung Brooklynn’s door open and threw our stuff in the corner. I literally flung my shoes acrosse the room, knocking over a neatly stacked pile of magazines in which people had mentioned our family. The closet door was ripped open, and we finally stopped when we saw our dresses. We had ordered them last week, and had gotten rush delivery so we would have them in time. I picked up my white dress. It had two cut outs in the back and was an A-line dress, which I loved. I looked at the gorgeous pearl earings and beautiful gold jewlery that had been lain out for me.
“This is amazing!” I yelled, much louder than I needed to. Brooklynn was too interested in her white skater dress to care though. “Oh my God! My shoes!” I shreiked, even louder than the first time. I snatched the five inch, light blue, heels from the ground and ran into my room to change. We both walked into the closet at the exact same time.
“Bridge, look at you! In your big girl heels!” Brooklynn joked. I stuck my tongue out and we did each other’s makeup and hair.
“My little sisters, in their big-girl clothes, graduating middle school! About to be tortuered through four years of high school. Andre joked. Mom and Dad walked down the stairs and we all piled into the car.
We met up with our friends before the actual ‘graduating ceremony’, and had one final discussion about eighth grade. It was a sad but momentous occasion. The teachers made little speeches about each one of us, which took FOREVER. At the end of the ceremony, everybody talked to the teachers and parents.
“Oh, Valencia was a wonderful student! One of my best! I’m going to miss her next year.” I over heard one of my teachers tell my parents. Of course, more people talking about what a ‘good kid’ I am. In a way, I think I’m tired of following rules.
The next morning, we were still tired from the party at Kendra’s. Nothing crazy had happened, but she had invited most of our grade, and we had stayed until 1:00 AM. I was sure Miss Carrol would be pissed about us staying out so late, but, what could she do? Brooklynn and I will be gone tomorrow.
“My feet are so sore!” I complained as we walked into the competition.
“You should’ve worn flats.” Brooklynn snapped.
“Well, somebody’s cranky! Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed out until 1:00 AM.” She rolled her eyes and we greeted everybody. Half of the kids congratulated us on graduating, and the rest stayed quiet. The competition lasted a few days, but our age group was only competing today.
“Finally! I was going to pull your solo!” Miss Carrol shouted. As usual she was going to pull MY solo, but not Brooklynn’s.
I ignored her and got ready as quickly as I could. Brooklynn and I rushed backstage and waited. I was the next solo, and she was right after. I fumbled with the fabric of my grey costume and then Skyfall began. I finished my dance and smiled as soon as I stepped off the stage. Brooklynn’s solo began and she danced to Stars. “Nice.” I whispered as she skipped off the stage. My bare feet were covered in blisters, but I tried to look comfortable as we walked back to the room.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Lilly was the only girl on the team who wasn’t dancing at all this week, and she had to tell us her opinion on everything. Our group number went well, but probably wouldn’t place, and of course, it had to be my fault. Our duet went really well, but of course, it had to be because Brooklynn had been in the dance. Lilly was the only one of Brooklynn’s friends that I truly could not stand. No matter how much I complained about G or Kendra or any of her other friends, I knew that I still liked them. It was different with Lilly. At school, I’m the best student, and all of the teachers and kids knew it. But at dance, I was not the best, and everybody knew it. For once, I was glad that I would be leaving tomorrow.
The award ceremony was after lunch. The group dance came in 6th, and our duet came in 1st. The solo awards were the last thing of the day, and my stomach was doing flips. I knew Brooklynn woudl win. I didn’t really care, though. Brooklynn is a lot more dedicated than I am, so I guess she deserves to win, but Lilly doesn’t make it easy to be a good loser, so for once in my dance career, I hoped that Brooklynn would lose. It didn’t happen. Brooklynn came in first, and I came in second.
“Good job, girl!” Miss Carrol called when she saw us walking down the hall. I smiled, then noticed the column of evil standing beside her.
“Good job, Paris!” Lilly shrieked. She and Brooklynn hugged breifly and then Lilly’s grey eyes stared at me. The only thing that kept me from ripping her head off of her 5’2”, freckled, body was the thought that hopefully nobody would be like Lilly in South Carolina. Even Brooklynn got annoyed with Lilly sometimes, and Brooklynn likes everybody.
“Thanks.” Brooklynn answered, sitting herself in a folding chair. I pulled one out and sat next to her. The cool metal on the bottum of the chair made me jump when it touched my bare skin. Mom came into the room and congratulated us. “The duet was totally ‘cuz of Bridge! I messed up my leap and she completely covered for me.” Brooklynn gushed. I smiled at her and then shot Lilly a glare.
“Girls, go thank Miss Carrol. You don’t want to be late for your special dinner.” A smile spread across her face, and we ran to thank our teacher. We almost never have dinner as a family. Mom and Dad are always in London, or New York, or some other big city, and Andre is usually at school, so most of the time Brooklynn and I eat with Sylvia or at a friend’s house. Mom drove us home to change, and we all went to the Grove for dinner, and we packed after dinner. All together, Brooklynn and I had packed six bags for a four week trip, and that did not include our laptops. Dad and Andre would be driving us to the airport early the next morning, because Mom was leaving for work tonight.
“I’ll miss you!” Dad called as we struggled to pull our bags onto the plane. I rolled my eyes, and hollered, “love you too!”
“I hate this.” I hissed as we stepped out of the plane. The air was humid, and the people looked awful. “I CAN’T believe we are stuck, here, in South Carolina, for a month.” Brooklynn wasn’t listening to my complaints though, she was trotting towards our Aunt Mary, Kelsey, and the delinquent.
“I haven’t seen you in so long!” Brooklynn screeched.
“Not long enough.” I said to myself, but, of coure, I’m a ‘goody-goody’, so I simply smiled at them. Aunt Mary made Nate and Kelsey help us with our bags, and then talked about our summer plans. I tuned her out for at least half of the ride, but Brooklynn seemed interested. Aunt Mary and Kelsey went inside to get Uncle Tom, and Nate helped us with our million-pound-bags.
“So, I hear you’re a goody-two-shoes.” He nodded towards me. “Is it true? All of your teachers love you and you always follow the rules?” Nate was dragging two of my bags, both of them becoming covered in mud.
“Yep.” Brooklynn answered before I could say anything.
“Aww, this summer won’t be fun at all then, I mean, you can’t be much fun with a sister like that.”
“I can be fun!” I snapped. They whipped back to see me, fuming. That was when I promised myself that I would stop being a ‘goody-goody’, and finally have some fun. “This summer will be crazy.” I hissed, grabbing a bag from him. “This cost more than your education, it’s not something you drag in the mud.”
Usually Brooklynn and I don’t hang out in school, but her friends usually know more about the ‘gossip’ than some of my friends, so I paid attention. G and Kendra leaned toward us, and Chanelle pulled out her phone (probably to call some stupid boyfriend).
“Alan likes you, and he broke up with Perrie!” She shrieked. I rolled my eyes and left their little group. I love my sister, but some of her friends are just too much. Kendra is fun, but for the most part, I don’t like her friends.
“Hey, guys.” I said, taking a seat nest to my friend Leila.
“What’s up, Bridge?” She asked. Most of my friends call me by my first name, but almost everybody else calls me Valen or Valencia. I shrugged. “How are Paris’s friends?”
“They’re freaking out because Alan broke up with Perrie, and now he likes Brooklynn.”
Mike, one of my other best friends, frowned and pulled his laptop onto the table. Everybody knows that Mike likes Brooklynn, but nobody knows if she likes him. “Don’t be sad, you have a shot.” Derek joked. Mike’s face turned red and he punched Derek playfully.
“Oh, and most of our summer plans have been ruined, by the way.”
“What? Please, you can’t go to your cousins again!”
“Oh, I’m not. I’m going to another one of my cousins’ houses, and I don’t even know them!”
Wyatt walked up and sat next to me. He’s the sweetest person anyone will ever meet. We’ve been going out since sixth grade, and everybody says we make the perfect couple. Before we started dating he was my best friend, and he still basically is. We do almost nothing to acknowledge that we are a couple, but everybody knows we are.
“Are you leaving again?” I nodded. “Aww, Bridge, I’ll miss you. Please don’t.” I shot him an ‘are-you-serious’ look and let out a quick laugh.
“Valennnnnn. You promised you’d stay here this year!” Leila complained.
I gave her a menacing look, “do I look like I want to go to the middle of nowhere for summer vacation?” She shook her head. “But I did get a new phone.”
“What kind?” Derek asked, reaching across the table.
“The kind that I won’t let you touch.” I joked, “It’s an iPhone 5.” My friends ignored my ‘no touching’ rule, and grabbed it from my hands. “Give it back!” I shouted.
A few kids from other tables sneered at us and we just laughed it off. “My mom said I can’t get one until the end of the year.” Leila said. It was close to the end of the year, so none of our teachers were making us do any real work. The rest of our classes were spent talking and doing fun projects, and we were even let out early. Sports were over, but Brooklynn and I decided to go for a quick run before dance. We were running through the woods when I tripped and fell.
“Miss Carrol is gonna kill you!” She yelled, helping me up.
“She would’ve found something wrong anyway.” I pointed out. Brooklynn shrugged and we finished our run. I tried my best to clean up the scrape before entering class, but there wasn’t much I could do.
“Good afternoon girls, thanks for being on time today.” We nodded and ran in before she could notice the scrape on my leg. Everybody was excited because this weekend was the last competition before our break, and the last thing Brooklynn and I would be doing before we were shipped off to the middle of South Carolina. Miss Carrol walked in with a smile, but it faded when she saw the scrape on my leg and the dirt on Brooklynn’s arms. “What were you doing?” She asked. Neither of us answered. IT wasn’t that she was scary, it was that we had broken her rule of ‘no running’. Apparently it’s ‘bad for your joints’. Personally, I think contorting your back will hurt me more. “How do you expect me to send you to a competition like this?”
“It’s just a little dirt and a small scrape.” Maria, another girl on the team, pointed out. Miss Carrol didn’t seem to care, and she began teaching us the group dance. Brooklynn and I would be learning solos tomorrow, and we were going to learn our duet after pointe.
“I love that dance!” Maria exclaimed as we exited the studio. Jillian and Willa agreed, and then they left for tap and acro classes. Brooklynn and I put our pointe shoes on and headed back into the studio. Pointe is Brooklynn’s favorite because she likes being ‘graceful’, but I just like pique turns, anything lyrical, and being able to do tricks. Of course, all of the teachers love that Brooklynn likes pointe, and they always tell me I need to be more ‘enthusiastic’ about it.
“How do you like that?” I asked, putting a banded on my blistering feet. Brooklynn shrugged and walked back into the studio for the last time that day. “What do you think it will be about?” I asked, referring to the duet. Brooklynn said she thought it would be something sad or angry, and then we saw Miss Carrol.
“Ready to begin learning the duet?” She asked. We nodded and she began to choreograph to routine. It was lyrical, so I would like it, but the core dancing was ballet, so Brooklynn would like it. Miss Carrol’s phone rang in the middle of class, and she told us to choose some music while she was on the phone. Brooklynn and I walked over to her computer and looked through the playlist “Brooklynn and Bridgette’s duet”. We scanned the list and both immediately pointed at ‘Please Don’t Go’ by ‘Barcelona’. She hit play and we began to run the dance with the music.
“I cannot believe Mom and Dad are sending us to South Carolina.” I stated. It was probably the hundredth time she had heard me complain about it, but I was still upset.
“What do you want me to do about it?” She asked. I shrugged before leaping over her. “Besides, we always find something fun to do.”
“I hope so, I mean, Nate and Kelsey have to do something for fun.” I was trying to think positively, but it was hard. Kelsey is a senior in college, so she hasn’t lived in South Carolina for almost four years, and even though Nate is only eight months older than Brooklynn and I and is in our grade, he seems to think he is ‘too cool’ for his cousins. The last we heard, he had vandalised his school and had been suspended for the second time that year. Why my parents want us to spend our summer in South Carolina with a delinquent instead of in Encino with our friends and nanny is beyond me.
“That’s the spirit!” She said lightly. I cracked a smile. “When do we leave?” She asked, a little less excited.
“Monday.” I answered. It was Tuesday. Wednesday and Thursday were mostly field trips, Friday was graduation and a few parties, Saturday and Sunday were the competition, and Monday we would be leaving. “I’ll miss everybody.” she said solemnly.
“What happened to your up-beat attitude? We’ll only be gone for a month.” It was like we had completely switched mind sets. We do that a lot. One time we spent a week fighting about who would wear which dress to our cousin’s wedding, and by the time each of us agreed to switch, we changed our minds.
Miss Carrol walked back in and we explained our song choice to her. “Good! I love that song!” The person she had talked to on the phone must have had good news because she was never this happy. “Okay, sorry to keep you waiting. How about we run through this with the music a few times, and then we will meet again tomorrow?” She suggested. We nodded and went to the side of the floor. She started the music and we began. “Nice, Paris, but straighten your right leg! Valen, your left foot is sickled!” As the music ended, Brooklynn and I walked up to her, panting. “You guys did a great job, but the middle, when you are jumping over each other, is still sloppy.” We ran the dance a few more times, and then we were released to go home.
“Finally,” I breathed, “we can go home!” Brooklynn laughed and slid her sweat pants on. “I’ll call Andre and tell him to pick us up.” I said. Andre is our only brother, and even though he doesn’t finish school yet (he’s in his second year of college) he came back from Texas early to see us graduate from middle school. I dialed his number and he picked up quickly.
“Bridge, what’s up?”
“Can you come get us?” I asked. He didn’t answer but I could hear him searching for his keys. “We’re at dance.”
‘Oh, yeah. Sure. Do we have direction to that?” He asked.
“Sylvia has them in the folder of information in the kitchen.” I explained. Sylvia is our nanny/housekeeper. She lives with us almost all of the time, but since Brooklynn and I will be away for a while, our parents told her to take the month off, so she is in Argentina, visiting her family.
“k. I found it. Thanks, bud. See you soon.” I scowled and hung up the phone.
“Did he call you bud?” She asked.
I nodded, “Yeah, Brook, he did.” she stuck her tongue out. She can’t stand being called Brook, and I hate when Andre calls me bud. Andre pulled up in our Mom’s black Cadillac and hollard to us from the parking lot. We waved ‘good-bye’ to everybody and ran to the car. I dropped my phone, which caused me to lose our race for the front seat. I didn’t mind too much though because it meant Andre wouldn’t be trying to read my texts, at least not while he was driving.
I looked down at my iPhone 5. I had owned it for less than a day and had already dropped it once. Wyatt, Leila, and Derek had texted me. I answered Wyatt first because I knew he was the only one who would answer.
Wyatt: Hi :)
Bridgette: Hey!
Wyatt: what’s up?
Bridgette: driving home from dance :p u????
Wyatt: jc. I cant believe we graduated fri.
Bridgette: same!!!!!!!!
Wyatt: at least we’ll be in high school together, but I’ll miss u when u’re in SC
Bridgette: ill miss u 2!
Wyatt: love you, Bridge!
I rolled my eyes and hesitated before answering ‘you too’. Trust me, Wyatt is the most amazing boyfriend ever, but he is always saying ‘I love you’ and then acting like we are best friends, not a couple.
“Is that Wyatt?” Brooklynn asked. I nodded at her through the car mirror. “Awwww! You guys are so cute!” I rolled my eyes.
“Wait! Bridge, are you still dating that kid?” Andre asked, completely seriously.
“Yep.” I answered, popping the ‘p’.
“Wow.” He smiled, “Any new boys for you, B.P.?” That was a new one. ‘B.P.’, it’s an interesting nickname, but I doubt I’ll ever call Brooklynn that.
“Nope. That’s why I’m Mom and Dad’s favorite.” She joked. Andre laughed too, and then pulled into our circular driveway. It was 9:15, so it had just gotten dark, and we rushed inside.
There were two plates with left overs waiting to be heated, and the folder with the directions to the studio on the table. Brooklyn and I heated up our plates, and talked about the end of school while we ate. When we were done, we went upstairs to our rooms, showered, and then hung out in the 'lounge area'. The house was large enough to literally devote the third floor (which was just as large a the other two and the basement) to the kids. The second floor had our parents bedroom and their offices, the first floor was the main living area, an the basement held Sylvia's wing, the gym, and the cinema.
"What should we pack for South Carolina?" I asked Brooklynn. She just shrugged. I'm not sure she had paid attention tO the question, but I didn't really mind. At 11:30, I went into our closet to get an outfit ready. It was predicted to be about 75 tomorrow, so I grabbed some combat boots, a short, red, tanktop, a floral skirt, a vintage necklace, a cute ring. I set the outfit on the chair next to the Morris jn the closest, and went to my room. Brooklynn had pulled out her outfit while I was in there, but I hadn't bothered to look. I climbed into bed, "Night, Brooklynn." I called. The doors were closed, but we could still hear each other.
"night." she called back.
The next few days were nice. Nothing exciting had happened, and everybody was just talking about how excited they were for high school and summer. Brooklynn and I would be at Sierra Canyon School, with almost every famous high schooler in America, but most of our friends (including Leila and G) would be at Loyola School. Wyatt would be at Sierra Canyon too. Everybody had exciting summer plans, too. G was going to the Bahamas with another one of Bridgette’s friends, Alan and Derek were going to some fancy football camp, and Mike, Wyatt, Leila, and Kendra would be staying here. Leila and Wyatt said they would miss me too much, and would sneak away to South Carolina, but everybody knew it wouldn’t happen. Over all, everybody was looking forward to next year.
“Hey, kiddos!” Andre called as we walked inside after the first of many graduation parties. “Your dresses and shoes and girl stuff are upstairs.” We squealed and ran up the winding stair case faster than humanly possible. We flung Brooklynn’s door open and threw our stuff in the corner. I literally flung my shoes acrosse the room, knocking over a neatly stacked pile of magazines in which people had mentioned our family. The closet door was ripped open, and we finally stopped when we saw our dresses. We had ordered them last week, and had gotten rush delivery so we would have them in time. I picked up my white dress. It had two cut outs in the back and was an A-line dress, which I loved. I looked at the gorgeous pearl earings and beautiful gold jewlery that had been lain out for me.
“This is amazing!” I yelled, much louder than I needed to. Brooklynn was too interested in her white skater dress to care though. “Oh my God! My shoes!” I shreiked, even louder than the first time. I snatched the five inch, light blue, heels from the ground and ran into my room to change. We both walked into the closet at the exact same time.
“Bridge, look at you! In your big girl heels!” Brooklynn joked. I stuck my tongue out and we did each other’s makeup and hair.
“My little sisters, in their big-girl clothes, graduating middle school! About to be tortuered through four years of high school. Andre joked. Mom and Dad walked down the stairs and we all piled into the car.
We met up with our friends before the actual ‘graduating ceremony’, and had one final discussion about eighth grade. It was a sad but momentous occasion. The teachers made little speeches about each one of us, which took FOREVER. At the end of the ceremony, everybody talked to the teachers and parents.
“Oh, Valencia was a wonderful student! One of my best! I’m going to miss her next year.” I over heard one of my teachers tell my parents. Of course, more people talking about what a ‘good kid’ I am. In a way, I think I’m tired of following rules.
The next morning, we were still tired from the party at Kendra’s. Nothing crazy had happened, but she had invited most of our grade, and we had stayed until 1:00 AM. I was sure Miss Carrol would be pissed about us staying out so late, but, what could she do? Brooklynn and I will be gone tomorrow.
“My feet are so sore!” I complained as we walked into the competition.
“You should’ve worn flats.” Brooklynn snapped.
“Well, somebody’s cranky! Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed out until 1:00 AM.” She rolled her eyes and we greeted everybody. Half of the kids congratulated us on graduating, and the rest stayed quiet. The competition lasted a few days, but our age group was only competing today.
“Finally! I was going to pull your solo!” Miss Carrol shouted. As usual she was going to pull MY solo, but not Brooklynn’s.
I ignored her and got ready as quickly as I could. Brooklynn and I rushed backstage and waited. I was the next solo, and she was right after. I fumbled with the fabric of my grey costume and then Skyfall began. I finished my dance and smiled as soon as I stepped off the stage. Brooklynn’s solo began and she danced to Stars. “Nice.” I whispered as she skipped off the stage. My bare feet were covered in blisters, but I tried to look comfortable as we walked back to the room.
The rest of the day was uneventful. Lilly was the only girl on the team who wasn’t dancing at all this week, and she had to tell us her opinion on everything. Our group number went well, but probably wouldn’t place, and of course, it had to be my fault. Our duet went really well, but of course, it had to be because Brooklynn had been in the dance. Lilly was the only one of Brooklynn’s friends that I truly could not stand. No matter how much I complained about G or Kendra or any of her other friends, I knew that I still liked them. It was different with Lilly. At school, I’m the best student, and all of the teachers and kids knew it. But at dance, I was not the best, and everybody knew it. For once, I was glad that I would be leaving tomorrow.
The award ceremony was after lunch. The group dance came in 6th, and our duet came in 1st. The solo awards were the last thing of the day, and my stomach was doing flips. I knew Brooklynn woudl win. I didn’t really care, though. Brooklynn is a lot more dedicated than I am, so I guess she deserves to win, but Lilly doesn’t make it easy to be a good loser, so for once in my dance career, I hoped that Brooklynn would lose. It didn’t happen. Brooklynn came in first, and I came in second.
“Good job, girl!” Miss Carrol called when she saw us walking down the hall. I smiled, then noticed the column of evil standing beside her.
“Good job, Paris!” Lilly shrieked. She and Brooklynn hugged breifly and then Lilly’s grey eyes stared at me. The only thing that kept me from ripping her head off of her 5’2”, freckled, body was the thought that hopefully nobody would be like Lilly in South Carolina. Even Brooklynn got annoyed with Lilly sometimes, and Brooklynn likes everybody.
“Thanks.” Brooklynn answered, sitting herself in a folding chair. I pulled one out and sat next to her. The cool metal on the bottum of the chair made me jump when it touched my bare skin. Mom came into the room and congratulated us. “The duet was totally ‘cuz of Bridge! I messed up my leap and she completely covered for me.” Brooklynn gushed. I smiled at her and then shot Lilly a glare.
“Girls, go thank Miss Carrol. You don’t want to be late for your special dinner.” A smile spread across her face, and we ran to thank our teacher. We almost never have dinner as a family. Mom and Dad are always in London, or New York, or some other big city, and Andre is usually at school, so most of the time Brooklynn and I eat with Sylvia or at a friend’s house. Mom drove us home to change, and we all went to the Grove for dinner, and we packed after dinner. All together, Brooklynn and I had packed six bags for a four week trip, and that did not include our laptops. Dad and Andre would be driving us to the airport early the next morning, because Mom was leaving for work tonight.
“I’ll miss you!” Dad called as we struggled to pull our bags onto the plane. I rolled my eyes, and hollered, “love you too!”
“I hate this.” I hissed as we stepped out of the plane. The air was humid, and the people looked awful. “I CAN’T believe we are stuck, here, in South Carolina, for a month.” Brooklynn wasn’t listening to my complaints though, she was trotting towards our Aunt Mary, Kelsey, and the delinquent.
“I haven’t seen you in so long!” Brooklynn screeched.
“Not long enough.” I said to myself, but, of coure, I’m a ‘goody-goody’, so I simply smiled at them. Aunt Mary made Nate and Kelsey help us with our bags, and then talked about our summer plans. I tuned her out for at least half of the ride, but Brooklynn seemed interested. Aunt Mary and Kelsey went inside to get Uncle Tom, and Nate helped us with our million-pound-bags.
“So, I hear you’re a goody-two-shoes.” He nodded towards me. “Is it true? All of your teachers love you and you always follow the rules?” Nate was dragging two of my bags, both of them becoming covered in mud.
“Yep.” Brooklynn answered before I could say anything.
“Aww, this summer won’t be fun at all then, I mean, you can’t be much fun with a sister like that.”
“I can be fun!” I snapped. They whipped back to see me, fuming. That was when I promised myself that I would stop being a ‘goody-goody’, and finally have some fun. “This summer will be crazy.” I hissed, grabbing a bag from him. “This cost more than your education, it’s not something you drag in the mud.”
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