SEVEN: MAN, I HAVEN'T GOT A CHANCE

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"Marilyn Monroe or Joanne Vaineson?" Vern queried

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"Marilyn Monroe or Joanne Vaineson?" Vern queried.

I'm sure, if your a cultured person, you've at least heard the name Marilyn Monroe. But, unless you lived in Castle Rock, you probably haven't heard the name Joanne Vaineson.

Joanne was my brother's ex-girlfriend. They dated for a year, and in that year, that was enough time for her to subconsciously make the boys fall at her feet. She was tall with blonde hair and the biggest blue eyes I've ever seen. She had a nice figure, and a refined voice. And the most attractive part about her to the boys was that in the chest area, she left Annette in the dust.

I was very jealous of Joanne, mostly because Teddy had the biggest crush on her out of the rest of the boys. Every time he came over, which was often if not nearly everyday, he'd bring Joanne flowers and swoon over her, following her around like a lost puppy. He did that for the six months that my brother and her went out, instead of playing army, listening to records, or playing hide n' go seek at midnight with me. Joe and I were very fed up with it, I wanted my best friend back, and Joe was annoyed. Despite being flattered, Joanne was irritated as well. Eventually, Joe and Joanne broke it off because she got jealous of Helen Manders, Joe's soulmate since the fourth grade. You know, the girl who shared her pudding cup? Yeah. That one.

Helen Manders was one of the 'prissy girls with tight morals'. My mom adored her, and treated her like another daughter, while my dad tolerated her. She had a dry personality, and worst of all, she hated Teddy. Mostly because Teddy thought she was me one day, as we both had light brown hair, and threw a ball of mud on her brand new dress. That only made Teddy want to bug her more after getting a hysterical reaction out of hers

"Oh Teddy Duchamp, Jesus is not happy right now!" She hissed, her voice filled with frustration.

Teddy later told me that he lied when he said he mistook her for me, which was understandable considering Helen stood at the tall height of 5'9 while I was at 5'3. He said he did because she had a new dress. We were laughing about it all afternoon.

"Joanne Vaineson." Teddy said, seeming to be in a haze. I gave him a filthy look.

"She's in college in San Francisco now, Teddy, it's not gonna happen." I rolled my eyes.

"Oooh, is Lydia jealous?" He teased.

"No, why would I be jealous? She was always a bit of a slut anyway." I said.

"Well good, because she's not the one, anyway." He said quietly, and Vern and I looked at each other knowingly.

I was plenty flattered to be 'fancied' by Teddy. After too much overthinking, I came to the conclusion that I liked him too. But, what was I to do about it? Telling him would be horribly awkward. And, if it didn't last, our friendship would be tarnished. Why can't my girl-friends just appear out of thin air right about now?

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