Crushes Over Papercuts- A Mid 90s Tale

Chapter 2

My alarm screeched at the same early morning hour. I dressed like it was any other school day but hidden beneath my jean shorts and violet t-shirt was my red and white striped bikini. I stashed my textbooks under my bed, stuffed a towel and water bottle into my backpack, then checked my bikini strap was tucked under my shirt. When I was certain I looked as normal as possible, I took a deep breath and walked upstairs to my mom's bedroom.

"Hey mom, I'm leaving now."

She stared blankly at her open closet. "I have nothing to wear."

I dropped to the edge of her bed. "That black pant suit is nice."

She ran her fingers over the suit. "It's faded and it has those fuzzy things from me wearing and washing it so much." She gazed at the rest of the overly-worn items in her closet. "I need some new clothes. I'm so underdressed standing next to the executives."

"It still looks nice, mom."

"I guess one more wear won't hurt," she said and removed the pant suit from the hangar. "Promise me you won't make the same mistakes I did and not take your education seriously. You don't want to be forty-something competing with your much younger peers because you dropped out of college." She zipped up the pants. "I can't believe I waited a decade to go back."

"Mom, I have no doubt that you'll get the promotion soon. They keep sending you on those client trips so they're obviously happy with your performance."

"Let's keep our fingers crossed." She kissed me on the head. "Have a good day at school, honey."

I smiled up at her but a tinge of guilt darkened the mood and for a split second I contemplated confessing the details about my unsanctioned beach trip. Maybe she would understand it was just a little teenage fun. Maybe she wouldn't worry if I told her I read a chapter ahead in my textbooks to make sure I didn't miss anything. But I was about to do the very thing she only moments earlier warned me about.

'Bye, mom."

So I kept quiet. Besides, skipping one day of school was not a fair comparison to dropping out of college.

#

"There's no way my mom won't notice I'm slightly tanner today. My freckles are already starting to darken." Lauren rubbed the SPF 60 across her shoulders, leaving a trail of white streaks in her path. "Aren't you guys worried?'

Nicole unfolded the white sheet and laid it across the sand. "If my parents ask, I'll just tell them I hung out by the pool before they got home."

"I stay this color all the time," Lily said from behind her camera.

Lauren squirted more lotion into her hand. It's so unfair. How are we both Latina yet I end up light-skinned with red hair? You can't even tell we're related."

"It makes you unique, mi bonita prima."

Lauren smiled at those words. "What about you, Jenny? You're almost as pale as me and it's not like you can tell your mom you had track practice since that's not until Spring."

I touched my forearm and could already feel the sun's kiss. "Toss me that bottle." Once it was in my hands, I rubbed the lotion over every part of my body not covered by my bikini.

Lily balanced her tripod on the sand and faced the camera towards the water. "Let's take some pictures."

We huddled together and took five shots before Lily was satisfied that she got at least one good one.

I dug my feet into the warm sand. "Lily, you ever think about joining the school paper or yearbook committee? You take beautiful pictures. They'd be lucky to have you."