The Mail Boy

Chapter 15

"I'm not going to homecoming," I said.

Currently, Maya and I were sitting under our favorite tree on campus, eating our lunch. Not a lot of people were outside because it was slightly chilly. But I needed a quiet place to talk with Maya and the outdoors seemed like a good choice.

Maya frowned at me.

"You promised--" she started saying, but I held up my hand to stop her.

"Let me explain, first, Robin," I said.

She gave me a look, but allowed me to continue.

"My aunt is having a small preview fashion show and party Saturday night and she needs me to be her assistant for the night because the other one bailed on her," I explained. Maya let out a groan and fell back in the leaf-littered grass.

"Your aunt is seriously starting to piss me off," she grumbled.

I realized she had every right to say that. It was, after all, because of my aunt that I barely spoke to or hung out with Maya. Besides when I saw her at school in classes and at lunch, I hardly ever saw Maya anymore. After school I would rush to get to work and after work, I'd have homework to do and after that I would just be so tired that I wasn't up to doing anything. It had been the same routine since I started my job three weeks ago. I would be frustrated, too, if I were her.

"Join the club," I muttered to her, leaning against the tree.

"So you're ditching me for the preview show?" she asked.

"Don't make it sound like that," I said.

"I can't believe you're skipping out on your last homecoming ever because of work," she said.

"I honestly don't think I'll be missing out on anything," I told her. She frowned up at me, pouting slightly. I pinched her cheek and she smacked my hand away.

"I'll try and make it out of there early. Maybe I can catch an after-party," I suggested.

"Well, I'm having one at my house. Some of the girls are coming over with their dates. If you get out before midnight you should definitely come," she told me, sitting up again.

"I'll try," I said.

"Promise?" she asked.

"Yeah, I promise," I replied, nodding. She smiled sadly at me and I sighed.

The truth was, I did kind of want to go to homecoming. I know I kept saying I didn't want to and that it was a lame dance that would be the same as it was in the previous three years, but a part of me didn't want to miss it. As strange as it sounds, I liked the cheap refreshments that the school provided, the inexpensive decorations, the badly decorated gymnasium, and the horrible mainstream music at the homecoming dance.

Homecoming was where I had my first kiss, or well, after the dance I had my first kiss. That was back when Lucas and I were dating. Yes, Lucas was my first kiss. He was, after all, my first boyfriend. It only made sense he would be my first kiss. I still remember how it happened.

It was after the dance. The dance was stilling going on inside, but the group of people I was with decided to call it a night and hit the after party. We were all driven by a girl named Michelle's father, who was the mayor of our town. She had the largest home out of all of us, so we decided to have the party at her place.

Michelle's backyard was absolutely amazing. It was landscaped so that there was a small pond that had a tiny arched bridge over it. There were smooth stones around the lining of the pond and flowers strategically planted everywhere. It was beautiful.