Olivia and Ricky's Odyssey to Rock Bottom

4. Rebellion

The following Monday, while Roxie sat in the dining hall, selling tickets for the First Dance with a girl from the junior class, she noticed Olivia leaving for the hallway with Josephine.

"Hey, Olivia! Wait up!" she called after her. "I'm sorry, I'll be right back," she told the boy about to pay for the two tickets in her hand and hurried after them.

"Hey," Olivia greeted softly in her young raspy voice when Roxie caught up with them, stepping to the side of the busy hallway with Josephine. "Please, just call me Liv," she reminded.

"Right, Liv." Roxie nodded, tugging her long bangs behind her ear. "You remember what we talked about last week, right?"

"Um, yes, but I really don't—" Olivia started shaking her head when Roxie stopped her.

"You were wrong." Olivia looked confused at her, so Roxie explained. "I spoke with Baz, you know, Whitener, and he told me Ricky and Claudia are definitely not together."

"Could we please not talk about this?" Olivia whispered hurriedly, color reddening her cheeks.

"But aren't you excited? This changes everything." Roxie beamed while Josephine curiously observed their conversation.

"It changes nothing," Olivia disagreed with a head shake, pushing her glasses up her freckled nose and throwing a cautious glance at the students passing by.

"Did you forget the part about our little makeover agreement?"

An amused smile spread across Josephine's face, finding enjoyment in watching Roxie trying to push Olivia out of her comfort zone. She tried to hide it with the back of her hand, laughter shining in her eyes.

Olivia sighed, leaning back against the wall. "Roxie, please, no—"

"And I know exactly the occasion for it." Roxie held up the two tickets in her hand with a sneaky smile, the name 'First Dance' printed across them. "You and Joey," she looked briefly at Josephine, "can come over to my house during the day of the dance, and I'll have everything ready. It'll be so much fun." The anticipation was lighting Roxie's entire face as she smiled at Olivia and Josephine, bouncing lightly on her toes.

"I can't." Olivia shook her head, feeling a little relieved.

"What? Why not?" As excited as Roxie looked the moment before, the disappointment now shone from her big dark eyes.

"My mom's been planning a party for weeks for that same night," Olivia explained, tugging a strand of her hair behind an ear.

"Well, can't you get out of it?"

Olivia shook her head. "No, I'm sorry."

"Wait, isn't that—" Josephine started, but Olivia quickly cut her off to stop her.

"I wish I could because you're being so nice with all this. But my parents are kind of strict, and, like I said, my mom's been planning this for a while."

"But, if you explain to her that this is your senior year," Roxie tried to reason. "It's supposed to be the most amazing year of our lives. This is the last chance to get the entire high school experience." She waved her arms at their surroundings, accidentally hitting a passing freshman, and quickly apologized. "This is your last chance to do all the things you want," Roxie continued, addressing Olivia. "You need to start doing them now because, in a year, it'll be too late."

"Liv." Olivia looked at Josephine when she spoke her name. "Roxie's right. This is our senior year. If we ever want things to change around here, we have to go for it now. I have to be at the dance as Student Body President. Maybe you could tell your parents you have to be there as the school's senior photographer?"