Just Revenge

Chapter Twelve: History

It took me about eight steps outside of the bathroom to realize that I had no idea where I was going. I knew where I wanted to go – to Aurora – unfortunately, I had no idea where she was. But I didn't really want to head back to rehearsal so instead of the hill I headed to the parking lot, figuring I'd check her car first. I lucked out. Sitting in the front seat of her little red Jeep, leaning her head against the steering wheel was Aurora. Her blonde hair was hanging loose, curtaining her face from the world and her hands sat on the steering wheel as if she was ready to drive somewhere, but not quite sure where to go.

I walked to the passenger side door and knocked on the window. Aurora jumped a bit at the sound and when I saw her face, her eyes were bloodshot. Her hand left the steering wheel to flick the unlock knob on the door and I climbed in the car.

"You look like you need an ice cream."

She seemed surprised that I'd spoken but nodded cautiously at my suggestion.

"Come on, you drive. I'll buy."

She stuck the keys in the ignition and slowly pulled out of the parking lot. We didn't speak during the drive to the ice cream shop. It was a local place just across the street from the park, so it wasn't a long drive either, just long enough to get awkward.

We didn't really talk once we pulled into the shop either. We got out, placed our orders, got our little cups, and picked a picnic table in front of the shop. Neither one of us seemed to know what to say. I, for one, still wasn't entirely sure why I needed to talk to her.

"I'm sorry for what happened." She finally began, finally lifting her eyes from her ice cream as she spoke. "I can't figure out how Harper was capable of planning that."

She looked so conflicted that instantly I knew that I could never hold this against her of all people. Maybe the others, but not Aurora. So, I moved on, changed the subject to the first thing that came into my mind.

"How long have you guys been friends?"

She paused for a second. "What do you mean by 'you guys'? Like me and Harper?"

"Yeah. You and Harper and Max and Cortland and all the rest of your group. How long have you guys been friends?"

This time her answer had no hesitation behind it. "All our lives. We've been inseparable since first grade."

I couldn't picture that in my head, "How'd that happen."

She smiled slightly at the memory, "It's kind of a long story."

I shrugged, "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm not really in a rush to get back to rehearsal, so...."

"Well, our group first started in kindergarten with Max and Cortland. They were best friends before any of the rest of us ever entered the picture. It happened at our school spelling bee. Our elementary school used to do this huge spelling bee that every grade sent the best two spellers to compete at and the kindergartners were pretty much only there as a joke. They never got very far; it's just cute to see them spell things wrong. Max and Cortland won for our grade and got to compete in front of the whole school, of course. And nobody told them that the kindergartners were supposed to be a joke. It all really started when Max got the bell dinged after his word. I don't remember what word it was, I just remember Max spelling it and the judges telling him it was wrong. Then little five-year-old Cortland stood up from his seat among the competitors and told the judges that they were the ones that were wrong."

I laughed a little at that. "Oh, I can so picture that."

"Yeah, it was definitely a sight to see." She smiled. "They weren't even friends at that point, but Cort just wanted to prove he was right. He walked up and argued with the judges in front of the whole school body for five minutes before they finally looked it up. He was right. Max had spelled the word correctly and everyone was shocked. They didn't get to keep competing though. The principal ran onto the stage and whisked the two off to her office. I never got to find out what happened inside that office, but when the boys came out, they never got in any trouble. And from then on, they were inseparable.

"I guess, the next one to join the group was probably me. It was still kindergarten and I remember every day at naptime, this one boy would steal my pillow from him. He'd use it to prop up his feet, it was disgusting. But the teacher never noticed. One day though, Cortland and Max did. During naptime, Max saw me laying with my head on the ground and asked where my pillow was, so I told him – five year olds really don't know how to lie. The next day, the bully got up from his seat for naptime and had this huge brown spot on the butt of his pants. It looked like he'd pooped them, and everyone laughed at him so much. But I remember looking away from him for a second and meeting Cort's eyes. Him and Max were standing in the back of the room, tightening the cap on the brown paint and replacing it on the shelf. The other boy got made fun of so much that a couple days later, he switched schools. That same day, Cort and Max dropped their pillows on either side of me for naptime and no one ever bothered me again."

I smiled, it was a cute story. "How'd everyone else get there then, if it was just you three?"

"Harper joined us in first grade. Never really figured out how. One day at lunch, she walked over to us, set her Incredibles lunch box on the table and started eating. She's been a part of our group ever since. Alex and Izzy came sometime during middle school. They were in our middle school show and just started hanging out with us and Luke wasn't really a part of us until high school. Diana always been around, she's my cousin so she's always welcome." She shrugged her shoulders. "It's always been us four though. For twelve years, for as long as I can really remember, it's been us four. I don't know anything else. None of us do."

The look in her eyes was heartbreaking. I think this was the first time she'd ever had to consider that maybe her friends weren't as perfect as she thought they were.

"You guys really never drifted apart? Not ever? In twelve years?" My voice sounded disbelieving.

"Never." Her voice held nothing, but confidence, "We do everything together. We're family. At this point, even their families are pretty much my families. We've definitely changed over the years, but we've always made sure to change together. I mean, Alex and Izzy and Luke and Diana, they've all drifted apart from the group and back into it a few times, but the four of us haven't. We have other friend groups and we do things with other people of course, but... When it comes down to it, it's always been us and it always will be. Always."

Even after everything I've been through, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't jealous. Not of them exactly, but of what they have. The vivid pictures in my head of ice cream in the park and hanging out at the dock, barbecues in the backyard. Everything I've ever dreamed of, these kids have. They don't even have to try for it; they just somehow are. I want that. Me and Abbi and Lis are close, and I'd consider them family. But we don't have the right families and parents to do what these kids do. It just could never happen. Not to mention, that we don't have half the history.

I push those thought out of my head. I don't wanna be like these kids. They're naïve and spoiled and pretentious and have never struggled for anything real in their lives. I hated them. I hated these rich brats. They were stupid, spoiled actors and I hated them.

"Come on" Aurora stood up and threw out her empty cup. "Time to get back to rehearsal."

"Yeah," I admitted, slowly getting up too, "Probably."

We drove back to the park in silence, but this time it wasn't an awkward silence. It was more comfortable than that, more like we just didn't have anything that needed saying. As we climbed out of the car, Aurora paused.

"You know, if you do decide to forgive Harper, we're all hanging out next week for the Fourth of July. If you wanna come?"

I didn't even pretend to think about it, "Of course. I'd love to."

She smiled that bright smile that was cheesy enough to be in a Disney movie and practically skipped as we walked back up to rehearsal.

I hated them? Who was I kidding? I wanted to be them.