Not Your Romeo & Juliet

Chapter 16

Vanessa~

It is 9:30 on a Saturday morning and I am awake. Why am I awake? Because the idiots who went home for break hated their families so much they decided to come back at the crack of dawn, and they brought suitcases full of bricks and hammers to lug up the stairs along with them. It sounds lovely, doesn't it?

I've been lying awake in bed for over an hour and I'm very unhappy about it. People are supposed to come back on Sunday at like 5pm after having a nice week with their loving families, but no, my hall has to come back early. Finally giving up on getting any sleep, I get up and turn on my coffee. "Might as well get up and get ready for the day, three hours before I would like to," I mutter to myself in disgust. The coffee finishes brewing, so I take a few sips and then hop in the shower.

Standing in front of my closet, wrapped in a towel with a death grip on my coffee mug, I try to decide what to wear today. I believe Melody and Arielle come back today, but I can't really be bothered to remember when, or even if that's true. I'll just assume they are. Shuffling hanger after hanger, I finally pick a cute black mid-length dress and a white knit sweater.

After getting dressed, I make my bed and turn on the TV. Picking up where I left off in Gilmore Girls, I get comfortable and watch what chaos little Rory Gilmore can get herself into this season. But before I can get too far into it, there's a knock at my door.

"Who in god's name is that? It's barely 11am." I say to myself as I get up to open the door. I look through the peephole and see my two most tolerable people: Melody and Arielle. Glad I pay enough attention to get their return date right. Letting out a brief sigh, I open the door and attempt to greet them nicely.

"Vanessa!" Arielle yells out in her signature shrill voice. You'd think she hasn't seen me in months.

"Hi," I say softly, holding back a wince. I open the door a little wider and the two come in and sit on my bed.

"Gilmore Girls," Melody says with satisfaction as she looks at my paused television. "Nice choice."

I smile. "You are the one that recommended it to me." I hand her the remote and she presses play, instantly recognizing the episode. Needless to say, she's seen this show too many times.

"So, how was your break?" Arielle asks me, her voice a little softer than before.

"Nothing out of the ordinary." I lie. She doesn't need to know what really happened. Melody gives me a side eye as I finish, she probably knows I'm lying. Melody is way more perceptive than she leads on. "What about you guys?"

Arielle begins to respond, but Melody pauses the TV and beats her to it. "How about we all go out for lunch? I know Vanessa hasn't eaten, what about you, Arielle?"

Arielle, still recovering from being so quickly shut down, nods quickly and we all begin to get up. The girls pick their bags up off the floor as I put on my black heeled boots. Within three minutes, I'm locking my door and we're headed out. "I'll drive?" I ask Melody and she nods in response.

We are mostly quiet in the car ride to our go-to restaurant, Kal's Italian House. Melody takes the front seat leaving Arielle to sit in the back purely because she wants to show us all this new album she found at some retro music store over break. I don't know, I tune her out most of the time. As long as no one is talking to me, I'm happy. I've convinced these girls that I can't have conversation and drive at the same time, so they don't usually talk to me. It's a mild lie, but hey I appreciate the silence.

The music coming through the Mercedes's speakers sounds like a mix of a trainwreck and computer keys. I don't understand why she likes this "genre", but I keep my eyes ahead and hope the next song is better-- but it never is. Luckily, though, within the next five minutes, I'm pulling into a parking spot outside of Kal's. We all get out of the car and head towards the door, which is when they start talking to me. The sweet silence and terrible music has ended.