Hide and Secret (Wattys2015)

(9) Taylor's POV

I invited Serena and Jill to my house after school that day. They both said that they'd meet me there. Now that I had told the girls my secrets I was keeping, I felt a thousand pounds lighter. Not exactly calm and reassured, but definitely less stressed. Now, there were people I could confide in, about how scared I was, and my insecurities. Together, we'd all work together to stop this invisible villain.

As I approached the front door of my house, I fleetingly wondered how Mom would react to me having friends over. I never had any friends over my house, ever. Although I wasn't sure if Serena, Jill, and I were even what you'd call friends. Serena, maybe, because she was kind of an outcast now, but Jill and I, despite our new understanding, probably would not be friends. We were just too different in terms of popularity level.

I opened the door, and saw my mother standing in the kitchen, mixing sauce for dinner. Apparently we were having pasta tonight. "Hey, Mom!" I called, stepping towards her, giving a small wave.

Mom looked up from her cooking. "Hi, hon. How was school?" she asked, slightly distracted as she tentatively tasted the sauce with a clean spoon.

"Good. So, uh, I'm having some friends over," I admitted timidly.

Mom looked at me, amazed. "Really? Who?"

"Just some girls from school." I didn't want to go into specifics with my mother. I had come home from school crying many times back when I was overweight, because of the things these very girls had done to me. I had even given Mom their names for her to contact the school once, so they'd be punished. Then, I chickened out after realizing that them getting punished for their actions would only make things worse for me. "They should be here soon."

As if on cue, the doorbell rang. I raced to go get it, Mom at my heels. She clearly wanted to meet these people who I claimed were my friends.

Once I opened the door, I noticed Jill standing there. She had changed out of her school clothing, and she was wearing a preppy, light blue, button down shirt. The shirt was tucked into a short black skirt. Black flats, along with some subtle makeup and perfectly curled hair completed the look. Jill looked extremely put-together, almost president or CEO-esque. In my old purple t-shirt and boot-cut jeans with a stain on the leg from when I spilled water on them at school today, I felt very underdressed.

Jill gave me a small wave, then turned to my mother. "Hello, Mrs.... Ummm...." I watched as Jill fumbled for my mother's surname. I quickly realized that she had no idea what my last name was.

"Mrs. Thomas," my mother supplied quickly. "And your name is, dear?"

"Jill Hemmings," Jill responded. She stepped indoors and I pulled the door shut. Jill raised her hand to shake my mother's.

As Mom shook her hand, I watched as a bunch of thoughts were surely swirling through her head. I could tell that she recognized Jill as one of my former tormentors. I prayed that she wouldn't say anything. If she did, I'd be extremely humiliated.

The doorbell rang again. I, being closest to the door, opened it, and there stood Serena Marsden herself. Unlike Jill, who had clearly dressed to impress, Serena clearly hadn't. She was wearing a low cut red top, with a brown leather jacket cinched around her waist, almost like a belt to keep up her dark skinny jeans. Her blonde hair was in a messy ponytail. I saw Jill cringe at her look, and my mother, despite doing her best to keep a straight face, looked a little shocked. "Mom," I cleared my throat. "This is Serena." I refrained from giving her last name, knowing that Mom would also pinpoint her immediately.

Serena smiled, her face lighting up the way it usually did, as I had come to know. "Hello. It's so nice to meet you."

I could tell that Mom was surprised at Serena's manners. She was probably expecting someone rude, and with far less class. That was the thing about Serena. She had a habit of surprising you the minute she opened her mouth. "Likewise," she managed to reply. Then, she turned to me. "Taylor, you can take your friends upstairs now."