Alex
This was going to be hell. Alex didn’t want to go to Taysha’s house. She barely knew the girl! The thought of sitting at Taysha’s house with her and Bethany sounded more like torture, not a fun night. Who came up with this plan? She wouldn’t be surprised if it was Taysha’s idea the whole entire time; that girl was always trying to fix things - whether it be her job as play manager or getting in between her and Bethany in the beginning of the week.
Alex’s mom rolled up to Taysha’s house, which looked like something out of a movie. Who had time to trim the bushes and plant all those flowers? And was that a white picket fence. Alex’s nose scrunched in scorn. No wonder Taysha had such a perfection complex.
Taysha
Taysha was furious at her parents. She thought she could trust them, how could they go behind her back and invite these girls to her house? Alex and Bethany weren't her friends, and they sure as heck weren’t friends with each other! This was going to be a disaster of epic proportions.
Taysha ran up to her room, trying to find an outfit for the night. What would she wear to spend hours with people she didn’t like? She wanted to look casual and relaxed, but when she put her sweatpants on, she looked shapeless. She remembered the boys on the bus. Did she really look like a boy wearing this? Taysha was sure that Alex or Bethany would look better in the sweatpants and oversized shirt.
Taysha was standing in her room just wearing her underwear staring at the explosion of clothes around her room when she heard her mom call up, “Tay!! Alex is here! Come on down!”
Oh, God. Here we go.
Taysha threw on her first outfit, sweatpants, oversized shirt, and headband and went down. If Alex thought she looked like a boy, whatever. It’s not like they would be hanging out after tonight. They would all just go back to their usual cold shoulders and call it a night.
Taysha ran down the stairs, stopping at the kitchen counter that faced the hallway.
“Um..Hi Alex!”
Alex was wearing a floral shirt and grey skinny jeans. She didn’t look too dressed up, but also looked nice. Why hadn’t Taysha thought of that? The only silver lining was that Alex looked just as uncomfortable as Taysha. Alex just mumbled, “Hi” and gave her one of those tight-lipped smiles that was obviously fake.
The room was silent for a bit, and then Taysha’s mom went, “Okay! Well, we’ll be sure to give Alex a warm welcome with all the nutritious foods- popcorn, ice cream, and candy! Nice to meet you Celia!”
Taysha’s mom walked Alex’s to the front door. Alex went after her mom, and Taysha was pretty sure she heard Alex saying something along the lines of “Please just take me home” before Alex’s mom went to her car.
Taysha, her mother, and Alex were all awkwardly sitting in front of the kitchen as the doorbell rang.
I guess that’s Bethany, Alex thought. Let the games begin.
Taysha went and answered the door, seeing Bethany a huge burly man in the doorway.
“Hi Bethany, come on in.” Taysha reluctantly held open the door, knowing that there was no way the three girls were going to get out of this.
Bethany walked in, her father following her into the hallway, just as her dad entered from the kitchen announcing, “Just finished popping the popcorn, dig in girls!”
And with that, Taysha and the other girls were herded into the living room, popcorn surrounding them and Netflix cued up.
Bethany turned to her father, looking both scared and angry at the same time. Whatever she said to her father didn’t work though, because Taysha caught him leaving out of the corner of her eye as she scrolled through Netflix.
Awkward silence settled in, none of the girls making suggestions or comments about what was on Netflix. They all startled when Taysha’s parents entered the living room, her father exclaiming, “Woot woot! Girls night!” as her mom said they were going to go upstairs and watch some Netflix of their own. Taysha just hoped they weren’t Netflix and chilling. The thought made her internally shudder.
Taysha responded, “Dad, no one says ‘woot woot’ anymore, if they even did in the first place.”
Taysha’s dad just laughed it off, and then both her parents went upstairs.
And then the girls were left alone. And they were silent.