Just Another Day

Lori
Ollie rushes out of the house, so do Lydia and Lance. I sigh, everyone else is leaving...maybe I should too.

The night was becoming boring, and the only thing that made me stay at the party was Jordan. I wanted to ask him if...no. He wouldn't ever want to date me. I mean, me, the girl who wants to be a writer and is smart...but how did I ever come to befriend him?

How did I come to love him? my mind thought. But I quickly shook the thought away. He only likes me as a friend, and that's all I like him. Besides, he seems to be liking Danielle quite a bit... I feel tears prick my eyes as they flirt. I really really really incredibly liked him. Ever since about three years ago, I had gotten lost in his eyes...those eyes that I love.

I hear Danielle giggle and quickly stand up. "Where are you going?" Alexis asks me, grabbing at my wrist. I close my eyes for a second. "I don't feel so good...I may need to go home. I'm sorry."

"That's okay," she smiles.

"Can I use the bathroom first? I may not feel as sick you know...after." I grin and she laughs.

"Yeah, go ahead. Third door on the right."

I feel Jordan's eyes on my back and rush down the hall and into the bathroom. Just tell him how you feel.

"No. He likes me as a friend, that has to be it. He wouldn't flirt so much...I like him as a friend. A friend," but I know deep down inside that I am lying.

Ollie

I stepped into Lydia's car and sat next to her. After thinking about it, the quicker I got home to my idiot of a father, the better. As Lance began to drive, I froze in my seat. I couldn't seriously let Lydia and Lance see where I lived! That would guarentee me years of mocking by everyone I know. I would just have to tell her that I lived in one of those big houses. Yeah, that was it. I'd walk from there then.

Lydia seemed pretty cheerful. Lance, on the other hand, wasn't quite as cheerful. I'd noticed that Lydia had a tendancy to be a bit controlive over Lance. It was rather funny at times. He seemed to follow her around like a puppy.

"Why are you leaving so early then?" Lance asked through the driver's mirror.

"My dad wants me 'ome." I replied. "Plus, accordin' to your sister, the party's dank."

I felt Lydia nudge me gently and mouth, it is a word! Trust me. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly like I had done earlier. I liked Lydia, she was cool. Unlike half of the teenage zombies I knew.

"Is Alexis your girlfriend then?" Lydia smiled rather strangely.

"Nah." I shrugged, trying to sound casual. "She's hot though."

How come even saying it didn't make me feel it? She was hot. I knew she was hot, so why didn't I find her attractive like normal teenage boys?

When we were ten minutes or so away from my house, I told Lance to stop the car. He parked next to one of the biggest houses in the area. It was rather impressive actually, I'd have been pretty darn happy to have lived there anyway! There was an extremely clean, cherry red Mercedes parked on the driveway and the front lawn had been cut to perfection. Both Lydia and Lance seemed impressed, so I was happy.

As I was about to step out of the car, my phone rang again. Sighing, I took it out of my pocket. When I saw my dad's name flashing on the screen again, I sighed even louder.

"Yeah?" I began.

"I swear to God. If you aren't back 'ere in five minutes, I'm kickin' you out! What the hell is wrong with you boy?!"

I really needed to stop answering my phone in front of people.

Alexis

More and more people leave the party, until eventually everyone is gone. I need to talk to Ollie. He looked really upset when he left. I take out the big yellow phone book and start browsing through it. I try three other Stonahs before a rough voice answers.

"Who is it?" the voice asks.

"Uh, hi, this is Alexis. Ollie left the party earlier, he looked kind of upset. I was wondering if I could talk to him."

"Why would he talk to you?" The voice asked.

"Ollie is my friend, just let me talk to him!"

"No." He says, then hangs up. I am more than slightly offended. I have half a mind to go figure out where his house is, but push it back. I would call tommorow and hope Ollie picked up.

The next day...

I wait until noon to call him, but I was up long before that worried and anxious.

"Hello?" No doubt it is Ollie.

"Ollie, its Alexis. Are you okay, you left the party in a rush? You looked upset." I say.

"Well, yeah, I guess, I'm fine..."

"No your not, you sound like your about to... Well, you sound upset. Meet me at the Pizza Hut on Red Street in fifteen minutes. Or should I pick you up?"

"No, its fine, I can get there."

"See you in fifteen." I say.

I go and quickly change into something presentale, then get in my Porshe and Drive to Pizza Hut.

Everyone was leaving the party, so I decided to, also. Alexis gave me a big friendly hug. I was happy, for once. People at the part - well most of them - liked me, when they did talk to me.

"So, how was it?" mother asked as soon as I walked in the door.

"Great!" I said, then quickly ran upstairs. I plopped onto my bed and sunk my face in my pillow, and smiled. I was smiling!

Lori

I yawn and stretch. I'm home, I had left the party after all. I guess I couldn't take seeing Jordan with Danielle. Who was I kidding? She was pretty. I get up and quickly got dressed in my skinny flare jeans and my black tank top. I love Saturdays, the feeling of it just...got to me.

I go downstairs and poured some corn flakes. I could hear the beeping upstairs and go to grab my cell. "Hello?" I ask, my mouth still full of cereal.

"Hey Lori," it was Jordan.

"Hey."

"Why did you leave the party early last night?"

"I didn't feel to good."

"Aww that sucks. It was one hell of a party wasn't it?"

"Yeah, sure was," I reply.

"Do you feel better now?" he asks.

"Yeah. I do."

Jordan

"Do you feel better now?" I ask.

"Yeah. I do." She replies. I smile.

"You want to meet me at the lake? We could see if the hot dog man is still there!" It was a long time inside joke between us, the hot dog man...

"Sure!" She almost squeals.

"Okay, meet me there in twenty." I hang up. She might not be the hottest girl I know, but she is the nicest. That Danielle girl is way too confident.

I pull on some jeans and a polo shirt. Then I take my new Volvo to Circum Square Park.

"Hey!" She says, walking up to me. I give her a quick hug. We take a few steps towards the edge of the lake.

"Hey, Lori, I want to talk to you... ask you something." I say.

"What?" She asks.

"Look, I know we've been friends a while and everything, but..you know... I like you, a lot. Do you want to be my girlfriend?"

"Yes, yes!" She says. I give her a quick kiss. She looks like she is about to faint.

"Hey look, the hot dog man!" I say, pointing at a seriously overwieght man eating a hotdog.

Peter

I tried to enter my one bedroom apartment with the slightest of noise, Jordan should have been asleep by now and I didn't want to wake her up.Flipping on the kitchen lights on I meet Jordan up waiting for me in the darkness."Why are you still doing up?" I scowled at her the look at the clock hanging on my wall. It was only one in the morning.
"Couldn't sleep," she shrug."So how was your night?"
"Okay,I guess,"I begin to undress and wonder into the bathroom. Heading for the living room where Jordan was waiting for me- my Armani tux swapped for an overgrown shirt and pajama pants- grabbing the remote from her I switch the channel on my t.v to something better.
"Hey,"she pounced on me trying to snatch the remote away from me."I was watching that!"
"My house,my remote, my t.v," I declared wrestling her small form off me.

Lydia and Lance:
Lydia:
Yawning I stretched and scratched my head. Saturday, how wonderful. I pulled my leg into the air and cringed when I heard the pop.
" Morning," I yelled into the air, knowing that everyone was probably already awake. I glanced at my clock: 11:09! That's the earilest I've ever woken up on a Saturday! Today must be a good day.
I rolled over the edge of my bed and landed with a thunk on my zebra print beanbag. Grabbing some random clothes I ran to the shower.
Lance:
After shoving nacho chip into my mouth I heard the shower finially stoped. Spongebob, my gutily pleasure, was blasting on the front room televison as Lydia jogged down the stairs.
" Elloo brother dear," she squealed before ploping down next to me and stealing a few of my chips.
" Sis," I mumbled, my eyes glued to the screen.
" What are we doing today," she asked while stealing another one of my chips. I rolled my eyes at her and handed over the whole bowl.
" Wanna go swimming?" I raised an eyebrow at her and blew some hair out of my face.
" Oh yes! I haven't been swimming in, like, two weeks!" I smiled weakly at her and finished watching tv.
" We'll go when Spongebob goes off," I poked her stomach," and after you eat, but then we have to wait an hour." She groaned and went to go eat, I focused on SpongeBob again. I love this episode.

Lori

"I wondered when you would finally ask me..." I say quietly, gazing out over the water. I couldn't be more happy. Jordan, my boyfriend. I had nearly fainted when he kissed me, and now I slowly leaned over and kissed him again.

"I was thinking about it the other night...I mean, I was wondering why we never dated or anything. And I finally made a decision to ask you. I just had to know Lori." He tucked a stray red hair behind my ear and kissed me again.

This is what I had wanted...but something tugged in my mind...a name. Danielle. I shook the thought away, he liked me, he loved me, didn't he? I loved him, I had ever since I first met him. We were together now.

Ollie

I didn't really want to go out with Alexis to be honest. It wasn't that I didn't like her or anything, it was just that I made a complete prat out of myself last night at her party. Well, as long as we didn't talk about it, I would be fine.

I stared at my closet with my arms crossed. What should I wear? I thought to myself. I could have worn my usual; a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt. What if I looked like some kind of hobo compared to Alexis though? I mean, c'mon, she was pretty darn rich!

"Where are you going?" Sophie suddenly appeared in the doorway.

"Out." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Out where dumb-ass?" My sister spat.

"Away from you, thank God." I winked at her.

Muttering something under her breath, Sophie left my room. Good afternoon to you too.

I'd decided. I was going to wear a pair of my nice jeans and one of my half decent shirts. This wasn't a date was it...? God, I hoped not. I'd never been on a date before. I'd been asked out plenty of times, which I suppose was a good thing, but I'd never actually said yes to any of them. I never liked any of the girls that asked me out. To be honest, I didn't fancy Alexis either. I should have though. She was pretty, and nice.

Sighing to myself, I left my room and went into the hallway. My sister had gone into the living room, so with any luck, my father would be there too. If he saw me going out, especially dressed as neatly as I was, he would say something stupid to me. As quietly as I could, I headed towards my front door.

A few minutes later, I was finally out of that hell hole. I was meeting Alexis in pizza hut, which thankfully, was only a ten minute walk from my house. As I stepped out of my house, the sun blinded me for a few seconds. It looked as though it was going to be a warm, dry day. I looked at the stretch of road in front of me.Here we go,I thought, walking along the sidewalk.

Alison

Well, the party was great. As soon as I got home, I told my mom all about everyone who was there and what had happened, and then how I was supposed to meet a couple of guys from my Psychology class to study.

Oddly enough, the fact seemed to bug her.

"Guys, you said? They're both boys?"

"Well...yes...that's kind of what 'guys' are..."

"No girls?"

"If they want to, they can," I said with a shrug. Mom's behavior was really throwing me. I thought she would have been all excited that I had set up something like this.

"Well...as long as you meet in a public place, okay?"

"Yeah sure Mom."

Sheesh! It wasn't like I was ten or anything! I knew enough to meet with them somewhere like the library. Shaking my head, I went upstairs to study. But for once, my brain couldn't focus. I found myself staring out the window, wondering just how it was going to go.

This was going to be a long weekend.

Gwen

I tapped my pencil against my notebook, then scratched my head with it, and finally threw it down on my desk. It wasn't that my homework was particularly hard or anything. What was bothering me was--

"Gwen," Mom said, peeking her head into my room after knocking lightly three times. "It's such a great day! Why don't you go for a walk or something instead of cooping yourself up in here? I understand you have a heavy course load, but..."

That. That's what bothered me. She was right; it was a gorgeous Saturday, and there I was, poring over thermodynamic properties. I nodded in agreement.

"It's, uh, two days before V's birthday. Maybe you want to do something for him? I know. Send him a letter."

"How do you send a dead guy a letter?" I asked, but I'd already reached for a light blue felt-tip pen.

"You'll find a way, Gwen. And I'm sure wherever he is, he'd want to hear from you."

So I wrote one--nothing too sappy or detailed; just a simple birthday wish, and I folded it up into a paper crane, just like his mother had taught me. I planned to set it afloat on the water somewhere. Perhaps the park would be nice.

I grabbed a light jacket and tied it around my waist--just in case--and put the little bird in the pocket before heading to the park. My mother, an artist, was a fountain of great ideas, naturally.

Lydia: I ran downstairs clad in my new black and white polka dotted bikini, the one with the small tutu skirt on the bottom.
" Lance," I called," I'm ready!" But he was already downstairs, a pile of changing clothes in his hand and wearing nothing but a pair of dull orange swiming trunks. " Great you're ready! Let's go," I grabbed him by the hand and dragged him outside to the car. Dad took the Volvo to work so we were stuck with the Charger. The ride to the swimming pool took about ten minutes and the whole time I was shaking with excitement. As soon as the car parked I jumped out and ran into the pool.
Lance: I sighed as Lydia ran out and threw herself into the pool. We were the only ones here, which was relaxing. I turned off the car and walked out, making sure to grab our towels and changing clothes.
The water was cool and relaxing as I floated on my back in the deep end. Lydia was giggling like an idiot as she dunked herself under water. My eyes slowly closed as I let my mind drift back to life in Austrailla. I don't remember much, I was so young, but I do remember the wide open spaces, our family ranch, my pet dog Screamer. It all dissapered when mom died. Dad said we had to get away, that I do remember, get a fresh start.
A lone tear slipped out of my eyes and I quickly wiped it away. I can't believe I'm still getting emotional over that type of stuff.

Alexis

I pull up at Pizza Hut, and go inside. I hope Ollie kows this isnt a date. I was just worried about him, and wanted to talk to him where no one could overhear.

He comes in five minutes later.

"Hey!" I say. He sits across from me.

"What up, Ollie? You seemed pretty upset last night." I continue.

"It's nothing Alexis."

"That's a lie, now why don't you tell me whats really wrong."

"Really, its nothing."

"Ollie, if this is something stupid....I don't judge."

"I don't know." I see he is about to cave. I want to know whats bothering him. He obviously was upset, and I heard every word on the phone.

"Ollie, whatever it is, I can help."

"This is so beyond anything you could..."

"Try me."

Ollie

I knew this was a bad idea. I just knew it. What was I supposed to say to Alexis? Literally. I wasn't even sure myself what was wrong with me. There was all of that stuff with my dad, but I was used to that. Kind of.

I looked at Alexis. She really was beautiful. She had the most gorgeous fire red hair that rested just below her shoulders, and when she smiled. Wow, that was amazing. She lit up the entire room. I loved how small, feminine dimples slowly appeared on her blushed cheeks as her lips curved upwards. There was only one problem. I didn't fancy her.

I was about to say something when Alexis opened her mouth again.

"I won't say anything to anyone, I promise!" She said sweetly.

"It's just..." I began. "Have you... have you ever felt like you really should do, or feel something? But... but you don't? And no matter how hard you try, you just can't?"

Alexis looked at me carefully for what felt like hours. She quite clearly had no idea what I meant. I never should have said anything.

"Um..." She was still thinking. "What do you mean?"

"It doesn't matter," I smiled.

I took the slightly chewed straw out of my soda. My smile grew as I looked at one of the waiters.

"How much do you wanna bet that' I can land a spitball on that dude's head." I nod at the waiter. "The one that keeps checkin' you out?"

Alexis started laughing as I closed my one aim and aimed the straw at the greasy looking waitors head. I could tell that Alexis's laugh was partly faked. She knew that there was something wrong, I could see it in her eyes.

"He's not checking me out!" She giggled.

"Yeah, course he ain't." I winked.

Alexis still wasn't convinced that I was fine. Oh well, I supposed that I had to do what I did best. Lie like there was no tomorrow.

Another few minutes had passed. Alexis had just ordered a bag of fries. I hadn't ordered anything though, I didn't feel like eating. By the time Alexis had bit into her fifth fry, I had managed to think of a pretty good lie.

"Alexis, you know the problem tha' I 'ave?" I said to hear, using my best acting skills. "It's about my dad. He's ill."

Alexis stared at me, narrow eyed. It took her a few seconds, but she seemed pretty convinced after I told her.

"Oh," She replied. "Is he... is he going to be all right?"

"Yeah, it's gonna take a while for him to get better though. It's really stressful for him, that's why he seems a bit... well, angry. He's a good man really."

That was the point where I realised that I wasn't actually lying. Yeah, my dad wasn't ill, fair enough. The last thing I said was entirely true though. My dad was a good man. I was the bad one, and I knew it. Every bad, painful thing that had happened to my family was my fault. I deserved to be treated like I did by my father. If it wasn't for me, she'd still be here. My mum would still be alive.