Chapter 2, Why so Mean?

Chapter 2: Why so mean?

8:32am

“…I said please?!” Danni begged, hoping her sister would take her to school in the car she just got for her birthday. Leighton was already the most popular girl in school, and showing up with a shiny new car would only secure that position. Danni knew that if she could just ride with her sister, some of that fame would rub off on her too.

Leaning against the side of her car, Leighton pulled out her phone, pretending to text as an excuse to hear her sister beg. “ahhhh… I don’t know. I mean, if I gave you a ride, people might think we’re related… and I’ve worked SO hard to erase that image” She mumbled, wrinkling her nose with arrogance.

        It seemed liked for every plead Danni had, her sister had an equally sarcastic comeback; and almost seemed to enjoy watching her little sister gravel. ‘

“I’ll clean your room and do your chores every day that you drive me!” Danni proposed with a sudden joy in her eyes. Surely her sister would accept her offer now…she hated doing chores and was always trying to trick Danni or Jamie into doing them.

        “I’ll tell you what, Danni-elle, if you can get mom and dad to let me go to Columbia… I’ll let you drive ME to school!” Leighton knew this was an impossible request, and felt bad as she watched her sister give up hope… but not bad enough that she would retract the offer.

“You know what Leigh, forget it, I don’t need you anyways” she sighed.

 In the distance, a jet-black convertible caught Danni’s attention. It was an unfamiliar car; not belonging to anyone in her neighborhood. She knew this because her bedroom sat confidently at the front of the house; with her unusually large window sitting at the foot of her bed. She often enjoyed watching the neighbor’s daily routines. She knew when they left for work, and when they got back… she even knew when family was visiting. She knew what types of cars everyone had, and recognized this one as different.

She watched as the car slowly approached her, and when she saw who the driver was, she was suddenly rejuvenated and had a whole new burst of energy. It was her best friend Tyler Locke, who everyone just called Tyle. For the first time, she didn’t feel that gloominess she’d been feeling for days; and the feeling of imminent death, slipped away.

        Running to the passenger door she leaned her head in, “whoa, where’d you get this?!”

        Proudly lifting his head to meet her yearning eyes, he arrogantly replied “Granddad’s in town, which ALWAYS means good things!”  

 

        “…He doesn’t know you have it does he?” She quickly countered, giving him a funny look; hoping he’d invite her to get in.

 

        “…Ookay, that’s enough questions, you gonna get in or what?”

 

“Or what?!” She exclaimed as she slid over the door and hopped into the car. As they began to drive off, she pulled her hair out of her loose pony tail and grabbed a pair of sunglasses from the dashboard and slid them on; secretly gazing over at her sister, who longingly watched through the side view mirror of her car.

 Once they pulled around the corner, she relaxed in her seat, pinning her hair back up. Leaning forward for a moment to turn the radio on, she then slid down into her seat, knowing her sister couldn’t see her anymore.

Noticing her detached mannerisms, Tyle couldn’t help but to giggle. Occasionally glancing over at her, he waited for her to explain it, but she never did. “…fighting with your sister again?”

 Slightly annoyed, for seemingly no reason, she sharply turned her head to meet his innocent glances. “We’re not really fighting!…it’s just how we are, it’s not a big deal… gosh. Don’t judge me” She quickly countered, soon feeling badly for the unexplained attitude.

A phone call, the night before, was filled with gossip about Tyle, and she found it difficult not to believe some of the things her friend Leslie was saying. Tyle had been Danni’s best friend since they were five, but he had been acting differently lately, and she didn’t know why. So when gossip began to spread about him, she openly defended him, but secretly battled thoughts of disbelief.

        Brring. Brring. Brring.

        Her brooding thoughts were abruptly interrupted by her phone. She found the boring ring slightly embarrassing; it was a new phone and she hadn’t had a chance to change any of the settings yet.

        “Hello?” She answered, as she quickly pulled the phone from her face to put it on speaker.

        “Hey honey, I just wanted to remind you about Leigh’s party tonight, and make sure no one tells her about it…it’s a surprise party, you know-” Her mom gently recapped, until Danni quickly cut her off.

        “I know, mom. You’ve told me like twenty times now… in fact, I helped you plan it… bye mom” after a moment more, she hung up the phone.

        “What’s wrong with you today?” Tyle asked, taken back by the attitude she gave her mother. Danni was never rude to her mom like that, that was Leighton’s job. Danni was always the respectful child. She was a strait “A” student who never got in trouble, with anyone. She enjoyed being the calm child, who always did what she was told, but the day carried a certain essence of evil for her, that she didn’t even understand.

        As Tyle confusingly gazed over at her, awaiting an answer, they pulled into the school parking lot and the need for an answer quickly fell away.

        As they both piled out of the car, not a single word was spoken. Tyle and Danni never fought, and Tyle had no idea why Danni was acting so strangely.

        Nervously combing his fingers through his thick blond curls, Tyle took a few steps closer to Danni as they walked. Loosing up his tone, he tried again, “You okay, Danni?”

        After a long pause, she looked up at him, trying to brush off the annoyance she felt, just from looking at him, “I’m fine. Really.” Faking a smile to convince him, she playfully rammed into his shoulder and took off running, glancing back at him with a large smile. Without hesitation, he quickly took off after her, passing her with his charmingly longer stride.