Chapter One

Meet Violette

1

 

        I was waiting outside the dumpy little Pump 'N Go, smoking a cigarette, waiting for my brother Adrian to pick me up. I hated having him pick me up. I don't know why I never thought to just walk home. It would be so much simpler than having to pile into his piece-of-s**t van with his loud, mentally incompetent friends. They were all a bunch of potheads. They lived for weed, beer, video games and girls. That was the epitome of their life.

        “Does it always have to take forever?”, I muttered to the trash can sitting next to me. I threw the little bit of cigarette I hadn't smoked down, and proceeded to bury it into the broken pavement with my dirty, old sneaker when I heard the familiar, strangled honk of the van.

        “Come on, V! We don't have all day!”, Adrian yelled out to me. “I've gotta pick up something from Mason! Well, I gotta pick him up too – just come on!”

        I hated being called V. I hated Mason. I hated even more that after having to wait on him for an hour, he was rushing me. I ran to the van anyway. He would have no qualms leaving me. He had never done it, but of course, I had never tested that theory.

        I climbed into the decrepit van, holding on to the door. I looked for a second to decide where to sit. I had two options, as Will had shotgun. Jordan and Elliot had the first back row taken up and Opie was passed out under his hoodie in the very back. I chose to sit by Opie. Opie wasn't his real name, but under much protest, that's what they called him. I wasn't even sure what his real name was. I think it was Vince. He had the Opie look. Bright, red-orange hair, except wavy, with dozens of freckles. He was a lanky guy. Tall and skinny. He was the only one of my brother's friends I could tolerate. Opie kept to himself most of the time, or at least until one of the other guys said something that piqued his interests.

        “Can you just drop me off first? I really don't feel like going, and I don't like him much.”

         It was the honest truth. I really didn't like Mason. The last time I had went with Adrian to see him, he kept making snide remarks about certain female growths that came around a bit late during the summer. He made me uncomfortable to be around.

        “If you want a ride home you'll have to do it my way.”, Adrian said in a matter-of-fact tone. I should have known better than to ask him.

        “Fine.”, I said blankly. I pulled out a cigarette and reached into my school bag for my last Mountain Dew. I would just have to deal with it. As usual. Deal with or ignore it. That's what I did best. Especially when it came to Mom.

        Lucille Dupree. I never thought she was meant to be a mother. Like maybe wanting kids was another phase she went through. Another hobby or burst of spontaneity like everything else in her life. Apparently, her current fad at the time of my birth was flowers and gardening. So now we have me, Violette Rose Dupree. I think she planned the day I was born too. In the middle of May. Of course. Everything always had to revolve around her and her whims.

        Somehow, there was still something magical about her. Something that captivated you and picked at your curiosity. Her rosy complexion, clear as day. Those big, blue eyes. She had crystal clear blue eyes with a faint green ring encircling the pupils. Smooth, flawless, golden hair with natural highlights mixed up in it. She had a woman's figure. Curves in all the right places, with a tiny waist, a long neck and long legs. Even the way she talked. She spoke even the simplest words with a sense that there was something more behind it.

        I was very much flawed. My hair was slightly curled on the ends. Thick. Unmanageable. A dark, bland brown that lacked any sort of presentable shape. I refused to wear it down. Ever. I always pulled it back into a pony-tail. I had a boyish figure, except for my recent physical additions. I assumed that was a complete fluke. Not to mention, it still looked out of proportion with the rest of my body. They didn't exactly fit with a flat a*s and knobby knees. I might not have looked half bad if I had any sort of definition to my body at all. Make-up would have only made the matters worse. Especially with my skin tone. No chances of having a tan. I burned like a marshmallow held over a fire a second too long. Except for my eyes, I was the exact opposite of her.

        Not that I minded. I never wanted to be like her. I never wanted to use people for something that wouldn't last. I never wanted to have kids that I didn't really want.

        “So anyone wanna smoke one while we ride?”, Mason's entrance into the van interrupted my thoughts. He plopped down on the seat, next to me and Opie, who was now awake at the mention of weed.

        Upon hearing the word smoke, I was reminded I was down to two.

        “Adrian, will you get me a pack of smokes?”

        “Yeah. Whatever. Your usual, or are you brave enough to try anything else?”, he poked at me.

        “Pall Mall Menthols and I have tried other kinds. I just happen to like these best.”

        “Why don't you try a different kind of smoke V?”, Mason said much to my displeasure. I really wished he wasn't here.

        “Why don't you scoot over to your side of the seat?”, I snorted.

        “Feisty. Maybe some green will calm down that temper of yours.”

        “I wouldn't bet on it, Mason.”

        “So who's gonna spark it up?”, Will said, pulling a joint, already rolled, out of his cigarette pack, before we could continue our spat. I didn't want to sit next to Mason, much less talk to the jackass.

        “That would be me.”, Jordan piped up as he grabbed the joint from Will.

        Will turned and reached over across Adrian and pulled a CD from the visor. It was a burned one with scratchy Sharpie writing on it that read Smokie's Tunez. I knew that one. It was like some sort of ritual for them. Ride, smoke, music. That simple.

        He slid it into the radio Adrian and Elliot had spent one weekend installing. It didn't look right in the van, but there it was playing a stereotypical reggae song. Classic stoners to the max.

        “This is the s**t, man.”, Elliot managed to cough out.

        “I know dude, just wait 'till you try my boy's bud.”, Mason said, taking the weed from Elliot.

        “Yeah...”, Adrian said lazily. “Okay, V, tell Mom I'll be home later. I'm hanging out with the guys. Watching a game. Whatever sounds good.”

        “Sure.”, I said as I climbed out of the van, gracefully enough to avoid bumping into Mason.

        It was like some kind of twisted inside joke. Like my Mom ever cared where we were, or what we were up to. I guess that was another thing that held our loose bond a little tighter.

         “Okay. Don't forget to do your homework.”, he shook his finger at me and wrinkled his eyebrows like a disgruntled old man. He did it in a way that made the guys snicker at me.

         I nodded and smirked, then turned to go up the porch. Even if he was making fun of me, it was still the tiniest bit warming that he would even acknowledge me.

        “Mom?”

        No response.

        She must be out somewhere. That wasn't unlike her. I could say that I actually enjoyed her not being around. It was a relief that she wasn't there. Less small talk was fine with me. Talking to her was like talking to someone you were forced to sit beside for any prolonged period of time. It wasn't that you didn't like them, you just didn't really feel anything for them at all, but somewhere still felt it obligatory to say something nice.

        For some reason, still, her presence felt heavy. Like a thick, city smog, or a heavy perfume. Maybe it was because she was everywhere in this house. Her eccentric tastes in things clung to it. The abstract art hanging from the walls, the odd mini-sculptures littering the antique tables placed here and there. Everything was still in neat, perfect order despite seeming all over the place. Nothing about it said family. No family nights, dinners together, asking of school, boys, or friends. The house screamed Lucille, a frenzied artist with no sense of direction or control.

        I went to my room. A mess, as usual. Paper cluttered my desk. Clothes were piled on the floor. My bed was unmade and a sock had made it's way on top of my lamp. Thank God I didn't have the lamp on, I suppose. I toyed with the thought of a careless fire, but thought better of it when I realized I wouldn't have a place to live, should I burn this one ashes.

        There was nothing to do but sleep or find something on television. Neither of which was I really interested in doing. It was going to be even worse now that it was summer vacation. Adrian had mentioned yesterday there was a party tonight, but I really wasn't much for getting wasted and having random sex. So what was I to do?

        I decided to walk down to the park, so I threw on my sweater and headed downstairs. There still wasn't anyone home. If I was lucky, maybe it would still be that way when I returned. I glanced around one last time, then opened the door and left.

 

 

Author's Note

There might be problems with grammar or spelling, but it's just a draft.

Reviews

[r]

Omg! This is amazing! I mean nothing has even happened, really, but it's epic nonetheless!!

[LoveAndDreams]

This is great!! But in the first paragraph, this "their life." could be "their lives" as there is more than one of them, but still, well done!!

[Bud]

I'm liking it! : )

[Marissa]

i agree with the below...it does strike some similarities with sarah dessen...i cant wait to read more i enjoyed it a lot

[Adeline]

I like this so far, I'm going to keep reading.... :)

[Suzy Sunshine]

I really love it. Your writing reminds me a lot of Sarah Dessen. She's my favorite author. I could find no spelling or grammatical errors. But you're a great writer. I really want to read more! You have me hooked and I don't know why. I just want to see, for some reason, what Violette is going to do next.

[Earthgal]

I agree with ATG. Sounds like you have this put together well. I can't wait to read the rest.

[ATG]

I thought this was a very interesting story so far. I thought it was very well written. I ddin't notice any grammar or spelling errors. I can't wait to read more.