Ripped Jeans, Waffles and Everyday Betrayals You Can Relate To

highschool dramatics at its most whimsical

She knew I liked him.

That’s the thing about Kathy Simms, you never really know if you’re friends. She keeps you guessing... and then suddenly out of nowhere she proves your suspicions right. And I have to be honest here, right then, that very moment when I saw her with him, I could have charged over, tore off her neck and stomped on it until it was unrecognisable.

I think the only thing that held me back from actually doing said action was the fact that I felt like my guts were turning into barbwire. Like everything inside me was growing, shifting, and slowly tearing its way out of the thin walls of flesh that held it there. Every little movement they made; a hand wrapping around a shoulder, fingers interlacing, heads cocking... every slight shift of bodies and lips seemed to dig the dagger deeper. This must be what hate felt like.

For a moment I wondered if she wanted to get caught kissing the boy I liked right next to the lockers in a busy hallway. Hell, it would have been way easier than actually telling me. “Hi, Maia, guess what? You know that guy you spend hours talking about? Yeah... I kissed him!” B***h. I couldn’t believe it, but at the same time it seemed like the Kathy Simms sorta thing to do. So why didn’t I see it coming?

“Maia?” A voice snapped me out of my glare that had shifted into nothing more than blurry swirls of colours. I blinked and saw that they were gone. “You okay?”

I turned around and saw Hayden looking down at me. “Hey,” I blurted, “Um, yeah, I was just...” I looked back to the lockers, then returned my glance in his direction, “Staring,”

“Cool,” he smirked and looked down at his patched up red chuck taylors. Hayden was one of those guys who I imagined never threw anything out, and saw the bright side of everything. He’d be one of those guys who should never be allowed into a pound because he’d probably adopt every single animal in there... even the ones that looked like mutant gremlins... hell, especially the ones that looked like mutant gremlins. “Well, I was wondering if you had the notes from Chemistry?” he asked, biting his lip and tugging on the trap of his backpack.

“Oh yeah, sure,” I said and swung my sling bag around to rummage for my workbook. Hayden was in almost all my classes, and we were lab partners too. He was the brains and I was... well, the person who never paid much attention, except for today because Hayden had some appointment to be at and couldn’t make Chemistry.

“Thanks,” he smiled as I handed him my book, hand outs sticking out of it haphazardly. “Um, if you’re not too busy could you help me-”

“I gotta go Haydes, I’ll see yah later,” I breathed, closing up my sling bag and rushing out the door. I heard him murmur a quiet little goodbye and felt really bad. But could you blame me, I seriously didn’t feel like talking about homework after I had just seen my so-called best friend and the guy I had liked ever since the start of the year... kissing.

My heart sank at the thought, and it took everything inside of me to not fall apart as I made it across the parking lot towards my car. I swung the door open and got in, shutting it with a heavy thud. But the moment I put my key into the ignition, I failed miserably. I couldn’t help it, my shoulders shook and my chest heaved with every heavy, sharp, painful breath of air I took. It was one of those horrible cries where you try to form sentences but everything just comes out sounding retarded. And where you try to pull yourself together but the harder you try, the harder it becomes.

Alright, I should just come out and say it right? His name is Michael Hawkins... and I’m madly in-crush with him. You wouldn’t blame me if you saw him... he was everything you could possibly want in a guy; English, hot, and a drummer. On top of the fact that he had a gorgeous accent, gorgeous eyes, and a rockin’ band, he was also captain of the hockey team. How could anyone be that perfect?

I would watch him in class or across the floor at lunch, wishing I had the guts to talk to him, and imagining what it would be like to run my fingers through that wavy brown hair. Everything about him made my heart flutter and my skin tingle and my mind blur into incoherent cheesy little phrases that would make my stomach churn. Part of me felt like the biggest idiot for falling for this guy who was too perfect for a girl like me to even think about... let alone run my fingers through his hair. No, the sorta girl he deserved was...

“Maia?” Kathy stood still as she held the front door of her house open. She stared at me with an arched eyebrow like I was some sort of crazy person... but the truth was, I was starting to wonder as well. I couldn’t form a sentence, string some words together, anything... I couldn’t speak. All I did for awhile was just stare back at her and let the storm that raged above us speak for all the messed up, pissed off, written off emotions that I couldn’t quite communicate. “Are you okay?” She asked, “Do you wanna come in?”

I blinked and looked at her through my rain-soaked fringe that hung over my furious brown eyes. “You knew I liked him,” I said, and waited for a reply.

“What are you talking about?” She replied and I flinched, half expecting some sort of denial.

“You stupid b***h, I saw you with him!” I screamed, louder than I had hoped for it to come out, “My God, Kathy, right in front of everyone. Were you hoping I’d be suffering from temporary blindness today?”

“Shut up, shut up, shut up!” She hushed me, shutting the door behind her as she stepped towards me quickly. “It’s not like I planned it okay?” She explained. “It just happened,”

“Right, you were just walking along the corridor and tripped on your shoelace and oh- what’s that? Oh I think its Michael Hawkins’ tongue in my mouth!”

“Oh my God, the whole world doesn’t just revolve around you, Maia, he was fair game and it’s not like you were going to do anything!”

“Are you freaking kidding me?” I huffed, trying very hard to hold back from slapping her across the face. “The whole world doesn’t revolve around you? Is that your f*****g argument? It’s that what you think fits this situation? Is that what you think of me? Look in the freaking mirror, Kathy- I can’t believe you would even use that on me!” I breathed, “You knew I liked him... you’re supposed to be my best friend,”

“Maia, do you really think he would have ever asked you out?” Kathy asked. I stared back at her, deciphering her sentence, wondering the answer... ‘Of course not’ came to mind immediately, and it must have been what Kathy was thinking too.

Michael Hawkins would never have asked a girl like me out. Not the shy, freaky girl who liked art by Andy Warhol, Poetry by T.S. Eliot and films by Michael Gondry. That wasn’t who he was. I just wasn’t good enough, and I would never be good enough.

I turned around and stormed off Kathy Simms’ front porch.

I was glad I got sick from getting drenched in the rain; at least I didn’t have to go back to school the next day. That would have been the worst thing I’d ever have to bear. Even though I was nowhere near the God forsaken place I could picture it vividly, like a Polaroid snapshot, Kathy Simms and Michael Hawkins, his hand holding hers as they walked down the hallway... the newest high school couple, the newest candidates for prom king and queen. Yuck.

I spent the later part of the morning sitting out in the lawn even though mum told me not to. I figured I had about 5 hours before dad or her came back from work though, so I was pretty much home free until then. Plus James, my brother, pulled the couch out of his basement room onto the front lawn before he left for college this morning and it was the perfect perch on which I could spend most of the day just wishing I was dead. He was just airing it because it smelt of whatever the hell he was smoking the night before.

Wrapping my blanket around me tightly I closed my eyes for a moment and inhaled deeply before letting out a long and raspy breath. I wondered how long I could ride out this cold before I would eventually have to go back to school and face the bullshit that was the public education system... and all the cliques and fucked up social rules that formed with every whisper of gossip and every sad little taunt from some jock or bully or prep kid with nothing better to do than take out their life’s frustration on whatever lesser stereotype happened to get in their way.

When I re-opened my eyes with a sigh I looked up to see Hayden walking up towards me. “Hey,” he said and smiled softly.

“Hey Haydes,” I replied, sniffing and scooting over on the chair, “You can sit if you want,” I said, managing a weak smile behind puffy eyes, “It’s almost 90% hemp free,”

He smirked and sat down, putting his hands into the pockets of his black and white hoodie that partially hid his red My Chemical Romance T-shirt underneath. “Calling in a sick day?” He asked, looking at me.

“Yeah,” I sighed, sniffing again and wiping my nose on my sleeve. “I’m just all beauty and class today obviously,” I laughed a little, “How about you smarty pants, why aren’t you at your most favourite place in the world?”

He laughed and shook his head a little, “Am I that much of a nerd to you?”

“Yeah...” I smirked, “A little bit,”

Hayden smiled at me then turned away to stare down at his fingers that fiddled with a loose piece of string from a torn hole in his black skinny jeans, just above a crudely sewn on Distillers patch. “I just had to take mum to the hospital again this morning,” he said, and sighed.

I looked at him, saying nothing for a very long while because I had absolutely no idea what to say. Here I was, sitting on a weed couch and feeling sorry for me when Hayden’s mum was probably dying. “Um... I’m sorry, that sucks...” I said, “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t know yet,” he said, still tugging at the little piece of string on his jeans. “She’s just getting lots of tests and stuff,” then he looked up at me and smiled, “It’s probably nothing,”

“Yeah,” I nodded and watched him as he turned his gaze away again. His messy blonde hair moved in the breeze a little and he ran a hand through it before leaning forward in his seat to place his elbows on his knees and sigh, watching as the family across the street packed themselves into their crappy looking minivan. I figured he must have dyed his hair blonde cuz it was this strange obscene shade of yellow, and there was a random patch of pink just under his right ear.

“How about you?” He asked suddenly, “Are you okay? I mean... besides the whole sickness thing,” he said, “You were a little weird yesterday,”

“Yeah,” I shook my head and tugged my blanket closer, “Sorry, that’s another sickness thing,” I laughed, “I was just feeling sorry for myself cuz I’m a freak and nobody likes me,” I smirked, watching the minivan drive away. There was a short pause; an unnerving break of silence as the ugly thing disappeared down the street.

“I like you,”

I turned to Hayden quickly and stared at him with wide eyes. “What?” I blurted.

“I... like...” He smiled a little weakly and turned to me, “you,”

I stared back at him, his bright green eyes pretty much piercing through to the back of my skull. I couldn’t quite compute what he had just said even though he had repeated it. Part of me wondered if he was joking or if Hayden was even capable of a joke... because I had never heard him tell a joke before. No yo mamas no knock knocks no a priest, a rabbi and a monk... none of those, ever. “Why?” I heard myself say. I guess I was so filled with disbelief some of it overflowed a little.

“What do you mean?” He said with an awkward little smirk and shifted in his seat a little. “I just like you,” he said, “You’re cute and you’re really nice... and cool,” he smiled and I could see he was blushing, “And you’re really funny too,” he added, “You’re just... awesome,” he looked at me and saw that I was still holding my shocked silly expression. He turned away again and bit his lip nervously, “you know... like waffles,”

Another pause and I managed a soft little smile, “you think I’m waffles?” I said. He turned to look at me again, and looked relieved to see my smile.

“Yeah,” he grinned, and for the first time I realised Hayden Miller had the most perfect teeth I had ever seen.

Hayden stuck around for a little longer, until my brother came home from college and shooed us off his precious ‘love seat’ or whatever. I didn’t quite know what to make of Hayden and all those things he said about me. As I waved goodbye to him from my front door and shut it behind me I felt a strange sorta empty feeling come over me, like there was more I wanted to know about Hayden, or that the whole thing was just left up in the air like that with no real closure. You know that feeling after some really big event like a party or a dance or whatever, and you work yourself up over whatever’s going on but then the moment it’s over and you’re home and you climb the stairs up to your room... it’s weird, like normal life just doesn’t cut it anymore. You know that feeling? Like something’s missing, and you just need to be at that party again- or you weren’t ready for the whole experience to end... yeah, that’s the feeling I got when I watched Hayden walk away.

I guess I never really thought it was possible for someone to actually think I was crush-worthy. Kathy was right, I never thought Michael would ask me out- and I didn’t think anyone else would either. Truth was, the next week when I was feeling a little better and I made it to school, I couldn’t quite remember why I even liked Michael Hawkins in the first place.

He was so contrived and conceited. Everything about him had this sick plastic coated gloss about it, it was just unreal and so pretentious. And you know what? It wasn’t going to last... I saw his future: A car salesman with too many kids and a wife who kept getting fatter every time he looked at her. I smirked at the thought as I watched him chatting up some cheerleader in the hallway. She giggled and tossed her hair as I finished the last of my orange juice and packed my books into my backpack.

“He’s a b*****d,” Kathy said, sitting down next to me suddenly. “You know babe, you’re lucky you didn’t get involved with him,” she said. I guess that was Kathy’s version of an apology.

“Yeah I know,” I smiled and picked up my things to walk away.

“Maia?”

“Hmm?” I turned around to look at her.

“Friends?”

 I smirked, “Whatever,” I shrugged. “See you in Math,”

I didn’t hear her say anything back, I guess she might have muttered something under her breath... but I didn’t care. And I didn’t care about walking past Michael Hawkins and his newest Barbie doll. I just shook my head as I caught a snippet of their conversation, sniggering to myself.

“Oh, hey Maia?” I heard a voice call out to me and turned to see Michael looking at me from his lean against the lockers.

“Yeah?” I muttered, sounding a little strangled.

“My parents are away all weekend,” he said, “so obviously a house party is in order and everyone is invited... you should come yea?” The cheerleader giggled and gave me an amused onceover. Something about my black and white striped socks or denim skirt must have been humorous.

“Nah, it’s not really my thing,” I said, wrinkling my nose as I turned away. “F****t,” I muttered under my breath and walked off down the hallway, hearing the giggling growing louder. I just rolled my eyes and kept on walking.

I found Hayden sitting by himself on a bench overlooking the football field and snuck up behind him to wrap my arms around him tightly. He jumped a little, but breathed when he turned and realised it was me. “Oh hey, Maia,” He smiled and put his hand over mine. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah,” I said and nuzzled into his shoulder with a smile. “You know Hayden,” I said before looking up at him, “I think you’re waffles too.”

 

Author's Note

I took up a different writing technique here and wanted to find a younger more teenage sounding voice. I hope I succeeded! The point was just to make something cute and real. Let me know what you think!

Reviews

[unspokenguilt]

I loved the title and the story was in fact cute and sweet! Great write, i enjoyed reading it!

:)ear

[Melyong]

Babe! This is so cute! :)

[Shadow Katt]

The beginning was wonderful. Every girl knows a girl who goes after the guy you want. The best part is the twist, where Kathy gets played and Maia just lets go and realizes she's better, and that there's someone better. It was a wonderful story. The character development was good even in such a short space! just wonderful!

[Mike Zentz]

You're writing is coming along wonderfully! Keep it up :)

[He@ther!]

This is sooo cute!!:) lol I loved it!!!:) I want the story to be longer, lol i want to keep on reading it!!:) waffles...so cute!!:) The whole thing was completely adorable:) This is definately going in my favorites:)

Great Job!!!!:)

Sincerely,
-Heather:)