Babydoll Page 4

  "Lane was screwing around on school grounds?" Haley practically screamed running up to the table, throwing her backpack down.

  Lucy looked at her with huge eyes, signaling for her to shut up.

  "What? Everybody already knows," Haley said, gesturing around the room.

  Sure enough, the lunch room was way more animated than usual. People were chattering away and occasionally looking Lucy's way or even pointing. I probably would have noticed something was up before if I hadn’t had my nose in a book.

  "Ok," I demanded, smacking my hand on the table. "What is going on?"

  "My stupid ass brother," Lucy said, heaving a huge sigh. "He got busted with Sasha Neely going at it in the concession stand by the baseball field. He's getting expelled."

  My eyes popped wide open. Expelled! Holy crap!

  "Holy fucking shit," Haley voiced my shock, more vulgarly. She had been sprinkling more and more dirty words into conversations. I could only guess she thought it made her look cool and tough. I wasn’t so sure about that. "Expelled? During finals? He'll fail!"

  Lucy sighed again.

  "Yeah, I know. But I heard all this from Derek who heard it from Lauren who happened to be in the office when they hauled him in," she said. "I'm hoping maybe it's some bullshit."

  "Wait, were they having sex? And who busted them?" I asked, with wide eyes.

  Lucy dropped her head to the table dramatically as Haley looked on, looking far more amused than necessary.

  "That was the worst part, it was Pastor Webber," she told us. “And I don’t know if they were going all the way or what but apparently whatever they were doing was bad enough to get kicked out.”

  Haley burst into laughter.

  "Oh my God, your brother is so screwed," she giggled.

  Lucy shot her a dirty look without lifting her head.

  "Gee, thanks Haley, way to be supportive," she said, sourly.

  Haley rolled her eyes.

  "What's the big deal? It's not you getting it trouble," she pointed out, with a shrug.

  "The big deal is that this stuff is driving my mom and dad crazy. The big deal is that they found a bottle of Jim Beam in his room last week and told him if he got in trouble again he was going to live with Uncle Paul in Texas," she informed us furiously, sitting up again. It made my heart hurt to see her eyes filling with tears.

  Haley looked sheepish.

  "Sorry, Lucy, I didn't know it was that serious," she said, reaching across the table to take Lucy's hand.

  I wrapped my arms around Lucy as the tears started to slip over her bottom lashes. I hated seeing my friend sad and not being able to do anything about it. Part of me was furious with Lane for doing something so stupid. He had to know the consequences. He had to know he could get busted. He had to know how upset his mom and dad would be. Deeper down, I was mad about him being slutty Lane again.

  "Shit," I heard Lucy mutter.

  I followed her eyes to the lunchroom door where I saw Mrs. C standing, scanning the room.

  "She's looking for me," Lucy said, with a groan.

  We reluctantly let go of our friend.

  "Wow," Haley muttered. "Lane really fucked up this time. I wonder if they'll really fail him. I wonder if Mrs. C and Mr. C will really ship him off."

  Haley and I were on the same page for once. I was wondering the same exact things.

  * * *

  Chapter 5

  * * *

  My eight grade year was shaping up to be the best ever. It started off with a most awesome summer. A summer filled up with firsts. Including my first overnight to a big city.

  After all his trouble at the end of the school year, Lane really got shipped off. It was crazy. I never knew a kid so bad that his own parents would send him away. Off to a farm in Texas to work, work, work until he knew how to behave. His mom and dad didn't even say how long it would be for. The summer… the whole year….until he was eighteen…. nobody knew.

  It was all anyone talked about the last week of school. And it was terrible for Lucy. It was like just because he was a bad apple they expected something bad from her too. She went back and forth between wanting to tell everyone right where to go and getting all teary. It was bad for her at home too. Her dad was stressed and fussing all the time and her mom was super weepy. She spent as much time as she possibly could at Haley's house or mine. It looked like the summer was doomed thanks to Lane. Then one morning my phone rang.

  "Good morning, beautiful Baby-doll!" exclaimed my suddenly bubbly friend.

  I was all smiles immediately. It had been way too long since I heard Lucy so excited.

  "Good morning, Little Lucy. You sound super happy," I replied.

  "I am and you should be too," she told me. "We're going on a trip!"

  "We are? Where?"

  "My dad has a convention in the city and he decided we need a vacation. So he's taking us for a long weekend and he said I could bring a friend," she explained.

  A long weekend in the city! So fancy and grownup! I could feel excitement bubbling up in me. But then my brow wrinkled as something came to mind.

  "Wait, is Haley coming too?" I asked.

  "Nah, Dad said I could only bring one friend. And since you've never been I want you to come," she said.

  I pursed my lips, thoughtfully. It was true. Haley went to the city all the time to visit her grandparents. Surely, she'd understand why Lucy was picking me.

  "I'll go talk to my dad right now!" I agreed.

  Dad did a lot of foot dragging but in the end he sat down with Lucy's parents and got an itinerary and they assured him that Lucas would be off at football camp. Just like everyone else in town, Dad knew the Campbell troublemaker had been exiled. After their talk my dad told me to pack my bag. I was so glad my dad let me go. We had an awesome time. Mr. C was busy a lot during the day so it was like a girls only trip. Mrs. C took us shopping and to see the new Spiderman movie. Lucy loved the effects and I love the romantic ending. I liked the idea that two people could be so sure they belong together that they redo their whole lives.

  Haley was waiting on my doorstep when I got home.

  "So, did you have fun?" She asked. I could tell by the tone in her voice that she didn't really want to hear the answer.

  "Yeah, we had a lot of fun," I said, cautiously.

  "That’s awesome. Awesome that you guys ran off to the city and didn't think to invite me," she said, crossing her arms across her chest.

  "Lucy's dad said she could only invite one person," I said, shaking my head. I didn’t understand why she seemed mad at me for taking a trip.

  "So you just went along," she huffed.

  "I'd never been!" I cried. Her bitchy tone of voice was not what I wanted to come home to, it was bringing down my weekend high.

  "You could have waited until we could all go!" she yelled.

  "That’s stupid!" I yelled back. "You've been a million times!"

  "No, what's stupid is my best friend acting like I don't even exist!"

  "Haley, you’re acting like a freaking drama queen!"

  "No, you’re a traitor and a sell-out! You’re supposed to be my best friend but ever since Lucy got here you guys are always talking about your artsy shit that I don't get into and you’re always acting like I'm some boy crazy bimbo. I can’t even talk to you anymore!"

  There were tears rolling down her cheeks. I could feel them welling up in my own. But it wasn't fair. I didn't deserve all her anger just because I took a trip without her.

  "Screw you, Haley. I've never called you a bimbo and I'm always here for you but you’re wrapped up in being little miss popular that it's nice to have someone else to talk to. I am your best friend. I've been here for you since we were in first freaking grade!"

  Her chin trembled.

  "But you weren't here this weekend," she whispered, and the dam broke. My best friend started to sob.

  My anger melted into concern in an instant, this wasn’t about me at all. I threw my overnight bag
to the ground and rushed to throw my arms around her.

  "Haley, what's the matter?" I asked, hugging her close.

  "My stupid parents," she said.

  We sat down on the steps and she told me about how her parents spent the whole weekend arguing and drinking. She tried not to listen. She turned her music up and tried to ignore it but there were screams and breaking dishes. Her dad even left and went to a friend's house Saturday night.

  "I'm sorry, sweetheart," I said, squeezing her tight. "Parents are stupid. And I'm sorry I left. I promise I won't leave you anymore."

  She hugged me back twice as tight and I knew she forgave me.

  After that June rolled into July so quick I could almost feel summer slipping through my fingers. My girls and I tried to make the very most out of every single day. Haley's birthday was the last day in June and we stayed at her place. After her parents went to bed we slipped down and raided the liquor cabinet. We mixed shots of Apple Pucker and vodka. After just a few were giggly drunk. We stayed up until sunrise singing and dancing to bubblegum pop.

  We turned one of the walls of Lucy's room into a photo collage. Not one inch of pale purple wall showed through. It was all smiles and silly faces. Brothers and besties. Family and fun. When Mrs. C walked in mid-way through she gasped when she saw it. I thought for just a minute she was going to get annoyed and tell us to take them all down since Lucy hadn't asked. But instead she walked over and touched the pictures of her kids.

  "It's beautiful, girls," she said with a smile. Her fingertips lingered on a picture of Lane and I could see tears in her eyes.

  "She misses him," Lucy told us, after her mom left the room.

  It was the first time we'd talked about Lane since he left. I wasn't sure if I really missed the smirky bad boy but I did think about him from time to time.

  "I bet," Haley replied, placing another picture of us on the wall.

  "I miss him too," Lucy sighed. Her hazel eyes looked so sad that I hopped up from my spot on the floor and wrapped my arms around her. Haley dropped her pictures and wrapped around both of us.

  "Your brother may be gone but doesn't having two sisters help?" Haley asked, softly.

  Lucy sniffed a little but she nodded.

  "Yeah, it does," she replied.

  Summer kept trucking with tons of time blasting tunes around the pool, gorging on treats, girly gossiping, and general summer laziness. Then just when I thought it couldn't get any better, my world got flipped upside down.

  I was sitting at the kitchen table having a bowl of Fruit Loops when my dad clamored down the stairs packing his tackle box and fishing pole.

  "Headed to Jimmy’s?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

  My dad grinned. It was his day off and he couldn't wait to cast a reel.

  "You should come with me, Bailey," he told me, grabbing his floppy sun hat off the top of the fridge. "I've barely seen you all summer. Besides, Cam just got home from camp. I'm sure he'd love to see you."

  I rolled the idea around in my head. Haley had a dentist appointment and Lucy was starting her photography class at the community college. All I had planned for the day was cleaning out my closet for new school clothes and getting some writing in. I couldn't see a single reason why that stuff couldn't wait one more day.

  "You know, that sounds pretty ok," I said, giving my dad a smile. He beamed back at me.

  "Get it together and let's go, kid," he said, nodding at my pajamas. Like a little kid who couldn’t wait.

  I dumped my empty bowl in the sink and headed upstairs to pull on a swimsuit, shorts, and a t-shirt. I also threw my discman in my bag with a couple of new cds that Lucy made for me. Twenty minutes later we were pulling up to Jimmy and Cameron's house. Their hunting dogs, Bo and Luke, rushed me when I got out of the truck.

  "Get off me you mangy mutts!" I told them, playfully, as I scratched behind ears and rubbed heads.

  "Hey, those are prize winning show dogs you’re talking to," I heard a familiar, but different, voice over their happy yips.

  My jaw nearly came unhinged when I saw my old friend heading across the yard toward me. The summer had been very kind to Cameron. Football camp sunshine had darkened his natural tan. He must have hit a growth spurt too because he towered over my dad. And instead of being gangly like most boys he filled out the sleeveless shirt he had on. His familiar grin was eating up his face and I couldn't help but smile back. Holy crap, Cameron got hot!

  "What?" he asked, looking at me, curiously. I noticed that his voice had deepened as well and that was why he sounded different. I also realized I was gawking.

  "Nothing," I said, shaking my head. I could feel blush in my cheeks.

  "Wait, were you just checking me out?" he teased.

  Now that he was close enough, I reached out to punch him in the shoulder.

  "No," I lied, rolling me eyes.

  "You totally were!" he exclaimed. "You think I'm sexy!"

  I rolled my eyes and shoved and Cameron started doing his version of sexy dancing and blowing me kisses. It was completely humiliating. Of course our dads were no help, they just laughed and laughed. Finally, when Cameron was done embarrassing me he grabbed my hand.

  "Come on, let's hit the swing," he said, dragging me off to the ancient rope swing.

  That swing on the biggest tree near the lake edge was why I learned to swim in the first place. The summer I was six, we spent hours watching Cameron's older sisters take running starts and fling themselves off the swing into the lake. We begged and begged to have turns but were told not until we learned to swim. So we spent hours dog paddling and begging anyone who would listen to teach us how. Finally, Cam’s mom showed us how to breathe to the side and how to slice through the water with long arm strokes.

  By the end of the summer, we managed to pass the dad’s "swimming exam" (them tossing us in the water and us swimming back to shore). However, when it was time to jump off the swing into the water, I couldn't let go. I was suddenly scared that I'd sink down under the water and not be able to get back up. I froze up completely. I stood there clutching the rope, just swinging back and forth. The older kids huffed. The parents said that I could try again later. But Cameron grabbed the swing and climbed up with me.

  "Just let go when I say, ok, Bailey," he said, taking one of my hands and grabbing the rope with the other. "I got you."

  And I did. When Cameron yelled for me to let go we splashed into the water with our hands clasped tight. That had pretty much been our whole friendship, grabbing hands and diving off into something crazy.

  We spent the day catching up and taking turns on the swing. We talked about how awesome it was going to be to be eighth graders and which teachers we wanted. I told him about the new music I was listening to and he told me his dad had decided to give him the old pickup truck that was rusting in the barn. All he had to do was fix it up. We ate cold chicken sandwiches and slurped down popsicles. When afternoon slipped into evening we climbed up on top of the pontoon where our dads were still watching their bobbers and drinking beers. We lay on our backs, watched the sun dip into the lake, and listened to the 70's music drifting up from Jimmy’s stereo. I smiled and hummed along when I heard my dad's favorite Led Zeppelin song.

  "Hey, Bailey," Cameron said, suddenly.

  "Yeah?" I asked, sleepily. After the long day I was content to doze lying next to my friend.

  "Do you think it would be awesome starting the year with like… a boyfriend?" he asked. His voice was soft. Not the usual loud and crazy Cameron.

  I turned my head to take a look at him. He looked nervous, and he wasn't really looking at me. His eyes were on the water. I shrugged anyway.

  "I guess so, why?" I asked. I hadn't really thought of it. I always figured Haley would get a boyfriend before I would.

  "Well, I was thinking maybe we could… you know… be boyfriend and girlfriend," he said. He finally looked over at me and his big brown eyes were wide and scared.

  I felt my heart speed up.
My friend Cameron. My hand holding, adventure having, lake splashing friend. My handsome friend. I chewed my bottom lip, thinking hard.

  "Yes," I whispered.

  Cameron's nervousness slipped away and his smile came back. He reached and took my hand. We were both quiet for a moment.

  "Bailey?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Can I kiss you?" He was nervous again but not nearly as much. I studied his face. His big dark eyes. His mouth, very kissable looking. For one guilty second the thought of another boy slipped through. A smirking boy with crazy colored eyes, one who asked for a kiss on his knees. A boy who I could never ever kiss because I promised.

  "Yes," I whispered.

  * * *

  Chapter 6

  * * *

  Haley always said the first day of school outfit was the most important outfit you would wear all year. It was the standard setter, the wardrobe definer, it was everything. Lucy, Haley, and I spent all of our very last summer Saturday making sure we had every last detail planned. My jeans were super skinny and bright blue, they matched the letters on the black v-neck t-shirt Lucy made me. It said BABYDOLL in blue iron on letters. She made one for Haley that say BLONDIE in red and one for herself that just said LUCY in rainbow colors. We would be matching but not quite since Haley was wearing a skirt and Lucy was wearing a pair of shorts that used to be her brothers jeans. I took one more look in my mirror and gave myself a nod.

  "Perfect," I declared to Shakes. I took his sleepy yawn as agreement and gave him a quick scratch under the chin.

  Even though I made my fifth plea for my dad to not embarrass the crap out of me by taking me to school in the copmobile that was exactly what happened. I sighed and pouted but dad didn’t budge. I was blushing when we pulled up to the drop off but deep down I got it. Dad still wanted to watch over his little girl. He wanted everyone to know not to mess with me because messing with a cop’s daughter was a bad idea. I leaned over and knocked him a kiss on the cheek before I climbed out.