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By @Madison
It’s a warm May evening
The weekend before the end of my junior year
And Todd and I have just done just that.
He lights his cigarette as I desperately attempt to tame my mess of white-blonde hair.
For what must be the millionth time
He offers me his box of smokes and a purple lighter
With a raise of his eyebrows.
As always
I shake my head.
“I don’t smoke, Todd,” I say.
“You know that.”
He gives a lopsided grin.
“Hey, people change. You just never know when.”
He puts one hand on my knee, the other on the steering wheel.
“You wanna stop at Sonic for tater tots and Cokes?”
Once again, I shake my head.
“Gotta get home. Curfew.”
He nods
But it doesn’t disguise his eye roll.
“Right. Izzy’ll have your head on a silver platter if you don’t.”
I recognize the snark in his tone
And I’m all too familiar with the reason he draws out every single syllable.
It’s no secret that Todd doesn’t like Izzy
And the reasons why are quite apparent.
Izzy is too straightedge for his tastes
Her hair, makeup, and nails always immaculate
Always focusing on work and holding down the fort.
Worst of all, she’s a good parental figure
Who tries to keep me on a fairly tight leash
Which is a definite no-no
In Todd Swanson’s How to Corrupt a Girl handbook.
Too bad he’s never met Vanessa.
If he knew her
He’d know just what an improvement Izzy is.
Or not.
For all I know
Todd could go all “Stacy’s Mom” on me
Considering the fact that my birth mother
Just might be his type.
That’s actually quite possible, now that I think about it.
For now, I elbow him in the side.
“And you won’t let that happen,” I say.
It’s a statement, not a question
And Todd seems to understand that
Turning the key in the ignition.
“Okay, okay. No tater tots for us tonight. Got it.”
He backs out of the dark parking lot of the park
Looking around for reasons that might have concerned possible obstacles in his path
Or anyone who might have seen us.
Hand still on my leg, he follows the path to my house he knows so well by now
Finally parking on the gravel driveway
Bringing his lips to mine for one last kiss.
He tastes like Diet Coke and tobacco smoke.
When he pulls away, his green eyes flash with a lost glimmer of hope.
“Think I can walk you to the door tonight?”
I grin as I gently push him away.
“You wish.”
He chuckles.
“Of course. Wouldn’t want my head on that silver platter.”
“You know she’d polish it, too,” I say.
“It’d show just how greasy you really are.”
I give him a quick, chaste kiss on his prickly cheek.
Though he immediately blushes sunset red
I don’t feel anything at all
Flinging the car door open, then closed
In just a few seconds.
No sentimental goodbyes for us
He’s manuevering out of the driveway just as soon as he pulled in
And I’m making my way up the brick steps
Through the front door.
Of course, Izzy is already asleep in bed.
If she suspects that I’ve been out
She gives me the benefit of the doubt.
Focusing on being as quiet as possible
I head to my bedroom to grab a long T-shirt to sleep in
Then to the bathroom
To wash away the smell of fast food and cigarettes that clings to Todd’s car.
As I wait for the water to warm up
I look around the bathroom
Adorned with floral wallpaper and powder blue paint
A l`a Izzy.
If things had gone differently
I definitely wouldn’t be standing in this flowery room
Though my chances of fooling around with someone like Todd
Would probably still be high.
It never does me much good to ponder what could have been, though
Because what could have not happened
Did happen
And what could have not been home
Is.
No use in questioning reality
Or the water will get cold.
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