Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2007 20:55:54 -0400
From: numlfl <numlfl@musfiber.com>
Subject: Emily's Crush
This story is the property of the author. You may keep a copy on your
computer for personal enjoyment, however if you wish to publish or
distribute the story then you must get the permission of the author.
Emily's Crush
By Chris
"Oh god, please tell me she's not in this class." Emily thought to
herself as she watched Danielle Ryan strut into the chemistry class with
her friend and fellow cheerleader, Chelsea. It wasn't that she hated
Danielle, actually the opposite was quite true. She had developed a crush
on Danielle the first time that she saw her. That was the first day of her
freshman year of high school and Danielle was at the main door of the
school. Emily was coming into the building and Danielle held the door open
for her and then she gave her that cute smile of hers and Emily was
hooked. So she set about finding out all that she could about Danielle and
she quickly found that she and Danielle lived in completely different
worlds.
Danielle was the governor's daughter and she had made the
cheerleading squad her freshmen year. She came from money and power and she
and the star quarterback started to date that year. She was a part of the
clique that ruled the school but Emily sensed there was more to Danielle
than that. Now Emily, on the other hand, lived in a world in which you had
to work yourself to death just to make enough money to survive. But her
mother was determined that Emily would have it better than she did, so she
moved them to an apartment that was at the edge of the school district in
which this high school was a part of, as this school was the best in the
city. She wanted to make sure that Emily got the best education possible
and would able to go to college and then get a good job. Emily was just as
determined to make her mother proud so she studied hard and made good
grades so that she could get a lottery scholarship.
But right now her mind was on the blond cheerleader that had stolen
her heart two years ago. She watched as she went to the opposite side of
the room and sat down with her friend. She stole glances of her until Miss
Bell started the class. Emily loved Miss Bell as she was her homeroom
teacher and she couldn't wait until she could take her class. She only
wished that the class was more than half of a year but that was the way the
classes were held here at this high school. But her senior year she could
take Chemistry II so that was good. Miss Bell went over what they would do
during the class and how the labs would be done. Then at the end of the
class she gave out who would be lab partners and where their lab stations
would be. Then for the rest of the semester, that would be where they sat
for both the class studies and then the lab experiments. Emily hoped that
Miss Bell wouldn't put her with Danielle as she didn't think she could take
sitting by and working with Danielle for four months. Emily got more and
more nervous as Miss Bell read out the names and she and Danielle weren't
called. Then she got to the last two names and Emily didn't have to hear
what Miss Bell said as she and Danielle were the only names left to be
called. When she did call their names, Emily glanced over at Danielle and
she saw Danielle give her a smile. "Oh god, I'm so screwed!" Emily thought
to herself, as she gave Danielle a quick smile back.
Then the bell rang and school was done for the day. She watched as
Danielle and Chelsea rushed out of the room to go the cheerleader
practice. Emily packed up her books and she headed out the door. Today was
one of the days that that she worked at the Goodwill Store. This was where
she got all her clothes and she was able to make a little money to help out
her mom and Bubba, who while not her real father, he was the only father
that she knew. She got on the city bus that stopped in front of the school
and she headed toward her job. She watched as the other kids got into their
nice cars and drove home. She tried not to be envious of them as she knew
that the first car that she would get, she would have to buy. But first she
would have to learn to drive. Since her mother could not afford a car, then
there was no need to learn to drive. In fact, her mother didn't know how to
drive, which was unusual in this day and time but that was just how their
life was. She worked at the store a couple of hours then she rushed home
to cook supper for her mother and Bubba as they would be tired and hungry
when they got home. They both worked hard for what little money that they
were paid.
"Hi, I'm Danielle, looks like we going to be lab partners." Danielle
said as she sat down beside of Emily just as class was about to start.
"Yea, I guess so." Emily said and then she wanted to hit herself for
her lame reply and she tried to think of something else to say but then
Miss Bell started class and the chance was gone. Then before she knew it
the class was over with and Danielle left in a hurry, with Chelsea in tow,
saying, "See you tomorrow."
Emily packed up her bags and she caught the bus home as today was the
day that her mom got off early. Her mother was a maid for one of the
upscale motels in the city but they worked her just the max number of hours
for her to be part time but never over that so that they didn't have to
offer her health insurance and 401K benefits. So she filled in at another
hotel to make up the money. Emily loved her mother and she enjoyed the one
afternoon during the week that they had some time together. They would go
grocery shopping and talk about what had happened that day.
The rest of that week and the first part of the next week when much
the same way with her and Danielle not getting to say much as Danielle and
Chelsea got to class just before it started and then left as soon as the
class ended. But then Tuesday arrived and that was the first lab experiment
of the class. Miss Bell went around the class handing out the assignment
and giving them their materials. This one they had to identify the material
by the color it gave out when burned. Emily had looked forward to this day
as it meant that she and Danielle would actually get to talk a bit as they
did their experiment or so she thought.
"This is an easy one, do you mind doing it as I have to talk to
Chelsea about something very serious that is going on with one of the other
cheerleaders." Danielle asked as she gave Emily another one of her cute
smiles.
"Whatever," Emily told her as she hid her disappointment in
Danielle. She had hoped that Danielle wasn't like the rest of the rich kids
of the school but she had just got shown that she wasn't. She was just as
much a snob as the rest of them. So Emily set about working and tuned out
what Danielle and Chelsea was talking about. She worked through the
experiment and took the notes on the paper that Miss Bell had given
out. Danielle only turned around when she saw Miss Bell coming around then
she would go back to talking to Chelsea.
"Hey let me borrow your paper so that I can fill out mine." Danielle
said as the class was about to end and Miss Bell started to take up their
paper so that they could be graded.
"No. You didn't do anything to help so why should I give you my
notes." Emily told her.
"But you said it was okay for me to talk to Chelsea while you did the
experiment for us." Danielle said in a surprised voice.
"No I didn't. I said and I quote, "Whatever". You never asked if I
would let you copy my notes when I was done. Get your notes from one of
your friends but you're not getting them from me." Emily told her.
"I'm sorry; I just assumed that you were cool with it." Danielle told
her and Emily could see the beginnings of panic in her voice.
"You know what you make yourself when you assume something." Emily
told her as she finished up her paper.
"Shit!" Danielle said as she slide over to Chelsea's table and she
copied Chelsea's partner's notes as Chelsea was doing.
This made Emily smile as she knew the order of elements given to each
table was different and thus Danielle's answers would be all wrong. "Serves
her right," Emily thought to herself but a part of her hated doing it. The
crush that she had on Danielle was fading a little but it was still strong
in her. But her mother and taught her from a young age to never let anyone
walk over her.
This lesson had served her well all through school, especially since
she was always the smallest in her class being as petite as she was. When
she started school, all the boys and girls loved to pick on her but after
she had bloodied more than a few noses, they learned to leave her alone. By
the time she got to high school she was known as a quite but very tough
little girl.
The next day Miss Bell handed out their lab results and of course
Emily got her A and then she glanced over to Danielle's paper and she saw
"See me after class" written in big red letters on top of the page. Emily
knew that Miss Bell had caught Danielle cheating and she figured that
Danielle would take it out on her but she would be ready for her. When the
class ended, Danielle made her way up to see Miss Bell but she also noticed
that Chelsea was going with her. Emily tried not to smile as she knew that
Miss Bell was one sharp cookie and she would know what had gone on. She
probably saw it during the lab but chose not to say anything and let the
girls hang themselves. As Emily left the classroom, Danielle and Chelsea
were pleading their case.
The next day when Danielle and Chelsea came into the room, she
noticed that Danielle came toward her but Chelsea went to the opposite side
of the room, where her lab partner was already sitting.
"I need to ask a favor of you after class, would you wait on me?"
Danielle asked Emily as she sat down.
"I guess." Emily said after she hesitated a moment. She already knew
what Danielle was going to ask and she was willing to listen to her but she
wanted Danielle to worry a second before she answered. Danielle didn't get
to say any more as Miss Bell started the class.
"Can we talk out in the hallway?" Danielle asked as she stood up once
the bell had rung ending class for the day.
Emily only nodded her head as she packed her chemistry book and
notebook into her three year old book bag. Danielle on the other hand just
had to close her laptop as she took all her notes that way as did most of
the kids there. But there was no way that Emily could afford a computer so
she took her notes the old fashion way, by hand. Once she had her stuff
packed away, she started for the door. She figured that Danielle would have
most of her cheerleading squad waiting with her or maybe her quarterback
boyfriend so that she could use them as intimidation. But she was surprised
to find Danielle alone in the hallway.
"First I would like to apologize to you for what I did on Tuesday
during the lab. I was mad at you at first but I've had time to think about
it and I know you were right to do what you did. I do hope that you will
accept my apology." Danielle said and then she offered her hand to Emily.
Emily thought for a second as she tried to decide whether to accept
Danielle's apology as she knew what was coming next. But in the end she
decided to play along and she took Danielle's hand. This sent a thrill up
her spine as she actually got to touch Danielle's hand and she hated
herself for feeling this way. She knew Danielle was straight and even if
she wasn't, she was way out of her league.
"Thank you and now I guess you know what I'm going to ask now don't
you?" Danielle asked and Emily was surprised how direct Danielle was being
with her.
"Yep," Emily said and she just stood there as she was going to make
Danielle ask the question.
"I guess you know that Miss Bell chewed Chelsea and me out pretty
good for not doing our part of the lab experiment. Plus she knew that I
copied off of Chelsea as all my answers were wrong. It seems that she
didn't give out the elements in the same order to everyone. But you knew
that too didn't you?" Danielle asked.
"I figured that she would do that, she's pretty sharp and she doesn't
put up with any crap from anyone." Emily said but she said it without any
glee in her voice. She wasn't one to rub anything in any ones face. She
wasn't brought up like that.
"Well, I got her to let me redo the lab tomorrow after class when she
is allowing everyone to redo the lab experiment. But for me to repeat the
experiment, I have to get you to do it with me. So I asking you to do that
for me, will you?" She asked.
"And if I don't, will you get your cheerleader friends to come after
me or maybe get some of the football players to push me around? Because if
you do then tell them to come after me expecting a fight as I give as good
as I get." Emily said and she put her most intimidating look on her
face. But then she softened her expression as she saw the shock on
Danielle's face. It was then that she realized that she may have misjudged
Danielle.
"I don't know what you have heard about me but whatever it was, they
got it wrong. I don't do things like that, and I'm sorry that I have
bothered you. I do appreciate you taking the time to listen to me, but I
was being sincere with my apology." Danielle told her and then she started
to turn and walk away.
"I'm sorry but most of the rich kids who come from powerful families
like you do treat us poor kids like crap and they expect us to do as they
say but I don't. And obviously you don't act like the rest of the kids like
you. I guess it is my turn to apologize." Emily said hoping that Danielle
wouldn't go away.
"I'm sorry that the other kids' treat you bad and I wish I could
change that but there are limits to what I can do. And I know that my
father is the governor but he always made me make my way in this world. And
the one time that I didn't, I got caught at it so I've learned my lesson."
Danielle said.
"Okay so we both misjudged the other, you did me on Tuesday and I did
you just now so I guess we are even. So now we are back to the question at
hand, will I help you redo the experiment? You know that if I say yes then
I'm putting my A on the line as whatever grade we get tomorrow then that
will be both of our grades. I got my A without your help so how can I be
sure that I will keep it if I have your help?" Emily asked her.
"You don't but I'm not stupid, I have an A average just like you do
but I can't guarantee that we will get an A if we do it together. But I
will do my part this time." Danielle said.
"And what about the rest of the semester, will you continue to do
your part?" Emily asked.
"Yes, I will do my part from here on out, I promise and I always keep
my promises." Danielle told her.
"In that case, I'll take a chance on you." Emily told her.
"Oh thank you!" Danielle said and then she came to her and hugged her
tightly which took Emily quite by surprise but she thought about that hug
for the rest of the evening.
"I do appreciate you doing this for me." Danielle whispered into
Emily's ear and her warm breath going past her ear about made Emily faint.
When the class ended about half of the students left leaving a bunch
of open lab stations open around them. Miss Bell came around and handed out
the materials. As she passed by their lab station, she arched her eyebrows
at Emily but she didn't say anything. Emily knew that Miss Bell was
wondering why she would put a perfectly good A on the line for someone that
couldn't be bothered to help her the first time. But she knew that Miss
Bell would never ask her why. This was a good thing, as Emily wasn't sure
she had a good answer. She had an answer but she wasn't so sure that it was
a good one. She was in love with Danielle and there wasn't a damn thing
that she could do about it.
"So tell me what to do and I'll do it?" Danielle said and she flashed
Emily that smile of hers.
"Nope, I don't work that way." Emily replied.
"What do you mean?" Danielle said as she arched her right eyebrow.
"What I mean is that if we are going to be lab partners then we will
work together, each doing their part." Emily said.
"Yea, I know that but don't one of us need to direct things. That way
we can get done quicker." Danielle said.
"We could work faster that way but this is about learning and to do
that we both must be equal in all things. If we talk and work together we
can learn together and as time goes by then we can become a unit. We'll be
slower at first but then as we learn each other's strength and weaknesses
then we can learn when each of us should take the lead. You see?" Emily
asked.
"Yea I do but since you have already done this experiment then you
can lead this time." Danielle countered.
"Nope, since I have already done this experiment, then you get to do
it and I'll help. This way we can start to learn about each other. Then
beginning with next week's experiment we will start to work together."
Emily told her.
"Are you always this argumentative and difficult to work with?"
Danielle asked but she was smiling as she said it.
"Yea, I am." Emily said.
"Well I finally got something other than a "nope" from you." Danielle
said with a little laugh.
"So let's get a move on it girl, times a wasting." Emily told her.
"Yes ma'am" Danielle said as she gave Emily a little salute and then
she let out a giggle.
They then started to work or rather Danielle started to work and
Emily gave her a hand to help things along. They did get to talk a little
between parts of the experiment. It was more small talk than anything else
with Danielle doing most of the talking as she was a talker and Emily did
the listening as she was by nature a listener. She had developed this trait
early in life and she found that she could learn more about people and
things by listening than by talking. So she let Danielle talk and she just
listened. But before she knew it, the experiment was over and Danielle was
heading off to get ready for the football game that evening and Emily was
left to herself to pack up her books and head out to catch a city bus home.
The following Tuesday, Danielle arrived just as the class started and
then Miss. Bell handed out the lab assignment. They both read it oven then
they began to get out the equipment that they would need for the
assignment. They began slowly but as the experiment went along, they began
to learn each other's strengths and Emily was surprised that Danielle was a
lot smarter then she would have given a cheerleader credit for. But again,
the experiment was over long before Emily wanted it to be as this was the
only time during the week that she got a chance to talk to Danielle. The
rest of the week, Danielle would always arrive for class just as it started
and then would be gone as soon as it was over.
As the semester went along, Emily was able to get to know a lot more
about Danielle but they never got the time to get to more personal
things. And since Emily wasn't much of a talker, she didn't really get to
tell Danielle about herself. Emily learned about what it was like to be
the governor's daughter and the pressure that was there but Emily also saw
that Danielle had the personality that was able to cope with the
pressure. All of this only served to deepen Emily's crush on Danielle but
she wasn't anywhere close to telling Danielle how she felt. She figured
that secret would go to the grave with her.
"I've enjoy having you as a lab partner this semester. I know that we
got off on the wrong foot but I think that we did fine in the end, don't
you?" Danielle said on the last day of class before Christmas break.
"Yes we did, I admit that I enjoyed having you as a partner." Emily
said.
"Well I got to go; my parents are waiting for me so that we can go to
Vale for Christmas. Maybe we'll have a class together next semester. I
would like that; you've become a good friend." Danielle said as she got up.
"I would like that too, and you've become a friend to me too." Emily
said but by then Danielle was already headed toward the door in a run.
This left Emily sitting there by herself and feeling more than a
little sorry for herself. She had spent the whole semester sitting beside
the girl she had such a crush on and she was no closer to her now than when
the class began four months ago. She sat there for a few minutes enjoying
her misery but then she decided that she had sat there long enough and she
knew that her mother was waiting for her at home so that they could go
shopping. She knew that it was going to be another lean Christmas but she
still had her mother and Bubba. That was all she really needed and she
didn't need some damn cheerleader to make her happy. After deciding this,
she felt better and she wished Miss Bell a Merry Christmas and she was on
her way.
"What are you doing sitting out here by yourself?" Emily heard a
familiar voice say to her. She turned her head and looked up into the
spring sun to see a familiar form standing beside of her.
"Oh hi Danielle, I always eat my lunch out here once it warms up
enough." Emily said.
"Do you mind if I join you?" Danielle asked.
"No go ahead but what about all your cheerleader friends, don't you
always eat with them?" Emily couldn't help herself from asking.
"I've spent the football and basketball season with them, I've heard
enough about hair, boys, and clothes for the year. I'd rather have some
intelligent conversation for a while." Danielle said smiling as she sat
down and started to eat an apple.
"In that case, you're more than welcome to join me." Emily said with
a smile on her face that she couldn't stop even if she tried.
"So what you been up to this semester, anything interesting?"
Danielle asked.
"No, I don't get much of a chance to do more than study and help my
mom when I can. You are the one that leads an interesting life. Tell me how
your trip to Vale was." Emily said getting the conversation away from her
and getting Danielle to talk, which she did. She told Emily all about
skiing and snowboarding which were things that Emily never even dreamed
about doing as she knew she would never get the chance, at least not until
she finished college and got a good paying job. But even then she knew that
she would send any extra money to her mom so that she wouldn't have to work
two jobs. Danielle talked until the lunch period was over and they left the
bench out in the lawn that Emily always sat at during the pretty warm days.
The next day was another nice spring day and this time as soon as she
sat down at her bench, Danielle appeared and she sat down beside of her
saying, "We got to stop meeting like this, people will start to talk."
Emily so wanted to reply with, "I wish." But instead she said "Hi,
have a seat."
"Thanks but I already did. Have a seat that is." Danielle said
smiling.
"I see." Emily said thinking that she couldn't have come up with a
lamer reply. "But you are right about people talking about you sitting with
me at lunch. I mean, I'm one of the poorest girls in the school and your
father is the governor of the state. We are quite different."
"I know and all my friends are already asking me why I bother sitting
with you," Danielle told her.
"And what do you say?" Emily asked as her curiosity was aroused.
"I tell them that I 'm dying for some intelligent conversation which
I can't get from them." Danielle said with a laugh.
"And they say what to that?"
"They are mostly silent, I don't think that they understand what I'm
talking about, for them once you go beyond, clothes and boys, they're
lost." Danielle said with a smile but Emily could tell that Danielle liked
her friends but that she needed more to keep her going than the dribble
that she got from them.
So they talked through the lunch period and then they talked the rest
of the week. That week turned into the next week and the following week and
so on. The only days that they didn't sit outside were the days that it
rained and then Danielle sat with her friends and Emily sat alone in the
back of the cafeteria reading and studying. As the semester went on, Emily
felt like she and Danielle were slowly becoming friends but Emily kept most
of the things about herself to herself. It wasn't that she was ashamed of
where she came from but her life was so vastly different from Danielle's
life that she didn't think that Danielle would ever understand it. It was
easier to let Danielle talk about her exciting life than talk about her
own.
But then the school year ended and Emily was left alone again. She
picked up more hours at the Goodwill Store. That gave her something to do
and it brought in a little more money into the household. When she wasn't
working, she read and sometimes she went with her to the motel that her
mother was working at and helped her out. She didn't get any money from the
hotel but her mother wasn't so tired when she got home on the days that she
could help her.
About two weeks after school ended, the governor was supposed to stop
by and donate clothes to the store. Everyone at the store knew that it was
only a publicity stunt but they went along with it as that meant that maybe
more people would donate things that the store needed. Emily was scheduled
to work that day but it had been planned that the manager of the store
would be the person out front when the governor arrived. This sat just fine
with Emily as she wanted no part of the television cameras and the
reporters that were supposed to be there. But what she didn't know was
that her coworkers and the people that she thought were her friends had
came up with a very devious plan. They had decided that the person that
needed to greet the Governor was the person that the store was created for;
someone that depended on the store to provide them with clothes and home
ware that they couldn't afford any other way. The store was created for
Emily and her family and all the families like her. So it was appropriate
that she be the front person for the store. Had she known anything about
any of this she would never have shown up for work that day but she was
oblivious to what was going on right behind her back.
The reporters came early and they set up their cameras and they
showed the manager where she was supposed to stand when the governor
arrived. Emily watched all of this from the back of the store taking
everything in. Then as the time for the governor got near and the reporters
said that he was just down the block, the manager set the plan into motion.
"Emily come up here for a moment." She called out to her.
"What do you need Georgia?" Emily asked as she rushed up there,
hoping to get whatever she needed done quickly.
Georgia leaned over and whispered into Emily's ear, "I need to go
pee, stand in my place for a moment." Then she pulled Emily into her place
and started off toward the back of the store and the bathroom.
"Hurry!" Emily called to Georgia but when she turned back around; she
saw the governor's limousine arrive. "Please hurry!" Emily said to herself
but she feared that it was too late for that as about that time the
governor's bodyguards were opening the front door and then he, his wife and
to Emily's surprise, Danielle came into the door carrying boxes of clothes
where Emily was standing scared shitless.
The governor came to her and he put his box at her feet and then said
to her and the cameras, "Hi I'm Governor Ryan and this is my wife Jonnie
and my daughter Danielle. We have heard what great work that you all are
doing here and the service that you are providing this community."
Emily being the good listener that she was had heard Georgia practice
what she was suppose to say so she knew what she was to say, but she wasn't
sure if she could get it out with everyone looking at her. But she was sure
that she was going to murder Georgia as soon as this was over. "I'm... I'm
Emily and we all thank you for these clothes. We appreciate anything anyone
can give to us." And it was here that she strayed from the speech that
Georgia was to give as she was one to speak her mind. "There are so many
people that work hard trying to earn a living and provide for their
families but just can't make ends meet and they need help to clothe their
children and themselves. I want to let everyone know that we are here for
them."
The governor was stunned for a moment by Emily's little speech but
being the able politician, he quickly recovered. "Well I don't think I
could have said it better myself. You heard it everyone, please come and
help these kind folks so that they can help others. And these few boxes
aren't all that we have for you; we have a car full of stuff." He said
smiling into the camera and Emily glanced over at Danielle and Danielle
gave her a smile and a quick wink. They then went back to the limousine and
Emily was suppose to stay in place but she was one that always helped with
deliveries so she followed them out to the limousine to help get the rest
of the stuff. The governor and his wife were surprised when they got to the
car and there was Emily standing ready to help but Danielle wasn't
surprised a bit. Emily helped them unload the limousine and then the
governor gave another little speech as Emily had to stand to one side of
him and his family stood on the other side. When he was finally done, the
news people shut down their cameras, but then Danielle surprised her by
saying, "Dad, I'm going to stay here and talk to Emily, she can give me a
ride home later."
"Okay, be good. Nice to meet you Emily." The governor told her and
then he was rushed back out the door so that he could make his next
appointment.
"I didn't know you worked here." Danielle said and then she started
to say more but Emily interrupted her.
"Hold that thought, I've got to go murder some of my co-workers who I
thought was my friends." Emily said and then she headed to the back of the
store where Georgia and the rest of the people that worked or volunteered
there were standing. But before she could start to cuss them out, they
started to clap and they came to her, hugging and telling her how well she
had done. She calmed down quickly but she did warn Georgia that she was
going to kill her one day but then Georgia hugged her tightly and told her
why they had done that to her and she understood it but she was still a
little mad at them but not too much.
"Something tells me you weren't supposed to be the one to greet my
father." Danielle told her when she finally got back to her.
"No they pulled a fast one on me, it seems that they intended for me
to do it all along." Emily said as she went to pick up one of the boxes to
place in the back to be sorted.
"Here let me help you." Danielle said as she picked up a box.
"No you don't have to help. I can do it; it's my job around here to
go through all the stuff when it comes in." Emily told her.
"I don't mind, I want to help." Danielle said and she gave Emily that
warm smile of hers and Emily relented. "Besides it will give me a chance to
know why they wanted you to greet my father and by the way you threw my
father for a loop with your little speech there and he doesn't get thrown
very often. I liked that." Danielle told her.
"I didn't mean to do that but it just came out. I mean he needs to
know about the poor of this city and the state that he governs over, you
know." Emily said.
"I know and he knows too, believe it or not. He is a good guy and I'm
not saying that because he is my father." Danielle said but not
defensively.
"I didn't mean to put your father down; I was talking more about
government and the upper class in general." Emily told her.
"So anyway, why did everyone want you to be the one to greet my
father?" Danielle said changing the subject to something safer.
"Well, I'm the poorest one around here and this store is where we get
all of our clothes. The only new clothes that I have ever worn came from
this store and they were things that people have bought and then never
wore, stuff people decided they didn't like." Emily told Danielle, thus
letting her know just how poor she and her family really are.
"Hell, I got lots of stuff that you can have. We're both the same
size, so let me bring you some things." Danielle offered.
"No, you can't do that. My mother would never let me have anything
fancy. That is just the way she is, the way we are. If we can't afford it
then we do without it." Emily told her.
"But if I give it to you then what's the problem?" Danielle asked as
she sat the last box down in the back and they stood there a moment.
"It isn't that, it's just that if you start to have nice things then
you want more of them. If you never have them, the desire never grows, you
see." Emily told her.
"That's true but ever poor people have the desire to want nice things
don't they?" Danielle asked.
"Yes, of course they do, but we are different. I was raised
different. I know I want more out of my life and I plan on getting it but
when it comes then first I will help my mother before I take anything for
myself." Emily said.
"Okay, I can understand that. I know that I come for somewhere
completely different from you but I can understand where you are coming
from." Danielle said and Emily started to spit back at her that she would
never be able to understand that but then she decided on a different
approach.
"Oh one other thing, I can't give you a ride home?" Emily said and
didn't add anything to it forcing Danielle to follow up.
"Why not?" She asked.
"I don't have a car; I don't even know how to drive." Emily declared
and that left Danielle speechless for a second.
"What teenager doesn't know how to drive?" Danielle asked and Emily
could see that Danielle believed her but yet didn't believe her.
"I told you that we were poor. We can't afford a car, much less the
insurance you have to have, so how could I learn or why would I need to
since I don't have an opportunity to drive." Emily told her.
"I guess that I have all summer to teach you then. You need to know
how to drive even if you don't have a car." Danielle said.
"But that still leaves you with no way home, I'm sorry." Emily said.
"It's cool; I'll find a way home. I can always call and have someone
come and get me. So what's next?" Danielle asked.
"I have to go through all these things and put them into the right
size bins. Then take some of the stuff and put out for people to buy."
Emily told her.
"Well let's get started, show me what to do and where things go."
Danielle said as she started to open the first box.
"You don't have to help me, I can do it." Emily told her.
"I thought that we went through that already. I want to help and
besides that gives us a chance to get to know each other again. During the
school year, we didn't get a chance to really get to know each other but
now we have all summer to do so." Danielle said as she began to pull the
clothes out of the box.
Emily could only smile as that was what she really wanted to do, get
to know Danielle and let Danielle know her. So she started to help Danielle
with her box as they talked. The box happened to be the clothes that
Danielle pulled from her own stuff and she made Emily try on a lot of the
clothes and they did fit her perfectly. They were both petite with
Danielle being maybe an inch taller than Emily and they both had small
breasts that went with their small frames. The afternoon flew by and
Danielle wanted Emily to take some of her things home but she refused. She
knew her mother wouldn't want her to and she always tried to respect her
mother's wishes. When they got outside the store, Danielle gave her a quick
hug right before she got into the car that come to pick her up and then she
was gone. Emily stood there as she waited for her bus just remembering how
it felt to be hugged by Danielle.
The next day Emily had to work at the store again and about
midmorning, Emily looked up from the box of clothes she was working on to
see Danielle standing over her smiling.
"What are you doing here?" Emily asked not that she minded Danielle
showing up and the store didn't mind as it was free labor and they could
use all of that, that they could get.
"I figured that you were helpless without me so I came to help yu
out." Danielle told her.
"Yea right, like who was the one that got you through chemistry class
this year." Emily told her.
"I think you got that backwards, I was the one that got you through
chemistry and don't you forget it." Danielle said as she put her hands on
her hips and she put her lower lip out so far that Emily just had to laugh
at her.
"Well get your lazy ass down here and start helping me." Emily said
with a big grin across her face.
Danielle smiled and then she got down and started to pull things out
of the box that Emily was working on. It was another fun afternoon and when
it ended Danielle asked her something that took her by surprise.
"I noticed that you are off the rest of the week, do you want to do
something with me, and maybe I can start your driving lessons." Danielle
asked.
"Ah... I don't know if my mother will let me, I usually help her on
my days off from here and I know that she would want to meet you first."
Emily told her.
"Well then invite me over for dinner tomorrow and she can meet me,
then she'll know that you are in good hands. Just give me a call tonight
and let me know if I can come. Here is my phone number." Danielle said as
she wrote down her cell phone number on a piece of paper.
"Okay, I'll ask her tonight and give you a call." Emily told her.
"What's your number so that I can put it into my cell phone?"
Danielle told her.
"We don't have a phone; I'll have to use the pay phone in the lobby
of our apartment building." Emily told her.
"Oh... Well ask her and let me know. Do you want me to give you a
ride home?" Danielle asked.
"No go on ahead, I'll take the bus." Danielle told her.
"Hey, I need to know where you live so that I can find it tomorrow
and it would be easier if you showed me than writing it down. I tend to get
lost when I try to follow directions." Danielle told her, which Emily
didn't actually believe but she accepted the ride all the same as that
meant that she could spend a little more time with her.
When her mother got home from work, Emily immediately asked her
mother if she could spend the next day with Danielle instead of going to
work with her. And she was pleasantly surprised when her mother said
yes. She told Emily that she needed to do more for herself than just help
her at the hotel, not that she minded the help. But she did want to make
sure that Danielle was a good person and not someone that would lead her
astray and Emily already knew that would be a requirement. Once dinner was
done, Emily went to call Danielle and give her the good news and to tell
her to by there at five sharp the next afternoon. She didn't want Danielle
to be late as her mother hated to wait on anyone, plus Bubba was always
hungry when he got home and he liked to come in and eat.
About three the next afternoon, Emily was helping her mother put up
the groceries as this was the one day of the week that her mother got off
early and they had just gotten back from the grocery store. They were
talking and working when there was a knock at the door.
"Who can that be? It wouldn't be your little friend would it?" Her
mother asked.
"No, she always arrives just in time so she won't be here until
five." Emily said as she shut the panty door.
"Well go see who it is before they knock the door down." Her mother
told her as she picked up the toilet paper and headed for the bathroom.
"You're early!" Emily said as she looked at a smiling Danielle.
"Well Hi and it nice to see you too." Danielle said still smiling.
"Sorry, but you always arrived just on time so I didn't expect to see
you until right at five." Emily said still standing in the doorway.
"So do I have to stand out here in the hallway until five or are you
going to invite me in?" Danielle asked as she put her hand on her cocked
hip.
"Oh I'm sorry, come on in." Emily told her as she stepped aside.
Emily watched Danielle's eyes as she took in the small apartment. It
was clean but none of the furniture matched and it was all second or third
hand. She knew that Danielle was use to big rooms with new furniture or if
it was old then they had it because it was an antique of one type or
another. Emily was more than a little bit nervous as she waited for
Danielle's reaction as she hadn't warned Danielle ahead of time. She wanted
Danielle to see it first hand and get the full effect and not be prepared
for how she lived.
"You have a nice place, I like it." Danielle told her and Emily
looked closely into her eyes to see if she was sincere and it appeared that
she was.
"It's not much but it's our home." Emily said as a small smile came
to her face.
"Yes it is," Emily's mother said as she came dame down the short
hallway and turning into the living room where Danielle and Emily were
standing. "You must be Danielle, my Emily's friend. I'm Chloe." She said
before Emily could properly introduce them.
"Hi, I'm Danielle and thank you for inviting me into your home."
Danielle said as she stepped forward and held out her hand to Chloe.
"Well, you're welcome here anytime but I'm afraid that dinner won't
be ready for a couple of hours. Emily and I just got back from the grocery
store and I'm afraid that I haven't even thought about dinner yet." Chloe
told her.
"That's okay, I know that I'm early and I'm sorry about that but I
was waiting and waiting for five to get here and I just got impatient and
came on. Sometimes I don't always think things through but if I might make
a suggestion..." Danielle said and then waited for Chloe give her consent
for her to continue which she did by saying, "I'm always open to
suggestions."
"Well we can sit and talk a minute so that you can get to know me
better and then I can help Emily get dinner ready as you rest." Danielle
said and Emily looked at her with a slightly shocked look on her face.
"That sounds good to be but it almost sounds like you're trying your
best to suck up to me." Chloe told her.
"Oh I'm trying real hard to suck up to you. But the question is, is
it working?" Danielle said with a laugh.
Emily cringed at Danielle being as honest as to what she was doing
but then she saw her mother studying Danielle hard and then she burst out
with a laugh.
"Yes, it's working real well. I think I'll like you. Emily go get us
a glass of tea and let's sit and talk, my feet are killing me." Chloe said
as she sat down in the rocker as Emily went into the kitchen to get the tea
and Danielle sat down on the couch.
"So tell me about yourself." Emily heard her mother tell Danielle as
she went into the kitchen. She tried to listen as best as she could as
Danielle told Chloe about her family, barely mentioning that her father was
the governor. She poured the tea and made it back just as Danielle started
to talk about going to college and that she wanted to study economics,
which was what Emily wanted to study as she saw that as a way to help
people like herself and her family.
"Here you go." Emily said to Danielle as she handed her a glass of
sweet ice tea.
"And here is yours mom." Emily said as she gave her mother a glass
and then she sat down on the couch with Danielle with her own glass.
"So go on, I want to know all about the friend of my daughter." Chloe
told Danielle as Emily sat there wanting to help out Danielle but she knew
her mother and there was no use in saying anything yet.
"Actually that is about it. I mean you know that my father is the
governor and all of that but that's him and not me. For me, he is just my
father. And I'm a cheerleader but I do that because I enjoy it. I like to
cheer and do the stunts that we do. But that is also a small part of who I
am." Danielle told Chloe.
"Yea, Emily told me all of that and she told me that you wanted to
teach her to drive a car but we don't have any insurance so I don't know if
that is a good idea. If she does something to your car, we can't afford to
fix it." Chloe told Danielle and then she looked at Emily and Emily knew
that her mother was going to axe the idea of her learning to drive. She had
never really wanted to learn to drive until now but after Danielle told her
that she would have to learn sooner or later, she realized that she was
right.
"You don't have to worry about her wrecking my car. First, she's not
going to get even close to a road as I plan on teaching her at my
house. There are lots of service roads around the place that she can
drive. Second, I'm going to use my father's old truck that I learned to
drive with. There are so many dents on it now that one or two more will
never be noticed. I even put a couple of dents into it myself. So you see
that I have thought this out." Danielle said and Emily could see that
Danielle was feeling more confident about this than she did.
"What does your parents think? Have you put this past them?" Chloe
countered.
Emily looked at Danielle waiting for her answer and then she said,
"Yea, I asked them first. I knew if they said no then there wasn't any use
in asking you. But they said that we had to stay on at the house and that
Emily couldn't drive my car out on the streets. They have to look out for
me but also how it would look to the public if Emily was driving my car and
we wrecked. So I did think ahead." Danielle told her.
"Please mom, I do need to learn eventually. I know that we can never
afford a car but I think at least one of us should learn to drive." Emily
told her mom and then she had to sit back and wait for her mother to think
it over. She knew better than to rush her mother when she was thinking. She
learned long ago when you did that, you got a "No" for an answer.
"I guess..." her mother said before she could finish, Emily jumped up
and went over and hugged her mother.
"Thank you!" Emily told her.
"But..." her mother started to say but Emily finished the sentence
for her.
"But don't even think about getting my own car. I know." Emily said
but she was happy. She was going to learn to drive a car and that was all
that mattered.
"Now go on in there and start supper, I want to talk to Danielle a
little more." Her mother told her. "Don't worry; I will be easy on her."
Chloe said answering Emily's unasked plea.
"Sorry, but you're on your own." Emily told Danielle as she got up
and headed for the kitchen.
"I'll be fine." Danielle said with a smile to Emily and then she put
her focus back to Chloe.
But Emily did keep her ears open as she put the pinto beans into the
pressure cooker and she got the ingredients out for cornbread. Her mother
was true to her word and she didn't drill Danielle any but just talked to
her. And it made Emily feel good that Danielle wasn't talking down to her
mother but was talking to her mother like she talked to her. After about an
hour, she heard the conversation die down and soon Danielle came into the
kitchen.
"Anything I can do to help?" Emily heard Danielle say behind her.
"Yea, get a few hot dogs out of the fridge and cut them into about
half inch pieces." Emily said and then she asked, "Where's mom?"
"Oh she went next door to check on Mrs. Westerfield. At least I think
that is what she said." Danielle told her.
"Yea, that's her name. She is elderly and mom and I try to check on
her at least once a day to make sure everything is okay and see if she
needs anything. Her kids do a good job of shopping for her and taking her
to the doctor when she needs to go but they like for us to check on her
too." Emily said.
"You know your mother is much younger looking than I thought she
would look. You two look like you could be sisters instead of mother and
daughter."
"I know, we have been told that before but then again we almost could
be." Emily said.
"You're sisters?" Danielle asked as her eyebrows arched and Emily
knew that she had really confused her.
"I said we could almost be not that we were. Just how old do you
think my mother is?"
"I don't know. My mom is forty three so I figure that your mom is
younger, maybe forty or so but she doesn't look it that is for sure."
Danielle said.
"She just turned thirty." Emily said and she leaned back against the
counter where she was putting the kraut into a pan. She could see Danielle
doing the math in her head and then a look of shock come across her face.
"But... but that means your mom was fourteen when you were born."
Danielle said and Emily could see that she didn't believe the number that
she had come up with.
"Actually she was two days past her fourteenth birthday when she
brought me into the world." Emily said.
"You shitting me, aren't you?" Danielle asked.
"No, I'm not. She got pregnant when she was only thirteen and her
parents kicked her out of their house when they found out. The boy that got
her pregnant had nothing to do with her once he found out that she was
carrying his child. So she was left to the streets at thirteen and
pregnant." Emily told Danielle and she saw that Danielle had the knife that
she was using to cut up the hotdogs on the cutting board where she was in
the process of cutting a hotdog. She had never told Danielle this part of
her life. She had left her family out of their friendship until now but it
was time to let it all out and see how Danielle would react.
"So she went to some of her friends but they wouldn't or couldn't
help her. So she wandered the streets for a few days finding food and
shelter as best as she could. And then she met Bubba, whom you'll meet when
he gets home at about five. Anyway he took her in and let her use the couch
to sleep. He's a simple man but a good man and he looked after her, not
asking for anything in return. When I came into the world, he was the
proudest man in the world, even though he wasn't my father. Mom said I had
him wrapped around my finger the day I was born. But mom wanted someone
better for herself and me, someone that could really afford to take care of
us. But after a few years, she figured out that I couldn't have a better
father than Bubba and she couldn't find a better man, so one night she put
me to sleep in the old crib that he had found for me and she went into his
room. They have been together ever since but they never got around to
getting married. And that is my family in a nutshell. What do you think of
us now?" Emily asked and she waited for Danielle's answer but she didn't
have to wait long.
"Emily, I can't help to get the impression that you expect me to stop
being your friend because your mother got pregnant when she was no more
than a child and now she lives in sin. If you think that I'm that shallow
then maybe we not as good as friends as I thought we were or we could
be. Is that what you're thinking?" Danielle asked and Emily could see that
she was offended.
"No, that's not what I think. You are a good friend to me but you are
also the governor's daughter and I know how things can be screwed up by the
press. I just needed for you to know what you are getting into if you want
to stick around with me. We're poor and we do things differently than most
people do and our ways can be misjudged by people that don't know us. I
want you to know about my family. I have kept that from you till now and
maybe that was wrong but now I know that I can't hide who I am and who my
family is. You know what I mean?" Emily asked.
"Yes I do but let me let you in on a little secret, actually two
little secrets. First, I don't give a flying fuck what other people think,
if I chose to make you my friend then I will and everyone else can fuck
themselves. Second, I knew that you had a past that came as no surprise to
me. What that past was, I had no clue but I knew that it was there. I just
had to wait for you to trust me enough to let me know what it was. Does
that answer your question?" Danielle said.
"Yes it does and I hope you understand why I waited to tell you but I
knew I had to tell you before we became real friends." Emily told her.
"Honey, we're already real friends as far as I'm concerned."
This comment made Emily smile and Danielle return the smile. "So what
do you think about what I have told you." She asked her.
"I feel sorry for your mother but then from talking to her, I can see
why she came out on her feet. And I'm glad that she found someone that
cared about her, no matter how much money he makes or doesn't make or how
smart he is or isn't. I can't wait to meet him now. He sounds like a gentle
soul." Danielle said.
"Oh he is, he was the one I ran to when I got into trouble as I knew
he would do all he could to keep mom from spanking me, even if I more and
deserved the spanking, and I usually did. You know how stubborn I can
be. But mom usually got her way but then I would go to him and curl up in
his lap until I go over being mad at mom and then I would go back to
her. So yea, he's a good man." Emily said.
"Can I ask you something personal?" Danielle asked.
"Sure, you can ask me anything."
"Do you know who your father is? Do you ever see him?"
"No, I don't know who he is. I don't even know who my maternal
grandparents are. I asked my mother about him a few years ago and she sat
me down and told me that he chose not to be a part of my life when he
refused to knowledge that he was the father of the baby she was
carrying. And her parents kicked her out so they too didn't deserve to know
me. But when I turned eighteen and if I still wanted to know, she would
tell me what she knew but once she left, she never looked back. For a few
years, I thought that I would go look them up when the time came but now I
find that my mom was right. If they wanted to know me then they shouldn't
have rejected her because of one mistake. I really don't want to know them
now. As far as I'm concerned, mom and Bubba are all the family that I
need." Emily declared.
"Good for you!" Danielle said as she finally got back to cutting up
the hotdogs and Emily went back to the sour kraut.
Danielle then changed the subject to teaching Emily to drive and that
was fine with Emily. She had said most of what she wanted to tell Danielle,
the rest she would learn as they went along. They talked and cooked until
Chloe came in just about the time that Bubba was due. She helped them set
the table and she checked the sour kraut and wieners.
"Where's my fucking girls!" came a loud deep voice from the living
room as they heard the door slam shut.
"We got a guest you stupid old man! Watch your language!" Chloe
hollered back at Bubba who walked into the kitchen about that time.
Emily watched Danielle as she laid eyes on Bubba for the first
time. He was barely taller than her and her mother but he had a deep
southern accent. He was husky but there wasn't an ounce of fat on his body.
His face was a mass of freckles that went with his bright red hair. She
noticed that Danielle was looking him over since she had told her a little
about him but not much. She wanted Danielle to get to know Bubba on her
own.
"Oh sorry," Bubba said as he hung his head a moment.
"Bubba, this is my friend Danielle and Danielle this is Bubba, the
greatest storyteller in the world." Emily said and she could see Bubba's
face light up. "As a child, I would refuse to go to sleep at night unless
he told me a story first." She continued on.
"Well, I would love to hear some of your stories then." Danielle said
as she held out her hand to him, which he took and he shook it
vigorously. Then he went over to Chloe and gave her a kiss.
"Oh man you stink, what did that old man having you doing today?"
Chloe asked him as she pushed him back a little.
"He asked me to clean out all the garage cans and they needed it
too. He paid me fifty dollars today too." Bubba said proudly as her pulled
the money from his pocket and gave it to Chloe as well as his lunch cooler.
"Well go take a quick shower and then we'll eat." Chloe told him as
he was emptying out his pockets into a candy bowl on the counter.
Then after he left, Chloe put the money that he had made that day
into her purse and then she looked in his wallet to make sure he still had
some money to buy something to eat or drink while he was at work if it
wanted to. Emily saw that Danielle was taking this all in and she wondered
what was going through her mind. But Emily had seen this scene played out
every night for as long as she could remember. Her mother looked after
Bubba with loving care even if she never told him that she loved him, Emily
knew that her mother did. Once she had everything set, she went back to
getting the table ready with Emily's and Danielle's help. Soon they heard
the shower shut off and then they heard Bubba whistling an old rock song as
he finished getting ready for supper.
"It took you long enough old man." Chloe fussed at Bubba when he came
back into the kitchen.
"I was just getting extra clean for you tonight honey." Bubba said as
came over to where she had sat down and he bent over and gave her a big
kiss.
"Now quit that and go sit down, our guest is starving to death."
Chloe said to him but she was smiling as she said it and he didn't seem to
pay any attention to what she had said.
"Go ahead and help yourself, with this crowd, if you don't you'll go
hungry." Chloe told Danielle as everyone else was reaching across the
table filling their plates. "I know it's not what you are use to but it
will fill you up." Chloe continued on.
"It looks great and smells even better." Danielle said as she picked
up her plate and she started to fill it.
Then they all started to talk as they ate. Emily made sure that
Danielle was included in the conversation but after a few minutes had
passed, she saw that Danielle had adjusted to a noisy table and she joined
into the conversation and Emily relaxed. She did notice that Bubba had
taken a shine to Danielle and he talked her ear off. Bubba was someone that
had never met a stranger in his life and Danielle was just as outgoing. So
the fact that they hit if off wasn't a surprise to Emily after she had a
chance to think about it. Once they had finished dinner, Emily and Chloe
kicked Bubba and Danielle out of the kitchen as they cleaned up the
kitchen. Emily would start to wash the dishes in the sink as her mother
packed up leftovers for Bubba's and her lunch the next day.
"What do you think of Danielle?" Emily asked her mother when she came
over to start drying the dishes that she had washed.
"I admit that she is more down to earth than I thought that she would
be. I think that she's alright." Chloe said and them she asked, "Why are
you asking me for anyway?"
"I don't know, it's just that's you're my mother and I know that you
know people better than I do." Emily said but she was holding something
back, something she really wanted to say or ask.
"Okay, what is it?" Her mother said as she put her cloth that she was
using down on the counter.
"It's just that she has everything and I have nothing, why would she
want to be my friend?" Emily asked her mother.
"I think you need to ask her that question and not me but I think it
might be what's in here." Chloe told her as she pointed to Emily's
heart. "You're a good girl and you have a lot to give if you would let
yourself. Maybe she isn't what she seems to be and maybe she is, but you
have to go and find that out for yourself. But I think it's encouraging
that you thought enough of her to bring her home to meet us. She is the
first friend that you have ever brought home. I trust you with her if that
helps any."
"Yes it does." Emily said as held out her arms and hugged her mom.
As they were hugging, a weird sound came from the living room and
then another one. Emily listened closely as the sounds kept coming and then
she heard giggling, both male and female. Then as she heard the sound again
she realized what it was or at least what it sounded like it was. As she
released this, she saw that her mother was coming to the same conclusion as
she had come to.
"What is he doing now?" Chloe said but before Emily could answer; her
mother was heading off to the living room.
"Bubba, what are you doing?" Chloe asked as she entered the living
room with Emily right on her heels.
"Nothing honey," Bubba said with one hand under his shirt and Emily
could see that the hand was under his arm pit. But then Emily looked at
Danielle and she saw that she had a hand under her shirt and her hand was
under her arm pit. She then had to burst out laughing as she realized that
Danielle and Bubba were making farting sounds by placing their hands under
their armpits.
"Where did you learn to do that?" Emily said after she had stopped
laughing.
"At summer camp, I was the best in the hut." Danielle said all proud
of herself.
"Show me," Emily said as she went over to join in on the fun.
"Oh god, I'm living with a bunch of children!" Chloe said as she
threw her hands up in the air and she went back into the kitchen.
"Here let me show you how it's done." Danielle said as she started to
make a farting sound with her hand in her armpit and then she helped Emily
to put her hand in place. Emily tired it and she made a small sound but she
kept at it until she was almost as good at it as Danielle and Bubba.
"There you go, now let's put this old man to shame." Danielle said as
she looked from Emily to Bubba.
"No way!" Bubba said with a big grin as he made a loud farting sound.
They all three started to make the sounds and they were laughing at
each other. Emily glanced up once and she saw her mother peaking around the
door and saw that she was smiling. Emily knew she should go back in and
help her mom but then Danielle and Bubba grabbed her attention and she
forgot all about her mother until she came back into the living room.
"Sorry mom," Emily told her mother as she sat down.
"That's okay; but remember that you still have laundry to do in the
morning before you take off with Danielle." She told her.
"So what's up for discussion next?" Emily asked as they all settled
down and the room got quite.
"I know what I would like to hear?" Danielle said with a slight
hesitation in her voice.
"What's that dear?" Chloe asked.
"I'd like to hear one of Bubba's stories, if he would like to tell
one." Danielle said as she looked to Bubba.
"Sure," Bubba said with a smile, "what story would you like to hear?"
"The Mean Girl," Emily spoke up before anyone else could as she knew
that Danielle would get Bubba's and her mother's story from Bubba's point
of view.
"No not that one." Chloe protested.
"But it's Emily's favorite and I love telling it." Bubba said as he
looked to Chloe for approval.
"Oh okay, go ahead, your going to anyway no matter what I say." Chloe
said defeated but Emily knew that her mother always protested hearing this
story but she always gave in.
Bubba smiled big as he turned to Danielle and he started his story as
he always started his stories with "Once upon a time," and then he went on
with, "there was this lonely man who lived by himself and had no one to
share his life with. Then one day as he was coming home from a hard day's
work, he happened upon a young girl that was sitting on the sidewalk by his
apartment building. She looked very sad and she was crying." Bubba said as
he covered his eyes with his hands to show how the girl was crying.
He then went into detail of how he asked the girl what was wrong and
if he could help but she just cursed at him and told him to go away. But he
didn't go away; instead he sat on the sidewalk by the girl and just started
to talk to her. He kept talking until she calmed down and then he opened
his lunch bag and took out an apple that he hadn't eaten that day and he
gave it to her. She looked at it for a minute but then she took a
bite. Then she ate the apple so quickly the man didn't know what had happen
to the apple. It was there one second and then it just disappeared so the
man knew the girl was hungry. He went on to tell how he eventually
convinced her to come up to his apartment where he fed her first one then
two peanut butter sandwiches. He told how he talked the girl into staying
the night and he set her up on the old couch. From there talked about how
he went to work the next day and when he came back she was still there but
that she fussed at him because the apartment was so dirty. The next day the
girl found something else to fuss at him about and every day after that he
would come home and the mean girl would fuss at him but he didn't mind her
fussing. He knew that he was doing a good thing in helping the girl and
that was worth all the fussing he had to put up with. Then as time went
along, he noticed that her belly was getting bigger and bigger and he
thought that she was eating too much but then the meal girl told him that
she was going to have a baby and this excited the man as he loved
babies. Then the day came that he came home and she was crying out in pain
and the man thought that the mean girl was dying but she told him that she
was having the baby. He took her to the hospital and then after he had to
wait hours and hours he was allowed back into the mean girl's room and she
was holding the most "beautifulest" baby in all the world.
Emily felt herself blushing as Danielle looked over at her and then
she felt Danielle's hand on her hand and she saw Danielle give her a sweet
smile. This made her blush more but she loved feeling Danielle's hand on
top of her hand. Bubba went on with the story of how they brought the
little baby home and how he helped the mean girl take care of the baby but
he wasn't making enough money to support the mean girl and her baby. So the
mean girl found a nice lady that agreed to look after the baby during the
day and she went and found a job. He went on telling all the things that
they did together and all the trouble the little baby girl got into and how
he had to protect the little girl from the mean girl who was always wanting
to spank her for everything thing she did wrong. He went on with the story
until he got to the end of the story.
"And then one night the man was lying in his bed and he saw his door
open and there appeared the mean girl. She looked scared and lonely like
the man was but she came to his bed and she made him the happiest man in
the world. But you know why the mean girl came to the man's room?" Bubba
asked as he looked first to Danielle who shrugged her shoulders and then he
looked to Emily who also shrugged her shoulders. Finally he looked to Chloe
and she slowly got up and came to him. She sat down on his lap and said,
"Because the meal girl loved the man." And then she kissed him lightly on
the lips.
Emily had to reach up and wipe a tear from her eyes as she always
cried at the end of the story as it was so sweet and she loved to hear the
story even if she was almost grown and way past the storytelling stage of
her life. But then she looked over at Danielle and she saw that she was
wiping a tear from her eyes too.
"Momma, can I go for a ride with Danielle for a while?" Emily asked
her mother as her mother leaned against Bubba.
"Ahhh, yea but be home by ten thirty, girl." Her mother said.
"Okay mama, I'll be back before then. Come on Danielle, let's go for
a ride." Emily said as she got up and pulled Danielle up from the couch.
"It was nice to meet you both!" Danielle called out to Chloe and
Bubba as Emily rushed her out the door.
"What's the hurry?' Danielle asked after they were out the door.
"It's about to get a little warm in there." Emily said with a smile.
"It felt fine to me." Danielle said.
"Danielle, think a minute there." Emily told her with an unbelieving
look on her face.
Danielle stood there for a minute as she thought it over and then
Emily could see the light go off in her head. "ohhh..." she finally said.
"Man are you dense tonight." Emily said with a laugh.
"Well hell, I doubt that my parents even kiss anymore much less do
anything else. I just wasn't thinking that way, I was just thinking of them
as I would my own parents." Danielle said as she went toward the elevator.
"We do things differently." Emily said.
"I noticed and I mean that in a good way. I really like your mother
and Bubba. But can I ask you something?" Danielle asked as they got into
the elevator.
"Sure what?"
"I noticed that you call Bubba by his name and not dad. I know he
isn't your real father but in reality he is. So why not call him that?"
"I don't know, I've always just called him Bubba. Maybe they taught
me when I was learning to talk. But I do consider him my father. He may not
be the smartest dad in the world but he is the best one. No reflection on
your father."
"Oh I know. I love my father and I wouldn't want anyone to replace
him but I wouldn't have been too bad off by having Bubba as my father. I
mean, I'm jealous of all the bedtime stories you must have heard as a
little girl." Danielle said as they got out of the elevator.
"They were nice but the problem was that I wouldn't go to sleep until
he finished the story. I got too interested in them to sleep." Emily said
laughing.
From there they went out for a ride in Danielle's car. Emily sat back
and listened as Danielle talked about Chloe and Bubba and Emily only talked
when Danielle had a question or she wanted more information about her
childhood and Chloe's childhood but when it came to Chloe's history, she
wasn't of much help. She had tried to get her mother to talk about it but
she never would. It was as if her life started when she met Bubba and she
set up house with him. She took care of him and in return, he gave her all
of his love and he had lots of love to give both her and Emily. As ten
o'clock came near, they headed back toward Emily's house. She told
Danielle that when her mother gave her a time to be back home, that time
was set in stone. She didn't tell her what would happen if she wasn't at
home but she made sure that Danielle knew she had to be back on time.
Early the next morning as she was gathering up all the dirty clothes
and linins, Emily heard a knock on the door. "Now who can that be? Don't
they know I'm in a hurry this morning?" Emily said to herself as she put
the clothes that she had in her arms into the clothes basket. She then went
to the door and looked into the peep hole and to her surprise and then she
wasn't that surprised, she saw Danielle standing there.
"I'm going to have to get you a watch girl. You suppose to be here at
noon and not at eight in the morning. I haven't even started doing the
laundry yet and I have to get that done." Emily told her.
"Oh I know, I just thought I could come on and give you a hand unless
you want me to leave." Danielle said as she started to turn away.
"Oh no you don't, you come early then you get to help me do laundry."
Emily said with a smile as she grabbed Danielle's arm and pulled her into
the apartment.
"You don't mind me coming early again do you?" Danielle asked.
"Hell no, I'm glad that you did. I just like to fuss at you."
"I can see that and I can also see that the mean girl had a mean
daughter." Danielle said kidding Emily.
"Yes she did and don't you forget it." Emily said laughing.
"So what do you want me to do?" Danielle asked.
"Ah, there's a basket of clothes and stuff in my mother's room, go
and get it and I'll get the detergent and stuff and meet you back here."
"Gotcha," Danielle said as she went toward the bedroom.
When they had everything, Danielle helped Emily carry the clothes
down to the laundry mat that was located in the basement of the apartment
building. They talked as the clothes washed and they folded them when they
were dry. Once they had everything put back in their place in the
apartment, Emily fixed them a sandwich and then it was off to the
governor's mansion to start the driving lessons.
"You didn't tell me I would be learning on a straight." Emily told
Danielle as she sat in the driver's seat of the old truck.
'My father said that everyone should know how to drive a straight and
what better way to learn than to start out that way." Danielle replied.
"Well thank him for me the next time you see him." Emily said
sarcastically.
"I'll tell him tonight if I see him." Danielle said with a smile.
"You probably will too." Emily said with a laugh. "So where do we get
started.
"First you will go through the gears with the engine turned off and
then we will start.
Emily pushed the clutch in and she shifted into first and then went
all the way up to fifth and then the reverse gear. Danielle then made her
go back through the gears but this time she had to use the clutch and the
gas pedal. She had to do this a few times before Danielle allowed her to
start the engine. Emily put the truck into first and she let the clutch
petal out and she moved the foot that was on the brake onto the gas pedal
but she was too slow in doing so and the engine grunted and died.
"Shit!" Emily said.
"Do you know what you did wrong?" Danielle asked.
"I didn't give it enough gas."
"Yep, try again but this time move your foot from the brake to the
gas a bit quicker."
"Okay," Emily replied as she concentrated on what she was doing.
She restarted the truck and she made sure that the truck was in first
and she tried it again. This time she let her foot off the brake and she
hit the gas pedal hard to ensure that it wouldn't die on her. The truck
squalled its tires as it lurched forward. Emily was pushed back in the seat
and it scared her so much that she hit the brake hard but forgot to hit the
clutch and again the truck engine died.
"Shit!" Emily said and then she looked over at Danielle and saw that
she was about to burst out laughing. "Don't you dare laugh, don't even
think about it."
Hearing Emily say that was more than Danielle could take and she did
burst out laughing all the way saying, "I sorry but the look on your
face. I can't help it.
"I'm trying but I have never tried to drive before. Hell, I haven't
even ridden in too many cars until you started to drive me home." Emily
said very seriously.
Danielle got herself back together quickly as she saw that Emily was
getting upset with her. "I'm so sorry. I promise I won't laugh again. I
know if my father had laughed at me I would have never forgiven him. I
should show you the same respect to you as he showed me. I promise to do
better. Now take a deep breath and try again." Danielle said as she put her
hand on Emily's arm.
But Danielle's hand on her arm did little to calm her down; it only
served to make her heart race more. She wanted to tell Danielle to take her
hand away but at the same time she wanted it to stay right where it was but
Danielle did eventually remove her hand and Emily took a deep breath and
tried again.
She pushed the clutch in and she restarted the engine. She took a
cleansing breath and she tried again but in fear of gunning the engine, she
gave it too little gas and it died yet again.
"Hell, I'll never get it this way." Emily said as she opened her door
and she jumped out of the truck.
"Wait, you'll get it." Danielle said as she started to climb out of
the truck but then she met Emily coming toward her.
"You get in and drive and let me watch." Emily said as she jumped
into the passenger seat.
"Okay," Danielle said as she was left standing there. She quickly ran
around the truck and she got in.
As Danielle started the truck, Emily got down in the floor board of
the truck and she leaned over so that she could watch Danielle's feet.
"Start it and go." Emily instructed Danielle.
She watched carefully as Danielle let the clutch out and gave it
gas. The truck went forward and then Emily told her to do it again and
again. Then she put her hands on Danielle's feet and she felt as Danielle
let out the clutch and gave the truck some gas. She made her do this a few
times and then she made her go through the gears until she got to third as
this was a service road and you couldn't go much faster than that. When
they got back to where they started, Danielle stopped the engine.
"Now I'm ready to try again." Emily declared as she climbed from the
floorboard.
She got back into the driver's seat and she waited for Danielle to
get into the passenger seat. She then started the truck and she let out
another breath before she tried it again. She put it back into gear and she
slowly let out the clutch and she shifted her right foot from the brake to
the gas. The engine struggled for a moment and Emily gave it just a little
more gas. The engine pulled the truck along and she let out a slight
sigh. She then took her foot off the gas and she pushed the clutch in. She
shut off the engine and then she cried out, "I did it!"
"Yes you did!" Danielle said as she leaned over and gave Emily a
quick hug. The hug wasn't nearly long enough for Emily but it did want her
to do even better.
She restarted the truck and she tried it again but this time she
didn't give it enough gas again but on the next try she did it
perfectly. She just used first for a while and then Danielle made her back
up but as she started to turn in her seat to look where she was going,
Danielle stopped her.
"Don't turn around; you have mirrors, use them. As my father says,
'Mirrors are made for more than putting make-up on with'." Danielle told
her.
"Another one of your father's wisdoms?" Emily said more than asked.
"Afraid so, he's full of them." Danielle said with a laugh.
"I can see that." Emily said with a grumble as she turned back in her
seat and tried to look in the mirrors as she started to back up. She went
from one side of the road to the other as she tried to back up but she got
back to where they had started from.
Danielle made her use just first and reverse gears for a little while
before she let her shift to second and then third as they went around the
service road a couple of times. Emily was surprised to find how little she
had to turn the steering wheel to make the truck turn when they were going
forward. She learned that the hard way as they came to the first turn and
she almost ran off the road before she got in back on the road and then on
the next turn she did much better. When they got back to where they started
on the second run, Danielle had her stop the truck and they took a
break. Once Emily got out of the truck, she felt how stiff that she was
from gripping the steering wheel so tight and from using her leg muscles in
a way that she had never used them before. She stretched as she walked
around and Danielle followed her as she complimented her on how well she
had done on her first driving lesson. Once Emily got the kinks out of her
muscles, she wanted to practice some more so they climbed back into the
truck and Emily practiced until a little before four when they headed back
to Emily's house.
"You're welcome to stay for supper." Emily told Danielle as they
entered the apartment. She was hoping that Danielle would accept but she
wasn't sure that she would.
"I'd love to. Your mother won't mind, will she?" Danielle asked.
"Oh no, she won't care but don't expect anything fancy, we eat just
common food." Emily said.
"That's fine with me, fancy foods aren't all their cut out to be."
Danielle replied.
"Oh there is one thing that I forgot to tell you." Emily said as they
entered the kitchen.
"What's that?" Danielle asked.
"You have to work for your supper around here so you get to help me
cook." Emily told her with a smile on her face.
"That's cool but I've already worked for my food today so I don't
have to help you cook supper." Danielle declared as she sat down on one of
the kitchen chairs.
"And just how do you figure that? Do you mean the driving lessons?
The way I see that, all you did was to ride around all afternoon telling me
what I did wrong." Emily said as she came to the table and stared at
Danielle daring her to counter her argument.
"I think you are forgetting about this morning when I helped you
wash, dry and fold all the laundry." Danielle said with a big grin.
"Oh yea, I forgot about that. I guess you have worked for your supper
after all." Emily said even thought she hated to lose the argument, even to
Danielle.
"But since you are such a sweet girl, I'll offer my help anyway. Just
tell me what you want be to do." Danielle said as she stood up smiling
knowing that she had gotten the best of Emily and that didn't happen
often. Danielle continued on with a bow, "So just tell me what to do my
able slave driver."
"You'll think slave driver." Emily said with a smile. "Just get the
leftovers from last night out of the fridge and while I think of what to
put with it.
As Danielle did that, Emily went to the pantry trying to find
something to go with the beans, cornbread and kraut that they had last
night. She didn't see anything that appealed to her so she went to the
fridge as Danielle was pulling the last of the leftovers out. Again she
couldn't find anything so she opened the freezer and she moved things
around until she spotted some fried apples that she and her mother had
cooked and then frozen the past fall.
"How do fried apples sound to you?" Emily asked as she pulled a bag
out.
"I love fried apples, so that works for me." Danielle told her.
"Good because that was what I was going to fix." Emily said and as
she turned she saw Danielle sticking her tongue out at her.
Danielle quickly sucked her tongue back in but she had already been
caught and Emily saw her face begin to go red. Emily shook her finger at
her but then she started to giggle and so did Danielle. They then talked
and giggled as they reheated the food and set the table for Chloe and
Bubba.
Chloe was the first to arrive home and she gave Emily a kiss and said
"Hi" to Danielle before going back into the bedroom and she changed out of
her maid uniform. When she came back, she checked on the food and helped
them get everything ready. Bubba was soon home and this time he didn't
stink of garbage so Chloe didn't make him shower before eating but she did
take the money that he had earned that day as the old man that he worked
for kept him off the books and just paid him in cash every day. That way he
didn't have to pay for insurance or social security taxes on what Bubba
made. Bubba didn't know any better and while Chloe did, she was just
grateful that the old man gave Bubba a job and made him feel useful, plus
the money always helped. It was just the way things work when you were poor
and uneducated as but Bubba and Chloe were. But their saving grace was that
while Chloe never made it to high school, she was very sharp. Given an
education, there wouldn't be anything that Chloe couldn't do but that
wasn't the way things worked out for her.
After dinner, everyone was entertained with another one of Bubba's
stories and then Danielle and Emily went out for another ride. Emily had to
work the next couple of days which was just as well as Danielle had to do
some things with her mother which kept her busy. This was the first time
that Emily wished that she had a phone or a computer like most kids
had. That way she could still talk to Danielle but that wasn't the way it
was for her so she had to wait until Saturday morning to see and talk to
Danielle again.
When Emily heard a knock on the door early Saturday morning, she knew
that it had to be Danielle and when she opened the door, she was right.
"Come on in, Bubba went with mom to help her out so they will be gone
all day." Emily told Danielle as she came on into the apartment.
"That means that we can get into all types of trouble and they would
never know." Danielle said with a laugh.
"Oh my mother would know. She used to tell me when I was little that
she had eyes in the back of her head and I believed her then and I still
believe her."
"Your mother's pretty sharp, I will give her that. But your face
would give you away if you even thought about doing something wrong. That
is how she knows when you do something wrong."
"What do you mean? What does my face show?" Emily asked.
"Everything, your face shows all your emotions. When you are mad, you
have a vein at the top of your forehead that pops out. When you are
concentration, your forehead knits up. I haven't known you that long but I
can read most of your emotions." Danielle told her.
Emily thought that over for a minute and she began to worry that
Danielle could also see how she felt about her and that started to worry
her. She wasn't ready to tell Danielle about how she felt. She looked at
Danielle, who was staring at her, and she felt her face start to go
warm. This was the last thing that she wanted to have happen.
"I got you thinking, haven't I. Don't worry, I can't tell everything
about you or what you're thinking, I don't know you quite that
well... yet." Danielle said smiling as she put her hand on Emily's forearm.
Suddenly the apartment got too warm and she needed some fresh
air. "Let's get out of here and do something." Emily said as she took
Danielle's hand and led her back out the door. "So what do you want to do
today?" She asked as they got into the hallway.
"It doesn't matter to me, what do you want to do?" Danielle asked.
"I don't know, I was kind of hoping that you had something in mind."
Emily said as they entered the elevator.
"What do you normally do on your Saturdays?" Danielle asked her.
"If I'm not working at the Goodwill Store, then I help my mom at the
hotel. This is the first Saturday that I've had free." Emily confessed to
Danielle.
"Then let's make this a special day. When do you have to be home?"
Danielle asked.
"I got till ten thirty tonight. I talked mom and Bubba into going to
get something to eat tonight. They never do that and since Bubba made a
little extra this week, we had a little extra money." Emily said proud that
both she and her mother would have a nice day today.
"Can I ask you something?" Danielle said as they entered the lobby of
the apartment building.
"Sure, what do you want to know?" Emily asked.
"Why does your mother make your curfew ten-thirty and not eleven? I
would think eleven would be more logical, don't you?" Danielle asked as
they went out into the hot June sun.
Emily smiled as she heard Danielle's question, "I've never needed a
curfew until you came along as I never went anywhere. So I asked mom the
same question the other day and her answer actually made sense in a weird
way."
"And that would be..." Danielle asked.
"It seems that she had an eleven o'clock curfew when she first
started dating my father, which she added quickly that her parents should
never have let her date at that age even if he was just sixteen and so he
wasn't much older than her. But anyway, it seems that I was conceived
between ten-thirty and eleven. So she said I would always have to be home
by ten-thirty." Emily explained.
"I can see where that makes sense now. But she has to know that you
could just as easily get pregnant at ten." Danielle told her.
"She does but that doesn't change anything. I have to be in by ten
thirty and that's etched in stone." Emily said.
"That still gives us plenty of time to get into lots of trouble."
Danielle said laughing as she hit the button on her key ring to unlock the
car doors.
"Since this is my first free Saturday and I would like to have more
of them, let's keep the trouble to a minimum, okay?" Emily said smiling but
she was also a little serious.
"I don't know trouble is my middle name." Danielle said with a wink
and then she burst out laughing.
"Pain in the ass is a more fitting name, if you ask me." Emily said
as she laughed.
"Well that has been applied to me too." Danielle quipped.
The banter between them went on like this for most of the day. And
Danielle did her best to make it a special day for Emily. She did the
things that most teenage girls did as the day went along and for Emily
didn't really care what they did as long as she was with Danielle. They
went to the mall and windowed shopped. Then they took in an afternoon movie
as the heat of the day kept them inside. After the movie, it was off to a
pizza place. Danielle finished the evening by going an open air concert
that was part of the summer music fest that the city always put on. Since
this was the home of country music, most of the acts were country but
Danielle and Emily still enjoyed it. At ten they made their way out of the
park and headed home so that they could make to Emily's place on time.
"I really enjoyed today. Thanks." Emily told Danielle at the door.
"I did too; maybe we can do it again next Saturday?" Danielle asked.
"I may have to work next Saturday but I will see if I can change my
schedule." Emily said.
"Try hard!" Danielle said and then she gave Emily a quick hug. "I'll
stop by the store Monday and see what trouble I can get you into there
since you wouldn't let me get you into trouble today." She said with a
little laugh as she let Emily go and she headed for the elevator.
Emily stood there watching her get into the elevator and she could
still feel Danielle's arms around her. She gave her a quick wave as the
doors shut and then she opened the door and went inside her apartment.
Monday morning came and went and Emily was beginning to wonder if
Danielle was going to show. So she kept busy and tried not to think about
her but that was hard to do. Then about mid afternoon, Emily was out back
unloading a truck that had arrived with clothes from a family that was
moving out of state. Emily picked up a large box and started to turn but
with the box being so big she couldn't see around it. She felt the box hit
something and then she heard a grunt.
"I know I'm late but you didn't have to knock me down." Emily heard
from a familiar voice.
"Oh my god, I'm sorry!" Emily cried out as she dropped the box and
she saw Danielle sitting on the pavement looking up at her.
"You should be. I was just going to try and help you with that box
and you just knock me down." Danielle said with a frown.
"I didn't see you, I swear. I wouldn't ever hurt you. I promise."
Emily said feeling scared that Danielle was mad at her. She came over to
where Danielle was sitting and she kneeled down beside of her. "Are you
hurt? Do I need to call 911 or your parents?"
"Oh no, I'm fine, I was just messing with you. I know you didn't see
me and I was trying to sneak up on you. It's my fault really." Danielle
told Emily as she realized that Emily was taking her seriously. "But I
could use a hand up." She said as she reached her hand out to Emily.
"Help yourself up!" Emily said as she slapped Danielle's hand away
and she set her face into a scowl. She went back to the box and she quickly
picked it up and headed into the back of the store before Danielle could
move.
"Emily, I'm sorry, I was just joking with you. Please don't be mad at
me." Emily heard Danielle say and she heard her hurrying after her.
Emily hurried on in and she slipped around the back of the door so
that Danielle wouldn't see her.
"Emily, where are you. I'm really sorry and it if helps, my butt does
hurt." Danielle said as she entered the store and Emily watched her
looking around. She slipped up behind her before Danielle could see her.
"I just have just five words for you." Emily whispered into Danielle
ear as she put her hands on Danielle's hips keeping her from turning
around.
"What?" Danielle said as she kept very still.
"Paybacks are hell, aren't they?" Emily said and then she added, "And
I'm glad that you ass hurts, it serves you right."
"That's more than five words, you know." Danielle replied.
"So sue me." Emily said and then she popped Danielle on the butt then
she ran back out the rear doors laughing.
"You'll pay for that!" Danielle said as she chased after her.
"Here carry this in." Emily told Danielle as she handed her a box as
soon as she got out to the truck where she was standing.
"I'm sorry that I scared you." Danielle said as she took the box.
"No you're not, you enjoyed every second of it." Emily said smiling
as she grabbed the last box and she walked with Danielle back toward the
store.
"Well, maybe I enjoyed it a little." Danielle conceded.
"I thought so." Emily said, "So what you been up to today?"
"Oh I had to go to a flower show this morning with my mother, which
she didn't bother to tell me about until she got me up. I told her that I
already had plans but she said that I would have to cancel them since this
was part of my duties as the governor's daughter." Danielle said as they
set the boxes down.
"I didn't realize that you had duties too, I could see why your
mother would but not you." Emily said as she turned to Danielle.
"I don't. My duties are to escort my mother when she doesn't want to
go alone." Danielle said smiling.
"Oh, I see." Emily said as she had the same duties as all daughters
did.
"Actually, she pretty good about it. She doesn't make me go too
often, only when she knows that she's going to be bored to death and she
needs my help to keep her interested in whatever the function is."
"So what do you do to keep her going?" Emily asked almost knowing
what Danielle would say.
"Well today, I told her how ugly each of the flowers were and she
kept telling me to shut up but it did keep her entertained and gave me
something to do as it was a really boring event." Danielle said as that
devious smile came to her face.
"Were the flowers ugly?" Emily asked as she started to pull clothes
from the boxes.
"Oh god yes. There were all these fancy hybrid flowers and they
looked hideous. Give me a simple red rose any day." Danielle said as she
opened a box and started to help Emily sort through the clothes.
Emily put that last tidbit of information into the back of her
mind. She knew that maybe one day she could put it to use. Danielle helped
her the rest of the afternoon and then drove her home. Emily, of course,
asked her up for supper and Danielle gladly accepted, which made Emily very
happy. So Danielle help Emily get supper ready and then she sat down to eat
with Chloe and Bubba, when they got home. After dinner, Emily and Danielle
stayed in and they talked to Chloe and Bubba until it got time for Chloe
and Bubba to go to bed, which was about nine, as they both had to get up
early to go to work. Danielle decided to call it a night too.
For the next month, Danielle was eating at Emily's about as much as
she was at her own home. It really got to the point that they set out a
plate for her on days that she wasn't there because they had gotten use to
getting out four plates instead of three. Emily felt that their friendship
was really growing. But she was no closer to letting Danielle know how she
felt about her. Her driving did improve vastly as Danielle had her out
driving a least a couple of times a week. She got to the point to where she
needed to get out on the road to practice but with no insurance that was
impossible. About the fastest that she could go on the service road around
the governor's mansion was about forty miles an hour. But she enjoyed
driving so they continued to practice there. She wanted to try driving
Danielle's car and Danielle was willing but she knew that her mother would
have a fit if she did. They also continued to hit the malls and go to
movies and generally just hung out together. They did run into a bunch of
Danielle's fellow cheerleaders one day. Emily had wondered how Danielle
would handle that since she was spending all of her free time with her and
not with them as you would expect her too. But to Emily's relief, Danielle
handled it perfectly. She just introduced Emily as her friend and then when
they asked her where she had been all summer. She just pulled Emily over to
her and said that she had been hanging out with her. They all looked Emily
over and she could see that they wanted to say something about her but they
knew that Danielle was the head cheerleader and the governor's daughter so
she held the power over them or they thought that she did which ended up
with the same result. They all talked a while and Danielle made sure that
Emily had a chance to talk and she saw that the other girls listened to her
but she knew that they didn't think of her as their equal but that was
okay. She knew that one day their looks would be gone but her brain would
always be there, not that she wasn't as pretty as they were, she just
couldn't afford to dress as they did. After they had left them, Emily
wanted to thank Danielle for what she had done but Danielle was already off
on another subject and she just let it drop. The incident did make her feel
better about Danielle's friendship with her until the end of July when
Danielle had to go to a cheerleading camp with those same girls.
Danielle had told her about having to go earlier in the summer and
Emily hadn't thought much about it then but as the time came near, she did
start to worry but she didn't let Danielle see that she was worried. She
got the day off from work the day before Danielle was to leave for three
long weeks. She tried to appear happy but in her heart she was sad.
Danielle was the first real friend that she had ever had and she loved her
dearly. But was still insecure enough in herself to fear that Danielle
wouldn't want to be friends with her when she came back. But Emily wasn't
going to let her insecurities affect the day that she had with Danielle.
That evening when Danielle left Emily's apartment, she gave her an extra
long hug and Emily hated for the hug to end but it did and Emily was left
on her own.
End of Part One - To be continued...
Please let me know what you think of my story. I welcome all comments good
or bad. You can email me at numlfl@hotmail.com