Chapter 4.5
*Stacie's POV*Marissa and I swim to her house first. She quickly swims inside while I wait outside for her. I don’t like her stepmother; therefore, I don’t want to swim inside only to see her I-hate-everyone face. I mean she doesn’t hate all mer-people. She just hates most of them. The only way she would like you is if you had “I’m rich” tattooed on your forehead. Marissa obviously doesn’t like her either. We both can’t understand why her father would marry her she-devil of a stepmother. I mean come on! She’s cruel, bossy, conceited, and twenty five for Christ’s sake! Her father is nearly the same age as Marissa’s father! The only thing I can come up with for him marrying Angela is that he is going through some mid-life crisis. It’s the only reason I can think of.
“Marissa! You forgot to shut the door! Oh, hi Stacie. I didn’t realize you were here,” Angela says snobbishly. She obviously didn’t. She was too busy thinking of all the ways she could spend her husband’s money.
“Hi, Angela. I’m just waiting for Marissa.” She practically glares at me as I talk. You know, a normal, nice mother would have asked why I didn’t come inside. Even a polite person would have asked why. Of course, Angela is not that kind of a mother, and obviously, she is not polite at all.
“Stacie, why don’t you come inside and help me?” Marissa says annoyed as she pulls me inside. I gladly follow her to her bedroom as we escape her stepmother’s glares. As soon as we are in her room, Marissa quickly slams her door. She plops down on her bed and groans. “Ugh! I hate her!” she screams, but not loud enough for Angela to hear. I can’t help but chuckle.
“I know how you feel. I’m shocked she doesn’t have razor sharp teeth along with those beady, little eyes and that cold stare of hers. Did you know she can make the biggest criminal cry if she really wanted to? All we need to do is throw a broomstick under her, and she’d be perfect!” I say laughing. Marissa glares in my direction before bursting out in laughter. “I’m glad I cheered you up, but now we have to stop. We have to hurry if we want to pick up Brittany and Blythe soon.” She nods understandingly and races to her closet.
Marissa throws a bunch of bras on her bed, making a disgusted face with each look of them. I sit on her bed just watching her. If only I had a lot like her, I wouldn’t need to wash my few bras over and over. Right now, I am jealous of all the things she has. Marissa has a bra for each day of the week in all sorts of colors, two purses for every day of the week, and even her own stylist. Her father hired him when he had to go on a business trip for a couple months. He tends to buy her something new every time he goes on a trip. Can you say bribery? Marissa never uses her stylist though. She doesn’t use anything her father buys her. She knows he’s only trying to buy her love, and she doesn’t like it. Until he actually pays attention to her, Marissa isn’t going to use anything he buys her.
I’m pretty sure that is why Angela hates Marissa so much. She envies all the new things she gets weekly. Plus, Angela is probably upset Marissa’s father puts Marissa first. That’s how it should be though, right? I mean, unlike my father, normal dads actually put their children before everything else. Even though he is constantly away, Marissa’s father always tends to put Marissa before Angela when it comes to important things. Small things like Marissa getting a good grade doesn’t matter to him. If she was to say she made an athletic team, the cheerleading squad, or any other after school thing, he wouldn’t care. He probably wouldn’t even have heard her when she told him. On the other hand, if she was to come home saying she’s got a free ride to college, he would care. If Marissa was to say she won a championship from being on that after school team or group, he might care. Marissa hates this about her father. For now, she keeps her distance from him until that one day he realizes he should start caring, which isn’t too hard considering he’s always out of town. It’s a shame he is only home for three days at the maximum. I know this upsets Marissa, too. She hates that she can never spend any real time with him.
“Stace. Stacie.”
“Huh?” I say snapping out of my trance. I guess I was thinking too hard that I forgot about everything around me again.
“Which one?” she asks holding up two bras to her skin. One is red where you tie it up front, and the other is a golden yellow with strings hanging down hiding her stomach.
“I like the yellow one. It looks better with your skin,” I say as I point to it.
“Really?”
“Yeah, the red one made you look funny. It wouldn’t look right on you. The yellow one looks a lot better.”
“Okay, I trust your decision.” She puts the red one away and closes the door to her swim-in closet behind her, so she can get dressed. A minute passes by before she swims out flaunting her beauty.
“Nick is going to love you in that,” I state. She smiles.
“How’d you know about Nick?” she asks.
“Really? Did you forget I have been your best friend for twelve years? I notice how every time history class comes you get excited lately. I’m pretty sure its not to learn.” She chuckles. “And I see how you smile so cheerfully before you go to sit with him when we have to work on our projects.” She begins to blush. “And I see how you are always so happy when you leave him.”
“Not to me.”
“I’m not the only one though. I can see how you get with Alex, even before you told me you liked him. You would always get excited and would be just as happy as me when you leave him. At the end of the day, you would look so cheery, but not because the school day had ended.” I begin to feel my blush coming on. “And I’m pretty sure it’s because you have multiple classes with him unlike me and Nick.”
“I guess you can read me, too.” She nods proudly.
“Yes I can.”
“Are you ready now? I still have to stop at my house before picking up my sisters.”
“Oh, right. Let’s go. We have to meet Nick at five. We only have two hours to pick them up and get you dressed.”
“I don’t need to change. I don’t have extra bras like you. I only have a few and they need to last me for the weekend.”
“You can borrow one of mine. Hmm, lets see what looks good on you.” She pulls me into her closet and places multiple bras in front of me scanning to see which would look the best.
“Marissa, I really don’t need to change. I’m fine wearing this. I can manage,” I say hoping to persuade her out of it. I would love to borrow one of hers, but I’m just not use to kind acts. Brittany is never nice enough to share her clothes and Blythe is only seven; we could never fit the same bras. Maybe later on in life we will, but not now. Besides, Marissa and I aren’t even the same size.
“Nonsense, what are friends for?” I smile.
“Thanks, Marissa.”
“No problem. Now, stay still, so I can see.” I do as I am told. “Here, try this on,” Marissa says handing me an identical bra like hers. The only thing opposite of hers is that mine is blue. I grab the bra and Marissa swims out of her closet to allow me to change. I quickly change into it. I look around for a mirror, but there isn’t one in here. I wish I could see what I look like. Marissa knocks on the door.
“I’ll be out in a minute!” I scream loud enough for her to hear me. I make sure the strings are in their place and there’s no unwanted skin showing before I swim out.
“Ooh, sexy! I knew that would look great on you!” Marissa says pleased.
“Do I really look cute?” I ask astonished.
“More than cute, girl! You look hot!” Marissa says winking. I chuckle.
“Well, I’m shocked I actually fit it.”
“Well, you’re not fat, so I’m not surprised. Unless, you were calling me fat?” she questions.
“No, I was not calling you fat.”
“Good. Now, let me grab my make-up bag, and then we’ll leave.” I nod. Marissa grabs her gigantic bag which is the size of a purse. It is literally stacked to the top full of make-up, and it’s not even all of it! She grabs her backpack and heads for the front door. We make it down the hall and a couple feet from the door until I hear her scream something. “Wait!” she says stopping.
“What?” I ask confused.
“Go ahead and swim outside. I’ll be right there. I just need to grab something.” I nod my head and watch her flee towards her bedroom. As soon as she disappears out of my eyesight, I head for the door. I swim outside and close the door. I don’t want to upset Angela again. Well, more than what she already is. I swim a few feet from the door just to make sure I won’t get yelled at for nothing by her. As I turn around to look back towards Marissa’s house, Marissa swims frantically out the door.
“Ready?” I ask.
“Yeah, we have to hurry!” She swims past me hastily and heads for my house. I follow closely behind.
~
I swim in my house and quickly look for my mom. I head straight to the kitchen which is where I assume she’ll be. That’s where she usually is. I peek my head through and see her hovering over the stove. She’s making dinner.
“Mom?” I ask nervously.
“Mmm?”
“Can I work on my school project at my partner’s house? Marissa will be there.”
“Sure, sweetie. When will you be leaving?”
“At five.”
“Ooh, that’s coming up close. You’ll have to hurry.”
“I know. We’re going to go pick up Brittany and Blythe right now.”
“Okay, sweetie.” I kiss her on the cheek before heading to my room. I place my backpack on my bed. Marissa does the same as if she has done this a million times. I mean she practically has lived here her whole life. We glance at each other before racing out the door towards Brittany’s school with only twelve minutes to go before we’re late.
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