Young Annabelle by Sarah Tork

he didn’t notice how uncomfortable I
suddenly was.
    James nodded, his expression unchanging. My
body felt incredibly drunk; my brain, too incapacitated to send a
signal down to my sluggish legs to turn and walk away.
    Thankfully, it didn’t last. I slowly regained
control and pushed into the girls’ change room. I stopped between
the outer and inner doors, resting against the wall for a moment as
I composed myself. My heart rate needed to slow way down if I had
any hope of forgetting what just happened, especially if I had to
explain it to Jenna.
    There was a mirror with a counter along one
wall of the little hallway between the two doors. My closed eyes
faced the mirror, preparing to check my reflection to see how bad
the damage was. If it was anything like how I felt at that moment,
it would not be good. But, I was ever hopeful.
    Please…not a
disaster!
    Carefully, I opened my eyes. All I saw was
red.
    I was literally red .
    Shit!
    I was horrified as I examined the shade of my
cheeks. Thankfully, my hair was fine except for the beads of sweat
that threatened to ruin the flat-ironing job I’d put my long
strands through this morning.
    Jesus! I could walk twenty minutes in the
blistering heat then sit in the sauna-like pool area, and not sweat
like I was now.
    What is he doing to me?! It’s like I’ve
never see a cute – okay, really hot – guy before!
    I shook my head; I was confused at my body’s
weird reaction to him. I wiped the beads of sweat off my forehead
and stared at my reflection. My pupils looked dilated – honestly, I
looked like I’d just gone through the biggest shock of my life.
    You know why you feel like
this, I explain to
myself, ’cause he brought up having sex with him.
    I clung to the counter for support, trying to
control my breathing. The thought of doing anything like that with
James was sending my body into sweaty tremors.
    The sound of excitement and shouting come
from beyond the inner door.
    Jenna! I suddenly remembered why I was here. I
threw off the lust-filled tremors and glanced at the mirror one
last time. My cheeks had regained some of their original
color.
    I pushed open the door to look for Jenna and
congratulate her.
    ******
     
    It was late afternoon by the time Jenna and
her parents left the school for a celebratory dinner. They’d
invited me to come but I graciously declined, telling them I had to
eat at home tonight. I didn’t mention that Mom would blow a gasket
if I had dinner at a restaurant for the second time this month. As
far as she was concerned, the pass day was a one-time indulgence.
And she had made it irritatingly clear how much she regretted it
every day of the past three weeks, always complaining that she
didn’t understand how she’d let it happen.
    Let it happen? That’s a laugh!
Oh, it would have happened, I thought, recalling how the only thing that had kept me
from cracking into a hysterical fit of angry tears was the pasta
from Luigi’s.
    Don’t think about
pasta.
    My stomach grumbled at the delicious reminder
of rich tomato sauce slathered over beautifully cooked pasta.
    Damn it!
    I was walking back home after declining
Jenna’s dinner invitation. I regretted saying no, especially when I
realized what I’d be getting for dinner tonight: salad again, and
steamed fish with lemon, ugh!
    I turned to the patch of grass next to the
sidewalk and kicked it. I was beyond frustrated and the only thing
here to kick the shit out of was someone’s front lawn.
    Damn it, my entire summer has
been horrible !
    From working under Shelby and meeting James
only to realize he was a cocky asshole, to Jenna quitting work to
train and spending all her time with the swim team. And the nasty
cherry on top was this freaking diet I had been forced to endure
from the beginning of summer vacation. When was I going to have any
fun? Wasn’t summer supposed to be fun?
    I glanced around the neighborhood; I’d been
walking on autopilot. I stopped in my tracks. I was only a