Page 21 of Our Final Encore

My mind wanders back to the night she asked me out. I don’t know what I expected Opal’s reaction to be, but…it wasn’t that.

She didn’t care. At all. In fact she encouraged me to give Brooke a chance, so I did. It’s not like I had any reason not to. Deep down, I hoped Opal would say she didn’t want me to date her. For a split second I thought I might’ve felt a spark between the two of us, but I guess I was wrong, it was one-sided.

It’s probably for the best, I’d never want to jeopardize our friendship anyway.

TWELVE

Opal

Age Sixteen

Today is our end of year field trip. We’re going to the lake, which should be super exciting but for some reason it just isn’t.

Maybe because wearing a bikini in front of my entire class just doesn’t seem like a fun time to me. It’s basically like summer camp. We’re going swimming, playing flag football, and doing crafts all day.

The bus huffs and sputters until we reach our destination, about an hour away from home. It’s a hot day, and I can feel the perspiration gathering under my cotton t-shirt.

I strongly considered not wearing a swimsuit at all, but with it being this hot I didn’t feel like I had much of a choice. The girls and guys separate, marching into our different changing rooms. This place is rustic, everything has a log cabin vibe to it including the changing room we’re in. It’s stuffy and a little bit stinky in here.

“I’m so ready for summer,” Maisie says in the stall next to me.

“Not me. It’s already too hot.” I can just imagine her rolling her eyes at me. Maisie lives for summer. I wouldn’t mind it as much if we lived near the beach, but my summers tend to be boring, long, and sweltering.

“Whatever, as long as I don’t have to wake up for school I’m happy.”

I can’t argue there. Sophomore year has been long and strenuous. I’ve taken all AP classes both semesters, and I also joined the creative writing club which takes up a couple of hours each week.

Mainly I just needed something new to occupy my time. I’ve been lonelier this year.

I pull my swimsuit up over my body and slip my feet into my sandals.

When I step out of the stall and see Maisie staring at her reflection in the mirror, I start to regret my choice of bathing suit. Hers is a yellow string bikini, mine is a blue one-piece that only shows a tiny cut-out sliver of my stomach. My initial thought process was that wearing a bikini in front of everyone would be embarrassing, but now I feel like I’ll stick out like a sore thumb.

It’s funny, our bodies are so similar that based on that alone, people might think we were related, but our faces look nothing alike. Her eyes are a deep brown color and her hair is a dark russet. But we share the same slim, athletic build. Long, skinny legs, small breasts and butts, and somewhat wide shoulders. If she’s not afraid to show off her body then logically, I shouldn’t be either. But my brain is rarely logical.

She applies some more sunscreen, she’s always reapplying it because her skin is so pale. Mine isn’t extremely tan, but it’s definitely more on the olive side so I don’t burn quite as easily.

“Let’s swim,” she says as she slides her large, round sunglasses over her face.

“Can’t we just lay in the sun for a bit first?”

“Aren’t you the one that hates the heat? No, we’re swimming, get over it.”

I roll my eyes, adjusting my Rangers ball-cap to keep the sun off my face. I know it’s not worth arguing with her because she will get her way, and her way always involves swimming. She loves the water even more than I do.

As we walk out of the changing room and into the bright rays beaming down on the sand, I spot Alex and Brooke across the small lake. She’s also wearing a bikini, of course. Her body is as close to perfect as you can get. Tiny waist, curvy hips, and large breasts. Her blonde hair is pulled up into a sleek ponytail.

He’s gotten even taller, no surprise, and his tan torso is on full display right now.

I try not to stare at them, but it feels impossible.

How did my best friend in the world slip away from me so fast? As soon as Brooke started giving him her attention, it was like I no longer existed. We’ve only hung out a handful of times since then, and in the past six months I’ve hardly heard from him at all, other than an occasional “how are you?”.

It proved exactly what I figured was true. Girls like her end up with guys like him.And I have no damn clue where that leaves me.

Part of me knew it was coming, we’re in high school now. He’s popular, I’m not. But that doesn’t make it any less hurtful.

“Hello? Are you high or something?” Maisie waves a hand in front of my face, breaking my momentary hypnosis.

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