TimeIsOfTheEssence's Journal

    Ellie did her homework slowly, dragging out the minutes in the day until she could actually get up the courage to dial those ten numbers.  When she had no homework left to do, her parents had left to go out on a date night, and her brother had finally come home, it was about eight in the evening. She was sitting on the overstuffed floral couch, picking at the lint left on her feet by the socks she had been wearing.
    Instead of dialing the numbers that were still blazing bright blue on the palm of her left hand, she flipped open the small silver phone and hit speed dial 7- Catherine.
    With lightening fast fingers that suggested she texted more than she really did, she sent three simple words as Jason gave her an reconciliatory hug and went down the hall to his room.
    I saw Gavin.
    It was less than a minute before she got a reply.
    Shut up. Where?
    His mother works- she began, then deleted those three words. That was too risky.
    He was picking his cousin up from our school. That seemed safe enough. Can you believe my luck? I was walking with my head down because Jay and I fought about something stupid and right into him.
    The memory of that moment made her stomach flip, made her cheeks redden, made her heart beat quicken. She exhaled heavily, intoxicated by only an image in her head.
    No way! What did you do? What did he say? Tell me everything- I better get a book long text back!!!
    Well, he dropped a book, and when he bent down to get it we bumped heads. That's when we finally realized who we'd run into. And he said my name- just said it, like he knew exactly who I was. He has the most perfect face.
    What's he look like? What next?
     Well... he has dark red hair, kind of a deep red that borders on brown. Green eyes more beautiful than any I've ever seen in my life. Perfectly proportioned features. Even perfect teeth- that are so white! It's like he stepped out of a romance novel. Then we just walked and talked for a while, and he gave me his number.
    So why are you texting me, you idiot? Call him! That's a direct order. Pretend I'm giving you homework.
    What am I supposed to say to him? Ugh, hi, my name is Ellie. Durrrr.
    How about I want to push you up against a wall and do you? That works with guys.
    Cat! C'mon... a little help here. :(
    Here's your help- stop being a pussy and send a text. Simple, to the point, gets something going... and if it's good then call.
    How Ellie hadn't thought of that was beyond her. She closed her phone, opened it, closed it again... every couple of seconds she would go into her contacts and type Gia... the ten digit number would come up, making her feel so nervous she could vomit, and she would close the phone again.
    "Call her."
    Gabrielle jumped and yelped, dropping the phone as she threw her hands up to protect herself. She glared angrily and she threw her hands down, feeling anger toward the mass of overly-long curly hair that was her brother.
    "You don't know anything."
    "I know that you've got her number, are calling her Gavin, and you are supposed to call her now," Jason said, a twisted smirk on his face. He held up his own phone, a almost broken slider that's top wanted to slide right off the bottom.
    "How did you-?"
    "Cat. Call her. And tell Gavin I say hello."
    Ellie felt like her face was on fire. Stupid Cat.
    She flipped open her phone under Jason's insistent gaze, pulled up Gia's number, and found she could only find three things to say.
    Hi, it's Gabrielle.
    Well, boring seemed to be her strong suit.
    Twenty minutes passed with no response, and Ellie just about strangled Jason when he tried to list off reasons why the other girl would not text back. She tossed her phone onto the couch and wandered off dejectedly, deciding that the kitchen needed to be cleaned. Or something.
    
    ***

    Two hours passed without much attention from Ellie. Jason hovered, watching his sister, wondering how she would respond. He wasn't used to her actually showing emotion toward anyone but him or Cat. She was a reserved girl- she was in control 99 percent of the time. Tonight, she looked as if she was about to finally snap under even the slightest bit of pressure.
    Finally, around ten, her parents came home from the dinner and movie they'd gone to.
    "How was your night?" Anna asked her daughter, watching her scrubbing out the cupboards. She knew something was off. Ellie cleaned when she was nervous about something.
    "It was fine," Ellie replied simply. Jason had already gone off to bed- once his parent's had checked up on him, he would probably go out his window to some party, even if it was a Thursday night.
    "What's wrong, Gabby?"
    Only her mother called her Gabby, a nickname that she hated. But she tolerated it, because it was the reason she had been named Gabrielle- her mother loved the nickname. And if it made her mother happy, it made her happy... or so she pretended.
    Ellie put down the blue scrub sponge, wiping sweat off of her forehead. She was done for the night- she was exhausted, which had been what she was working toward achieving, so that she wouldn't have to lay in bed and think all night...
    "Nothing. Just, uh..." She paused, thinking of a good excuse. "Nervous about getting acceptance letters."
    "You'll get accepted to every school you applied for," Rob said as he came into the kitchen. He smelled of tobacco- he had taken up smoking again. He was the epitome of a manly-man, wearing worn jeans, a flannel shirt, towering over the two women easily. He was frightening when he was angry- Ellie had been smart enough to never cross him, though she's see him in a rage when Jason acted up, which was quite often.
    "Yeah, I know. It's alright. I'm going to bed." Ellie said with a shrug. She tossed the sponge into the sink, kissed her mother and father, and went up the wooden stairs to her peaceful blue room away from everyone else.
    "El, you forgot your phone- looks like you have a message." Rob called up after her, holding the phone up to her from the bottom step.
    Ellie ran down the stairs and grabbed at it greedily, her demeanor immediately changing.
    Her father looked at her curiously.
    "School my ass. You've got a new boy." He said, crossing his large arms over his chest as he studied her expression. He smiled at her and reached out to ruffle her shoulder-length wavy hair, making it a total mess.
    "Dad, it's not-"
    He removed his hand from her hair and shook his head.
    "Go to bed, Ellie. Try not to stay up too late. And if you're serious about this one, he better be brought over for my approval."
    He went off through the living room and down the hall to her parent's room at the very end. Ellie watched him go, mouth hanging open full of excuses. She would never be able to explain this one. Nor did she ever want to.
    There's probably nothing to even explain.
    Ellie took the very steep stairs two at a time, a dangerous feat, pulling her jeans and sweatshirt off as she went. She pulled her bra off as well in a rush, grabbing a random t-shirt from the long dresser just to the right of her doorframe.
    Ellie flipped open her phone as she pulled the shirt over her head, practically jumping out of her skin with an envelope with the word Gia underneath it appeared as the inside screen lit up. It was from an hour ago.
    She had the text message open before she threw herself on the bed, heart hammering.
    Sorry it took me so long to respond, Gabrielle. Ellie, right? My mother was being ridiculous tonight. She really is a hassle.
    Are you still there? I was cleaning the kitchen- I apologize. Sorry about your mom.
    Less than five minutes later, her phone vibrated. Ellie rolled over onto her back, pulling her white down comforter over herself as she did so. Again the name alone made her just about squeal in delight.
    I'm still here. Cleaning so late? That sucks. Ah, she's fine. But how are you?
    I am wonderful. Cleaning is a nervous habit of mine. How are you?
    I am ok. Better now that I'm texting you. Would you like to hang out some time soon? Maybe go to a movie or something?
    Ellie kicked her feet happily, unable to get out the energy any other way. Gizmo walked into the room, watched her kick her feet wildly under the covers, and decided it was in his best interest to sit in the corner of the room between the radiator and the long dresser.
    I would love that. I am free tomorrow if that's not too soon.
    It was too soon- she knew it was too soon- why had she asked?
    I can pick you up from school. Unless you drive, which I figure you do since I saw you get in the taurus. Want me to pick you up at your house?
    Ellie did squeal this time. She couldn't help herself.
    That sounds good. You obviously know when school ends. I live on Middle Street, right by the corner of Crosse. Only white house with a blue door. And a stupid sign that says "Welcome to the Francis Home" with all of our names hanging under it.
    So about 3:30 then? What do you want to do? Go see a movie, maybe walk around the shopping center before hand? The sidewalks are heated, did you know that?
    I did know that- I love it that. That sounds perfect
    It's getting late- you should sleep, valedictorian ;) See you tomorrow!
    Goodnight, Gia. Sweet dreams. :)
    Ellie waited for a couple minutes to see if anything would come through- it didn't. She plugged her phone in and set it on the floor by her mattress, volume on high just in case.
    She fell asleep with a smile on her face, feeling more elated than she had in her life.

***

    "You obviously got a reply since every time we've passed in the hall, you've been smiling like today's the best day ever, and we both know it isn't since there's a pep rally at the end of the day," Jason said, walking up beside Ellie in the hallway between third and fourth period. Usually, the day flew by after her 3a lunch period.
    The last hour and a half of 3b, c, and d had crawled so slow that Ellie had almost fallen asleep during Psychology. Now she still had an hour and a half of 4th period. She didn't mind English- it was not one of her favorites, but at least her teacher was entertaining.
    "Tell mom I'm going to spend the evening with Cat," Ellie said, biting the corner of her lips to keep from smiling from ear to ear.
    Jason wolf whistled quietly and rushed off before his sister could hit him.
    Unfortunately, there as a fat man in suspenders and black dress slacks as the substitute teacher for English. Ellie opened her notebook and pretended to take notes as he began a lecture on Great Expectations by Charles Dickens.
    Her phone vibrated in her pocket. It made her jump and look around to see if she'd disturbed anyone. No one seemed to have noticed. She never got texts during the day- the only people she texted were in class as well.
    She couldn't help but hope...
    Ellie silently and secretly slipped her phone out of her pocket, unsure of how to check the text without the sub seeing her. She finally decided on opening it under her desk.
    It was Gia...
    Are we still on for today?
    Hell yes they were! Ellie had been thinking about nothing else all day.
    Of course. Why, is something wrong?
    No. I was just making sure. Maybe you'd changed your mind.
    Never. :)
    Good. I will see you at 3:30.
    After that, the class dragged even slower.
    Finally, 2:30 came, the bell rang, and Ellie was for the first time since she'd started high school the first person out of the door. She practically ran to her locker, shoved all of her books into her bag for the weekend, and was out the back door before she'd said goodbye to either Cat or Jay. Her little sage green '02 Taurus sat under a solid inch of ice and snow, which took her a good twenty minutes to get off.
    It took another fifteen just to go a few blocks to her house. Car accidents were on every turn, ice coated the roads, and the hope of a snow day on monday hung over her head like an added bonus to the already amazing day.
    Maybe they'd get stuck in the snow somewhere and get to spend even more time together tonight...
    That's a sick, twisted thought.
    Ellie had barely made it into the driveway, parking just in front of the flower bed so that her parents could pull around her car and into the garage, before she had jammed the car in park, pulled out the keys, and ran inside.
    She went through the sun porch, into the living room, threw her bag down, and just about screamed when she saw the time on the clock sitting on top of the entertainment center. It was 4:10, and one quick look into the mirror on another of the living room walls let her know how bad she looked. Her hair was  a mess of static cling thanks to the hood of her sweatshirt, her make up had long since faded, and her running shoes were so worn that they were a dull tan color instead of the white they had once been.
    She raced up the stairs, pulling open the closet door at the top of the small landing. Nothing looked good enough for the fiery-haired girl that would be there in less than 20 minutes.
    Once half of her clothes were in a pile on the closet floor, she finally settled on a green knit sweater that made her boobs look bigger than they were- which was good, because she barely had any. It came with having a runner's body. The jeans she was wearing were a little baggy but would work with her brown boots. Ellie's hair would take too long to straighten, so she settled for putting some gel in it to smooth out the tangles and keep her natural wave, which was actually quite pretty. As for the make up... she wouldn't have enough time to make herself look like a rockstar, so she just touched up on the foundation, blush, and a light purple eye shadow that made her brown eyes look a little less ordinary.
    The doorbell rang, and Gizmo- who had been watching Ellie run around frantically- shot down the stairs in hopes of sneaking out.
    Her stomach fell into her toes. She checked in the mirror one last time, put on a little bit of clear lip balm, and headed down the stairs, grabbing her purse out of the closet as she went. She never used the thing but when she went out... which was pretty much never.
    She went out onto the front porch, which was enclose and surrounded by windows that left a horrible draft in unless the door to the living room was closed, and opened the front door.
    Ellie had to stop herself from gaping as she had at school... and at the race...
    Gia had seemed to of pulled out all the stops. Her red hair was straightened, so that it was even longer than before- now that the curls were gone, her hair fell to the middle of her back. She was wearing an indigo color long sleeve shit with a white lace camisole underneath hidden beneath a white coat with faux fur lining the hood. The lace laying of the camisole was laying on the hips of her jeans perfectly, not budging with the movement of Gia bouncing in the cold. It drew Ellie's attention there, and the girl couldn't help but imagine putting her hands on those hips...
    "You look... really pretty," Gia told her, before Ellie could offer the same compliment. Ellie looked down at herself as if she hadn't seen the outfit a thousand times just minutes earlier. She pushed Gizmo back with her foot as she held the swinging door open to let Gia in out of the cold.
    "Not as pretty as you. Do you ever have a bum day and look like everyone else?"
    Gia cheeks were either blazing from the cold, or from the compliment. Ellie guessed it was the cold, since it was probably only 35 degrees or some such nonsense out. The red-head shook her head and pawed at the air as if she could push the question away.
    "Pssh, whatever," She said with a laugh. "Anyway! I don't know what movies are out. I haven't gone in ages. So I figured we could blindly pick off of posters and see where it goes."
    Ellie smiled brightly, nodding in earnest. "I love that idea."
    She went back through the door behind her, went into the living room closet to get her baby blue ski jacket, and then headed out to Gia's car with her. Her was something that was real, unlike the model-movie-star of a girl that had wanted to spend time with Ellie. It was just a regular old car- a tan camry that had to be at least eight or nine years old. Gia went around to open the door on Ellie's side with a key, apologizing as she did for not having automatic doors. Ellie didn't care- she would have gotten into a buggy driven by horses if it meant she got to go to the movies with Gia.
    While Gia was making her way back around the car to get to the driver's door, Ellie looked around to see what she could learn of the other girl. There wasn't really anything in the car besides college books and notebooks on the backseat floor, and some dried flowers in the rear window. There was no CD player, but there as a tape player that had a tape with a wire attached to it inside. It looked like it would hook up to a music player, but Ellie wasn't really sure- she wasn't much into music. She was more into books.
    Gia got in and turned the car on, also apologizing for the loud roar of the engine coming to life. This car had obviously has a long, hard life. But it was a comfortable car. It felt like Ellie was in her room.
    At first, the fifteen minute drive on the highway to the movie theater and shopping center was quiet besides soft music playing in the background- the wire did connect to an MP3, which Gia carried around in her pocket when not in the car. Ellie enjoyed the music- it was serene and the lyrics were meaningful and mostly about love, it seemed. It was a peaceful quiet, one that didn't need words, one that made all of Ellie's nervousness slip away with each inch the tires traveled down the road. They cast glances back and forth every now and then, smiling and laughing when their eyes met. A fifteen minute drive in snow and ice like this meant a good twenty five minute drive (if they got lucky) so Ellie finally struck up a conversation.
    "You said you have an older sister... do you guys get along?" She asked, watching Gia's expression. She grimaced and shook her head.
    "No. She is extremely preppy and superficial. She dates the big strong football type because she's the little girly cheerleader girl. My parents love her, but her lack of individuality makes me want to hurl." Gia stuck her tongue out, pretending to gag. "What about you? What's your family like?"
    Ellie shrugged. Like a typical family?
    "Mom works part time, Dad full time. They are still in the mushy-love stage. It's kind of sickening, but still cute." Ellie said with a grin. "I have a younger brother that's sixteen. He parties constantly, but my parents pretend to not notice. He's not like other younger brothers though- we get along great."
    "I always wanted a brother," Gia said, staring straight ahead now since snow was falling once more, making the roads a little harder to navigate. "My mom couldn't have kids after me, though. I was a tough pregnancy and she was too old. I was lucky that I got out of there."
    Ellie laughed at the way she put it, though slightly grossed out imagining Mrs. Marino having a baby. Not the image of the strict, uptight, never-smiling Vice Principal that Ellie saw at school. She wouldn't have ever guessed the woman was a mother. She probably wasn't the nurturing caring kind.
    "Yeah, I was surprised your mom was... well... a mom."
    "She's a horrible mother, you've got that right," Gia said with a small, frustrated sigh. "I love her because she's my mother but that's about it."
    "What makes her such a bad mother?" Ellie couldn't help but ask. She was still watching Gia, completely enthralled by every word the other girl said.
    "Well she... she just doesn't handle change well," Gia said with a shrug. She still couldn't look at Ellie, though it was clear she wanted to. "When I... well, I went through a very big change, I guess you can say. My mother was the reason I started going to college. I left high school when I was supposed to go into sophomore year, started the Early College program instead, and then she took the job and we headed up here. I was pretty much devastated but she was insistent that things stay the same. My father didn't agree so he divorced her."
    "Oh, wow. I... she sounds horrible. What was so bad about... your change?" Ellie asked, curiosity killing her.
    "Well, I think that's a story for later. But my mother won custody of us even though I wanted to stay with him in Florida where I'd lived my whole life. She wouldn't hear of it. And neither would my preppy sister- she throws a right fit when things change, too. She's just like mom."
    Gia looked... livid. She obviously had no liking for either of her family members, not even the smallest bit of love beyond a blood tie. She arranged her facial features to indifference after a moment and sighed heavily, finally turning her eyes to Ellie's for a second. She offered the girl in the passenger seat a small smile to show that she was ok.
    "Wrong subject. Care for a new one?" Ellie offered.
    "No need, Ellie," Gia said, turning the wheel this way and that. Ellie realized they were there.
    "I'll start poster picking," Ellie said, and that was the end of that.