Black and White Rainbow CHapter 2

Halfway through the school year, Christmas Break (it’s supposed to be called “winter solstice break,” because Alabaster Prep is obsessed with making sure they are totally, completely, 100% PC. Just to prove they are mainly the only kids who get scholarships are exchange students or whatever. They’re extreme PC-ness was the reason I even got into this whole mess in the first place, since they wanted an exchange program to prove it even more so) was just over and no one was all that jazzed about being back. No one but me, because it was at least a chance to escape the mother that constantly reminded me I’m the reason Dad left- I don’t know how she figured that, but she said it enough that I believed it.
Well, Cassie was pretty happy to be back, too. Since she came from a family of 6, all of whom but her and her mother are boys, who could blame her for being happy to b anywhere but there, even if it was just school?
“Hey, Claire!” She hopped out of nowhere, like she always does. And in her too-peppy mood, like she always is in, scaring the books right out of my hands. “How was your break? Did your mom bug you?” And a billion other questions. She’s my best friend, so I love her to pieces, but GOD, the girl could be annoying sometimes!
“Hi, Cassie,” I replied, and grinned. Her smile was infectious. “How was break?”
“ I spent it in the country with my redneck brothers and uncle. Just lovely. Whaddaya think?” She deadpanned. Even though she was seriously cheery, the girl had some serious sarcasm skills. “Umm, I’m guessing… you came to love your brothers and have adopted their chauvenist ways?” Riiiiiiight. That was gonna happen- Cass here was about as sophisticated as teens come, despite her utter.... PEPPINESS.
“Funny.” She rolled her extremely made-up eyes at me, and then does this weird little dance. Like a bunny hopping when it finds a carrot, or whatever. I know it's her nervous dance. “So, didja hear about the exchange program going on?”
“Yes, I did.”
“And are you gonna do it?”
“Cassie, have you ever known me to be the type to go to Italy with random preps and jocks that’re just going so they have an excuse to leave school and hook up in a foreign country? I don’t think so.” Discussion over, Cassie, I tried to say with my look. But has Cassie ever been one to take a hint and shut up? About as much as I am the kind to take risks, I would say.
“Um, maybe you could start being one now? For me?” She had this look in her eye, a guilty one, like when you walk in the house and a tiny puppy is eating your socks, and he just gives you this look, like “I wuv you,” so you’ll forgive it? That was her look. Crap. What’d she do now?
I sighed. “Okay, Cass, what’d you do this time?” She was like a little kid that I was having to constantly get out of trouble.
“I signed you up for the exchange trip.” She blurted it out, and it was in a sigh kind of, but I heard her enough.
“YOU DID WHAT?”
“Duh, Claire, I signed you up. God,” She rolled her eyes. Um, wasn’t I the one supposed to be doing that? Along with some shouting?
“I heard you. I mean WHY!?!”
“Because you need to go there, and find love, and I know you’re going to. My psychic said so!” I don’t know why me and her were best friends- we were so different. While she believed in anything and everything, I stuck to facts. I was the most reasonable person I knew. Or, at least I thought so. I don’t so much anymore.
I rolled my eyes so dramatically and heavily it hurt. “Please. Don’t give me that crap about Rosa again! And you know I’ve decided I’m never going to fall in love again. I did that once- remember what happened?” After that thing with Jess was when we became friends. She knew what it was like to have guys abuse her like that. Did I mention that part? Along with his bad-boy image came a serious set of emotional baggage, so much that he probably needed a forklift to carry it with him from place to place. He took it all out on me- verbally and… otherwise. I had always tried to leave the relationship, but I kept coming back. It was the pain of that combined with the pain of it being my best friend since kindergarten and my dad leaving that made me leave for good. Plus it probably helped that he moved. To the other side of America.
She got this look in her eyes. I didn’t know what it was- fed-up-ness, concern, disgust, affection? A mix of all of those and more probably. My friend was a very complicated person, which I know, it’s hard to tell through her craziness. “Look, Claire, I know you’re scared. I know that your first love was something that damaged you, but you need to work to get better. You need to learn to love and trust. I think this’ll help you. Besides, it’s too late to back out, Ms. Wells already approved it.” She shrugged. “Guess you have to go and fall in love with a sexy Paulo or whatever. Poor you.” She smiled mischievously.
“Cass, are you at least coming?”
“Yes, so you’ll have the treat of my presence, right?” She gave me that cute grin of hers again.
“Fine, I guess we’re going to Italy then.” I groaned inwardly. WHY was I agreeing to this? I hate stuff like this. Maybe I could just fake sick on that day and stay home.
But… I hated to admit it, but maybe Cassie was right. Maybe I wouldn’t get hurt if I just took this one tiny risk.
She was wrong about one thing, though: I was not going to fall in love. Or, so I planned not to. But when you’re in one of the most romantic cities in the world, something’s bound to happen, right?

Black and White Rainbow, Chapter 1

***1***
In life, I’ve learned one thing, and that is this: Cocoa Puffs don’t make you fly to the moon.
I realize that sounds mental, but if I explain, maybe it will be about 50% more reasonable.
When I was little, I was so unbelievably gullible. I took everything literally… I trusted things. I believed everyone, and that’s obviously only caused me hurt, pain and confusion. Take for example, this: You know that crazy annoying bird, whose obsessed with Cocoa Puffs (that always made me wonder, why didn’t he just EAT the flippin’ things? It’s not like he was on Weight Watchers, making sure his feathers don’t get too poofy.), and whenever he ate a bowl, he went shooting up to the moon in joy? I had always loved the moon. I planned to live there someday (I know, I know, but I was eight. You can’t blame a girl for dreaming.), actually, so why not go buy a box, eat it, shoot to the moon and visit my future home?
This is why: I ate the whole thing, thinking I just hadn’t eaten enough yet, and the it was gone. Next thing I knew, there I was, covered in second-hand choco-spew, my clothes and hair, as well as the floor, completely “redecorated.” Lovely.
I just use this as an illustration for why you can never believe anything. Call me cynical, but at least I have a reason to be. And no, it’s not the Cocoa Puffs, but- what else is there to worry about?- it’s love. Platonic and otherwise.
My first and only boyfriend had that dangerous, bad-boy thing going for him. All the girls, including me (even though I tried hard to resist), were falling over their too-high Manolo’s at the prep school I attended for him. But he never took any interest in any of them- but me.
I don’t know why he chose me. I was just this girl, another one, the only one not making an effort for him, the one with the reading glasses, the black and white argyle set (black and white was all I wore- another rule of mine, because it kept me safe. What if someone came up to me and didn‘t like my outfit? I was against being noticed), not even the sexy preppy kind. But Jess Amerati? He liked a challenge.
So I said yes, and every time we walked in the quad together, I could feel people’s eyes on me. Even my (ex, now) best friend, Brooke, was throwing daggers of jealousy at me. I felt it, but just barely since Jess’ face was permanently stuck to mine. I seriously don’t know how we got away with it- the teachers were painstakingly picked by their level of hatred towards love, which I though we had, and just in case they weren’t crabby enough had a stick surgically stuck up their butt. But Jess was that kind of guy, who never got in trouble.
Like I said, I truly thought we were in love- he said so, and we both know how gullible I can be. At least I was until I saw Brooke and Jess sucking each other’s faces on a bench in the quad. I got smart then.
And it was a good thing I did, too, because right after that, Dad left. Out of the blue. I never once heard him fight, they had always seemed like they loved each other and ad perfect happy lives, all that usual crap- but you know how parents are the best actors out there. They could give Emmy winners a run for their money.
So this, I was ready for. This, I knew how to handle, having been betray by two of the people I loved most in my life. What difference did a third betrayal make?
Most kids, if this happened to them, would make them do some bad things. Drinking, smoking, smoking harder things, sniffing harder things, staying out all night, and eventually they’d have a Greta Garbo moment: Nice men in the white coats coming for them, you know. That or a Sylvia Plath ending. But the point is, their lives would end badly. Not me, I had a plan, and I even wrote a manifesto of it so I‘d never forget (that was another thing I was big on, lists. I liked to know I had everything under control, and lists help me know that and never forget anything):
Graduate at top of class from Alabaster Prep.
Get a scholarship to anything Ivy League.
Get a glamorous job at a nonfiction publishing house.
And above all, this:
NEVER FALL IN LOVE. EVER. I MEAN IT, CLAIRE. DON’T YOU DO IT AGAIN. YOU KNOW WHAT HAPPENED THE LAST AND FIRST TIME.
And so far, I’d been sticking to that plan perfectly, blending in everywhere, never becoming too attached to anyone. My mother was about the only one I trusted, and even then not much. Like I said, they’re good actors.
That was until my sophomore year, when Cassie just had to put my name on that sign up sheet.

How does it sound? I'm hoping OK. Ch. 2 is better, I hope. Mmkay, until tommorrow!

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