Riverton High School

~27~

"Jealousy looks terrible on you, yet you continue to ware it."

Linda rode her old rusty red bike 45 minutes to Emily's two story home. The summer sun beating down on her body as she pedaled. She pushed and her legs began to ache, virtually out of breath with sweat dripping down her forehead and clammy hands she knocked on Emily's door.

The two had been bonding almost every week without Brooke's knowledge. Just to spare her emotional over reactions, but really Emily had grown to like Linda. The two planned to go bird watching, in which Brooke openly declined when Emily presented the idea. Brooke always had to be the dare devil.

If she wasn't at the coffee shop she was trying to jump off a cliff with no harness. Emily tried to maintain a balanced of partying and peaceful. Emily had always loved bird watching, it was something only had done with her at one time. He was really captivated by nature. She used to sit on his lap and give the birds seeds and the crust off her PB and J. She'd pitter patter around chasing the birds, shooing them out of there flocks.

They'd always get ice cream after a day In the sun. He was only 50 when he passed. The loss hit hard, Emily entering an important period of teenaged development. Her mother never seemed to understand her as she aged. After her father's death, they grew more distant instead of closer. The pain of her father's death and silent neglect from her mother caused a spiraling of delinquent behavior and decreasing grades.

Besides the wild parties, she always made time for bird watching, but she usually did it alone. Brooke knowing why it's so important, still won't do it with her. She mocks it, calling it boring, cheesy, gay, ext. Emily felt almost forced to take Linda. When bird watching with her father, he always explained life to her, venting almost.

Emily wasn't sure exactly what he was talking about at her age, but she knew it was important so she listened. He always told her to respect herself. He told her to follow her dreams, and to keep her shoes tied so she wouldn't fall, but only now does she get the significance of that one.
Linda waited patiently at the door and it finally swung open.
"Hey Brooke - Is Emily here?" Linda huffed with a weak smile.

"Why? What do you want? " Brooke rolled her eyes.
"Me and Emily are supposed to be leaving?" Linda said confused.
"Look Lisa, I don't know who you think you are." Brooke pointed at her watching her eyes widen in shock.
"You need to know Emily's my fucking best friend and your rolly polly ass isn't going to be hanging out with her all the damn time, I'm not gonna let some butter fingered fat faced loser get wedged in between us, I don't have time for this bullshit, I'm tired of her playing actually.. She's just being nice to you, she doesn't know how to tell you to get lost, she feels bad for you because you don't have any friends of your own.

So why don't you just do us all a favor and get out of here." Brooke pushed Linda's right shoulder back, holding a fearless cold paralyzing stare. Linda was at a loss for words, she slowly backed off the porch without a word and quickly left on her bike. Watching her leave she gave a satisfied smirk and shut the door. She hurried back to resume her previous position on the couch. 

"I heard a knock is Linda here?" Emily asked rushing out with a flat iron in her hand.
"Nah I dropped something." Brooke said flipping through TV channels.
"Oh." Emily shrugged.