This part takes place when the narrator(Micaela "Micki") is seventeen, and is arguing with her best friend(Leah Rosalynd "Lelynd") about Micki accidentally starting a rumor that she threw a huge party over the weekend.
“So why did they think it was a party?” Lelynd asked me at work a few days after the drunken mess at my house had happened.
I shrugged. “Who the hell knows? I already told you Kathy’s not the brightest crayon in the box,”
“So? That’s not any reason to jump to some f**ked-up conclusion. What did you tell her that made her think that?”
“Why do you think it’s my fault?”
“I’m sorry, but you do tend to to have a lot of brain-farts when you talk,”
“The hell’s that supposed to mean? I told her a few of my friends were coming over, and she asked if there’d be a keg. I said no, just sixers, and we’d all jam,”
“Did you actually say to her, ‘No, I’m not having a party, just a few friends’?”
“No,”
“Hello?! Micki- you said beers. You said friends. You said jam sessions. You even invited her over!”
“I did not! Why would she ever wanna come over and watch Star Wars? I just don’t see her getting her kicks from that. She came on her own,”
Lelynd groaned. “That’s not what I mean. She thought your words implied you were having a party. You did not realize that, and therefore fully correct her,”
“Don’t put the blame on me for this!” I said defensively, “I don’t talk to people like her because they’re so goddamned backwards when they talk!”
“Well…as far as she and her friend go, no harm done. So people will think you had a party. Not a big deal,”
Next part is during the flashback chapters. This is when Micki is 12 and meets Lelynd for the first time. After a very confusing misunderstanding, she calls her older brother at college to get his POV on the situation.
“But I don’t get it!” I said as I talked to my brother on the phone that night, as my parents were out at dinner, “Why did she snap at me like that, and come back the next day like it was no big thing? She didn’t even apologize!”
“If she came back the next day, then that was her way of apologizing. She’s just…doing it without making it awkward between you two. Your new friend lost her father pretty recently. She’s probably going to cry some more about it. At his birthday, or Fathers’ Day, or the holidays, whatever. Just…I dunno- give her a hug or something,”
“No!” I panicked. I couldn’t do that ever when I was that age. Even today, it’s still hard for me to hug people unless I’ve been close to them for years. It’s just how I work, I guess.
“Look, sis- it’s just what people do. You sulk about how Mom and Dad don’t let you go wandering around town like I could. All of your bizarre behavior makes them think that you can’t handle the responsibility that goes with that,”
“Well, ha-ha to them! I went with Lelynd today to the music store!”
“Wow. At least you’re rebelling like a normal kid. I’m thinking this Lelynd kid might be a good influence on you! Just don’t tell Mom and Dad I said that. I’ll deny it,”
“That’s why I don’t wanna screw it up,”
“Yeah. You’ve got someone giving you a chance. You’re a total weirdo, but I don’t wanna see my little sister get tormented by everyone her age. That’s why you need to listen to my advice. I’ll be completely up front with you, but you can’t go freaking out at every hint of criticism, ‘kay?”
“How come you’re so eager to help me now?”
“Because I can do it without being grounded for ‘undermining’ them. Wake up, Mik! They’ve been treating you like you’re ret*d for years! The only reason they leave you home alone is because I’m not here being forced to baby-sit for you. At the same time, they’re too cheap to find you a babysitter. Hell- they’re probably glad you go play at Lelynd’s house every day,”
“Yeah- Lelynd’s older cousin stays with her. I guess Lelynd’s mom knows that Lelynd’s kind of a troublemaker,”
“You probably should be hanging out with a troublemaker. You stick to the rules way too much. Just because something is a rule doesn’t make it right. That’s what they imply in my philosophy class. Look, kid- I gotta go, but I’m proud of you. I hope maybe someday you can break some kid’s nose that tries to mess with you. Yeah, you’ll get in trouble, but sometimes, it’s worth getting into trouble for something that means a lot to you. I mean- look at Jesus!”
“I…don’t wanna get killed, okay?”
“Christ, Micaela. It’s an example of an extreme. If a person can stand being killed for something they believe in, you shouldn’t flinch from getting yelled at by Mom and Dad for putting some punk kid in their place. Sooner you toughen up, the less afraid you’ll be of doing what you feel is right,”
“…Are you high?”
“Haha…a little. Talk to you later, ok?”
“Okay, bye,” I hung up the phone.
25 Mar 2010, 12:32 am
