by Veronica H.

Promises
*Excerpt from Chapter 2*

This was it, I thought to myself. I was making such a big deal out of this
mean while it was just another party.

When we entered the humungous house, we stopped and stared glancing

around the entrance as if we had just gone to the promised lands and we were
experiencing the bliss that followed the experience.

Woah.

The huge frame of the door we stood in viewed the crème colored wall
paper with many flowers decorating the boarders. The ceiling of course had to
have a chandelier and the tables were pure glass, covered with flowers and all
sorts of different party favors. The ceiling was so high, if you stood on a ladder,
you still wouldn’t be able to reach it!

People crowded the room and music blasted throughout the whole house.
We soon joined the dance floor crowd.

“I wish Liv was here,” I said to Taylor and Layla as we danced.

Taylor answered. “Yea, but aren’t you glad I said yes?!”

Then he smiled. That smile melted my heart and I went into a daze. The
smile consumed me and I longed to be with him. Then my eyes drifted to his lips.
They looked so comfortable and soft in that smile. I wondered how they felt.
Wait-what was I saying? What if Layla saw me staring? What if she asked why I
was staring? What if she was thinking the same thing? How dare she!

I phased back to reality and went to get a drink. Stephen followed and
volunteered to get Mickey one, too. But when we got to the table, there wasn’t a
wide variety to choose from. We took some Coca Cola and started to head back.
Except, Stephen came to a sudden stop on the way back.

“What? Let’s go. Why’d you-. “

by Veronica H.

I saw what he caught sight of. Some loser seniors were messing around
with Mickey. They were playing with her skirt and grabbed at her waist. She
squirmed and slapped and asked them to stop, but that didn’t help. And before I
knew it, the first punch was thrown.

I really couldn’t see who threw it and who received it because of all the
commotion. But then I realized Stephen wasn’t next to me anymore. Oh, God. I
knew he had a bad temper, but picking fights with seniors? Come on, not even I
would do that. Well . . . maybe.

I scrambled to the fight, to only see it was growing. Taylor had joined
Stephen, and Layla and Mickey were now cowering off somewhere. Then I saw it
wasn’t all seniors. One of them was a senior, he received the first punch
obviously, but there was also a junior and . . . Jason. Of course. Layla’s prediction
of them harassing us wasn’t that far off. I soon found Casey cheering her boy on
from the side. Unlike her, I went into the fight.

I really had a strong arm. My dad told me to work out regularly to stay in
shape in case some guys ever caused me trouble, I could give them a good punch
rather than letting them take advantage of me.

Thanks Dad.

I hit him hard for sure. He looked stunned. So did the rest of the crowd
along with my friends. My friends knew I was in shape, but didn’t know I was
capable of this. Everyone cheered on me and my group.

The guy I hit was the senior. Bad choice to hit him. But it didn’t really look
like he wanted to retaliate, too bad he did. He took a swing and it grazed my
cheek as I turned away. I groaned and jabbed him in the nose and he fell back
hitting the floor with a thud. Jason and the other junior tried to assist him, but he
was down. I walked away straight to Mickey.
by Veronica H.

I grabbed her hand and dragged her over to the senior, still in a heap on the
floor.

I stood in front of them, hands on my hips waiting.

“You gunna say something?” I asked harshly. He was in some other world
so I asked again.

“Hello? Anyone there? Or are you still unconscious from the hit?”

He sort or growled and managed these words through gritted teeth, “what
do you want?”

“Say you’re sorry.”

He laughed along with everyone else and Mickey stood there a little
embarrassed standing next to me. When the senior saw the look on my face, he
knew I was serious.

“Sorry . . . that you’re friends couldn’t throw decent punches!” I almost

reached out and strangled him when Taylor intervened.

“Hey, and I’m sorry you’re not strong enough to take a punch from a girl
and admit it. But you know how spineless jocks are.” I chuckled and the senior
stood up. He walked over to Mickey, Taylor and me.

“I’m sorry I messed with your skirt,” he kind of sounded defeated as he

walked off to the snack table. People stared, mouths practically on the floor. I
couldn’t decide on whether to walk away, laugh, or walk away laughing.

Instead, the crowd chose to cheer me on and pick me up and carry me on

their shoulders like they did in those cheesy movies. Then my vision went blurry.
If only I wasn’t dreaming.