Chapter 1
The morning was quiet for a Thursday. Birds chirped and the wind was hungry, for it was commonly stuffed full with yelling of road rage commuters, barking dogs, and sirens. This delighted Jennifer who had been laying in bed with the window open. She never needed her alarm, but this morning she did. She finally rolled out of bed and started getting ready after the morning bathroom duties. She opened her computer and put on some Switchblade Symphony before picking a long sleeve lace shirt, a black top, and a long black velvet skirt from her closet. She danced around the room while she stood in front of her large mirror and started applying her makeup, her clothes on the bed. The clock read 5:45am.
Jennifer first applied her white foundation, then contoured her face with shades of grey. Liquid eyeliner was her best friend for her eyebrows, shaved, naturally. She carefully sculpted them, thin and high. Her eyeliner was also a thin and high cat-eye wing. Next was the smokey eyeshadow and a black lipstick. Oh, and a pound of mascara and some thick long lashes. She put her long black hair up in a bun, adding a silver bat accessory in the front. Once her attire was on, she added jewelry: rings, necklaces, dangling crosses for earrings, and jingly bracelets. Last but unacceptable to forget, she wrapped a black and white corset around her waist and white platforms on her feet. The clock read 6:30am.
She went into the family kitchen, her outfit singing louder in the abnormally quiet house. Jennifer was used to her mom scrambling to get her out of the door for school, with the usual morning groans over her outfit. The whole “not a way a young Christian girl should dress” blah blah blah. Whatever. She smiled to herself to see a note on the kitchen table instead of the disdain in her mother’s eyes.
“Jenny,
I left for the airport early so I can get through security as smoothly as possible.
You better not be late to school. DO NOT have Romeo over while I’m gone.
Mom”
Jennifer scoffed and rolled her eyes. “I can’t wait until dad gets back.”
She stomped to the fridge and opened it, knowing damn well she wasn’t going to eat anything. Mom wasn’t home to gripe about eating breakfast as a growing woman, despite her also getting on her about weight. The whole reason she started skipping meals in the first place. She saw a banana in the fruit basket and decided fine. I’ll eat something. She ripped it open and ate it quickly. Her school bag was by the door, covered in safety pins in the shapes of hearts. Her long black coat was next to it. She put both on and left out the door, locking it behind her. The clock read 6:45am.
The walk to school wasn’t that far. There was a park with a lake nearby. After a few tracks on her mp3, she put it into her coat, for she could see Romeo by the lake. Her heart began to pound aggressively the closer she walked up to him. He was distracted, staring at the lake that was glowing from the morning sun.
She chuckled to herself as she slowly came up behind him. She gently pushed on his shoulders and yelled, “Boo!”
Romeo jumped like a cat and turned swiftly with fear, but then immediately let out a belching laugh, his earbuds falling out of his ears. He stood up to hug her. Romeo had a red mohawk, curly from his natural hair. He was shorter than Jennifer. She stood almost a foot taller than him with the platforms. He fashioned his own pair of platforms, taller than the ones she wore. He looked up at her with his crystal blue eyes, handsomely striking against his dark skin. Hovering above them were bleached brows and eyebrow piercings. He also had three piercings decorating his nose-both nostrils and a septum-and three rings in his bottom lip. His ears were lined with them as well. He wore a white Bauhaus shirt with tight fitting red plaid jeans, tucked smoothly into this knee high platforms, the most glossy vinyl with black laces.
Jennifer’s big doe eyes batted sweetly before leaning down for a kiss. She grabbed his strong shoulders firmly as they embraced. His arms were still wrapped around her. She could taste he recently had a cigarette.
“Baaaabe, Can I have one?”
Romeo chuckled as he pulled back to reach for his pack in his bag. He pulls out a cig and places it between his full lips. “You know it’s illegal for me to give cigs to minors?”
She stomped her foot and pouted, “Oh my gosh. Baby. I’m 17-uh!”
Romeo belched and stuck out his tongue, then grabbed her one. He lifted it up to her black colored lips and lit it for her. He lit his afterwards and they sat down on the wet grass. Jennifer took her first few drags, her breath and the smoke dancing from her lips. She giggled and tapped her feet gently. She looked at her cell phone to see time. It read 7:10am.
Romeo admired her, taking drags and watching her like she was art. He cleared his throat, “So is your mama out of town yet?”
Jennifer flicked the ash, “Yeah, thank fuck. She left without waking my ass up. I got to sleep in. It was oddly quiet this morning!”
“That’s good, babe. Does that mean I get to come over?!” He wiggled his eyebrows.
She lightly punched his arm. “No! You know how my mom is.”
“Psh-girl, fuck your mom. Can you come over to my place? My mama will be there and you know she’s chill. She’s making spaghetti!”
Jennifer gave him a smirk and she shook her head. “That would be fine. I’m just gonna need to not be home too late. She’ll call me before bed and check in and shit.”
“Understood. You know my mama would gladly do that. We’ll eat and then we can watch The Munsters?! I finally found both seasons!”
“That’d be really nice, honestly. I’m so tired after this week alone with my mom. She thinks she can just keep nagging at me about my lifestyle like I’m gonna change. It just makes me feel like shit, ya know? I’m not an evil person because of how I dress. The only thing she doesn’t judge me on is my fucking breathing.”
Romeo leaned his head on her arm, his free hand on her leg. “You just got one more year with her babygirl. Hell, less than that! Senior year is almost over. You’re almost 18. Then you can live with me and mama if you want! Until we can find our own place of course.”
She laughed, “You’re such a romantic. We’re in high school. How do you know we’ll still be together in time to get an apartment?”
He squeezed her thigh. “I know I’ll still love you in a year. And the year after that, and the year after that!”
“How do you know?”
“You and I understand each other in ways no one else can. I’m never gonna meet another gorgeous goth queen who actually listens to the same music as I do. You’re perfect in every way, you watch old movies with me, and you know what it’s like to be an outsider in so many different areas. Like, we’re both goth as fuck, we’re both mixed, and we’re both-”
“Okay-okay-okay. Thank you babe. I see your point. Just don’t say the word. You know how much I hate it.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
She rolled her eyes. “I forgive you. Since you’re so cute.”
He smiled and flashed his pretty teeth. Jennifer looked down at her watch, reading 7:23am.
“I’m so tempted to ditch, babe.”
“I mean, your mom is out of town. They’d call your house phone anyway, right?”
“Yeah, her cell is only for work. Hmmm.”
“How about this? Go to your first period at least. I can’t miss art. You can ditch the second period and join me on my block off! I’ll buy breakfast.”
“Ugh. I don’t wanna. I hate having science right in the morning-uh!”
“You gotta pass biology baby, that’s an important class! If you back out now from the dissections, you’ll fail Mr. Gibb’s class and you’ll not graduate early like you’ve been working so hard for!”
Jennifer fiddled with her rings. “You right.” They both stood up and wiped the grass off their butts. Romeo helped her get the grass off. He swung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed her bag and tossed it onto his opposite shoulder. “Come on, baby, let’s get to class. Get this day over with!” He lit another cigarette then guided his tall swan to the sidewalk and they headed to school. The time was 7:40am.
The class bell roared through the hallways as 8:00am came around. Students shuffled into their seats and the buzzing of chat filled the rooms. Jennifer had her notebook out ready for notes. She was doodling bats in the corner of her sheet. She didn’t notice that two girls had walked up to her desk. The room was filled with students’ voices because the teacher had not shown up yet.
The girls were scanning her, the way her mother would. One was chewing gum annoyingly loud. Jennifer noticed them, and slowly brought her dark eyes up to the towering girls. She put her pencil down. “Can I help you?”
The non-gum chewer opened her glossed lips, “I have a question for you.”
Jennifer blinked her big lashes rapidly, black lips straight and hard. “What?”
“You always wear white foundation, but you’re black.”
“Yeah. And?”
“How is that not white-face?! If I do black face or wear too dark of foundation, you are all up on my ass about appropriation.”
“You dumb bitch. Blackface is different. I wear pale foundation to look dead. I’m goth.”
The horrid chewing stopped from the girl. “So you get a pass being judged ’cause you’re goth?”
Jennifer’s usual creamy smooth voice dropped, “You know what, bitch, I’m not having this uneducated conversation with you. You’re more dense than this fucking eraser. Now, get out of my space before I-”
The door to the classroom flew open and a slightly disheveled man came storming in. “Good morning class! Sorry, sorry. Everyone settle down and get into your seats! We’ll take attendance and then get back into dissections! So scarf down your breakfast now or forever hold your peace.”
The girls cackled, “what was that Jennifer?! Do you have an angry black man trapped in your body?!”
“Yeah, she’s like, possessed from hanging out with dead people.”
The two sat down, still cackling to themselves. Jennifer was shaking. She never let her voice slip. She was relieved no one else was paying attention. She took a few deep breaths as the room grew silent.
“Why were you late, Mr. Gibbs?!” Someone yelled sarcastically.
Mr. Gibbs looked up from his computer he was setting up. “I have kids too. They hate getting up early like you all do. Now, listen for your name while I call roll-call. Mmkay?”
Jennifer looked up at the clock. 8:15am. “I just have to make it until 9:30.” She whispered to herself.
After Mr. Gibbs takes roll call, Jennifer raises her hand and requests to use the restroom.
“You may Jennifer, but make it quick please!” Mr. Gibbs says sweetly.
“Thank you.” Jennifer leaves her bag, grabs the restroom pass, and heads out into the hall and walks to the bathroom.
Her heart starts racing, then relaxing when she realizes she’s the only girl in the bathroom. Since no one was there, she pulled up her long skirt and pulled out her appendage. She couldn’t wait until the end of the year, she finally got approved for her surgery. She normally would sit down and relief herself, but she was totally grossed out by the school bathrooms. She only sat at home, or if she has to shit. As she began to pee, she felt the cigarette she had earlier in her lower bowels.
“Shit, I hate when this happens.” She whispered. After peeing she turned around and squatted down on the toilet. She looked absolutely annoyed when she reached for her phone that’s normally in her bra, but she forgot it in her bag.
“Ugh, now I got to poop without my phone!” She rested her head on her hand, her elbow resting on her thigh. She stared at the writing on the stall.
“I hope Romeo is having a better morning than me.”
