The Truth is I Know

Dakota rests against the pink fluffy headboard of her bed holding her phone in one hand as she listens to Giselle’s chronicles of a shopaholic. Or at least she tries to listen but her brain has already tuned out Giselle’s voice while watching the screen unamused while looking at Giselle’s princess canopy bed and poster filled walls while she’s shuffling off screen. She usually enjoys Giselle’s chatter at times because she always drops some of the juiciest bombshells of their classmates that she could use to her advantage later. That is if she can get through her long winded monologues long enough not to miss them. Everyone knows that Giselle can turn a casual talk about making french toast into a 3 hour podcast with 10 seasons.

“All I wanted was a cashmere sweater, but the sales girl kept giving me a cotton poly blend that she thought I wouldn’t notice. It’s like she didn’t even know what cashmere is. And you know what she said to me, ‘isn’t it the same thing? You won’t know the difference once you try it on.’” Giselle gasps flabbergasted. “I swear it’s like she has no concept to the customer is always right. Like, if I ask for cashmere I’m gonna get cashmere. How did she even get hired in the first place if she doesn’t know the difference anyways.”

“It’s ashamed that someone doesn’t know that our princess Giselle doesn’t wear poly blends like the rest of us peasants.” Brandy says sarcastically while painting her nails while precariously trying to fill through a fashion magazine. “Also girls what do you think of this color?”

“Chartreuse, nice. I might have an outfit for that?” Sasha says, her head propped up on her bunny macarron plush.

“ Only you can pull of your cotton candy sweet style.” Brandy says, in actually not really wanting to wear Sasha bright colored clothes and look like a unicorn pucked all over her.

“Speaking of style, I was walking by another store seeing these super cute boots when I saw Stacy Chapman linking arm and arm all cozy with Liam Newton near the Cineplex. It seems like she got rid of the head gear and got a new guy.” Giselle’s shadow passes by the front of her bed moving to the other side and out of view again.

“ Not really that much of a surprise since they have been together since last semester.” Sasha says with her head propped up by a stuffed bunny macarron as she lays flat on her belly.

“ No, that’s when her and Ashton Wellis started dating. It would’ve been hard for her to hide two timing him with his best friend that early in the relationship.” Eloise says, swinging one of her legs laid on her back while reading her book. Her red hair splayed some hanging off of her bed.

“ She wasn’t cheating on him though.” Sasha says looking stare into the camera as she lifts her head a bit.

“How is that not cheating?”

“Duh, haven’t you noticed the way their stares always linger on each other and that they just happen to always be together and always meeting up behind the bleachers at after school to make out?”

“WAIT WHAT?!”

“Yeah, you guys didn’t know?” Sasha looks at Eloise confused not understanding what she said wrong.

“We know now!!” Everyone but Sasha and Dakota looked surprised.

“Talk about letting the whore out of the cage.” Brandy says rolling her eyes. “Wait a minute you’re still reading that book?”

“Yeah, it’s for my book report anyways not important. Why are you just telling us this now?” Eloise questions surprised.

“No one asked, and they were so obvious anyone could tell.” Sasha says, with a shrug.

Giselle’s face briefly comes into view of the camera, her ringlet curls hanging off to the side. “Well not to Ashton at least. Poor thing, that relationship was the only good thing he had going for him. I went to his profile and saw that he’d I followed both of them. And he posted on his TikTok that he’d prepared a surprise for her just because and walk in on them on her couch making out. The funny part is she was the one that dumped him right there and then saying she’s too good for him now.”

“I don’t know why you’re feeling sorry for him when he’s with Mia anyways.” Sasha sits up with her legs crossed dressed in her cutesy pajamas and fluffy socks. The girls silently stare at her like she had just grown two heads.

“Mia? Which Mia?” Brandy asks, in a school like there’s there are about ten Mias and there are about three in their grade alone.

“Mia Hart duh, they’ve been together for a month now.”

“Clump foot?! He’s dating CLUMP FOOT!? Does he have a thing for disabilities or something?” Brandy shouts almost laughing at how hysterical of a twist it was. Her thinking about him going from dating the girl with the metal cage around her face to the girl who walks around with a chunky boot on the left foot because her other leg is too short. Eloise intergects telling Brandy that brace head gear is not a disability but Brandy argues that it should since it made her look like the braces girl from Nemo.

All too preoccupied to realize the mastermind of all this was yawning bored when they’d finally say something interesting. If it wasn’t for her those four individuals wouldn’t have been so entangled in the first place. It wasn’t that hard for her to convince Stacy and Ashton to participate since she could use dating Ashton to get close to Liam and Ashton could use Stacy to get Mia’s attention and make her jealous. Him and Mia getting together made it easier for all parties to get what they wanted with no problem. Dakota was also the one that indirectly brought it to an end by telling him to surprise Stacy. Only because she got what she wanted and she could.

“Anyways, enough of that, ladies, take a look at this new dress I got?” Giselle steps into view wearing a pale almost beige colour puff sleeve dress, it flows down to her feet with the trim ruffled like her bouncy curls, and floral print along the mesh. She twirls around a little as if she were a vintage fairy living in a cottage.

“Ou, girl, it’s so cute.”

“I know right this is the outfit mom got me at the mall the other day for the winter dance.”

“You already bought yours? It’s so cute but Dakota hasn’t told us the theme yet.”

“Who cares about that, Dad got me an outfit as well, and I got myself a little extra something so I can maybe alternate throughout the night so it shouldn’t matter too much right? Anyways who are you girls planning on going with?”

“There’s not going to be a dance this year. Principal Resse said so.” Dakota says it as if talking about the weather.

“WHAT?!” Giselle shouts

“She said there’s not going to be a dance.”

“I heard what she said Sasha, can he really do that?”

“Appearantly, because of budget cuts and last year’s pool incident they decided to can it. So much for the nutcracker theme.” Dakota now regrets listening to Hardin and going along with his “great” idea of spiking the punch. She never expected some idiot to jump butt naked into the pool and proceed to use it as a toilet bowl for a number 4.

“Aww, that’s too bad I was kinda hoping to see you and Hardin together with your winter outfits.” Sasha says cooing, Dakota looks knowingly at her boyfriend wrapped around her waist nuzzling his head on her stomach. She strokes his black hair thoughtfully wondering what it would’ve been like if she’d actually walked into the dance with him on her arm.

“ Did you girls know that Olivia is coming back to school tomorrow .” Giselle says, making the room go silent. Dakota’s hand goes rigid mid stroke, her face contouring into a wince feeling a fantom shock through her body hearing that name again. There’s not much that could make her uncomfortable but somehow Olivia managed to be on the top of her list.

“Wasn’t she locked up for stalking mr Crimp? Did they let her out on bail or something?” Brandy asks, confused having been out sick the week Olivia stopped going to school. She’d only faintly heard about what happened through Giselle in their idle chatter when she was finally better to come back.

“No, she was suspended for about two and a half weeks and settled out of court.” Dakota rolling her eyes remembering junior year when Olivia followed her around with the science club convinced that she was an alien. “She’s miserable with her own life so much that she’s deluded herself that anyone who’s happy with their lives are hiding something.” Dakota only just finished her words when her door flutters open with a crash echoing through the large room below her bedroom balcony. Her boyfriend jolts against her, as they hear heavy footsteps marching up the wood stairs, until she’s faced with a flushed face and nose flared Hardin.

“DAKOTA EXPLAIN YOURSELF!” Hardin shouts seething, as he holds up a crumpled jersey in his hand. Dakota cocks her head in annoyance not understanding why he barged into her room like this having not done anything to be accused of, well not yet at least.

“What is there to explain, what does that rag have to do with me?”

“This rag happens to be my jersey THAT YOU BEDAZZLED!” Hardin uncrumples the jersey holding it up the number 14 bedazzled back to front with pink rhinestones and glitter.

“Girls tell him that his Jersey looks better this way.” Dakota says, rolling her eyes, changing the camera view facing Hardin and his Jersey.

“Yup, a Dakota specialty alright. I like what you did with the bordering on the letters.” Brandy says, trying not to laugh at Dakota’s devilish handy work.

“DON’T ENCOURAGE HER! I’m finding glitter all over my gym bag and locker because of this.”

“At least you’ll be more noticeable now on the field. And if anything you can use the glitter to blind some of your opponents if necessary.” Sasha says.

“Exactly, you should be thanking me. Besides, it looks better this way anyways.”

“Dakota turned the phone around so I could see the girls.” Dakota sighs, switching the camera and turning it around. “Eloise, you have the most sense out of the group. Please tell me you don’t agree with this.”

“I refuse to be a part of this conversation right now. You’re out numbered and on your own.” Eloise says not looking up from her book.

“Okay girls, let’s pick this up tomorrow. Bye ladies.”

They all say bye in unison, and she stares at Hardin as if he is interrupting her personal bubble right now. “At least tell me why you bedazzled my jersey.”

“Pipe down, remember I borrowed it to wear to Jenson’s party last week. How did it take you this long to notice?”

“You could’ve at least skimped on the glitter.”

“Nope, how dear you even suggest that in the first place.” Dakota looks somewhat offended at the mention. “You should’ve knocked first before barging into my room.”

“Why? You talk bad about my face all the time.” Dakota looks down gesturing at Denver still holding unto her.

“Ah hey Den the man, didn’t see you there.”Denver turns to look at him waving his hand.

“Yeah hey, can we get some alone time thank you. I kinda ditched the guys today to get some one on one time over here and finally have my turn.” Denver says, and Hardin looks at his unfazed.

“It’s not like it’s the first I’ve seen you two so cuddly, by the way–”

“No.” Dakota deadpans

“But you haven’t heard what I was about to say.”

“I don’t need to to know that I’m not going to like it. Not if you excuse us leave.”

“Make me.” Dakota hurls a thing at Hardin’s head which he narrowly dodges. It falls down the stares with a sickening thud. Hardin looks at her with wide eyes forgetting how crazy she can get when she doesn’t have her way.