Page 3 of End Of Never

Getting onto the bus, Haley sits in our usual seat. “Hey Lilla, you look great, ready for school pictures?” Haley always goes all out for picture day. Her mom has a get-ready-with-me morning and even does her makeup, and today she snuck me some lipstick. “I stole my mom’s lipstick. Want to put some on?” I’ve never worn any, but it makes Haley and my mom look pretty.

“Yeah! Thanks!” Taking the lipstick, I put it in my bag for later. On the ride to school, Haley talks about dinner with her mom and dad. It sounds nice. When I tell her I had cereal, she tells me I should eat at her house, and I like that idea.

The morning drags while waiting for school pictures. Finally, before lunch, it’s time. Before heading back to class, I run to the bathroom. Taking the lipstick out of my pocket, I pop off the lid and spin the bottom, making the bright red color come to the top. I lean forward, getting really close to the mirror so I don’t miss my lips. Just as I’m about to touch the red lipstick to my pink lips, the door opens, making me jump, dropping the lipstick on the floor. I watch as it rolls and rolls until it comes to a stop beneath a brand-new, shiny black shoe. Ava’s shoe.

“Are you really trying to put lipstick on alone? My mom helps me because my lips look different in the mirror because they're backwards. Do you want me to help you?” Really? I didn’t know lips looked different in a mirror. That could have been bad.

“Umm, yes, please.” I can’t believe Ava is being nice to me. She picks up the lipstick and walks over.

“Okay, first you have to make duck lips like this.” She puckers her lips up, like my grandma used to do when she would give my cheek a big, wet kiss. I copy her. She gets really close to me, then I feel the lipstick on my puckered lips. Ava takes the lipstick and goes round and round and round, allllllll over my lips. She takes a step back, looking at her work. “Perfect. Now rub them together all crazy like this.” She rubs her lips back and forth, all around. When I copy her, she laughs and says, “Perfect.”

Turning to look in the mirror, she giggles and runs out. Once my eyes take in my bright red lips, I know why she ran.

Bright lipstick now coats my mouth, from the bottom of my nose to the dip of my chin. I look like a clown. Haley didn’t look like this with the lipstick on. Ava wasn’t being nice; she was being a big… a big… BITCH. My mom calls my dad’s personal assistant a bitch all the time, and I know she doesn’t like her. So it seems fitting, and it feels good to say. She wanted me to look like I just had a bright red popsicle before pictures. I hate her. Looking in the mirror, my eyes swell with tears, and I grab the paper towels. I scrub and scrub, only smearing them in the process, and now covering the tip of my nose and my whole chin. Bitch. Bitch. Bitch.

When I hear kids walking down the hallway, I quickly run out, jumping in line and covering my face as best I can.

“Lilla Lane, you're up next.” I quickly nod my head and sit on the little box, removing my hand from my mouth when they say, smile.

Everyone gasps. Except that bitch, Ava. She laughed.

Stepping down from the box, Mrs. Hannah rushes over. “Lilla, what happened, honey?” Ava looks at me, giving me her mean, bitch eyes, so instead of telling the teacher what I wanted, I shake my head, take my seat, and wait for the class to be over.

At lunch, I give Haley back her lipstick. “I hate that stupid lipstick. I don’t want it ever again.” When I look back at Haley, her eyes are sad. I don’t mean to make her sad like Ava makes me, “I’m sorry.” She smiles, but doesn’t show her teeth like she usually does, and puts the lipstick in her bag.

“What happened?” She looks at her sparkly shoes instead of me.

“Ava helped me.” When the words leave my mouth, Haley’s head pops up from her shoes.

“That wasn’t helping, Lilla; she was being mean. Everyone knows how to put on lipstick.” I drop my head because I didn’t, and I still don’t.

“Not me.” Haley looks back down.

“I’ll teach you the right way, and I’ll take care of Ava.”

Instead of running to the swings during the first recess, Haley ran straight over to Ava. I followed behind her, unsure of what she was going to do.

Haley gets right in Ava’s face. “You are nothing but a big fat bully. That was mean what you did to Lilla.” Ava starts laughing right in her face.

“What are you going to do about it?” Ava taunts as Haley lifts her arm, pulling back her hand, and before I know it, Ava is on the ground, with my best friend on top of her, slapping her face, over and over again. “Don’t be mean to my best friend!” The teachers come running over, but Haley doesn’t stop until Mr. Smith pulls her off and takes her straight to Mr. Rob, the principal. I wanted to go, but the teacher said no as she took Ava to the nurse. I don’t know what for; she wasn’t even bleeding.

Haley didn’t come back to class until the end of the day.

Getting on the bus, I found Haley already in our seat.“I’m sorry if you got in trouble.” I mumble as Haley slides over, making room for me.

“You don’t have to apologize. I did it, not you. My mom will be mad that I started the fight, but she won’t be mad that I stood up for you.” I wish her mom were my Mom.

Before I jump off the bus, I hug Haley. “Thank you for being my bestest friend today.”

Haley hugs me back and smiles. “It’s been four years, I’ll be your friend for the rest of our lives, even if you don’t thank me for it.” That makes me smile, teeth and all.

Haley did what Haley said she would. I’m quickly learning that when Haley says she’s gonna do something, she always does.

Chapter 5

Lilla

Age 14