Sunshine's Writing

This is an english assignment my sister, Regan, did.

On Top of Heaven

   It was shaping out to be the worst night of her life. The venue, the food, the people, the lights, and the smell. It was horrible. It reeked of teenagers. Sweaty, hot, musty, all underneath a layer of ten different perfume smells. Lavender, Rose, Mango, Citrus. The people were clumsy like a bunch of one year old toddlers after a treat. The older senior boys, drunk off of the Budweiser they got at the bar across the street walked around the venue with alcohol breath and whispered in the girls ears, telling them the were beautiful and asking if they would come home with them that night. The girls, chipper and ditsy with bright dresses that dragged across the floor for the boys to step on and soil. Some girls didn’t know how to walk in their six inch stilettos and wobbled, their ankles shaking like a small branch in a windstorm. Other girls pinned their hair in the reflection of the window and wiped makeup smudges from their eyes. The younger kids, too nervous to do or say anything, congregated at the tables and ate the stale cheese and meat, and gulped down glasses of water trying to stay hydrated in the hot, tight venue. It was all typical. And it all was pointless. Pink and green lights had flashed in her eyes giving her a headache. The music pounded in her ears filling her brain and pushing any thought she could muster up from her head. She ached to take off the red heels that dug into her ankles every time she stood up to fix her skirt. Her long hair made her neck hot and sticky. She wanted to pull it into a bun and run home. But she knew it was too much to ask. She hardly got out. This was the first time in a six months she had been to a school activity. And she regretted choosing this one.  “Having a good time?”, the principal, Mr. Grayton asked her. He had been sitting in a corner watching the kids making sure they didn’t run off together or dance on the tables. She took a moment to try to comprehend what he had said. She could hardly hear over the booming sound of the speakers. After she had pieced it together she smiled her big smile with perfect teeth and replied “Yes. This is by far the best dance we’ve had this year.” They both knew she hadn’t been to any but she held her ground and smiled up at him. “So glad to hear that! Glad you could make it.” She sat down at the table amongst the freshman. She smirked at them. They had all treated this dance as a fashion show. The bright colors, the poofy hair, the makeup that melted off of their faces. It was indeed laughable. She had never put that much effort into her look. She imagined them getting up early that morning, gathering at a friends house and spending every hour from then until the dance to curl their hair and cake on makeup. How let down they must be now, She thought. So primped and done up. Only to sit at a table and make useless small talk and give out fake compliments to the other girls.  She refused to socialize. No one asked her to dance and no one told her how beautiful she was that night. No one asked where she bought the dress and no one asked who her date was. It’s not that she was disliked or hated in anyway.  People just knew better.
                 She was attractive. That she knew. Her mother used to tell her on a daily basis how lovely she was. Her dark brown hair fell to her elbows. Her white teeth looked like pearls in the off chance that she did smile. And her skin smooth as silk never had an ounce of makeup on it and still looked like she had walked out of a magazine. Girls used to talk to her. Boys used to like her. But she was introverted. She never liked the girls. And the few times she hung out with the girls she found that they talked to their phones more than they did each other. When her aunt told her to spend time with the girls Tess would say “Their focus is off.” and walk away
                    She hadn’t been asked to the dance because everyone expected her to stay home like she always did.  This particular night she had been prompted to go. She convinced herself it wouldn’t kill her so she slipped on her white simple dress that fell barely above her knees and swung around her when she walked.
                    “Hey,Tess!” some boy said. A boy about half a foot taller than she was and about a foot taller if she took her heels off. He was thin and had big eyes. She couldn’t tell what color because the lights flashed every direction. His teeth were big and his smile was huge. It reminded her of someone “Hey,T! How do you like the dance?” She hardly made out his voice underneath the loud buzzing speakers. “My name is Tess.” She replied. “What?!” “Tess!” she said. No one called her “T” but her father. She was frustrated and wanted to end the conversation. He tilted his head like a bird. She decided to let it go and sat and looked at him. “Want a drink,T?” he shouted through the music. She shook her head. She didn’t know why he had started talking to her. Did he think she was lonely? She wasn’t. She didn’t need pity. “I’ll be back with a drink!” he shouted. She rolled her eyes as he maneuvered through the crowd, stepping on people’s feet, and hopping around like it was a land mine. As soon as he was out of sight she sank into her own world. The music blurred into one giant sound, thick as mud and the smell morphed into a giant aroma cloud. The lights were all just white flashes behind her closed eyelids. She had no idea how long she had stayed like this but when she became aware the boy was sitting next to her with two cups of water. His was half empty. Hers was still full to the top. “You awake,T?” he asked her. She nodded and drank her punch. “This is awful.” she said with pucker. He laughed and drank the rest of his, “Who are you?” she asked “Sam.” He said “It’s Samuel..  but I like Sam.” He didn’t look at her when he said this. He looked into the crowd of people as if he didn’t even know she was there. “How do you know me?” she asked. “I sit behind you in Math... or Science.... maybe sewing?” “I’m not in sewing.” She said. “Hmm... must be Math.” He said with a smile. She came to the conclusion that talking to him was better than hopping around like a fool on the dance floor with the drunken, groggy  teenagers. “How long are you staying?”. “I don’t know yet.” she said. “Have you been to the bar across the street?” he asked her. “No.” she said quickly.
               She had been in a bar once with her dad. She remembered that day perfectly. She had been about eight or nine when she had seen the old, rundown building. And she liked the look of it. “Is that a house?” she had asked her dad. “Nope, but I used to go there when I was a kid.” Her dad said “Would you like to go in?” They walked in and she smelled the cigarettes and fermenting barley. The men in there were sticky and had stains on their shirts and hair on their faces. One looked at her and smiled with brown teeth and asked her name. Her dad had pushed her along. She liked it in there. She sat at the bar stool and imagined being a waitress there. But when she looked around she realized there were no waitresses. No women at all. Only big men who looked like they had somewhere to be but chose to drink smelly drinks instead. “What will it be sir?” A big man with two chins said to her father. He had dark circles under his eyes and his fingers were fat and held a dirty rag. “I’ll have a water and one Heineken.” The man looked at Tess and smiled. “First time in a bar?” he smiled. She was too shy to say anything so she looked down at her green boots with mud still on them. She felt sorry that she had tracked mud in there. But when she looked around her the whole floor was covered in dirt and straw wrappers. She felt less sorry. The man returned a minute later with a tall glass of water and a glass of brown smelly and had lots of foam at the top that spilled on the counter when he placed it in front of her father. “Have a good one.” he said and stomped away. His hands still clasping his dirty rag. She took a drink from her cup and watched her father drink from his. He spilled a little on his plaid shirt. He looked like the other men in this bar but cleaner. “It still looks the same.” Her dad said. “I came here with friends when I was a little bit older than you... It smells the same too. Less lively.” She didn’t have any reply so she sat swinging her legs at the bar stool. She drank more of her water and looked at her dad’s cup and wondered if it tasted how it smelled. “Try some.” He smiled. She did. She was upset to realize it did in fact taste like it smelled. She cringed and drank more of her water. “It’s an acquired taste.” He laughed and as soon as he drank the last drop of his beer they left the smelly building she loved and she never went in again. But that was back when her father was still alive.
                 She shook her head and came back into reality.  “No bar then.” Samuel said. “There is an ice cream place. Just there. The small building that’s lit up.”  She stared at him, then to where he was pointing. Just out the window she saw a little shop, hardly big enough to be a store. She looked closer and saw a couple walking out of it. A short man, smaller than his girlfriend who had short blond hair and a long black coat. Neither looked all that excited to be near each other but they held hands as if it were standard procedure . She hated seeing couples like that.They were nothing like her father and mother had been. “Ice cream?” Sam persisted. “I don’t know you.” was all that came out of Tess’s mouth. She was busy watching the couple walk like robots down the street. “I do. Your name is Tess.” She sighed and rested her face on her hands. “...no ice cream.” Sam concluded. But he didn’t leave. He sat there and watched the people dance. He laughed occasionally.  And smiled at the boys and girls, tangled in a giant knot that moved with the music. She observed him. She had never seen him. She had only heard of one Samuel at her school and he never showed up and the days he did he made a loud booming entrance in her Calculus class and thought he was funny when he stole the teachers things from the desk. But this couldn’t be him. She stared at him for a while until she heard another voice trying to make its way through the music. She turned her head. There was a girl smiling at her. Tess thought she was here to pay her a fake compliment and leave. But she didn’t seem to be looking at her dress or shoes or anything. She was asking a question. “Mind if I sit?” the girl managed to yell. Tess nodded even though she did mind. Samuel introduced himself. She introduced herself as “Grace”. She had bright red lipstick on. The color her Tess’s mom used to wear.  And a dress made from lace. Her hair was brown like Tess’s but fell just  little shorter. “Are you guys each other’s dates?” Grace asked motioning back and forth between the two. Samuel looked at Tess and smiled. It reminded her of her father. The way he would smile when told Tess’s mother that they didn’t go out and buy candy. It was a game and he smiled the same sneaky smile at her. “I just met her,” He said with the same smile.. “This is T.” He said. Tess smiled and looked at grace. She could see Grace’s earrings. They were shaped like birds. She liked them, and imagined them flying off right then and there. Grace started talking about the dance, and how she had come with a date but he got drunk and left with a friend. She didn’t seem sad about it. She kept the same red lipped smile throughout the story. She spoke to them like she was talking to an old friend. Tess always envied people who could do that. Tess’s mother had always had that skill. It ended up working in her favor when Tess wanted something from the store but it cost too much. Her mother would strike a bargain right then and there with the owner and she would leave with a new sweater or necklace. She ended with stating how badly she wanted to leave but her date had taken her keys and she was stuck until she found someone to go with. Tess liked Grace. She seemed nice and inviting. The kind of girl she would spend time with. When Grace was finished talking Samuel told her his story. But rather than listening Grace Interrupted. “Guys come with me!” she said and before they could say anything she was making her way to the door. Samuel stood up immediately and followed like a puppy. Tess was reluctant but Samuel turned and made a face that indicated that he would not leave Tess alone if she didn’t join. She followed. She pushed her way passed the teenagers. She might have stepped on seven feet and tipped over eight beer cans but she kept moving as soon as she walked out the door she felt amazing. The wind blew her hair off of her wet sweaty neck and the thick sweaty, floral aroma was gone. The flashing lights were replaced with simple street lights that hardly lit up the ground around them. As if they were too afraid to light up all the way. Some flickered which made this image all too accurate. She turned to see Grace just as relieved as she was. Samuel was smiling at them both. “Where to, Grace?” he asked with a shrug of his shoulders. Grace smiled and took off her cream colored shoes. Tess did the same. It felt nice. The cold cement on sore feet. It was like walking on hot nails and then stepping on cool silk. It made the girls smile. Grace threw her shoes away. Just like that. As if they had been a half eaten candy bar. Tess laughed and dropped her shoes to the side of her. Grace started walking down the street while the two kids followed. Tess felt odd following two strangers around the town but she found herself laughing at them and telling them about herself. It was something Tess hadn’t done. She explained how pointless these activities seemed. And about her family, she even recalled telling them about her Parents. She hadn’t spoken about them for almost three years. Although she thought  about them every day. In the middle of one of Samuel's jokes Grace stopped dead in her tracks and smiled big. “This is it.” she said. Tess turned her head and looked where Grace was looking. A dark alley way. It was wet and and cold. Parked at the end of the alley was a black truck with a smashed windshield. Tess thought she should have felt scared. But she didn’t. She just walked. They all walked down the alley until they saw a ladder. Grace looked at the two of them and started climbing up. Tess followed and this time Samuel was reluctant. “I’ll slip. I know I’m gonna die. This is it for me.” Grace laughed and motioned for him to come up. “You either follow us or stay down here in the dark alleyway, alone.” Tess said. Sam looked around him. He touched the beaten car and cringed. “I hate wrecked cars.” Tess looked down at him. He looked sad. Tess hated wrecked cars too. Too many bad memories associated with them. Samuel looked longingly at the car. Like he wanted to get in it. But he shook his head and joined the two girls. Grace was more than half way up she looked around and giggled. The giggle made Tess’s head jolt. She looked at grace. The giggle sounded like her mother. The little trill on her voice that sounded like a xylophone. It made Tess smile. She missed the sound of her mom. The two girls looked down at Samuel. He was nervous. He slipped every time he took one step higher. It was painful for the girls to watch but eventually they got to the top of the ladder. Tess climbed over the wall and looked around her. She was amazed. The whole town lit up below her. It was like looking down on heaven rather than up. Grace was giggling again. She helped Samuel tumble over the wall. She patted his shirt off and they walked to where Tess was. “Beautiful isn’t it, T.” Grace breathed. Tess turned to them and nodded. Her white teeth so perfect and straight showing so bright like the lights around her. “I come here all the time. I love being able to see the world. I feel like I’m in control and I can steer.” Samuel nodded “It’s nice not to be in the passenger. I can decide what I want for once.” Tess looked at the other end of the building. It seemed so far. “Wanna race?” asked Grace when she saw Tess looking. Tess began to run and so did Samuel and Grace. Tess ran as fast as she could. She ran through a puddle that almost went up to her calves. But it didn’t stop her. Water dripped from her body and her heart pounded. She laughed and laughed. She could hear Grace laughing, just like her mom used to. And she heard Samuel “Wait up T! Wait up.” Just like her dad. She felt at home. When she finally reached the other end of the building she turned to look at Grace and Samuel. But when she turned.... no one was there. And she was alone on the rooftop.