A Perfect Rose pt.ii

This is part two of my short story. If you missed part one you can find it here!

It had been a few weeks of being back in the school routine.  Ellie’s excitement for the new year was slowly diminishing as the piles of homework and writing assignments that needed to be completed began to pile up on her desk.  Through all of the business of life, she had begun to hang out with her friends less and less.  She had such high hopes for the year but those quickly began to fade. Every day seemed to be the same, she would wake up go to school, then come home just to have homework pile up that needed to be completed. She would sulk in her room at night, alone in silence.  Her thoughts were all that seemed to keep her company these days.  She would get the occasional text from a friend with the typical, “Hey! How are you” or “How was your day?”  Yet none of these conversations went any deeper, none of them scratched the surface which made her wonder if anyone cared. She didn’t care anymore about the random “hi, (smiley emoji)” texts. What she needed was a phone call and a real conversation that went past just small talk. She wanted someone to know her for who she is and care about every part of her emotions and thoughts.

She was searching for someone who could help her find her identity. She didn't love who she was becoming and thought that having someone else to lean on and talk to could help her love herself more. She wished she could talk with Caleb but never knew how she could start a conversation.  She felt like a needy child whenever she went to text him, because he would never start a conversation with her, was that a clue that he didn’t want to talk to her, or was she overthinking? Did he like the attention she gave him and that's why he'd wait for her to text? These thoughts would constantly flood her mind and leave her questioning everything.  Would he even reply if she sent that text? Maybe it would seem like she was insanely pushy or maybe even too needy. It was hard to want to keep talking when all his replies were only a word or two. Was there anything she could do to get his attention and stop feeling so lonely?  This is how Ellie feared the rest of her high school days would be. It felt like the rest of the year would be her trying so hard without getting any results when it came to relationships with her friends and boys. As she was considering texting Caleb she got a text from Holly who told her that the cute boy she had been eyeing had finally asked her out. This cute boy was Alex who was in their English class. He seemed like a nice enough guy and Ellie was pretty sure he was one of Caleb’s best friends. The feelings she had that it was just gonna be her alone with no one to talk to, the rest of the year began to shift slightly. Maybe this would be her chance to get closer to Caleb. 

As she went to class each day she would get a knot in her stomach from the building social anxiety she had.  She had always lived with some anxiety but it had never affected her this badly. However, without the distraction of friends, her thoughts were loud and threatening. Every day she seemed more and more like a blur of time. People weaved in and out of the hallway bumping into her like she was an invisible speed bump taking up precious space. Maybe this would be the new normal for her. She just needed to get through the next few months and she could move on, and start a new life at a new school with new people. She could fit in somewhere she was sure of it. That night she was determined to find which college she wanted to go to. She threw off her shoes as she got into her room, slammed the door grabbed her computer, and hopped onto her bed. She began to browse through different schools looking for the best graphic design programs she could find. Looking at colleges both close to home and far away. She didn’t care where she had to go she just wanted to find that place that she could fit into. She needed to find herself a community of people who would support and love her for who she was. As she was scrolling her phone began to obnoxiously buzz and she quickly grabbed it, not able to check it quickly enough to who was texting her. When she was finally able to look at the notifications she saw a text from Holly that said, “Hey, Alex is having a party at his house tomorrow night and I think Caleb will be there, wanna join me?” Ellie hesitated as much as she wanted to go she wasn’t sure if anyone even wanted her there. She replied, “idk Holly”. Hoping she could just forget about this and move on, she didn’t need friends here she was so close to starting fresh. But Holly replied, “I’m not taking no for an answer, I will pick you up tomorrow at 8.” “Well I guess I’m going,” thought Ellie to herself.

The next day Ellie was so nervous and went through twelve different outfits trying to find one that looked just perfect. She wanted to impress Caleb and get his attention tonight. This might be her last chance to win his attention and maybe even his heart. She prayed she could win his heart and finally have a boyfriend. She finally settled on a pair of ripped skinny jeans and a cute crop top shirt. One that wasn’t too revealing but made her look like she was down to have fun. At eight o’clock sharp she heard a horn from her front yard and ran out to see Holly waiting for her on the side of the street. She hopped into the passenger seat super nervous and excited at the same time and Holly pulled out of her driveway. They were off to her first real party.

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Hey! Thanks for reading part two of my short story about this girl named Ellie. Will Ellie get the boy? Come back next week to continue the story.