Red Heels

Lydia’s heels clacked on the hard, tile floor. Her second period class was in four minutes. She was already beginning to run late. But she couldn’t run so fast in her bright, red heels. Her outfit didn’t exactly scream high school. More like a spoiled, rich girl who was going to a spring party. But she didn’t mind being overdressed. She felt like the queen of the school in her dark purple mini dress and red heels.

But the bell rang before she could quite reach her class. She let out a sigh. She knew the words she was about to hear. She rolled her eyes as she pushed open the door.

She could immediately feel dozens of eyes on her. It was growing increasingly more uncomfortable by the second.

“Miss Lydia. Why are you late again?” said the teacher, Mrs. Sun.

Lydia just rolled her eyes and said, “It’s not like your class is even important. And besides, I can’t run in heels.”

The class gasped quietly.

Mrs. Sun’s eyes widen in fury. “Lydia. For your information, English is actually very important for everyone’s lives. Plus, what about all those romance books you read? That’s literature.”

Lydia scoffed. “The difference between books and reality is that books are fiction. Reality is incapable of being that beautiful.”

Mrs. Sun clicked her tongue. “I wouldn’t be so sure about that. Plenty of people get their happy ever after.”

Lydia just rolled her eyes and went to her seat. She sat her bag down and crossed her ankles. Showing off her heels.

Mrs. Sun sighed and opened the textbook. “Now, class. We are going to start the readings of…”

Lydia’s mind began to float away from the lesson. In nature, Lydia was more sinical. However, on certain days, she would let her mind wander into the world of romance. Mrs. Sun was right. She did constantly read romance novels. But she never believed any of it to be based in fact. She was a preppy girl by all means. But she did consider herself a little philosophical at times. Especially about love.

Love… Ha!

Love only came to the lucky ones. Love only came to those who couldn’t keep a penny between their knees. Or to those who had enough money to lure a poor victim into a relationship. Either way, love was a travesty created by Disney and Hallmark. And she wanted nothing to do with it.

But some days, she couldn’t help but think about the what if’s. What if love were real? What if, one day, a boy would come to love her for who she was. Her beautiful, cinical, anxious self.

Her father had recently come into possession of a large sum of money. He wouldn’t tell her how, but she suspected his usual mafia activities. She, however, wasn’t one to complain. She now got to wear the newest looks and the newest accessories. Sure, she now seemed like the typical spoiled rich girl. But she didn’t care. Everyone hated her anyway.

Suddenly, there were whispers all around her. She tried to ignore them. But it seemed like they were all whispering the same thing. And it seemed to be coming closer and closer. Until it was right behind her.

“Hey,” said a random voice.

Lydia turned around. It was one of her female classmates. She couldn’t quite place her name. But she had seen her many times before.

“They said to pass this on to you.” She extended a note to Lydia.

Lydia just stared at it for a moment before taking it without a word. She turned back around and opened it. She saw messy handwriting and a messy drawing of flowers.

It said, “I think you are very beautiful. I don’t know if you know who I am or not. But I know you. And I want to get to know you better. Will you go out with me tonight? From: Jayden.”

Jayden. Jayden?

She recognized the name. Of course, she recognized the name. It was the name of the guy who scored the winning basket last week. She had never really given him much thought. But now that she thought of it, this could be very good for her. A star basketball player and the most well-dress girl in school. This would make a very good coupling indeed.

She pulled out her pen and wrote her answer on the bottom. She handed it back to the girl behind her and turned back around. She could hear shuffling behind her as the note was passed back. And once the shuffling stopped, she could hear nothing but silence behind her. Until a muffled happy noise was made. Jayden was obviously very happy about her answer. She could hear more writing. She figured he was sending his response.

She allowed herself to creep out a small smile. She had never been on a real date before. And she was going on her first one TONIGHT! She had to get ready as soon as she got home. She needed to get her hair done, her face done, her makeup done, etc. She had to impress this boy at all costs. Because Lydia refused to accept failure.

It was 6:45pm. Just a short time to go before her big date. In the return note, Jayden said he would pick her up at 7:00pm sharp. And ever since Lydia got home at 3:30, she has been rapidly preparing.

She first picked out her dress. She landed on a black and red dress. It was flowy and went down to her shins. She decided to wear the same red heels from earlier. And she picked out a black pendant necklace to go with it.

She let her hair fall down to her shoulders. She curled it into tight curls that looked like ringlets. She added a blushed look to her face and finished it with bright, red lipstick.

She wanted to look like the Queen of Hearts. But the prettier version. The version where she was young and desirable.

As she stood in the mirror, she saw the most beautiful picture she had ever made for herself. She looked like a real woman. And a desirable one at that. She just knew she would land this boy. And, from what she remembered of him, she actually wanted him to. She had never spoken to him before. But she had heard so much about him. Mostly about basketball. But, from what she heard, he was a nice guy.

The black and red dress fit her body like a glove on top, then flowed out on the bottom. Her red heels added the perfect amount of height to make the outfit spectacular.

And finally, she felt the nerves starting to crash in. Like a title wave, she almost fell over with anxiety. What if she wasn’t pretty enough? What if he’s not what she expected? What if she’s not what he expected?

All of these thoughts began to poison her good feels. She wanted to go back to feeling excited and happy. She had never even been kissed before. Mostly because no guy wanted the spoiled brat of the school. But also, she never let anyone kiss her. But… maybe tonight.

Then, there was the doorbell.

She immediately rushed to the door. Her outfit was set. Her purse in hand. And, thankfully for her, the mirror next to the front door. The saving grace for the one stray hair on her forehead.

She finally took a deep breath, straightened her shoulders, and opened the door.

She was taken aback immediately.

Jayden was there in a button-down shirt and black slacks. His brown hair slicked back neatly. And a bouquet of flowers in hand. He was smiling, but there was obvious nervousness there.

“Hey, Lydia.” His voice was almost shaky, but still strong.

She took a second, but she was finally composed. “Hey, Jayden. You look amazing.”

He smiled. “So, do you. In fact, I’d say you were the prettiest girl I have ever seen.”

Lydia smiled, a faint red taint kissing her already blushed cheeks.

“You ready to go?” He held out his free hand.

She smiled and accepted his hand. He escorted her to the car where there were chocolates and a stuffed bear waiting in the front seat. Lydia gasped and turned to him.

“Are these for me?” She could hardly keep her tongue from shaking.

He laughed. “Of course, they’re for you. I’m not taking anyone else out. I’m taking you out.”

She smiled and silently got into the car. She held the bear on her lap along with the flowers. And she rested the chocolates at her feet. She looked at Jayden as he held out his hand. She gladly took it. He held it as he drove her away.

They were soon to reach their location. She could tell because he was growing more and more fidgety. But soon, he slowed the car at a stop sign.

He turned to her. “Close your eyes.”

She cocked her head. “Why?”

He smiled. “Because I don’t want you to see where we are going. It’s a surprise.”

She gave him a skeptical look, but she soon obeyed. She could feel the car move again. His hand was still holding hers. His hand did actually bring more comfort than she realized. She began to daydream about what might be ahead.

Soon enough, the car stopped. She could feel his weight shift in his seat.

“Okay, you can open now.”

She opened her eyes. And she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. It had to be a dream. They were in front of a small restaurant. But their balcony overstretched the lake. And she could see a table set up on that balcony.

Lydia stumbled over her words as her brain worked overtime to catch up. “It… it’s beautiful. How did you manage this?”

Jayden smiled. “My dad owns this store. And he’s very Italian. So, when I told him there was a girl a wanted to bring here, he was more than happy to give me a table.”

Lydia heard him, but barely. She was still in shock. And she was still in shock until he was already halfway done with helping her out of the car. Her adrenaline was through the roof. But in a good way. In a way she hadn’t quite felt before.

Once they reached their table, he helped her into her seat. Once he sat down, almost immediately, a waiter showed up. But he was already carrying a drink.

“Good evening you two. I brought you a wonderful glass of Merlot to start with.”

Jayden looked overly confused at first. But then started laughing. “Um, we aren’t twenty-one.”

The waiter looked increasingly confused by the second. “I thought you were Louis’s son.”

“Yeah, his youngest son.” Jayden just looked at Lydia in amusement.

It took a second, but the waiter finally understood and ran away with the glass of Merlot. He soon came running back with water and two plates of cheesy pasta.

Lydia grew more confused but delighted at the same time. How did he know this was her favorite?

“This is my absolute favorite. How did you know?”

Jayden smiled. “Because, on create your own pasta day in school, you made the cheesiest pasta ever created.”

Lydia just laughed at the memory. “Why, Jayden?”

He looked confused. “Why what?”

“Why me? Why all this? You don’t really even know me.”

Jayden just smiled. “Because I’ve had the biggest crush on you a long time now. And I know how hard it must be living with a mafia father. And I know you deserve the best. So, here is the best I can do.”

Lydia just fell further and further into her feelings. She felt her hand be raised and kissed by Jayden. In her eyes, this was the most chivalrous boy ever created. And she couldn’t wait for it to just get better.