Lily

Lily rushed into the classroom, precariously balancing a coffee on top of a stack of folders and her bag.  ‘I left on time this morning, why am I still late,’ she thought to herself.  Just as she reached her desk, the bell rang, almost making her coffee spill.

“Saved by the bell, Ms. Doran” said Aly, one of Lily’s students sitting in the front row.  

‘Damn, I was the last one again,’ she thought. Lily was sure she had the only first period class with perfect punctuality.  She turned to see her students, high school seniors, all sitting quietly and waiting on her.  It wasn’t very long ago that Lily was sitting in a class just like this one, though she would have rushed in late, with brushes in her long blonde hair, pencils clutched in her slim hands, and a carefree smile on her smooth face.

Her students were more serious than she ever was.  Their perfect behaviour seemed designed to make her feel like she was failing at adulthood.  ‘Teenagers aren’t supposed to be this well mannered.  What I wouldn’t give to have one hooligan to shake them up a bit,’  It wasn’t the first time she thought this, the morning class was especially prim and proper, their energy didn’t align with hers.

“Good morning class.  I hope you all had a good weekend.  I spent mine grading your last assignment, and I was really impressed with the creativity you all showed,” Lily said, waving a folder filled with the student’s art.   “I’ll hand them back to you at the end of class.”

“Ms. Doran, I’ve taken attendance for you,” Aly said, a bright smile on her face.  “Everyone is here, except for this new person, Axle Thomas.  Are we getting a transfer student?”

Lily, now trying to find her lesson plan for today, ‘I had it in this bag last night, I’m sure of it,’ looked at Aly.  “Oh yes, the new boy should be here tomorrow.  You can just leave his space blank today.”

“Found it!” she said, a little too loudly.

“Sorry, Ms. Doran.  Found what?” Aly asked, her face showing a little concern.

“Oh nothing,” she replied, firmly clutching her lesson plan in one hand, and bringing her coffee up for a sip with the other. She raised her voice and said “Let’s start, shall we?”

“Kids these days don’t seem to have fun anymore,” Lily said, leaning back into a plush sofa.  

“Oh, I hear you.  They are all focused on getting into the best schools, or internships, or founding the next big start-up. Who has time to be a teenager?” Loretta said, a smile on her lips and a glass of wine in her hand.

“I guess I understand, but you’d think they could be a little more spontaneous in art class, right?”  Lily sighed, and ran her hands over her dress to smooth out the small wrinkles she made when flopping back on the couch.  If her class saw her now, they wouldn’t recognize her.  This morning she was frazzled Ms. Doran, with her hair in a messy bun, paint on her forearms, wearing a loose dress, and an old cardigan with the sleeves rolled up.  She cleaned up before coming to Loretta’s though, she wouldn’t be caught dead in her comfortable teacher wardrobe in front of her.

She blew her hair out into loose curls, added some light mascara and eyeliner to make her grey eyes more striking, put on her nicest sun dress, and matched it with strappy low heels.  ‘Honestly, I put more effort into getting ready to see Loretta than I do for a date,’ Lily thought.  Of course, she hadn’t been on a date in months.  

“Everyone is trying to reach the next step, Lily, even teenagers,” Loretta said, then sipped from her wine.  It was fantastic wine, everything Loretta had was always the best.  

Lily tried not to hear the note of reproach in Loretta’s voice, but knew it was there.  They had been best friends since elementary school and loved each other like sisters.  Loretta was always the assertive, motivated one, and Lily was the disorganized, artistic one.  No one was surprised when Loretta became a lawyer, and Lily became a teacher. 

“Well, enough about those kids, let's talk about something more important, like your bachelorette party.  Or, you know, something less exciting, like seating arrangements.”  Lily rushed over to Loretta’s after school to help with her wedding planning.  Loretta was getting married to a Pediatrician in a week, and they needed to make sure everything was arranged.  It was though, Lorretta was always organized and on schedule.  Even getting married at 24 had been on her life timeline since they were kids.  

“I told you, I just want to have a nice dinner, nothing crazy before the wedding.  It will already be a busy few days with the fittings, dance classes, the rehearsal dinner and the bridal party games.  You want to try and fit a bachelorette party in too?” Loretta said, her face a little pinched.  

“Yes, definitely!  I love you Loretta, but you’re about to head off into your perfectly regimented, fairy tale life.  This may be the last bit of spontaneity you get,” Lily said, leaning forward to touch Loretta’s knee.  “For me? Please!?,” she added, liberally batting her naturally long lashes.

“Fine. Fine, I’ll let you do the bachelorette,” Loretta said, raising her arms up, as if in exasperation, but she was smiling warmly.  “In exchange though, you have to let me pick your date for the wedding events.  I love you, but you aren’t coming solo, it will throw off the photos,” Loretta said, her smile a little more devious now.  “One of Omar’s groomsmen is single too, he’s an accountant!”

‘An accountant? Gag me with a spoon,’ Lily thought.  She forgot about a date for the wedding and all the activities.  She was hoping to just ignore it and hope Loretta didn’t notice.  Fat chance there.  

Lily was in a serious relationship in University, they had even talked about marriage, but it ended.  It ended very badly, and Lily had barely been on a date since.  She wasn’t ready to open herself up to that kind of pain again.

“Oh, an accountant, well he sounds nice.  Sadly, I can’t go with him,” Lily said, trying to think fast, but this was thrown at her suddenly.

“Why not?  Lily, I’m serious, you need to have a date for the wedding.”

“I do! I have a date now,” Lily said, an edge of panic creeping into her voice.

“How come I’m only hearing about this now?  Please don’t tell me it is your dad, or your brother. That will just make it weird for everyone,” Loretta said with a frown.  She really liked things to go ‘the right way’, and hated when things didn’t go as planned.

“I just didn’t want to…” Lily struggled to think of a good excuse, “take the focus away from your wedding, of course.  It isn’t too serious or anything, yet.  He’s a nice looking guy, don’t worry, he won’t ruin your pictures.  I promise,” Lily said.  

“Oh, oh, that is great! I’m happy for you, Lily,” Loretta said, a huge smile blooming on her face.  “This isn’t a distraction.  Tell me all about him, what is he like?”  Loretta seemed too serious to people who didn’t know her, but to her friends, she was genuinely loving and loyal.  She was the best, which was why Lily sometimes found herself trying not to cause her any problems.

“He’s pretty tall…. and kind of muscular,” she said, her eyes a little scrunched as if he was trying to remember what he looked like.  “We met at a work event, and just kind of hit it off, I guess.  What can I say?”  ‘Really, what can I say about an imaginary boyfriend?’ she thought.  “Don’t worry, you’ll meet him soon enough!  Let’s figure out what games we’ll be playing at the post rehearsal dinner party.”

“Ok, ok, let's plan out some party games. Nothing crazy though, Omar doesn’t drink and I don’t want us too tired for the next day’s events.”

“I was thinking maybe we could do a few classics, like a bride and groom quiz game where you try to answer questions about Omar.  The rest of us will bet on how many each of you get right, and we’ll get points. We keep track of all the points for the different games, and the winners at the end of the night get prizes!” Lily was excited about this part.  Organization wasn’t her strong suit, but making sure people had fun was one of her strengths.

“Don’t go cheating and give your new boyfriend extra points then,” Loretta said with a laugh.

‘Oh no, oh no! What have I done?’ she thought.  She tried to stay calm on the outside, but she was freaking out on the inside.  ‘Why couldn’t I just say yes to the accountant?  Now I need to find a date in the next few days.  A date who will have to pretend to be my boyfriend… Damnit Lily, what is wrong with you?’