Revenge

Avery Today’s the day. I’m finally getting out of this hell hole we call high school. I would say I would miss it, but the truth is, I couldn’t leave any faster. I was never the girl who got invited to the parties, or the girl that the boys salivated for, which is mostly my fault. I didn’t care to make the effort, I was very comfortable being alone, but part of me wishes I had some type of “high school experience” that you see in the movies. I take a break from day dreaming, and realize my name is about to be called. I look over to the stands to see my mom and brother waiting for me to walk across the stage, and accept my diploma. My mom couldn’t hide her excitement for the life of her, my brother Preston on the other hand, would much rather be doing anything else. I walk up to the assistant principal and shake his hand, as the principal calls my name. I walk across stage and accept my diploma, and walk down to the seats next to my best friend, Ayla, who is practically shaking from excitement. Ayla is the complete opposite of me. She’s the perfect height with blonde silky hair, slim and tan. She is wanted by most of the guys in our graduating class and she knows it. Me on the other hand, I am a little on the shorter side, I’m fit but have a bit more curves to me, I have brown long hair, and my skin is more on the pale side. I’m more shy and modest when it comes to my appearance, i’m not great at the whole confidence thing. As they finish calling off the last of the names, our families start heading down to the field to meet us. My mom runs up to me and hugs me, making me almost lose my balance, “I am so proud of you Aves! I can’t believe my baby girl graduated!” My mom says with tears in her eyes. “Thank you mom” I say hugging her back. I look over to my brother Preston who gives me a hug “good job V, now let’s hurry this sh*t up, I don’t wanna hit traffic.” Preston is 5 years older than me, which makes him 23. We’re not that close, but he really stepped up when our father died. That doesn’t stop him from his sarcastic brotherly comments though. We get home, and I head upstairs to finish packing. We’re leaving for Florida today, and I can’t say I’m thrilled. My mom had this pact with her best friend Ana when they first had kids. Each summer, we go to Ana’s house in Florida, it was the kind of thing where they wanted to stay close and have their kids be best friends like them, and it all worked out until 2 years ago when my dad died and we stopped going. It was a rough time for my mom, and she could barely get out of bed, let alone go to Florida. We brushed it off until after I graduated, but we can’t brush it off any longer. My mom is extremely excited though, and it’s nice to see her smile, I feel like it’s been a while since I’ve seen that. As I continue packing I hear the front door slam, and footsteps running towards my room. Ayla rushes in the door out of breath, with 2 bags big enough to fit my entire wardrobe. “Good. I’m not too late.” She says while trying to catch her breath. “Too late for what?” I ask. “I was not letting you leave Colorado without giving you a few necessities.” Oh god this can’t be good. “You are spending the summer in the same house as Liam. It’s time you show him what he’s been missing out on.” Liam is Ana’s son. He’s 4 years older than me, and I used to have the biggest crush on him. He always treated me like I was just Preston’s annoying little sister. I was basically invisible to him. It was so bad that every summer I came home crying to Ayla, because I wasted it obsessing over him. It was pathetic. “Ayla-“ “Ah. I don’t wanna hear it. You’re hot. But you hide yourself under all these baggy clothes and I won’t take it anymore.” She says while pulling clothes out of her bag. “Here. Try this on.” She hands me a black bikini. I look her to see if there’s any way I can get out of this, but her expression tells me everything I need to know. I take the bikini and walk to the bathroom. I take off my clothes and slide the top on, and then the bottoms. I look in the mirror and stare at what I see. This in no way is what I’m used to, it reveals much more than my normal one piece. The top is covering only what needs to be covered, nothing more, and the bottoms sit perfectly on the curves of my hips, only held together by two strings tied together at each side. It’s definitely not modest, but it does a great job at flattering my shape and hugging my curves perfectly. I finally get the courage to walk out of the bathroom to show Ayla when I see her mouth fall open. “Oh my God. Avery, this is what’s been under those hoodies this whole d*mn time!?” She says in a high pitched voice. “Yea, you are not hiding this body anymore, you’re taking all of this.” She throws the bags on my bed and takes out all of the clothes that I had originally packed. “I don’t know, maybe this isn’t a great idea.” I say. “Are you kidding? V, you’re 18 now. You’re not the same little girl Liam is used to seeing. Every summer, you come back disappointed because you spent it pent up in the room reading instead of going out and having fun.” I mean she’s not wrong. I never do anything fun, I always end up sitting in the room with a book, while Liam and Preston have the time of their lives. “When he see’s you, in something other than a pair of sweats and a messy bun, he’s not gonna know what hit him.” She said with a smirk on her face. Maybe this isn’t such a bad idea. I’m tired of being invisible. Maybe if I just let loose, and actually do things this summer, I won’t hate going there as much. Plus what’s the worst that can happen. “You know what, fine, I’ll do it.” I say, hoping that I’m not making a huge mistake. Ayla’s face lights up and she screams “Yes! Okay, I need updates every night Avery, I mean it.“ “Okay, I’ll call you, I promise.” I say while laughing. I give her a hug goodbye, and pack away the rest of my things including the bags Ayla brought. I grab my things and walk downstairs to the car. As soon I as put everything in I sit down and think about what I just agreed to. I’m nervous but, Ayla’s right. I need to get out of my comfort zone and not let Liam walk all over me anymore. I’m not the same girl that he was able to push around, and I sure don’t look like her anymore either. This summer is going to be the summer where I make Liam regret overlooking me in first place. After gathering all of our things, we finally start heading to the airport. When we finally arrive to our gate, I take a deep breath before walking on the plane. I don’t know how I’m going to pull this whole thing off, but I get this overwhelming feeling of excitement, almost as if my body is craving some payback. I get onto the plane and settle down into my seat. I take out my AirPods and start playing the songs I have downloaded. It only takes a few minutes before I rest my head on the headrest and close my eyes to fall asleep.