Gem City

Chapter 2

“This Is How We Roll” – Florida Georgia Line

“Famous In a Small Town” – Miranda Lambert

Courtney was quite literally sitting on the edge of her seat, waiting for the plane to touch down. The flight had seemed endless, and she was tired of lemon-lime soda and peanuts. She just wanted to see Vanessa and have fun without worrying about school or work or cheerleading or anything. In an attempt to calm down, she visualized herself leaving the worried, anxious, self-conscious version of Courtney Ross on the plane and walking into the airport a more relaxed and confident copy. Nice deep breaths, you can do this, she coached inwardly. Although, I"m guessing most teenagers don"t have to meditate to convince themselves to have fun. Her mouth inadvertently turned into a frown at the thought.

Nice deep breaths, you can do thisAlthough, I"m guessing most teenagers don"t have to meditate to convince themselves to have fun.Finally, the plane touched down and the seatbelt sign went off. She practically tackled the woman sitting next to her, albeit apologetically, to get her bag and run off of the aircraft. Dodging people and suitcases, she hurried down to baggage claim. She breathed in deep as she saw a head of shiny blonde hair atop a girl with golden tanned skin and legs for days in her cut-off shorts. “V!” she shouted.

“Court!” Vanessa responded, whipping her hair around to take in the sight of her best friend. “Shut UP! You look freaking amazing,” she exclaimed as she looked Courtney up and down.

“Stop it, I do not. You look like a hot girl out of a country song in those shorts.”

“Oh yeah, baby, this is how I roll.” Vanessa wiggled her butt, making several of the grown men standing nearby glance over. “Speaking of which, let"s grab your bag and I can show you my new ride.” She had a sparkle in her blue eyes. Courtney couldn"t believe what she was seeing when they finally got to the parking garage, but it was a brand s******g new red Camaro. She looked at Vanessa, who chivalrously opened the passenger door for her. “Our chariot awaits.” Courtney slid across the soft tan leather seat and inhaled the new car smell.

“This is what we will be driving around in all summer? This car is hella cool!” Courtney was gushing, though she secretly felt guilty, like she was cheating on her little Mustang. “You must be cruising around like small-town royalty in this thing.”

This“Oh, you have no idea. All the guys are so jealous; it has become hard for me to tell if they are hitting on me or just trying to get into my car.” Vanessa laughed, swept her long sun-kissed hair into a high ponytail, and plopped her sunglasses onto her face. “Ready to ride?” Courtney just smiled, put on her own shades, and felt more at ease than she had in a long time. As she let the heavy summer air fill her lungs, she realized this was exactly what she had been waiting for.

* * *

Courtney made Vanessa drive her the long way through town so she could reacquaint herself with the place she had called home for so long. They drove past the park, their elementary school, and then finally Courtney"s old house. It was a little yellow Victorian in the middle of “downtown,” which was a hilarious term now that she lived outside of Phoenix. She missed its creaking hardwood, wide front porch, and the little balcony off of her room. She knew that moving to Scottsdale wasn"t the worst thing in the world, and that her dad really liked his job there despite the constant traveling, but it was hard not to wish that things hadn"t changed. Vanessa pulled her quickly off of memory lane, and insisted they shop for party supplies. Courtney naively envisioned streamers and balloons for a moment, until she remembered whom she was dealing with. Courtney never drank much at any of the parties she actually dragged herself to back at home, but she was existing in Vanessa"s world now. She imagined some sort of brightly colored beverages with cheesy names would be in her near future. They ran quickly through the tiny store and headed to Vanessa"s to set up.

“Luke is coming over early to help, so you will get to meet him then,” Vanessa bubbled excitedly as they walked into her house. The main floor looked the same as it always had. There were a lot of roosters. Like, a lot of roosters. Mrs. Roberts" obsession made Courtney"s lips stretch out in a smile.

lot“So tell me more about him. I need to satisfy my protective instinct and make sure he"s good enough for you.”

“Hmmmm, well, when he gets here you"ll see that he"s freaking hot, though he knows it, so I try not to remind him too often,” Vanessa said as she winked at her. “And he can actually hold a decent conversation, so bonus points for that, and most of the time he likes me slightly more than I like him, so I win. Usually,” she finished, smiling.

“Oh my god, you love him! You talk a good game, friend, but you can drop the act.” Courtney laughed knowingly.

love“Eh, stick it.” Vanessa"s words held a bite as usual, but Courtney could see her smiling as she unpacked their purchases. Vanessa"s house was somewhat of an anomaly. It was a newly built tri-level, but had a typical country feel to the main floor. Vanessa was appalled by the roosters that Courtney found so endearing. Her parents had allowed her the entire walkout basement to herself for a “hang out space,” as they called it, and had given her quite a generous budget to furnish it how she wanted. It was like entering a different universe down there. Courtney wanted to buy a sign for it that said “We"re Not In Kansas Anymore.” Vanessa had gone for a very boho feel (save for the giant flat screen on the wall). It was inviting, with low lying couches in varying degrees of white, completed with a seemingly endless array of colored beaded pillows. It made Courtney want to sink into one and never get out. The low light emanating from the collection of Moroccan lanterns gave a sense of relaxation she hadn"t managed in a while. She made a mental note to re-think her very contemporary room design when she returned home.

“V… you surprise me sometimes,” Courtney said, slowly taking it all in.

“Why? Because I"m so awesome?” Vanessa answered, midway through creating a playlist for that night"s festivities.

“This is just not the party pad of a girl living in small-town Ohio. It"s amazing. Breathtaking, even.”

Vanessa looked at her seriously, which was rare, for a moment. “Do you really like it? Luke makes fun of me for being so particular, but I don"t know. I just…”

“It"s perfect, and it"s you. I want you to help me decorate my room.”

“Well, for a small fee, of course.” Moment over. Vanessa was back to her old self. Courtney threw one of the beaded pillows at her head and giggled. Her brain kept trying to remind her to be nervous about the party, but she forced it to be quiet by vacuuming the room and thinking about her outfit. She made her friend help lug two suitcases up the stairs to the bedroom on the second story. It was covered in photos, clothing, and pieces of cheer uniforms, much like Courtney"s own room.

Moment over.“I"ll get around to cleaning this up. I never come in here except to sleep. I wish my parents would just let me move into one of the guest bedrooms in the basement,” Vanessa complained.

“Yeah, they"re not that dumb. You already sneak out enough as it is from up here. If they gave you the basement, you might as well have your own apartment.”

“Now there"s an idea.” Vanessa smiled as she started throwing clothes into her hamper and making her bed.

“Hey, V?” Courtney asked seriously. “Can you look at the outfit I have for tonight and be brutally honest about it?”

“Have I ever been anything but?” she replied as she bounced over. “Oh, no, no, no, NO, no. And then also no.”

“What? What could possibly be that wrong with a denim skirt and white t-shirt? I thought that"s what you small-town folk wore to your tailgate parties and what not,” Courtney replied, slightly hurt by Vanessa"s reaction.

“Girl- You are freaking hot. And look at this skirt; it"s down to your knees? Are you a nun? Get me some scissors, STAT. I am making this over. And the t-shirt? No. You will wear…” she faded out as she went into the laundry room down the hall and rummaged through her clean clothes, “this!” she shouted and held up a red and white striped halter so small it looked like it came from the toddler section. Courtney"s stomach tightened. The thought of wearing something that skimpy made her want to hyperventilate. She instinctively reached for the safe white t-shirt.

knees“Nope.” Vanessa snatched it out of her hands. “You are going to rock this party if it kills me. Honestly, Court, a knee-length skirt? Do you even know who I am?” she continued, laughing as she cut an alarming amount of fabric off of the jean skirt. Courtney had to practice some deep breathing to accept that this was happening. She took her scissor-fashioned skirt and halter-top into the bathroom to get dressed and have a heart attack in peace. You can do this, she thought, you can be confident and flirty and wear this incredibly small outfit and not worry what anyone is thinking. Just think of it as a cheer uniform. Except when she was in uniform, there were twenty other girls dressed exactly the same. Pushing that thought out of her head, she repeated the affirmations until at least part of her believed them. Finishing her make-up, she heard a male voice downstairs calling for Vanessa. She took one last look in the mirror, fluffed her long curly mane, and went to meet the famous Luke.

You can do this,you can be confident and flirty and wear this incredibly small outfit and not worry what anyone is thinkingJust think of it as a cheer uniform