What's With This Girl?, chapter 1
My knees were shaking so much. My heart was stuck in my throat. I never felt this nervous in my entire life. This was supposed to be the happiest day of my life, and it was. So why was I so nervous? Maybe because the man I really wanted to marry, the man I really wanted to be with, was in the church, sitting in the second phew, trying to hold back tears. Why was I doing this to him? Why I did that to him and why he waited so long to tell me the things he told me I will never know. But what I do know is that what happened after I finished walking down the isle and standing at the altar, would change my life forever.
But I'm starting too far ahead. Let me start at the beginning. My name's Youkira Belle, but everyone calls me Kira. My mom named me after a very close friend of hers she met in Taiwan; she helped my mom a lot after my father died. I was born in Darby, Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my childhood. I have a brother, Darby, named after where he was born, and my sisters, the twins Drexel and Beatrix. They were all older than me. But you don't want to know all of this. You really want to hear is how I met the man of my life.
I'll start at the first day of my sophomore year in high school. I was 15 years old, and it was September 1997...
"Kira! Kira! Get up or you're going to be late for the first day of school. Kira I'm not going to call you again. OK one more time. KIRA!!!"
"Mom I'm up I'm up OK? Jesus man." It was 5:30, school started at 8:00. My mom always woke me up extra early so I could always have enough time to get ready. I rolled out of bed until I hit the floor. Crawled in the bathroom and got up to my feet. "Well, Kira," I said to myself as I looked in the mirror. "You're 15 years old and you're finally a sophomore. These are the best days of your life right? Well, the first year of the best years of your life sucked. But things are going to be different this year. I can feel it." After I finished giving myself a pep talk, I took a shower, got changed into my favorite Green Day shirt, my black, read and green pleaded pants, and my green converses. I grabbed my back pack ran down the stairs.
"Kira what did I tell you about running down the stairs. You're going to fall through them one day and then you'll wished you listened to me." My mom always said stuff like that. "Mom calm down the stairs don't have feelings." I said sarcastically. My mom just looked at me and rolled her eyes. "You know Kira the one thing you didn't get from my side of the family is your attitude. You have your father's attitude." "I have his eyes too." I added. She just looked at me and laughed. "Come sit down and eat." She said. "I have something important to tell you." "Um... . okay what is it?" I asked while stuffing a piece of bacon in my mouth. "Well, um... Drexel's in town you know promoting her new club and all, and I didn't want her staying in some hotel so I said she can stay here." "And this is what you wanted to tell me?" I asked. "What's the big deal? I mean it's great that she's coming to stay for a couple of days, but you made it seem like it was life changing news." She looked up at me then down, and then up at me again. "Well, I'm letting her sleep in your room." "Why? We have 4 bedrooms in this house why can't she stay in her old room?" "Because Beatrix's coming too and she's staying in Drexie's old room." "Well, why can't BeBe just stay in Darby's old room?" I never saw this look on my mom's face a lot but I saw it that day. It was the look she gave me when I was 12 years old when my father died. I had a feeling she was going say something I really didn't want to hear. I was screaming inside for her not to say what she was going to say next. "Well...um...Kira honey, Darby going to be staying with us for a while." I could feel my breakfast coming back up my throat. My heart sunk into my stomach. My brother and me weren't on the best of terms. He was the reason I was in leg braces for 4 years. He was the reason Drexie walks with a limp. I hated him. I couldn't say anything more to my mother. I just got up and left. "Where are you going?" she cried. "I'm going to school." That's all I could say. "Kira he's changed, you have to believe me."
I ran over to my best friend Monty's house. Her real name was Shandi Montgomery Lee, but we call her Monty because she more of a guy than any boy I know. She was really pretty though. She was part English, German, and Japanese. She was born in Tokyo. People said me and her looked alike but I was black and she was white. I didn't even get a chance to knock on the door before she came running out screaming "BYE MOM BYE DAD I LOVE YOU!" grabbing my arm and running down the street. "Hey why the hell are we running?" "I didn't want my mom to see I was wearing my Green Day hoodie. She wanted to wash it today but I wanted to wear it so...yeah." I just looked at her and started laughing. "Come on we have to meet Donnie and Ricky at the bus stop."
"Hey Monty, are you still going with Ricky?" I asked. "You know it. Three years and going strong. Why'd you ask?" truth be told I don't know why I asked. "No reason." "Oh yeah there's a reason. You want to get with him. You know he used to love you." My eyes shot out of my skull. "You're bullshitting. He didn't like me." "Keep telling yourself that." Monty said. "Shut up there's Donnie and Ricky." I tried to shut her up but she was still talking. "Look Kira, just because your first boyfriend is now gay doesn't mean you caused it. You have to move on." "Monty shut up." "Hey Kira." Said Donnie. Donnie and I dated for a year until he told me he was gay. We're still friends. "So Kira are you going?" Ricky asked me. I had no idea what he was talking about. "Going where?" I asked. "To your sister's club tomorrow night. It's going to be fucking awesome." "Ricky I am not going to ask my sister to take her underage sister to a club." "You will if Green Day's there." Donnie said. "Say what?!" Monty and me said at the same time. "Yeah that's right." Donnie said. "Green Day's playing at your sister's club opening night. So are we going now?" "Oh hell yeah man!" I screamed. "She's coming over tonight so I'll see what I can do." "WE'RE GONNA GO SEE GREEN DAY! WE'RE GONNA GO SEE GREEN DAY!" Ricky and Monty start singing. At that moment I had no idea if my sister would say yes or no. And I definitely had no idea that I was going to see the man I would spend the rest of my life with perform.
After school I ran straight home to see my sister. I jumped off the bus and ran all the way home. I ran down the street, up the walkway, up to the door, tried to find my key in my bag, found it, opened the door to see Drexie, BeBe, and Darby sitting on the couch. I threw my bag down by the stairs and gave Drexie a hug. "How's my little sister doing?" she asked. "Your little sister is doing just fine." BeBe jumped up and hopped on my back and tackled me to the ground. "How come every time I see you, you always have to tackle me? Don't you think a simple hug is enough?" BeBe still has me pinned to the ground. "Aww what's wrong?" she said. "My little sister's too old for this game now? What do you do now? Talk about boys?" "Leave her alone Monty." I heard Darby say. He got up from the couch and pushed Monty off of me. "Hey Kira." He said. I could hear the shakiness in his voice. He was terrified just to say hello. He must have thought I was gonna rip him a new one if he said one word to me. "Hey" I tried to say something else, but that's all I could say. I got up off the floor and he gave me a hug. I didn't want to hug him at first, but I didn't want to be a total bitch. "So how's it going? How do you like sophomore year so far?" "It's better than freshmen year." I said. "This year they treat you like a human being." We both lightly chuckled. My mom walked in with this huge smile on my face. "Oh Kira you're home. I didn't hear you come in. Go upstairs and get ready for dinner."
I thought that at dinner would be the best time to ask Drexie about the club. "Everybody! Dinner's ready!" It was just like when we were younger. Everyone was trying to beat each other down the stairs to get to the table first. People tripping over each other's arms and legs, those were good times. Of course Drexie always got to the table first. I sat through 30 minutes of listening to boring conversations about politics and bills, and Darby's plans after college, all of this weren't important to me. What was important was asking Drexie about the club. "So Drexel..." I said. "The grand opening of your new club is tomorrow." "Oh yeah. It's going to be great. Green Day's performing. Kira isn't that your favorite band?" How the hell did she know? "Yeah." "I should've known they're plastered all over your room, especially the drummer." "OHHHHHHHH!" BeBe yelled. "Kira's got a little crush." "Dude, be realistic." I said. "He's what 25 I'm what 15? It's never going to happen." "But Kira it's okay to have a little crush." "Look I'm not going to build up my hopes and dreams around a guy I know I can't have. I'll just set myself up for heartbreak." Darby just laughed. "You sound just like dad. Always the logical one." I didn't say anything. I think he too that as a clue. "So anyway Kira... " said Drexie. "You like Green Day." "Oh Drexie I just had a great idea." My mom said "Why don't you take Kira to the club to see them." I couldn't believe those words came out of my mom's mouth. "That's a good idea mom. Kira you can bring some friends so you won't be alone." This was not happening. I'm dreaming. "Yeah and I'll give you and your friends a ride." Darby said. "Drex I'll even watch them at the club so they won't get into too many problems." I have the best family in the world. I couldn't wait to tell my friends.
That night I called Monty and told her about the concert. She said she was bringing her cousin too. His name was Dannie. He just moved here from Liverpool and she wanted to show him around. That day school went by so quickly. I wanted to get home as soon as possible but Monty wanted to introduce me to Dannie. He had brown hair, big blue eyes, and he was really cute. I could tell he was going to be a distraction for me, but in a good way. After I met Dannie I ran home, took a shower and put on my best outfit, my black tank top, my red skirt that came to my knees, and my favorite chunky heel Mary Janes with red outlining. I wore my hair straight, which I hardly did, and put a black satin headband on. I walked outside to see that Darby had already picked up all my friends. I saw Dannie's jaw drop we he saw me. Even Donnie had to take a second glance. "Wow, Kira you look amazing." Dannie said. "Thanks Dannie. You guys ready to go?" "Yes, let's get out of here." Monty said anxiously.
But I'm starting too far ahead. Let me start at the beginning. My name's Youkira Belle, but everyone calls me Kira. My mom named me after a very close friend of hers she met in Taiwan; she helped my mom a lot after my father died. I was born in Darby, Pennsylvania, where I spent most of my childhood. I have a brother, Darby, named after where he was born, and my sisters, the twins Drexel and Beatrix. They were all older than me. But you don't want to know all of this. You really want to hear is how I met the man of my life.
I'll start at the first day of my sophomore year in high school. I was 15 years old, and it was September 1997...
"Kira! Kira! Get up or you're going to be late for the first day of school. Kira I'm not going to call you again. OK one more time. KIRA!!!"
"Mom I'm up I'm up OK? Jesus man." It was 5:30, school started at 8:00. My mom always woke me up extra early so I could always have enough time to get ready. I rolled out of bed until I hit the floor. Crawled in the bathroom and got up to my feet. "Well, Kira," I said to myself as I looked in the mirror. "You're 15 years old and you're finally a sophomore. These are the best days of your life right? Well, the first year of the best years of your life sucked. But things are going to be different this year. I can feel it." After I finished giving myself a pep talk, I took a shower, got changed into my favorite Green Day shirt, my black, read and green pleaded pants, and my green converses. I grabbed my back pack ran down the stairs.
"Kira what did I tell you about running down the stairs. You're going to fall through them one day and then you'll wished you listened to me." My mom always said stuff like that. "Mom calm down the stairs don't have feelings." I said sarcastically. My mom just looked at me and rolled her eyes. "You know Kira the one thing you didn't get from my side of the family is your attitude. You have your father's attitude." "I have his eyes too." I added. She just looked at me and laughed. "Come sit down and eat." She said. "I have something important to tell you." "Um... . okay what is it?" I asked while stuffing a piece of bacon in my mouth. "Well, um... Drexel's in town you know promoting her new club and all, and I didn't want her staying in some hotel so I said she can stay here." "And this is what you wanted to tell me?" I asked. "What's the big deal? I mean it's great that she's coming to stay for a couple of days, but you made it seem like it was life changing news." She looked up at me then down, and then up at me again. "Well, I'm letting her sleep in your room." "Why? We have 4 bedrooms in this house why can't she stay in her old room?" "Because Beatrix's coming too and she's staying in Drexie's old room." "Well, why can't BeBe just stay in Darby's old room?" I never saw this look on my mom's face a lot but I saw it that day. It was the look she gave me when I was 12 years old when my father died. I had a feeling she was going say something I really didn't want to hear. I was screaming inside for her not to say what she was going to say next. "Well...um...Kira honey, Darby going to be staying with us for a while." I could feel my breakfast coming back up my throat. My heart sunk into my stomach. My brother and me weren't on the best of terms. He was the reason I was in leg braces for 4 years. He was the reason Drexie walks with a limp. I hated him. I couldn't say anything more to my mother. I just got up and left. "Where are you going?" she cried. "I'm going to school." That's all I could say. "Kira he's changed, you have to believe me."
I ran over to my best friend Monty's house. Her real name was Shandi Montgomery Lee, but we call her Monty because she more of a guy than any boy I know. She was really pretty though. She was part English, German, and Japanese. She was born in Tokyo. People said me and her looked alike but I was black and she was white. I didn't even get a chance to knock on the door before she came running out screaming "BYE MOM BYE DAD I LOVE YOU!" grabbing my arm and running down the street. "Hey why the hell are we running?" "I didn't want my mom to see I was wearing my Green Day hoodie. She wanted to wash it today but I wanted to wear it so...yeah." I just looked at her and started laughing. "Come on we have to meet Donnie and Ricky at the bus stop."
"Hey Monty, are you still going with Ricky?" I asked. "You know it. Three years and going strong. Why'd you ask?" truth be told I don't know why I asked. "No reason." "Oh yeah there's a reason. You want to get with him. You know he used to love you." My eyes shot out of my skull. "You're bullshitting. He didn't like me." "Keep telling yourself that." Monty said. "Shut up there's Donnie and Ricky." I tried to shut her up but she was still talking. "Look Kira, just because your first boyfriend is now gay doesn't mean you caused it. You have to move on." "Monty shut up." "Hey Kira." Said Donnie. Donnie and I dated for a year until he told me he was gay. We're still friends. "So Kira are you going?" Ricky asked me. I had no idea what he was talking about. "Going where?" I asked. "To your sister's club tomorrow night. It's going to be fucking awesome." "Ricky I am not going to ask my sister to take her underage sister to a club." "You will if Green Day's there." Donnie said. "Say what?!" Monty and me said at the same time. "Yeah that's right." Donnie said. "Green Day's playing at your sister's club opening night. So are we going now?" "Oh hell yeah man!" I screamed. "She's coming over tonight so I'll see what I can do." "WE'RE GONNA GO SEE GREEN DAY! WE'RE GONNA GO SEE GREEN DAY!" Ricky and Monty start singing. At that moment I had no idea if my sister would say yes or no. And I definitely had no idea that I was going to see the man I would spend the rest of my life with perform.
After school I ran straight home to see my sister. I jumped off the bus and ran all the way home. I ran down the street, up the walkway, up to the door, tried to find my key in my bag, found it, opened the door to see Drexie, BeBe, and Darby sitting on the couch. I threw my bag down by the stairs and gave Drexie a hug. "How's my little sister doing?" she asked. "Your little sister is doing just fine." BeBe jumped up and hopped on my back and tackled me to the ground. "How come every time I see you, you always have to tackle me? Don't you think a simple hug is enough?" BeBe still has me pinned to the ground. "Aww what's wrong?" she said. "My little sister's too old for this game now? What do you do now? Talk about boys?" "Leave her alone Monty." I heard Darby say. He got up from the couch and pushed Monty off of me. "Hey Kira." He said. I could hear the shakiness in his voice. He was terrified just to say hello. He must have thought I was gonna rip him a new one if he said one word to me. "Hey" I tried to say something else, but that's all I could say. I got up off the floor and he gave me a hug. I didn't want to hug him at first, but I didn't want to be a total bitch. "So how's it going? How do you like sophomore year so far?" "It's better than freshmen year." I said. "This year they treat you like a human being." We both lightly chuckled. My mom walked in with this huge smile on my face. "Oh Kira you're home. I didn't hear you come in. Go upstairs and get ready for dinner."
I thought that at dinner would be the best time to ask Drexie about the club. "Everybody! Dinner's ready!" It was just like when we were younger. Everyone was trying to beat each other down the stairs to get to the table first. People tripping over each other's arms and legs, those were good times. Of course Drexie always got to the table first. I sat through 30 minutes of listening to boring conversations about politics and bills, and Darby's plans after college, all of this weren't important to me. What was important was asking Drexie about the club. "So Drexel..." I said. "The grand opening of your new club is tomorrow." "Oh yeah. It's going to be great. Green Day's performing. Kira isn't that your favorite band?" How the hell did she know? "Yeah." "I should've known they're plastered all over your room, especially the drummer." "OHHHHHHHH!" BeBe yelled. "Kira's got a little crush." "Dude, be realistic." I said. "He's what 25 I'm what 15? It's never going to happen." "But Kira it's okay to have a little crush." "Look I'm not going to build up my hopes and dreams around a guy I know I can't have. I'll just set myself up for heartbreak." Darby just laughed. "You sound just like dad. Always the logical one." I didn't say anything. I think he too that as a clue. "So anyway Kira... " said Drexie. "You like Green Day." "Oh Drexie I just had a great idea." My mom said "Why don't you take Kira to the club to see them." I couldn't believe those words came out of my mom's mouth. "That's a good idea mom. Kira you can bring some friends so you won't be alone." This was not happening. I'm dreaming. "Yeah and I'll give you and your friends a ride." Darby said. "Drex I'll even watch them at the club so they won't get into too many problems." I have the best family in the world. I couldn't wait to tell my friends.
That night I called Monty and told her about the concert. She said she was bringing her cousin too. His name was Dannie. He just moved here from Liverpool and she wanted to show him around. That day school went by so quickly. I wanted to get home as soon as possible but Monty wanted to introduce me to Dannie. He had brown hair, big blue eyes, and he was really cute. I could tell he was going to be a distraction for me, but in a good way. After I met Dannie I ran home, took a shower and put on my best outfit, my black tank top, my red skirt that came to my knees, and my favorite chunky heel Mary Janes with red outlining. I wore my hair straight, which I hardly did, and put a black satin headband on. I walked outside to see that Darby had already picked up all my friends. I saw Dannie's jaw drop we he saw me. Even Donnie had to take a second glance. "Wow, Kira you look amazing." Dannie said. "Thanks Dannie. You guys ready to go?" "Yes, let's get out of here." Monty said anxiously.
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