#Idk why we deluded ourselves that we were middle class

[loumandforyou]

thinking about that post I reblogged the other day about how Bezos could be the world's first trillioner. And how I am full of anxiety now cause if I had this 1000euro ipad for work, it would be so so much easier, but there is no way I can afford that... like I could pay in doses, but our washing machine also broke and ugh

do you know how much 1000 is for a billioner? it's not even 1 cent of the basic income in my country. 1 cent. and people go in dept because they can't afford that kind of rent

[songs-about-girls-like-me]

chapter 19: an almost deleted scene (2)

(a/n: alternative title for the chapter: Feisty)

"Okay, take out your lipgloss" Poppy scattered her collection of BeautyRush on the school desk.

I had two lip smackers that my sister had gifted me. One was skittles, the other one was sprite. I also had a roll-on straberry gloss I had bought myself (my parents' money) at "Todo Moda" during the weekend. The five of us put them in the middle of our school desks making a considerable collection that looked so cool in their plasticky colorful glory and, idk why, we put them into a light green plastic pencil holder that Poppy had brought from home.

"This way we can share while we're in class!" It was a cool shiny display in the middle of our school supplies. Our gloss obsession was a bit deluded and silly but the bond between us sharing them felt so real. We were doing geography or math and we had taken over the desks at back of the classroom. Mr. G hadn't scolded anyone for completely disregarding the sitting chart and changing places, so my friends and I were all together in one "school team", rolling with it. We all went in to take one, I chose the most true-pink gloss, almost like a magenta shade that looked just clear on the lips. It smelled like pure sugar. I was happy that MJ took my Skittles lipsmacker.

"1, 2, 3, lipgloss"

"That one is so dumb, guys" called out Liv. Maybe it was, but we just laughed.

"This is awesome"

We nodded in agreement with Ella, I flipped my front pieces of hair off my face so it didn't stick to my lips, the now familiar thick texture of petroleum jelly making me smell berries under my nose.

"Oh, wait. Careful with the cherry gloss!" Said Poppy pausing the silly bliss of the moment.

"This one??" I asked showing her mine.

"No, it's red. The 'cherry bomb' one isn't clear gloss, it's so so red."

"Which one?" we all were moving the glosses around on emergency mode all over the desks but it wasn't there. Then I smelled cherry. We all darted our eyes to the head of the table.

"Wait, this one?" Ella's lips were dripping red like a vampire frozen in spot with the lipgloss still pressed to her bottom lip, squeezing more product out. It was definitely THAT one and we all cracked up laughing. It smelled really fucking good, I could smell it from 1.5 metters apart, holding on to my chair while laughing so much I could've fallen to the ground. Ella bursted out a laugh still confused, not knowing how funny she looked but having an idea by how much we couldn't stop laughing. Her lips were red, the gloss making a line down the left corner just like blood, and MJ didn't miss the moment to call her sexy. Elizabeth sent each one of us a flying kiss, playing along to the dumb sexy vampire jokes. I wiped my tears away to keep writing down whaterver we were copying from the blackboard, still carrying a giggle in my chest.

That afternoon we were messing around still at school before Jazz. We all had been perfecting a walking technique, a model stride that made your hair move in the wind, even with zero breeze needed. My friends and I would line up and practice before dance class or recess or whenever we could in the hallways, each starting with the right foot on the count of 3 to be coordinated. By this moment, it was a nonchalant reflex to go everywhere chatting while walking like that. So we walked the length of the running track at least three Times just to enjoy ourselves while discussing TV shows, probably talking about Shake it Up's latest aired episode.

"I almost cried with 'Add it up', it was so good." MJ held Ella by the shoulder while still strutting with us.

"Yeah!! I liked it better than 'Meatball it up'" She agreed. I was wondering how in the hell they knew the episodes' names.

"Rees? Did you catch 'Add it up'?"

"Mhh... I don't think so..." I had watched the first episode and the Olive Garden one like five Times now, but apparently I was missing more. Sometimes my mom would be late to pick me and my sister up from school and I couldn't catch it before America's Next Top Model started.

"O.M.G. You'll love it" MJ would spell out OMG when talking. "It's about Cece!" A smile grew on my lips.

"Lame, Rees! Keep up with the episodes!" Ella and I had the most savage friendship at Times, so I pushed her by the shoulders, making her laugh and starting a quick physical fight between us. After being stopped by MJ who was giggling and Poppy who finally snapped out of counting the petals of a pink geranium from The Flowerbed, we reached the basketball court. The four of us found a bech facing the basketball court to chill at before having to change out of our school uniforms. The boys before jazz were still annoying, but today we were hanging around them even while they were having basketball practice. Everyone was in for the banter, which some days could actually be just innocent enough to make us more friends and less enemies. MJ and Poppy were bickering with the boys warming up for practice. Ella and I were once again quoting Disney Channel not paying too much attention to the dudes doing shoulder rolls and neck stretches wearing baggy basketball shorts and tanktops.

"I tipped over the canoe, I cut my lip... and my top came off." I was even copying Cece's voice and closing the imaginary olive green jacket over my flat chest. We would do this scene all the Time, unprovoked.

"Cece, you were 10. Nobody even knew you were a girl." Ella was my Rocky, pretending to sit back on a bench in the Chicago subway. (The irony in this, I was currently actually 10 loll).

"I knew!!" our cadence was exact, and in the end we would burst in laughter and repeat it all. The rhythm between us was the best thing, like a quick witted game of cards we had perfected.

"Go Joe!" Poppy was being her extra cutesy self, while the team did some laps around the court. Joe winked at her, still running.

"Get out of the way, girls" Max came up to us, pretending she was about to throw a ball to our face and retrieving it at the very last second before it hit us. We were so used to it by now, we barely even flinched.

"Stop that!" Poppy whined in complaint of the aggressive game.

"Let me try" Ella jumped up and quickly took it out of her hands.

"No. Let go" MJ, Poppy and I were now laughing at the scene. Both girls fighting over it, Ella hunching over the ball hidding it from her reach, her curly hair falling over her face.

"It's mine now, Max" she stated with a laugh.

"Noo, Elizabeth, let go." Max was trying to use her elbow to make the dirty synthetic ball fall from my friend's grip. Max lets out a laugh too. "Ella."

"Ohhh, Max can be nice. Did you just call her "Ella"? I loved pissing her off like this. She looked me in the eye with half a laugh and her basketball back in her hands.

"Watch it, Rees" She did the trick again, only this Time the ball actually hit me straight in the face by accident. "Omg, sorry" She was laughing but sounded genuinely surprised by the slip. We were laughing too, cause it was one of those good days. She rubbed my forehead a bit, holding back a giggle.

"I'm fine, I'm fine, thanks" I acted just a bit pissed keeping her hands away, but finding it funny too.

"You girls are distracting" Mick yelled wearing that crush he had on both Poppy and MJ on his sleeve.

"So focus" asked MJ. I could laugh so much when my friends acted like this. Some of the guys were finishing their laps now, panting from the running, while forming a group in one corner of the court.

"What are those? The cheerleaders?" Their coach was paying attention now, shading his eyes with one hand to be able to see us better. He was so deeply annoying.

"Yea, they're our cheerleaders" Joe agreed, he seemed very okay with the idea and I fucking hated his coach.

"In your dreams" Poppy blew her boyfriend a sarcastic kiss, while she walked her way closer to them. The rest of us following behind to back her up.

"Oh, we'd never be cheerleaders for you." MJ was being real now, sniggering.

"You should! Isn't that what you do?" This was getting my blood heated.

"Oh, they're your friends who do dance" their coach didn't speak directly to any of us.

"Yes. So you could cheer if you're going to be here watching us"

"We dance. It's so not even similar" Ella corrected Rick, her arms crossed. We nod our heads, as if all of us had said the thing.

"What's the difference, again?" Max was back to being annoying, and the boys were too, laughing.

"You just twirl around in mini skirts" They all broke into a laugh at Rick's joke. I didn't know the word "misogyny" at the Time, but these dudes were constantly making me discover the concept from firsthand experience.

"Cool, as opposed to what?" I had been quiet but my voice appeared harsh and hostile. "Running like graceless deadbeat horses after one single lap? The team is terrible ?" I said bluntly making them silent. I wasn't used to talking back like this, even worse cause it sounded like my insult went out to an adult too. But what the fuck?!

"Yea... you guys always lose your games" Poppy added, her eyebrows furrowed. And it was true.

"Girls, we're in the middle of practice. You can't even be here to start with." The adult who started this decided to speak again. "Imma ask you to leave"

"Yea, kick them out coach!" our classmates encouraged him finding their laughter again, booing.

"Yea, let's go girls." Said MJ. That was the cue for our hair flips but this was too serious for that. "Enjoy your stupid class" She murmurs, starting to walk away. I know most of them caught her words.

"It was a joke, girls!" Despite de half-apology, Joe was partially still laughing.

"You are a joke!" Ella had to scream it from the other side of the courtyard and I knew it was a good retort to exit with. I flipped my hair subtly over my shoulder to feel less shaken up as we walked lined up, all four pairs of legs matching the beat.

"Damn! Graceless deadbeat horses was insane, Rees" says Ella as a compliment. I hear the naughty snigger on her voice and we all break in a bit of a laugh at what I said, hopefully they'd hear us giggling. I wanted them to know it had no effect on us.

"'Enjoy your stupid class' was crazier" I break from the line to jump a bit and look at them. "And Ella, just now?"

"It was good" says Poppy in deep recognition of the scene. We strode taking the short hallway to get completely away from their sight. The running track was more populated yet chill as always. It felt funny, even if we had to take some punches, I was so fixated on the good parts. Did I really have those harsh comebacks in me? We kept walking,four different shades of medium to dark brunette hair moving in a made-up breeze of our own.

"I really hate the boys, though. And Max." MJ was setting the pace for our coordinated walking.

"Yea... we should stop talking to them. And the school should get a cheer team, maybe that would show them how hard that also is." I state, feeling a bit amused. They conversation gets cut short cause we see a girl a year below ours was approaching us, directly to Poppy. I couldn't tell right away, but then I recognized her brother's hazel eyes.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a minute?" Joe's sister was asking for a word with her.

"Sure, Sienna. I'll see you in a minute, guys"

"Catch us at the bathroom" Poppy nodded at Ella's words while picking up her pace to match Sienna's. It was not the first nor the second Time this happenned. She was good looking, prettier than Joe and she had a cunning look in her eyes he didn't have. Poppy had already told us how Sienna was a big cause of drama and arguments between Joe and herself. She had even cried to us about it a couple days back, so I didn't understand how she would still have these private conversations with her but... I think she was trying to get on her good side, so she stopped talking shit about her to her brother, making them fight.

"Hmm... Sienna is a bit..." MJ started.

"Yea, I don't like her either." stated Ella. I sighed. I mean, I didn't even fully liked Joe to begin with, so. "Anyway. Let's get changed?"