Last Night

• Tatum Spicer, Grade 6
• Short Story
• 2009

Chapter 1


“Hey Luce come play Game Boy with Me.” requested Stanley.
“Seriously Stan, right now I’d rather watch the dull, brown patches of grass in the front yard grow into a stunning lawn.” I protested.
“Yeah like that will ever happen, from this disastrous drought we’re suffering,” added mum as she galloped into the kitchen, looking bright and intense.
“And would you stop being so daft young lady. Just get over yourself. What happened last night is in the past, just forget about it would you.” said mum encouragingly.
“Mum you’ve never been in this sort of situation before, and no I will not get over myself and will get to the bottom of this and find out why he did this to me.”
“Who did what? What happened? Why won’t you get over yourself?” conjectured Stanley curiously.
“Keep your sticky nose out of my business.” I demanded.
“My nose isn’t sticky.” declared Stanley, tapping on his long Pinocchio nose and laughing at his appalling jokes.

I gazed down at my full bowl off cornflakes. I felt like I was drowning in the milk ocean, short of breath, eyes squinting trying to float above the surface of the milk. Then there reclining on a single corn-flake was my most recent enemy Bradlee glancing into the immense blue eyes of Nicole my WORST enemy. I shattered inside as streaks of flame blazed in my eyes, and my nostrils flared like a summer day breeze. My teeth clinked together, making a rapid noise that echoed through the milk ocean and vibrated on the rim of the bowl. The two pairs of eyes studied me. Nicole just rolled her eyes and continued stirring her finger into the Milk Ocean and then licking it off until the palm of her finger sparkled like glitter. But Bradlee and our eyes collided like two pairs of hands clasping, I felt like my heart was re-forming from its loss. Like Bradlee and I, had a connection. No, I’m wrong; it’s all just in my imagination.

“Gosh Lucy, would you stop drifting off like that. I mean sometimes I assume that you’re Jack in the Box and have to be wound up for me to believe your on the right planet,” stated Suzie sarcastically while nudging me to wake up from my daydream.
“And would you please dispose of your breakfast at the kitchen sink so that we can depart for school?” asked Suzie, while bending down and peering up at me, speaking very slowly and clearly as if I was a little infant that didn’t know the a.b.c., and just to be certain that I was awake.
“Yes I will dispose of my breakfast at the kitchen sink so that we can depart for school,” I replied mocking Suzie’s tone of voice, and proposing that I was awake and could hear her.
“Oh and by the way would you please stop looking up my nose there is nothing interesting to see up there?” I demanded going from a high pitch voice down to a low thundering tone.

I seized hold of my milk and bowl of cereal and barged over to the kitchen sink, not noticing the squeaky clean shine on the floor, and not concentrating on the squeaks that my slippers made every time I took a step. That I skid backwards, like I was about to fall into a Spanish tango dancer’s arms, to conclude our routine. But not as fascinating as I imagined, instead of a kiss upon my cheek or a dozen red spectacular blossoming roses being flung at me. I received a bulky and swollen bump on the platform of my head. My brother chuckled my sister sniggered, but as for me I just groaned because when I stared into the reflection of the mirror, and egg shaped head gloomily stared right back at me.

“This isn’t a public place Luce; I shouldn’t have to put indications around the kitchen interpreting WET FLOOR.” argued mum whilst sighing at her broken bowl, spilt milk and cereal splattered out on the “Just been washed”, floor.









Chapter 2


I gathered my school bag and books feeling slightly guilty from the accident I had just performed. But then I reminded myself that I have all intention of being innocent and Nicole and Bradlee should be the guilty ones for their tremendous outrage. I was sitting directly opposite their clasped hands having to experience the relation that the two people created, it’s unbearable. Bradlee is, sorry Was my boyfriend, how could another girl attract him? Well, I do suppose Nicole is very pretty and tall and………oh I’m getting too carried away with it. But I thought I was the only girl compatible with Bradlee.

This dilemma settled in my mind throughout the school day, making it hard for me to deliberate and proceed in my work. Although it was much worse at the bus park, at the end of the day. Groups of people barged right up to me, inquiring whether I’d dumped Bradlee yet. Not only was this situation bad but now everyone knew about it.

I shuffled through the cluster of curious pupils. It felt like I was trying to reach to shore from a wild stormy ocean. I caught my breath and then examined my surroundings. Leila was nowhere in my sight. Then I felt a light tap on my shoulder.

“Psss Psss” whispered someone from behind me, like a scared little mouse, hiding from a terrifying cat. I turned my head, then body around, studying the frightened expression upon Leila’s face.
“Who are you hiding from, a fire breathing dragon, because if so I’ll join you?” I said placing my arm around Leila trying to calm her down.
“Oh it’s much worse” shivered Leila. Can you get any worse then a fire breathing dragon, I wondered?
“Its Bianca.” cried Leila, shrugging and nibbling her nails.
“Bianca.” I repeated. Bianca was a large, bloodcurdling monster. She had red dead straight hair and skin the colour of fresh snow. NO ONE showed disrespect to her, answered back to her or teased or bullied her as she was a very terrifying, threatful person.

I comforted Leila reminding her that she had me and I would keep her safe and defend her. But to be honest I do not know how to be a shield towards an aggressive ogre that is about to shred my friend like paper.
“But how could you, the world’s sweetest darling get them self into such mischief and especially with B…?”
“Don’t say the name” interrupted Leila.
“Well, we got a spelling task that we had to complete, and I finished it before the rest of the class.” recalled Leila.
“As usual.” I added. Leila rolled her eyes at me and continued.
“So Mrs. Potnum requested that I shall clean the classroom and dispose of any refuse. So I did as I was told and collected the scattered garbage.”
“Wait so how does this have anything to do with you getting into a fight with Bi..? Sorry I won’t say the name as I’m aware of your reaction.”
“Just let me continue.” ordered Leila.
“Anyway,” said Leila inhaling the air.
“I wandered around the room and noticed underneath an empty seat was a half eaten Cadbury’s milk chocolate bar.” explained Leila. As Leila said that last syllable of the lollie she had discovered, I immediately realized who it belonged too.
“I assumed it was rubbish, so I bent down, snatched the bar and plopped it in the waste bin.”
“Although I didn’t know that………” began Leila.
“Stop. Let me guess. The chocolate bar belonged to Bianca and you truthfully confessed that you threw it away assuming it was rubbish.” I said.
“What a guess, you took the words right out of my mouth.” said Leila sarcastically as if to try and state that it would by then have been obvious to anyone, to realize the rest of the story.
“Well is your consequence that bad?” I asked sympathetically.
“I got stuck with her homework for A WHOLE MONTH.” whaled Leila emphasizing the words “a whole month”.
“That long?” I repeated, while standing on my tippy toes over Leila, and almost trampling like this morning.
“A month is the period of time that it takes me to complete one section of a single sheet.” I delivered in embarrassment.





Chapter 3

Leila peered through her oval shaped glasses, and down onto her Mickey Mouse analogue clock. She cupped her mouth with her boney precious hands, retrieved her bag from under the shed and was off in a jiffy.
“Don’t I get a goodbye” I called after her. She flickered her hands while still running out of the school gates, as if to represent a wave goodbye.

Leila took the public bus to transport home because she lived far away in the country, in this gigantic custard mansion. Her parents both had a business of women’s and men’s suits. Although the mother designed the garments and the father produced them. Then they got exported around the world. I didn’t go to Leila’s house very often because it would be a 1 hour drive. But from my memory they owned an indoor and outdoor pool a tennis court a spa and they had land the size of Meredith Park.

Leila and I met at ballet classes when we were 5 but we both quit from that school years ago. Although, I do remember once, when Leila and I were asked to perform our very own choreographed duo, for the end of year concert. Back then Leila’s parents were rich, but lived only 20 minutes away from me, so we practiced regularly. Then finally, when it was the day of the recital, I remember Leila and I were in the auditorium tying the bows on one another’s leotard, fragrancing our hair and body, applying lovely and glamorous shades of makeup onto our cheeks and eyes, and rehearsing our routine several times so we could fully memorize the steps. Suddenly as we did our glide above the ground and concluding it in a spin, Leila twisted her ankle and fell to the ground. The injury was so bad that her mother had to come backstage and collect her to take her to the hospital and get an x ray. So our whole dance was cancelled because most of the steps in the dance required partnership.

I collected my bag and hurried onto the bus. I normally sat next to Bradlee and he would walk me home when I got off the bus, but now he and I were over. That reminded me I still needed to dump him in person. No I couldn’t. I didn’t want to speak to him, look at him and think about him. But he was trapped in my mind like an awful headache. I observed the bus, he wasn’t on it, so I went to sit in a single seat, but was forced to share it with a boy 2 years younger than me because the bus became occupied.

I tried to draw a box around me, so I could only hear what was inside the box, which would obviously be my thoughts, although it was too difficult to, because the 6th grader sitting beside me yapped like a talking parrot. I just ignored him and glanced out the window at the school getting smaller and smaller the more we left it.

Then rapidly and very unexpectedly I saw a figure in the distance running towards the bus. As the person got closer I suddenly realized who it was chasing the bus. It was Bradlee. He’d missed the bus. I wanted to march over to the bus driver and demand him to open the door, but that was in my history. I was no longer Bradlee’s beloved little girlfriend. He could look after himself. Then I noticed myself standing up and walking over to the bus driver. But why was my mind forcing me to help him, when I clearly wanted him to suffer.
“Excuse me sir could you please let that boy on.” The words had escaped from my mouth. The bus driver nodded and began turning the bus around. I walked back to my seat head down and solemn. How could a part of me still want to be, even friends with Bradlee. He ripped my heart into thirds. One third plopped into the bin, another third drowned in the sink, and the last third torn into tiny pieces and just left on the floor. Nothing to be acknowledged. Nothing special. Just a miserable old broken heart, lying all on its own.














Chapter 4

During the bus ride home, my stomach was toppling over like a cake mixture being thoroughly stirred. My mind was about to explode. I felt like I was arguing at a debate and I had been split in half. One half of me agreeing to forgive Bradlee, and the other half of me refusing too. But I clearly thought to myself that I didn’t want to continue being in a relationship with Bradlee. He hasn’t even apologized to me. He must think that what he’s done is a BIG, FAT JOKE.

When the bus finally arrived at my stop after a 15 minute delay, I ambled off it feeling unappreciated and disrespected. Then I strolled home on my own (well besides Stanley, following along behind me) while kicking at every rock I walked near, along the pavement.

Once I arrived home, I threw my bag down and marched up the stairs. “How was school sweetheart.” asked mum while tearing envelopes open to reveal her mail. I ignored her and continued marching up the stairs. I passed Suzie on the way to my room, she was typing on her computer while speaking into the phone being held between her shoulder and ear. She was in the middle of her exams period and was always catching the early bus home. I used to nag her to let me come home with her but she would always refuse.

In my room my computer was switched on, and my email account was open. I don’t remember turning it on, which made me suspicious of Suzie or mum being culprits. I glanced at the computer screen. I had received 3 new emails. The first 2 were from my dad, he always forwards me The Daily Joke from his laptop at his work up in the city. When I had my tonsils taken out and I was in hospital for 3 days. Since I didn’t have a computer with me, whenever dad visited me he would have a list of all the jokes I had missed. Though I apologized to him for not laughing at them because the doctors told me I was unauthorized to laugh. Even that little gift made me feel the slightest better.

The third email was from Nicole, she had sent it to me from the school email accounts. I was about to delete it because I wanted to have nothing to do with her anymore, but the re: read; important. So I opened the message.

Dear Lucy,
I know that what I did yesterday was wrong, but I need you to know that it was Bradlee who started it, not me, because I tried to release myself from him. Also I know that you’re extremely mad with him, but it wasn’t his entire fault either. First of all the lights were very dim. Also I noticed that you were wearing extremely high heels because I was studying them the whole night as I adored them. Anyway I wasn’t wearing high heels and I’m tall, which makes us like the exact same height. And you have straight hair and I had straightened my hair for the party. So I’m really sorry for the confusion, but can we truce.
Reply soon.
Nicole

I read the message over and over that it flew around my head like squawking birds. I thought about what she’d said, thought about it hard and kept on thinking about it until I got distracted by mum calling “Dinners ready Lucy, or is that too much for me to say?”

















Chapter 5


I walked down stairs still confused, I bit my lip, then just as I was about to step foot onto the ground I ran back to my room. I sprinted so fast that I passed my room and nearly collided with the wall. Unfortunately I didn’t because if I did bang into the wall I would have forgotten everything and not have to do this. I spun around and walked not ran, into my room. I opened the most precious fragile cupboard in my room. The Wardrobe. A girl’s favourite location. Then, started shuffling through my shoes, flinging them backwards like flying missiles. Once I’d dug to the very bottom of my collection, I found the right pair I just needed.

I hobbled through the pathway of shoes lying on the floor, and onto my bed. There I examined the shoes and was certain they were the ones I wore to the party. Then I got out my requirements. i.e. a tape measurer, mums pair of dolce and cabana’s fine good quality stilettos, my precise calculator, a spiral A1 notepad, and a ballpoint liquid pen. Then I accurately measured the length of both mum and my shoes, engraved the measurements onto the notepad (I mean literally engraved because it made a whole in the page). Then compared the lengths on my pink smiggle calculator, and received a comparison of: 3.6 cm difference between my heels and mums heels, and even though mums were sadly higher. That procedure scientifically proves that my shoes are not high heels because the average height is 7 cm and mine are only 4.5cm. Thank you very much.

I devoured my cold dinner without a single complaint. I felt so intelligent and right like I had just outsmarted someone. Although at the same time I was quite cross because, why would someone lie to me like that. I was really excited when Nicole said that it was all a misunderstanding because then this problem would have been solved.
“If only I didn’t have to be so selfish and get to the very bottom of everything” I moaned, while banging on my head as if to be my consequence for my disgrace.
“What are you so grumpy about?” asked mum eager to know about the latest gossip.
“Bad day.” I lied. I couldn’t tell mum, she would spread it and then punish me for touching her shoes with my dirty, unwashed and full of bacteria, germy hands. Over exaggerator my mum is, I know.
“Well why do you feel so selfish?” Mum inquired apprehensively.
“Well I….umm….ehh….borrowed something….uhhh?????....and forgot to…umm return it. Uhu. And well I feel just so selfish. I mean wouldn’t you?”
“Well if I borrowed something from someone and forgot to return it, no I wouldn’t feel selfish because I would just give it to the person the next day.” Said mum, making me feel completely stupid.
“That’s a great idea mum.” I said hurrying out of the kitchen. I had just made a total fool of myself; I hope I don’t get into this situation with anyone else.





























Chapter 6


That night I couldn’t sleep I kept on toppling over, moaning and sweating. All I could think about was the party. The party. The party. I repeated the words in my head for as long as I could remember. Until, I started drifting off to sleep.

I sat up in bed breathing heavily, drops of sweat oozing down onto my face from my forehead. I had just had this crazy dream!!!
I tiptoed out of bed, through the corridor and down the staircase, silent as a cautious snail.
I rummaged around the refrigerator like a greedy pig, desperate for food. I ended up slurping down a simple combination of milk and Nesquik. Suddenly I saw a figure slither downstairs, heal to toe, heal to toe. I buried myself underneath the kitchen table, covering myself with the fringes of the tablecloth. Suddenly the tablecloth rose higher and higher as the person lifted it up. I felt like it was my wedding day and my fiancé was lifting my veil off of my head to reveal my face, and kiss me.

“Lucy is that you?” asked a familiar voice, while squinting to examine me.
“Oh phew!! It’s only you Stanley” I said relieved.
“Why are you here?” asked Stanley wrenching my arm and pulling me up from under the table.
“I’ll ask you the same question Stan. You shouldn’t be up this late?”
“I sneak here every night for a midnight snack, of course.”
“Oh Stan.” I sighed while running my fingers through his smooth golden locks, and squeezing him tight like a soft teddy bear.
Stanley released himself and ran to the pantry.
I stared up at the beaming yellow numbers on the digital clock. It was 12:30, so I vacuumed the rest of my milk, produced a roaring yawn and began departing for bed. Just as I was tiptoeing up stairs Stanley popped his head out of the pantry and smothered an innocent grin upon his face.
“Don’t tell mum or dad about this.”
Ahh Stanley. Such a cheeky little boy he is.

“Woooow.” I yelped. I had just tripped over a sharp pointy thing lying on the floor. I held my foot to my waist while balancing on one leg and inspecting the injury. The thing had stabbed me right in the foot leaving a bulky bruise. I peered down at the floor in search for the evil bruise creator. It turned out being a heel from a shoe.







Chapter 7


“Miss Evans, I am quite surprised, you have been working exceptionally productively this week and received an A+ on your science assessment. Well done.” Congratulated Mrs. Harbor, as she presented my test to me. The bright red letter stunned me. I wanted to leap out of my chair and hook my arms around Mrs. Harbor. But she looked so fragile that even a slight blow against her could burst her into tiny pieces. I felt so free, like I could accomplish anything. Maybe I’ll be a science teacher when I’m older; I mean I’ve always taken pride in my work especially in science.

When the bell rang, I collected my stationary and books, and hurried to my locker. While I retrieved my English folder, out of the corner of my eye I saw Nicole strutting through the corridor, like a supermodel parading down the catwalk. My eyes glued to her, well not actually her, but her SHOES. They were exactly identical to the pair I wore to the party!!!!! It was just like in the message she sent me, where she mentioned that she adored my shoes. So she must have been telling the truth. Well I guess that does prove one thing, but I’m still not certain that it wasn’t her fault.
“Ehh, hi Lucy.” Said someone? Tapping me on the back. Oh no did that voice belong to, who I think it does? I twirled around. Oh gosh it is him. I was so surprised that I flung my books in the air, and they dropped back down like big chunks of snow, that I had to dodge them.
“Bradlee why are you here you know I don’t want to talk to you?” I said, not looking him in the eye.
“Because I was calling for your name not Nicole’s except you didn’t hear and Nicole did so she pretended she was you and barged over to me and started dancing. At first I thought she was dancing in a group and I was involved in that group, so I continued dancing. Then it was just me and her, and I told her I couldn’t dance with her because you are my girlfriend—”
“Was.” I interrupted.
“Well I was calling for you to come dance with us, but you had disappeared.

Ever since that night, Nicole has been acting like she is my girlfriend when she knows she’s not, because only you can only ever be my girlfriend.”
“I have to go.” I beamed. I ran to the bathroom eyes weeping, like there was no tomorrow.
“I’m so confused.” I moaned while hiding in a cubicle.
Who? Just who is telling the truth?
Well if Nicole was telling the truth why couldn’t she just tell me in person, instead of sending an email? Maybe!! It’s because she was lying and if she would have had to tell me in person there would be a 75% chance that she laughed or smiled, while fibbing her way to forgiveness.
Bradlee, he had so much courage right now. He must have been telling the truth, if only I had a way to prove it.

Chapter 8


“Hi mum, how was your day today?” I asked the millisecond I walked into my house.
“Well it’s been the usual right up to now.” Mum said, squeezing me tight and pecking a kiss on my head.
“I’m sorry about yesterday.” I apologized.
“Apology accepted.” forgave mum.
Again Suzie was murmuring on the phone when I passed her room. I cheekily squeezed my ear into her conversation.

“Yes Nicole, she read the email, I checked her computer this morning.” said Nicole, into the phone.
“Nicole? Email?” I said astonished, as if my heart had just stopped.
“Got to go.” said Suzie putting the phone down and turning to me with a guilty smile on her face.
“What is going on, why were you talking to Nicole?” I said demandingly.
“Uhh yeah Nicole my study partner, we were…talking about whether the email about when the test was had been sent yet.” mumbled Suzie.
“Look I’m not stupid, Ok. I know that you were talking about the Nicole in my year and the email I got from her so WHAT IS GOING ON?”
“I can’t tell you Luce.”
“I am your sister, and you have been lying to me. How do you think that makes me feel? I can’t trust you anymore.”
“Ohhhhh…fine I’ll tell you but you have to promise not to tell Nicole.
Ok well. Nicole is the sister of my best friend Hanna, and somehow Nicole got this extremely embarrassing photo of me from Hanna. But I didn’t have a clue that she had this photo of me, but 2 days ago she sent me an email, threatening me that if I didn’t give her information about what shoes you wore to the party she would show everyone the photo of me. So I replied to her message asking why she needed the shoes so badly and all she said was to cut the heel off before I gave them to her, and she didn’t give me any explanation.”
“Oh my golly goose bumps gosh. You were the one who turned my computer on and you were the one who cut the heels off of my shoes. I think I’m going to be sick.”
“Well can I at least finish the story before you are sick?”

I couldn’t even nod my head because my mined was so bamboozled.
“Before I accepted Nicole’s threat I was going to ring Hanna to ask her if she could retrieve the photo of me from Nicole. Except Nicole did mention that if I told any human body, she’d not only show the photo to everyone. But. She’d put it on the internet.”
“The most obvious word. WHYYYY????????????????”
“Well rumor has it, that she liked Bradlee all along and at the party was the perfect opportunity to get him to like her and get revenge back for what you did to her. Plus Bradlee tried to get her away from him but she waited until you left the party to settle down.”






























Chapter 9

My spine tingled, and my eyes itched from rubbing them. I was speechless, I was thoughtless. Everything was clear to me now, but my mined was blank. I didn’t understand how, or why someone would mentally persuade someone to react to a threat to confound someone else’s mined. Nicole did it all for revenge when I didn’t even do anything to her.

I wanted to vanish. Disappear forever. Maybe I’ll flee to another country at midnight. But then I remembered Stanley has a midnight snack then. So I’d have to wait till he went back upstairs, and the coast was clear. I twirled my hair. If only it wasn’t dead straight, then Nicole couldn’t have said that excuse of straightening her hair and me and her looking similar.

I turned my computer on and opened the email from Nicole. My eye lids blinked repetitively when I saw the time that I received the email. 15 of August 2:30pm. That was the date of the party, except the party was at 9:00pm that night. So that witch Nicole was planning it, all along. How could she be so precise though, and how did she know what I was going to wear. Oh wait that’s where Suzie comes in, she must have told Nicole what I was going to wear, because Suzie helped me pick out my outfit in the morning.

Remember earlier today when me and Bradlee were talking and I said I wish I could prove he is telling the truth and Nicole is lying. Well I have the perfect plan to get revenge, and I should say a big thank you to Nicole for being so stupidly dumb and sending me the message before the party. Well I do guess if I never relooked at the email her plan would have worked because I only noticed the time and date now, but she’s still pretty dumb.






















Chapter 10

“Oh hi Nicole” I said the next day in the corridor.
“Hey Luce, you never replied to my email, but its fine you seem to forgive me right?”
“Well you see, I’m not quite sure because it’s really bizarre that the email came to me the day of the party.”
“Uhh no it didn’t” said Nicole, looking down at her feet.
“Yes it did and I’ll prove it” I said shoving the email into her face with the date and time highlighted.
Nicole ran to the bathroom crying. Well at least that was taken care of. Now, I had to find Bradlee immediately so we could fix our problems.

He was with his mates, but I managed to tug him by the collar and drag him out of the group.
“You’re right, I’m wrong. You’re smart I’m dumb.” I said kneeling on my knee as if I were about to propose.
“Oh come here.” Said Bradlee, while picking me up from the ground and positioning me under his arm.

I was finally glad that I was back to the right me, and I had Nicole off of my mined. I felt good and free, all my problems behind me.

“Oh hey Luce, it’s me Leila, you will not believe what happened last night.”


The End.