One More Time

Heather applied a new coat of Juicy lip gloss and sighed. It was summer, the Californian sun sure to give her a Christina tan, and she was stuck at work. She didn’t hate working at dELIA’s, the employee discounts were sweet and, like, where else was she supposed to work, Wet Seal? Ew. So, yeah, dELIA’s was good, but on days like this, when there weren’t any customers and she had used up all of her monthly phone call minutes, it was a little annoying. 

She was playing Snake when the door chimed. 

“Welcome to dELIA’s,” she called.

The person didn’t respond, and she rolled her eyes before going back to the game. She was about to attempt a particularly difficult maneuver to get the apple in between the wall and the snake’s body when she heard heavy footsteps and chains jingling. 

She looked up to see a shockingly beautiful, and shockingly scene girl. My god, that hair must have taken an hour to style in the morning. They stood in silence for a moment before the girl looked at Heather expectantly and she realized she must have said something. 

“Oh, sorry, um, what was that,” Heather asked. 

“I like your hair,” the girl said. 

“Oh, thanks,” Heather replied, stroking her red and blonde locks. “It’s not intentional though, there was an unfortunate Sun-In incident.”

The girl laughed, as did Heather. The girl was really cute, and had an elaborate fashion style too, though she was scene, while Heather was more girly. 

“Anyways, um, I need some advice,” the girl said. “I figured you would be able to help since you have such a great fashion sense.”

Heather smiled for a second, then straightened up and said, “Oh, yeah, um, how can I help?”

The girl held up two shirts, one white with a pink heart in the middle, the other light blue and cropped. 

“Are these…for you,” Heather asked, glancing at the outfit the girl was wearing then back to the shirts. 

“Oh no, they’re for my friend,” the girl replied, then laughed. “Guess I should have clarified that.”

“Oh no, it’s fine,” Heather quickly replied. “I just thought it was funny, you know, you’re wearing, like, chains and stuff.”

“I’m not changing this style,” she stated, gesturing towards her body. “And, no offense, but if I wanted new clothes, I wouldn’t go to dELIA’s.”

Heather’s jaw dropped and she responded, “No offense?!”

“I mean, it’s not that great.”

Heather was playing up the offended act, keeping her mouth open and holding a hand to her chest like an old woman seeing something offensive. 

“Show me one thing in here that’s worth the money,” the girl dared. 

“What I’m currently wearing,” Heather said, posing to show her outfit. 

The girl looked at it appraisingly for a few seconds, eyes raking up and down Heather’s body, then she smirked and said, “Okay, what else?”

“What else,” the redhead repeated, playing up the act of getting out from behind the counter and walking around. “What else do you need to see…what’s your name?”

“Tara.”

Tara. That was pretty. 

“Well, Tara, if you don’t think the clothes I’m wearing are pretty-“

“Oh, I think they’re very pretty,” Tara interrupted. “I just think they would look better on my floor.”

It took a second for the words to sink into Heather’s brain, then she gasped and looked at Tara with wide eyes. The blue haired girl was smirking. 

“Well, if you want that, miss Tara, all you had to do was ask,” the redhead said, sauntering towards the other girl. 

“How much longer is your shift?”

“A few hours, but the store isn’t too busy,” Heather replied, looking at the clock. “My coworker will be fine handling the store by herself.”

“And where is she?”

“Break. But she’ll be back in a few.”

“And you’re fine with leaving?”

“Was hoping something would happen to justify it.”

“Oh, so I’m something?”

“You’re something. Now wait here while I go tell her.”

Heather jogged to the food court, platform flip flops smacking the linoleum floors, and told Jen she had to leave early. Jen looked at her in annoyance, but rolled her eyes and said that Heather owed her. Heather squealed and thanked the blonde, then ran back to her store to find…no Tara. She groaned and walked around the mall, looking for bright blue hair or black platform boots, and finally found her in Hot Topic.

“I told you to stay put,” she said as she walked up to the other girl. 

“Look at this shirt,” Tara exclaimed, holding up a black shirt with skulls and demons. 

“Charming,” Heather said. “But I think it would look better on my floor.”

She winked and walked away as Tara laughed and ran after her. 

“Ooh, can we stop at Spencer’s,” the blue haired girl asked. 

“Well geez Tara, I thought we were just gonna do it the simple way.”

She rolled her eyes and said, “For clothes. Jesus.”

“You initiated this.”

“And you were the one whose mind immediately went to sex toys, miss…wait, what’s your name?”

Heather laughed at the absurdity of them about to hook up when Tara didn’t even know her name, then answered, “Heather. Heather Goode.”

“Heather Goode,” Tara repeated. Heather didn’t want to admit how much she liked that. “Let’s see how good you really are…after we stop by Spencer’s.”

Heather rolled her eyes and followed Tara into the store.

After, they went to the food court and got Auntie Anne’s and Jamba Juice, then walked out to the parking lot.

“You have a car, right,” Tara asked. “I mean, I think you’re rich so you probably have a car but I took the bus and let me tell you it is not fun-“

“I do have a car. And why do you think I’m rich?”

“Sun In. Juicy lip gloss.”

“That’s true,” Heather conceded. “I sure hope you like Juicy lip gloss, considering it’s gonna be all over you in a matter of minutes-“

“Okay, that’s really hot, but it’s also really hot outside so we need to get inside your car. Where is it?”

“Ugh, it’s so embarrassing,” Heather said, leading the way. “Don’t make fun of it.”

They arrived at a yellow Ford Thunderbird whose roof didn’t even go up, not that it ever rained where they lived. Tara smiled before realizing and clamping a hand over her mouth. 

“See,” Heather exclaimed. 

“It’s not what I expected.”

“It’s hideous. But at least it’s a convertible.”

They got in, and Heather reached back and grabbed a giant binder of CDs. Tara stared in awe as the redhead flipped through page upon page before smiling and putting her chosen CD into the player. 

Britney Spears started playing, and Tara groaned and said, “Not this.”

“What?! You don’t like Britney?!”

“She’s on the radio all the time!”

“But she’s good!”

“Agree to disagree, miss Goode.”

“Well, see if there’s any other CDs you like.”

Tara flipped through the book, scoffing or making discontented sounds at every page. 

“You really need some new music,” she declared. 

“You are so mean!”

“I’m not mean! Your music taste is just shitty.”

“That’s mean!”

“What’s mean is you owning this many CDs? I only have five.”

“Five?! What do you listen to?”

“The radio, like all the other peasants.”

“You are wearing far too many studded belts to be a peasant.”

“My wallet says otherwise.”

“Well, we can’t just go to your house without buying you some more CDs!”

Tara gasped and asked, “Really?”

Heather smiled and nodded, and Tara squealed and clapped. Heather laughed at the girl’s enthusiasm. Her whole demeanor was way more nice and energetic than one would expect for a scene kid. Then again, most people thought Heather was a spoiled rich girl, and she wasn’t, so she supposed she and Tara were alike in that way too.

They drove to Best Buy and Tara immediately went to the CD section. Heather rolled her eyes as the girl grabbed ones from Paramore, Panic at the Disco, My Chemical Romance, some CDs with such crazy covers Heather couldn’t even read the words. 

“And you think my music taste is questionable,” the redhead said. 

“These songs have actual meanings.”

“Every song has a meaning.”

“Yeah, but these are like…emotional.”

“You don’t think Lucky is emotional?”

“I don’t know what that is.”

Heather’s jaw dropped and Tara cackled and walked to the checkout. The entire time they moved through the line and checked out Heather was explaining why Lucky, and a large portion of Britney’s discography, was genius and subversive and sonically interesting while Tara laughed. As Heather got her credit card out of her Coach purse, Tara asked the cashier what he thought and he agreed that Tara’s type of music was better, which made Heather even more frustrated and Tara laugh even harder. 

“Which one should I play first,” the blue haired girl asked as they walked out. 

“What about a silent car ride, those are nice.”

Heather noticed there was a Borders on the other side of the strip mall and exclaimed, “Oh my god, Borders! Can we go there?”

“I’m starting to think you’re stalling, miss Goode,” Tara said, a jokingly inquisitive tone lacing her words. 

“Baby, I would love to go home and fuck you senseless, but I would also love to get an iced coffee and a book for when we’re done,” Heather stated. 

“Well, can’t argue with that.”

As they were walking across the scorching hot parking lot, Heather’s platform flip flops and Tara’s chained platforms creating a cacophonous symphony, Tara asked, “So, what’s your favorite TV show? I’m an OC kind of girl.”

“You like The OC but think the music I like is too shallow? Okay, Tara.”

“It’s different! The OC is entertaining! What do you like?”

“America’s Next Top Model.”

“Isn’t that show, like, really mean?”

“Oh yeah, it’s totally terrible, that’s why I love it.”

They went into Borders and, despite Heather’s desire to find a book she actually liked, they spent their time going through the romance section, finding the worst sounding books they could and reading passages that made them dissolve into a fit of giggles. Tara got a stern look from a soccer mom as she was reading a paragraph that used the words, “velvety sheath,” and “intimate folds,” which only made the girls laugh even harder, wheezing until they couldn’t stand anymore and fell on the floor. Tara choked out the rest of the paragraph, adding the words, “furnace,” and, “turgid shaft,” to their vocabulary, and Heather was pretty sure she was going to pop a lung from laughing too hard. Middle aged religious authors had such a way with words.

They could have spent hours there alone, but the store employees were glaring at them and the girls kinda wanted to go ahead with their original goal, so they found a book and drink for Heather and left. 

They played the My Chemical Romance album on the way home, Tara smiling evilly while Heather rolled her eyes. The redhead didn’t really mind though. The music actually was kind of meaningful, in a very angsty way. And it made Tara happy. That was why Heather allowed it to grace her ears. 

Soon after getting on the interstate, Tara realized she didn’t know how to get back to her own house. 

“What do you mean you don’t know which way,” Heather yelled over the wind. 

“I take the bus, it goes a different route!”

“We can’t go back to my house, my parents are home.”

“Can we go there and print out directions on Mapquest?”

“Oh yeah, that’s a good idea!”

“What can I say, I’m a genius.”

Heather jokingly scoffed and said, “Genius enough to not know where your house is.”

Tara made an offended noise and turned the volume up, making Heather groan. 

As they were driving through Heather’s neighborhood, the classic chime of an ice cream truck was heard, and both girls looked at each other in excitement before pulling over and getting out. 

“Oh my god, should I get a SpongeBob or Push-Up,” Heather asked. 

“Fuck it, get both,” Tara replied. 

They glanced mischievously at each other before ordering four popsicles. They walked to the house, passing the SpongeBob and Sonic and Dora and Push-Up between each other, giggling when the popsicles started melting, giggling even harder when Heather leaned down to catch a falling drop from the popsicle Tara was holding, giggling the hardest when Tara leaned forward and connected her lips to hers. 

“God, why weren’t we doing that since the beginning,” the redhead asked. 

“I was wondering the same,” Tara replied. “But we need to finish these popsicles first.”

The popsicles were quickly forgotten, juice running down their hands and sticks tossed into a neighbor’s trash can, Heather and Tara kissing like there was no tomorrow. They tried to walk while kissing, but that didn’t work, so they stood, lips on lips, Tara holding Heather’s hair and Heather grabbing Tara’s belt. The blue haired girl nudged them down, both falling onto a neighbor’s rocky lawn, and Heather broke the kiss and said, “Okay, not that I’m not loving this, but maybe we shouldn’t make out on my neighbor’s lawn in the middle of the day.”

Tara laughed and said, “Yeah, I guess that’s more of a night activity.”

They got up and walked to Heather’s house, the redhead saying hello to her mom before going to the computer room. 

“You have a white Mac,” Tara exclaimed. “You are rich!”

“It’s totally not worth it, it gets dirty after five seconds.”

“Okay, my address is-“

“Wait, let me check on my Neopets first.”

“Neopets? Are you eight years old?”

“Don’t make fun of my babies, they take up so much time.”

A cartoon house with creatures running around appeared on the computer, and Heather began clicking around and taking care of them. 

“Ooh, once we’re done can I check my MySpace,” Tara asked. 

“MySpace is stupid,” Heather replied.

“You’re just jealous because you have less friends than me.”

“You really think you have more friends than me? That’s cute.”

“Wanna bet?”

Heather looked up at her slyly and asked, “What’s on the line?”

“Hmm, I don’t know, maybe…”

She leaned down and kissed Heather, and the redhead closed her eyes for a second before breaking the kiss and saying, “Hey, don’t distract me.”

“Your lip gloss is so sticky, how do you wear this,” Tara said, pulling a hair off of her lips. 

“You’ve never worn sticky lip gloss? You’re insane.”

“You’re insane for playing Neopets instead of printing those directions and leaving.”

“Ugh, I guess you’re right.”

They looked up the address on Mapquest and printed them. Tara’s house wasn’t very far away, and Heather smiled. 

“So, we’re gonna go to my house, fuck each others’ brains out, then watch The Simple Life and go our separate ways, right?” Tara asked.

Heather’s heart pattered in her chest. She nodded, forcing a smile, but she wanted to cry at the thought of never seeing Tara again after this. They hadn’t exchanged phone numbers or MySpace profiles or anything. Heather was aware this was a one time thing from the beginning, but she wasn’t ready for it. She was totally stalling with the CDs and books and Neopets and everything. 

When they arrived at Tara’s house, Heather was about to make this confession, but Tara got right out of the car and walked into the house. The redhead awkwardly followed, and Tara was already in the kitchen making Cosmos. 

The two were silent as the drinks were made, then as they drank them. Heather looked down at the counter. She was at Tara’s house, Tara was making her drinks, they were totally about to fuck, but she was sad. After they hooked up they were going to go their separate ways, Tara had explicitly stated that, and Heather just couldn’t find a way to confess that she didn’t want that. 

“Well, this is awkward,” Tara stated.

“Yeah,” Heather replied, laughing. “Do you wanna like…watch a movie or whatever?”

“Sure!”

There were no good movies on, but it didn’t matter, they were already deep in conversation. They debated over if Legally Blonde or the Princess Diaries was the better movie, then over which of the Star Wars prequels was the absolute worst, then over if Sidekicks or Blackberrys were better, then Myspace versus AIM, then phone cameras versus digital cameras, and when they ran out of things to debate, they looked at each other. 

Tara made a move to kiss her, but Heather blurted out her name. 

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want this to be over after this. Can we at least go to Blockbuster first?”

Tara perked up and asked, “Really?”

The redhead nodded, and Tara smiled and said, “God, I was thinking the same thing.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I thought you were gonna reject me!”

“I thought you were gonna reject me!” 

They laughed at their shared incorrect beliefs, then Tara said, “Yeah, let’s go to Blockbuster, 

then we’re going to your house and you’re gonna make me your number one friend on MySpace.”

“Whoa, let’s not get too crazy.”

The second they rented Bring It On and went home, Heather added Tara as a friend. Not number one, but maybe by their second date she would be. They exchanged numbers and emails too, then watched the movie, Tara commenting on how uncomfy the brown leather couch was, Heather shutting her up with a kiss and intertwining their hands as the Toros and Clovers had a dance battle.