Chapter Eleven: Yori
Seven-Month Itch
Heart-shaped face, with a caved in jaw, and the bubbly blondeness of Velvet’s mane, awaited Yori. Yori and all her answers. They both sat on a bunk bed, across from each other, listening to the quietness of the cabin. Where had all the sound gone?
“My dad went into the army thirteen years ago. He was sent to Kabul seven months ago,” Yori started, wiggling her toes that struggled from beneath her pumps.
“In Afghanistan,” Velvet stated.
“Yes…” Yori felt her voice go hoarse.
“Have you seen him since?”
“The last time I saw him was at Christmas for two nights. It was a pretty great holiday,” Yori added. She remembered the stuffed stockings with edible cinnamon coal in her dad’s, the shiny wrapping-papered gifts surrounding the 12 and half foot tree that was smothered in ornaments, some from the next city over, some from way across the globe. Yori remembered the mountain of food her chefs had cooked and the one pie her mom had attempted to bake with the burnt crust and curdling peaches. Yori recalled drawing snowmen and gingerbread men with her dad by finger tracing on the frosty windows of their estate. Yori’s mom had warned them not to scratch the window, but ended up throwing a snow ball into the same window, herself, and smashing a hole through it.
Instead of feeling nostalgic, Yori felt nauseous, though.
“A marine?” Velvet asked.
“Master Sergeant,” Yori said proudly, smiling and stretching her neck to keep her head up. “The first one to make that rank from only ten years of service in decades.”
“Amazing…where is he now?” Velvet asked. Silence strangled the room.
“We don’t know…his superiors think he might be somewhere in Ghazni. That’s where he was sent last. Thirty-four other marines weren’t found, but were sent to Ghazni last along with my dad.” Yori felt hot tears trickle from her eyes. Her mascara grudgingly trudged down the slope of her cheeks.
“There’s not one American solider in Ghazni that’s alive.” Yori’s head felt heavy, dragging her down. Yori next felt the sheets of the bed she was on hit her face. They weren’t soft, they were an awfully scratchy fabric that made everything so much worse.
“I am so sorry,” Velvet said, her face wavering in Yori’s vision. Yori let the eternal tears drip, drip, drop, but made no other movement. Yori laid still, her lips in a funky mustache-shaped smash. She felt so tired. So, so tired. Yori felt the warmth of Velvet’s arms wrap around Yori’s shoulders. Velvet’s hair draped itself over Yori’s back and Velvet’s right cheek was planted on Yori’s shoulder blade. Yori could only imagine how uncomfortable Velvet was, but stayed hugging Yori anyway.
Minutes went by, dozens of painful minutes.
Finally, Velvet said, “Your dad didn’t deserve to die.”
“You didn’t know him,” Yori responded, not intending to sound accusing.
“I know…but if he could raise and shape someone as ideal as you, he could only be as amazing.” The words fell so easily from Velvet’s mouth, not forced, not wounded. Yori has never been told something as benevolent as that from anyone. Not a boyfriend or friend had expressed such beauty to Yori, words nor action.
Yori made a move to sit up, so Velvet moved away and sat back down on the opposite bunk bed. Wiping her eyes and cheeks, Yori wished she wasn’t so upset about her dad so she could truly cherish what Velvet had said.
“You said I was ideal,” Yori stated bluntly, her voice still hoarse.
“Well, you are,” Velvet replied, shrugging her shoulders.
“You’re just saying that,” Yori snapped, suddenly mad. Why should Velvet say something like that?! They had been feuding for the past few days. Not that Yori cared. She didn’t expect the truth from anyone.
“I wouldn’t say something I didn’t mean, Yori,” Velvet returned, her voice soothingly calm and quiet. Yori gave her eyes one last swipe and stared at Velvet. Velvet wasn’t laughing or expressionally scared.
“I’m not ideal.”
“You don’t think so?”
“No. I’m rude and competitive and obnoxious. People are always saying I’m bossy and mean and pushy. I never do anything right and I’m not good at anything,” Yori listed, her jaw tensing up. Going over what people had been telling her for years was a rush.
“And you believe them?” Velvet said suddenly, loud and with an edge of laughter.
“Why shouldn’t I?” Yori snapped.
“ ‘Cause, it’s…you know…” Velvet got quiet all of a sudden, looking antsy and childish.
“No…” Yori replied, confused.
“It’s bullshit!” Velvet yelled, smiling radiantly. Yori burst out laughing. Velvet had cursed! Velvet, mellow, kind, caring Velvet had lashed out a profanity! It sounded so silly! Yori laughed and laughed, loving how much Velvet was loving saying that word because Velvet was laughing and smiling a bragging aroma.
“You think so?” Yori asked, once they had calmed down and the silence returned.
“I know it, Yori. People who tell you that stuff…are they friends?”
“Yeah…friends and boyfriends,” Yori replied.
“They’re jealous,” Velvet emphasized. “Your friends don’t have the grace and fashion style you do. They don’t have that fun attitude you do. They want to be you, Yori. They’re sick of their boring old lives and coming down hard on you makes it better because they’re pathetic, little creatures with a life barely a fourth as good as your own.” Hearing those words brought Yori’s whole body up, her whole soul was lifted to the sky, floating on clouds. Were they really? Did someone really want to be Yori? Yori always thought of herself as better than others, but never thought people could be…in awe of Yori, wanting her ways and her life style.
“I mean, there’s things you could work, but it isn’t like you’re alone. While you might want to work on not judging people by their first appearance, I could work on basic things, like ask before you take someone else’s stuff,” Velvet continued. Yori snickered.
“Yeah…you’re right,” Yori said, thoughtful in all the new things she was hearing.
“I am so sorry about your heels, by the way. I wish I could you pay up front…could I pay you little by little?” Velvet asked, her apology spilling from her whole face. Her eyes begged and her mouth pleaded.
“Don’t worry about them! They were going out of style anyway,” Yori said, shrugging off the accident. The strappy, heels had actually just entered style a week or so before they were broken, but Yori could buy new ones.
“Thank you so much! …Yori, one question. Did you like me when you first met me?” Velvet inquired, getting sober. Yori pondered the question, knowing truth was on the table, laid out for everyone to see. No more lies.
“No,” Yori replied simply. “I didn’t. I thought you were too…nice, honestly. You were perky and willing to help and it…bugged me for some reason. I thought you were annoying…” Velvet exhaled a laugh and looked at her lap.
“Why I thought you were annoying?” Yori asked out loud. “Because I wanted to be as nice as you. I wanted to be the social and go-to girl you obviously were. And ever since people have been telling me I haven’t been doing anything right, I resorted to the only thing I thought I had…looks. That’s all my past boyfriends wanted me for anyway, before they dumped me the next day. Obviously, when I met you, the wish for a good personality really got to me and I was the one to be jealous,” Yori said, feeling the weight of her issues float from her. Yori looked at Velvet when she didn’t answer right away. Velvet had some falling tears sliding down her cheeks.
“Why are you crying?” Yori asked, concerned.
“It’s just…it’s such a waste. Your, quote-un-quote, friends and boyfriends, telling you that you can’t do anything and making you resort to appearance as your main goal in life, is such a waste of an amazing person. Yori, I honestly can say, that today I have found a really kind and smart part of you that I have never seen from you before,” Velvet said, her tears catching on her chin before leaving for the floor.
“Velvet…” Yori tried to say.
“Yori, if you can forget everything those awful people you call friends have said to you, and go back to being…you…you should. Today, you had great ideas and you were organized in what we should do, you listened to what people had to say and you were…nice. Genuinely nice. If today was the first time I had met you, I would think you were a normal, nice, fun teenager. And you are, but the one thing you aren’t…is normal, Yori. You have this twisted idea that you can’t be yourself, that you have to push aside what you are good at, to please a stupid boyfriend or a friend that wishes they were you,” Velvet went on. She was so passionate, and Yori knew it was all truth.
“No one has ever told me that before,” Yori said.
“Not even your parents?”
“I’ve never told them about my…friends,” Yori replied.
“Right…you’re friends,” Velvet said, putting finger quotes on ‘friends.’ “You know what I’m going to say, don’t you, Yori?”
“New friends?” Yori asked.
“Yes, if you knew I was going to say that, why don’t you get them?”
“There’s no one like me,” Yori said as if it were obvious.
“They don’t have to be like you. I’m not at all like you, but we’re friends. Your friends have to be nice and truthful. They’re supposed to encourage you and give you advice, not just walk all over you to get better traction for their own shoes,” Velvet said.
“Right. You’re right…wait, what’s traction?” Velvet laughed.
“Not the point! How many kids are in your school?”
“1600, I think.”
“You’re telling me out of 1600 teens, there aren’t two or three nice girls that would be your friends because they want to?” Yori’s lips broke into a smile. Beauty. Velvet was the definition of beauty.
“I’ll find them,” Yori said.
“Promise?”
“I swear,” Yori promised.
“And as for boyfriends, if they don’t like you for you, and I don’t mean looks… I mean personality…your awesomely fun, leading, efficient, fashionable, kind personality, well…you can kick their butts!”
“Promise?” Yori said that time.
“I swear.” Yori could have died right then and felt that she had lived happily because nothing could have made her stronger. Yori jumped from the bed and tackled Velvet with a hug. After their laughter had died down and their hug was hugged, Yori and Velvet stood up, looking at each other.
“And one more thing,” Velvet piped up. “I know you’ve never spilled to your mom about what people have said to you, but getting close to someone who loves you, really helps. Believe me, moms die and live for personal conversations like that. And especially now you are both going to need each other a lot.”
“That’s true…Thank you, Velvet. And thank you so much for understanding and…I’m sorry for taking Brody when I knew you liked him and for telling him he was out of your league. It was a pure act of jealousy and… it was wrong. You two are so much more perfect for each other than me and him would ever be. I guess you could see that from our one day lasting relationship,” Yori said, simpering at Velvet.
“It’s okay, Yori. And don’t worry…one day lasting relationships aren’t gonna come back, because the real Yori is going to find a good guy for her!” Velvet responded. “But, uh…I need to apologize, too. I shouldn’t have taken your stuff and said that stupid thing about your shoes being lost in Ghazni. I shouldn’t have gave in to my silly anger when I knew that something was wrong at your home. Please forgive me.”
“I do, Velvet. We definitely had some bumps this last week, but we can still be friends, for sure….and thank you, for everything today. I really, really needed all of that.”
“You’re welcome. But I should thank you, too. You’ve made me stronger, you know. I can be naive and you made me realize that I can’t be a pushover all the time.”
“You can’t. You can still be nice, but let the jerks have it now and then. You are much more amazing and beautiful than you think,” Yori commented.
“Thank you. I’m glad I met you, Yori.”
“I’m glad I met you, too, Velvet.”
Thanks for reading!!
And remember guys: Try to avoid "was" and "is" in your writing. This will force you to use different verbs and write with different types of sentences that will mix up your writing. Good luck!!!
ABC 123,
Maddie
So sad about Yori's dad...
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