FicWad

The brochures of six colleges were spread out in front of Paulina on her bed. Not a single one was within a one hundred mile radius of her home, which was what Paulina wanted. She wanted to get as far away as possible, where no one would know her from before, know her as she was now, or know what had happened. If they didn’t know, they would all just leave her alone.

“Pauly,” Mr. James walked in, taking a seat on his daughter’s bed when she nodded her consent. “What’s goin’ on, birdy?”

“Nothing, Dad. Just…making decisions.” Paulina didn’t lift her gaze from the brochures in front of her. Her interest kept returning to one brochure in particular, which advertised a sizeable population and a music program to boast of, which Paulina was very interested in.

“Ah, decisions. Did I ever tell you what I majored in when I was in college?”

“Well, Daddy,” Paulina said, finally looking up and managing a smile. “Since you’re a lawyer, I imagine you were very into the pre-law program.”

“No, no,” Mr. James assured, waving his hand. “That was second semester. My first semester of freshmen year, I had declared my major in interpretive dance.” Paulina stared at her father, a mingled look of shock and amusement on her face.

“Daddy, you didn’t.”

“I most certainly did. A friend of mine told me I could meet a lot of girls in the classes. They actually just needed a guy for lifting purposes.”

“I can’t believe you!” Paulina told her father, laughing for the first time in…a long time.

“Really! And after the first week, I wanted out. But, instead of just withdrawing from the classes, I stopped going, and ended up failing the three classes I’d been taking for the major. Your grandparents, as I’m sure you can imagine, were quite upset.”

“I bet!” Paulina shook her head and picked up all the brochures, save for the one that had the music program, which also happened to be the farthest away. Practically across the country. She dropped the rest of her possibilities into her trash bin. “I think I’ve made my decision,” she said, rejoining her father on her bed and handing him the remaining brochure.

“Hm…Are you sure?”

“Pretty darn.”

“What’s here that you want?”

“A good music program.”

“That all?” Mr. James cocked a knowing eyebrow his daughter’s way. She sighed.

“Well…it’s far,” she admitted. The father nodded.

“I figured as much. Well, you know I’m going to miss you, birdy, but if this is what you want, then I’m behind you all the way.”

“Thanks, Dad,” Paulina said, hugging her father around the middle. She’d always gotten on better with him than with her mother. Paulina would readily admit that she was, in some ways, a daddy’s girl.

“You already applied, I assume?”

“Yeah. Those were all colleges I’d been accepted to. I just have to send them my registration now, I guess.” Paulina fiddled with the corner of the brochure, chewing on her lower lip. Mr. James took the brochure and flipped through it while Paulina cracked her knuckles anxiously.

“Well, it seems like a great school, birdy. Congratulations.”

“Thanks, Dad.”

“When does the fall term start?”

“Less than a month. The admissions office took my late application out of the kindness of their hearts.” Paulina sighed and stood, pacing around her room for lack of anything better to do.

“Well, then,” said her father, also standing and walking over to the door. “I guess you’d better get packing, birdy.”

Left to her own thoughts, Paulina began to pack, moving at a snail’s pace in her trance. As was her habit, Paulina couldn’t stop the memories.

“Why are we watching this? I hate chick-flicks.” Frank’s voice resonated deep in his chest, resting against Paulina’s back. It was a bit strange; Paulina had come up to the movie room to pass the time and shortly after, Frank had joined her, laying down on the couch, patting the space in front of him to indicate that she should do the same. It put the girl on edge some, having Frank behind her, his arm looped loosely around her waist, watching a movie. After a while, however, she relaxed.

“Gone With the Wind is hardly a chick-flick.” Paulina reached down to where the bowl of popcorn that Frank had brought sat on the floor. “It’s a classic.”

“It’s long and boring.” Frank took a deep breath. “You need to bathe.”

“I just did this morning,” Paulina said, lifting a lock of hair and sniffing it.

“Well, your hair usually smells fruity. It doesn’t smell like anything.” Frank inhaled again. “Nope. Nothing.”

“Well, I didn’t pick my shampoo. Mikey did.”

“Let’s go wash your hair.” Frank sat up, forcing Paulina to do the same to avoid falling off the couch.

“I’m watching this.”

“Well, pause it, and we can watch it when we come back.” Frank squeezed his arm around Paulina’s waist.

“I guess I don’t really have a choice in the matter,” she sighed, pausing the movie and standing, stretching her back.

“No, not really,” Frank told her, leading her out of the movie room and into the bathroom. While Paulina shed her clothes, Frank rummaged under the counter, pulling out a bottle of generic shampoo. “Well, no wonder your hair doesn’t smell nice; this is shitty shampoo. Who bought this?” Paulina shrugged, stepping into the near-full bathtub. The water was pleasantly warm. “Hm. I’m going to get the good stuff. Get your hair wet so we can get this done quickly.” With that, he was out the door and down the hall.

Paulina leaned her head back against the tiled wall, closing her eyes and breathing deeply. Really, she just wanted to get back to her movie. She listened as Frank’s footsteps faded into nothing, then, seconds later, began approaching once more. However, they stopped just short of the door.

“What do you need, Mikey?” Frank’s voice questioned, muffled by the walls of the bathroom.

“What are you doing?” Mikey’s voice sounded irritated, almost confrontational.

“Just getting shampoo for Paulina.”

“I washed her hair this morning.”

“Yeah, but…You used the wrong shampoo. Her hair is supposed to smell like fruit, and it…didn’t.” Frank’s voice was steadily getting more and more defensive. Mikey sighed.

“You want her hair to smell fruity? Since when do you sit around all day sniffing the girl’s hair?” Mikey asked incredulously.

“I just noticed while we were watching a movie together.” He probably realized how that sounded. “Are we done with the interrogation?”

“No, we’re not. What are you doing, Frank? This is not part of the--”

“Oh, fuck the experiment!” Two gasps echoed through the walls. Frank faltered. “I--didn’t mean that.”

“Whatever you meant, you better get your shit together, Frank. We aren’t all risking incarceration or death so you can play house with a teenager.”

“Piss off, Mikey,” Frank huffed, slamming the door open and stalking into the bathroom angrily. He slammed it shut behind himself, rounding on Paulina. She widened her eyes and pushed her lip out, just slightly.

“Don’t be mad,” she said quietly. When Frank was in this kind of mood, with this kind of attitude toward her, Paulina knew that she could play to his emotions. As she’d predicted, Frank’s features softened and he sighed.

“I’m not. Let’s hurry up so we can get back to that shitty movie.”



So...it's been a little over a week since the last update. What do you think? I enjoy making you guys hate them one chapter and go "aww..." the next. It's just something I like. Anyway, what did you think of this one? Advancement in the story, which means we're nearing the end. I think you guys are going to be really satisfied with the end. At least, I hope so. Even if it's sad, an ending can be satisfying, right? Right. That being said, I think you're going to like it. I hope so.

On an unrelated note, guess who this gal is going to see on Saturday? P-fucking-Stump, that's who. Super-excitement on my end, guys. I can't say I'm in LOVE with his new stuff, but I definitely appreciate it for the obvious talent and genius that he's put into it, and I can't wait to see him live.

Anywho, please go comment and subscribe, and I'll get to updating as soon as possible. OverAndOutxx