Independence Day (Chapter 5)

After almost an hour, Andrea was spending time with her new friend on a bench far away from the crowd. All she did was persistently chat with him since they both seemed interested. Once Andrea looked at his attractive face with big, brown eyes and mesmerizing smile, Andrea knew that she didn't want to walk away from him.
"Where are you from?" the guy asked with a Jersey accent.
"New York but I was born in Puerto Rico."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I lived in New York for seven years before my family moved to Laguna."
"I knew I was getting a bit of a J-Lo vibe from you."
"Oh, stop it. I-- I don't-- I'm not anything like J-Lo. Besides, my mom is Mexican so..."
"Yeah and so was Selena."
"You got me there. You got me there, Marty. Thank you, though. So where are you from?"
"New Jersey."
"Oh, I guessed from the accent."
"That always gives it away."
Andrea giggled.
"You know, you got a great laugh."
"No, I don't. I mean I do but I don't."
"No, you do. It's really sexy."
"No, it's not. It is but it's not."
"Andrea!" a male voice called.
She turned around, only to see her ex-boyfriend, Kevin, approaching the two from ten feet.
Andrea turned back around. "Oh, Jesus..."
Kevin leaned against the bench from behind. "Hello, guys. What's up?"
"Nothing, Kevin," Andrea said through her teeth.
"Who are you?" he asked Marty.
"I'm Marty," he responded.
"Like the giraffe from Madagascar?"
"I guess."
"You know, you kinda look like him since you have a long neck and you're covered in splotches."
"Some people like to compare me to Gloria," spilled Andrea, "because if I sit on you, I'd be killing you." She stared hard and coldly at Kevin.
"You're not heavy enough."
"Kevin, why are you here?" Andrea stood up and faced him.
"Chrissy invited me."
"That doesn't mean you have to bug me."
"I'm not bugging you."
"Yes, you are! Look at me-- I'm bugged!"
"I just want you back."
"Kevin, you need to understand that I don't want you anymore."
"But I--"
"But nothing. Listen, I broke up with you the first time because you made me feel unwanted. And now that you want me, I don't feel the same way. Please, you'd be doing yourself a favor if you stop pursuing me. Plus, you're popular and good-looking; anyone would be lucky to have you. You just need to move on because I already have."
Kevin dropped his shoulders. "You're right. I'm sorry for bothering you. I'll leave you alone now."
"Thanks, Kevin."
Kevin shortly smiled before turning around and walking away, slow like a zombie. Andrea sat back down next to Marty who fully gave her his attention.          

An hour into the party, the teenagers barely budged. Yet their attention was paid towards something else when they all heard a high-pitched noise of something being shot up into the air. They looked up and gazed upon the electric green that burst within the black sky, causing an echoing pop sound. More colors exploded in the sky: aquamarine blue, fire orange, grape purple, Christmas red. The fireworks put a glow on the teens' attentive faces. Some of them cheered at the beauty that painted the night. And although the sky was covered in nothing but busted light, everybody at Chrissy's party felt that every firework came with different kinds of love which sprinkled upon the kids as each firework faded away. Madeline and Debra squeezed each other, reminding themselves the importance of their friendship. Skye shared her first kiss with her boyfriend, Jeffrey, as they wrapped their arms around each other. DeMarcus embraced Lizzie by the neck from behind and rocked her back and forth as he kissed her on the cheek. Lizzie softly gripped his arms while grinning like no other. And Marty offered to take Andrea away. So he held Andrea by the hand and led her to his car which was parked from afar.

Independence Day (Chapter 4)

An hour later, the girls got into Madeline's car and she drove them twenty minutes to the open field by the supermarket. They sung along to pop radio on their way there to pump themselves up. Madeline parked on fresh grass next to other cars when she got there. The girls got out of the car, gazing upon the crowd of teenagers attending the bash who were standing by a smoking grill and blankets on the ground. The girls walked together further into the field.
"Hey, girls," Chrissy approached the five.
The girls stopped.
"Hey, Chrissy," Madeline greeted.
"Glad you girls came," admitted Chrissy. "I have a friend who is going to set off the best fireworks that you guys have never seen."
"Really?" asked Lizzie.
"Really. So enjoy yourselves and have some barbecue."
"Oh, I don't eat barbecue," said Debra.
"Geez, Debbie, live a little." Chrissy tucked a long lock of her brown hair behind her ear. She turned around and walked away from the girls.
"Since when does she call me Debbie?"
"It doesn't matter," said Madeline. "Let's just get out there."
The girls began walking again closer into the party.
"Hey, Skye," Jeffrey waved from the distance.
"Hey!" Skye responded, parting herself from the girls. She sprinted a few yards towards her boyfriend. When she got close enough to him, she hugged him then walked away with him, hand in hand.
"Well, Skye's busy," said Andrea.
"I'm happy for her," confessed Madeline. "She has finally found someone. And he's quiet so he can never talk back."
Lizzie stopped, with her friends still walking, when she felt several taps on her shoulder. She turned and spotted a handsome, teenage African American boy in a blue and black striped sweater.
"Hi," he grinned, bearing his sparkly white teeth.
"Hey, black guy," Lizzie replied.
He chuckled awkwardly. "Black guy has a name."
"Oh, of course. Sorry, what's your name?"
"My name's DeMarcus."
"Oh, I've heard of you. My friend says that you've been eyeing me at school."
"Well, your friend is right."
"But why have you been eyeing me? You don't know me."
"You're right about that. I'm sorry; I'll stop eyeing you if it bothers you."
"No, it's okay. I like to be eyed."
"You do? Then I'll keep eyeing you. In fact, I'm eyeing you right now."
Lizzie giggled. "You know, my favorite letter is I."
"Really? My favorite letter is D."
"Why?"
"Because it's part of my name, DeMarcus."
"Oh! My name is Lizzie, by the way."
"I'm DeMarcus."
"I know."
"I know, too. I just wanted you to know."
"You wanted me to know that you know?"
"No, I wanted to know that you know so I'd know."
"Wait, what do I know?"
"I don't know. But I know you're beautiful."
"Oh, I know."

While Lizzie was having the "perfect" conversation with her new friend, DeMarcus, the rest of the girls were having one of their regular conversations.
"That guy has been checking you out ever since we got here," Madeline told Andrea while pointing at a guy far away with very tan skin and dark, short gelled hair.
Andrea scoffed. "Please, what would I do with a guido?"
"Oh, come on. You liked Pauly D."
"Yeah but where's Pauly D now?"
"DJing and-- and taking care of his biological baby. But that guy is not Pauly D, okay? It's not like you're waiting on Kevin Christie."
Andrea began chuckling. "Oh, please. I don't want Kevin no more."
"Then grab some dulce, Candy Andy."
"You're right!"
Andrea sprinted away towards the guy who was ogling her nonstop.
"He has so much gel in his hair," commented Debra.
"I know," Madeline agreed. "I should've sent Andrea off to somebody else."

Independence Day (Chapter 3)

Once the fourth of July came, the girls were all ready for anything. Madeline got the approval from her friend, Chrissy, to come to her party for Independence Day. So Madeline told the girls before the day came. So in the afternoon, the girls prepared themselves to look like the most fashionable girls that they were. Madeline told them that when they were ready, they could stop by her house so she could just drive them to the bash. Around five, all of the girls have arrived and hung out in Madeline's bedroom.
 "Girls, as much as I want to hang out with you all," started Skye, "but I invited Jeffrey so I might spend most of my time at the party with him."
"That's fine," said Madeline. "It's understandable that you want some alone time with your boyfriend."
"Just because he's my 'boyfriend' doesn't mean you have to call him my boyfriend."
"That's exactly what that means."
"Whatever."
"What would he address himself as?" asked Andrea. "Your pretty pal who you make out with from time to time?"
"That has a ring to it."
Andrea rolled her eyes and chuckled.
"Do you know if Warren will be at the party?" asked Lizzie, interlocking her fingers.
"No but DeMarcus will," responded Madeline.
"De-who-cus?"
"DeMarcus. He was the new quarterback of our school's football team. Rumor has it that he's been eyeing you."
"Why would he be eyeing me if he doesn't know me?"
"Because that's how crushes start. Sometimes love at first sight."
"Oh, I believe in love at first sight. But he can't love me; I don't know him."
"I didn't say he loved you. I'm just saying try to look for him and give him a chance."
Abruptly, muffled Latin music began playing. The girls turned their heads to Andrea as she pulled her cell phone out of her jeans' pocket. She looked at the bright screen and groaned. She answered the call and pressed the phone against her ear.
She said, "Kevin, if you call me again, I'm going to come to your house with a cheese grater."
She hung up then buried her phone in her arms as she crossed them.
"Why would you come to Kevin's house with a cheese grater?" questioned Lizzie. "Are you going to make pizza with him?"
"Sure, Lizzie."
"You still won't forgive Kevin?" asked Debra.
Andrea tucked her phone back into her pocket. "No, he's a dog. And I don't date dogs; I date wolves."
"A wolf is a dog."
"I know what a wolf is."
"If he's calling sixty times a day, maybe he's seriously sorry," said Madeline.
"I don't care if he's sorry. I broke his heart once so I'm not afraid to break it again."
"You can't be angry at him forever."
"Look, maybe one day, one day I'll get back together with him. But it's not now, it's not tomorrow, it's not ever."
"Then how are you going to get back together with him if you won't ever?" asked Lizzie.
"Because-- I don't know. Don't ask me so many questions."
"I asked you two."

Independence Day (Chapter 2)

After all of the girls were called, they went on with their separate lives. Andrea was especially hanging out in her bedroom, organizing the shirts in the middle drawer of her dresser. After taking out all of the shirts and folding half of them, she heard music all of a sudden. It was her ringtone, "Papi" by Jennifer Lopez, blasting from her cell phone was which lighting up on her bed covered in leopard printed sheets. She stopped what she was doing and walked over to her phone. She looked at the screen, reading the name, "Kevin". She rolled her eyes and groaned before answering the call.
"What's up?" she responded.
"Hey, Andrea," Kevin replied.
"What do you want?"
"You."
"Heh, I think I'm more of a 'who' than a 'what'."
"Sorry."
"Really, what it is?"
"I just wanted to apologize."
"You apologized forty-three times. You think I'm going to just forgive you the forty-fourth time?"
"What about the forty-fifth time?"
"No, Kevin."
"But I'm actually sorry."
"That doesn't mean I should accept your apology. You said you liked me then flirted with another girl in front of me."
"I know; it was wrong. I only dig you, baby."
"As sweet as that sounds, I don't dig you anymore so you should drop it and look for Pamela 'Blanderson' since you wanted her so much."
"I don't want her... anymore."
"Oh, so you actually wanted her? No, get off the phone."
"Come on, baby. Give me another chance. I mean don't you want to be with the junior prom king?"
"Just because you're royalty means I have to come crawling back to you?"
"No but think about it."
"Oh, I've already thought about it. And I think that you should stay far away from me."
"Come on--"
"No, stay far away from me."
"We have to go to school together. I can't stay far away from you any longer."
"You can take a shortcut."
"I don't know any shortcuts."
"Then when school starts, wear a cup."
Andrea hung up on Kevin then chucked her phone on the bed.

Independence Day (Chapter 1)

Madeline got up from her neat bed and began dialing on her pink cell phone. She then held the phone up to her ear.
"Hello?" Lizzie responded from the phone.
"You don't sound so excited," said Madeline.
"I'm always excited. Maybe it's because I was eating grapes."
"Probably. So I got some news for you."
"Some new news?"
"That's why they call it 'news'."
"Oh!"
"See, I heard that my not-so-close friend, Chrissy, is throwing an Independence Day party at an open field by the supermarket. So I'm going to call her to see if we're invited. And I know she'll invite us 'cause we're awesome."
"Is the Independence Day party on the fourth of July?"
Madeline scrunched her forehead. "Yes."
"Oh, okay."
"Why? Are you busy that day?"
"Well, I thought we decided to see that movie, 'Syphilis', on July fourth."
"You mean Selfless?"
"The one with Ryan Gosling?"
"Ryan Reynolds."
"They're different people?"
"Look, Lizzie, we can see that movie on your birthday. Doesn't that sound better?"
"Yeah, that's fair."
"Can you tell the rest of the girls about the party? I'm about to take a bath and my skin really needs it."
"Sure, Mads."
"Thanks, Liz'."
"Wait! Ryan Gosling is with Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds is with Eva Mendes, right?"
"It's the other way around."
"Blake Lively is with Eva Mendes?"
"Lizzie, I really got to go."