Thalia Baini

Rose lay still in her bed. She had bright blue eyes, dark black hair and red ruby lips. Her slender body inflated with air with every breath she took. Beep, Beep, her alarm went off for school and her eyes flashed opened. She heard her mother’s high heels clicking on the wooden steps. Rose pretended to be asleep when her mother came into her room because she was dreading the start of the toughest year in high school…. junior year.
“Come on Rosaline, let me see those beautiful eyes”, her mother said in a merry tone.
Rose just grumbled like a two year-old throwing a tantrum and turned away from her mother.
“Come on Rosaline, you are going to be late and your father will have a fit.”
Her mother ripped the sheets away from her and threw them on the floor. She left the room and Rose slowly dragged herself out of bed. She turned her rock music on and peeled off her pajamas. She slipped on her blue jeans and a black v-neck t-shirt. She glanced at the clock and it was seven fifty-nine A.M. She raced down the stairs as she knew her father would be annoyed if she was late. They got into the car and her father drove fast to school, because it takes an hour to get there, but Rose knew they were going to be late anyway.
While Rose was sitting in the car she looked up from her book and said, “Umm… mom said I could apply for my driver’s license this year.”
Her father looked over his shoulder with a skeptical expression on his face. Rose was ready for the same response she usually gets from her father.

“What!? You’re not old enough to get your driver’s license yet.”
She was old enough, she was turning sixteen soon and everyone gets their license at this age in the United States. Rose was in disbelief and anger; she didn’t know what to say, so she put her headphones on and listened to her music. Her father took a long sigh and started speeding to pass the next light. Before long, Rose noticed they were in front of her school and she jumped out of the car to find her group of friends in the crowd of people. There were many clicks at her school. There were nerds, surfers, popular kids and gossip girls. Rose passed by the popular group and wished she had been one, but she knew she didn’t fit in because they always wore the latest fashion and they always were on their phones during class, acting as if they were above it all. She eventually found her group friends. Akiko, one of her best friends, with long blond hair and green eyes ran up to her with a grin on her face.
“How are you? You should smile!” Akiko said with excitement as she hugged Rose tightly.
Rose just stood there with a frown on her face. Akiko’s grip loosened and her smile slowly turned into a frown.
Rose opened her mouth, but she hesitated to speak. She inhaled and let out a big sigh. She dropped to the floor and leaned on her overweight backpack.
“I just am sick of high school and for the past few months my father has refused to let me drive. He has been making up excuses and I am getting really tired of it,” she started to pick at the blades of grass, while her friend Akiko leaned down to sit beside her.
While Rose was distracted, Kiyoshi, her boyfriend, came up and sat behind her sneakily and grabbed her waist. He was wearing blue jeans and a Nirvana t-shirt. Rose started to smile and looked into Kiyoshi’s blue eyes.
“What’s wrong with you? I like it better when you smile,” he said and he gave her a kiss on her forehead.
Rose looked up for a quick second and saw that the doors started to open to the school and people began filing in. Rose looked back at Kiyoshi and they were on the ground staring into each other’s eyes. Dakarai, a boy with dirty blond hair, snuck up behind them and tapped them both on the shoulder.
“Hey love birds it’s time for school,” Dakarai said in a mocking tone.
Rose’s boyfriend walked her to the multi-media class. As Rose entered the class she saw everyone was either texting or playing on the computer, as usual. Rose began to get annoyed with her classmates who were not paying attention to the teacher. To Rose, it felt like middle school all over again, except for the fact that they now had a heavier workload. Rose started to work on her media project.
“Hey you guys… would you please just listen for a second?! It is time to go to math class now,” the teacher said in an annoyed tone.
Everyone headed off to math class. Rose was dreading math because it was her weakest subject, but she didn’t give up when learning new math concepts. She had to pay extra attention to the lecture and this class usually felt ten times longer than her favorite classes. Today’s lecture on linear equations seemed boring to Rose. She was thankful when the other classes started to shuffle out for lunch because she knew the math class had ended. Rose peered out of the math class and saw her boyfriend waiting right outside the door, next to all the other students. Finally, her teacher dismissed them for lunch and she ran towards her boyfriend with open arms. They both walked out of the school holding hands and sat at their usual lunch spot. Daphne, a short girl with red hair, snuck up behind Rose and Rose screamed with surprise.
“Hahahh… Are you excited for the immersion trip to Japan?” Daphne’s eyes lit up and she had a wide smile.
Rose and Daphne were going to Japan with their school because it was an opportunity to immerse themselves into a different culture. They usually volunteer during their immersion trips around the world, as their school focuses on international perspectives.
“Yeah it’s going to be so much fun,” said Rose with excitement.
“Are you going Kiyoshi?” Daphne asked in an anxious tone.
“No because I don’t have enough money to go,” said Kiyoshi in a depressed tone.
Kiyoshi looked sad and stared at the wall while he was answering Daphne’s question. Rose hugged him because she could tell he was bothered by his financial situation. During the last few minutes of lunch, Kiyoshi pulled out his computer to write music tabs. He held onto his girlfriend’s waist, while tapping his foot to the beat -- this helped him forget about the fact that he was not going on the immersion with his friends.
It was time for class again and Kiyoshi walked Rose to her English class. She sensed he was a little bit distant towards her. She entered the room noticing she was tardy because everyone was already on the laptops working on their assignments. The teacher pointed to an empty seat next to Akiko.

“Where were you?” Akiko said with a suspicious tone.
“Umm… I was at lunch and I lost track of time.” Rose smiled.
“Anyway, I can’t wait to go to Japan tomorrow!! Akiko nudged her in the shoulder.
“Me too,” screamed Rose with excitement.
“SHHHH”! The teacher looked up from her laptop and directed the command towards them.
Rose and Akiko worked diligently throughout the rest of the period. By the time they were done with their essay assignment everyone started to pack up and people were walking down the halls to go home for the day. Rose was the last one out of the classroom, and Kiyoshi was standing right in front of the door waiting for her to come out. Rose tried to hug him but he grabbed her arms before they could wrap around his waist.
“I need to talk to you about something,” He said in a stern and flat voice.
“What’s wrong?” Rose gave him the puppy dog look.
He let out a big sigh and watched Rose’s expression change. “I…I want to be in a neutral relationship with you.”
Rose looked at him with a confused look on her face. “Why do you want a neutral relationship...I don’t get it?”
“I just have too much stress in my life and I can’t handle any more commitments.” He said with a cold voice.
Rose became very quiet and she started backing away from him. She quickly ran down the stairs and into the noisy, bright, familiar tutoring room. She laid her head down on the desk and let out a huge sigh as she exhaled. A person with a cartoon t-shirt and bright red sunglasses came up from behind Rose and tapped her on her shoulder. Rose peered over her shoulder and saw that it was her dear friend, Eagon.
“What’s wrong?” Eagon asked with some concern in his voice.
“I’m just tired that’s all,” Rose said.
“Don’t worry you’ll be on your way to Japan tomorrow,” said Eagon with excitement in his voice.
Rose lifted her head off the desk and smiled. Ring, Ring.
“Hello, oh I’m coming,” said Rose in an anxious tone. Rose was late to meet her ride home.
Rose rushed out of the tutoring room and got inside a black Range Rover. Her grandma, Nikki was in the driver’s seat waiting patiently for her.
“Are you excited to go to Japan?!” Her grandmother was so excited for her adventure to Japan.
“Yeah, I can’t wait to go to Japan with my friends from school!”
During the whole car ride home her grandmother talked about the wonderful places she should go and see while she was in Japan. Rose got home and started to pack for the Japan trip. She almost stayed up the whole night packing her belongings.
The next morning Rose left early for the airport. Her mother was worried about exchanging dollars into Yen before she left on the airplane. When they entered the airport they saw the school group waiting in a circle for everyone to show up. Rose and her friends waited for Akiko to come, as she was running late. It was almost time to board the plane when Akiko finally showed up. Luckily everyone made the flight on time, and took their seats on the airplane. The flight to Japan was eighteen hours long, and Rose spent her time taking pictures with her friends, playing on a friend’s computer, and napping. When they finally arrived in the Tokyo airport everyone rushed to grab their bags and headed outside. The group asked for directions to the hotel and quickly found their way. Rose was impressed with how clean Japan was and she really enjoyed the culture. The Japanese were very polite and helpful when someone had questions or needed directions.
The next morning in Japan, Rose and her friends went shopping in Tokyo. Tokyo is a very populated city and the shops were crowded like a bunch of sardines packed into a can. Eagon followed Rose around because he didn’t want her to get lost in the crowd. After hours of shopping Rose and Eagon left on the Metro to return to the hotel. They were looking forward to a good night’s sleep.
The next morning in Japan, the group traveled to the city, Nara. There were many beautiful trees with cherry blossoms covering the branches and there were many wild deer on the streets. As the group walked down the street they passed vendors selling crackers they could buy to feed the animals. Some people from the group decided to feed the deer. It was funny to see because the deer bit people in the stomach and the butt while trying to get more food. Rose bought some crackers at the register and the deer started chasing her. An aggressive deer bit her in the stomach to get the crackers. After they fed the deer they went to see the famous statue of Buddha. Buddha had gold on his hands and he was placed high up in the room for everyone to see. In the building there was a tunnel to crawl through. According to a Japanese legend, if someone made it through the tunnel they would have a long life. Rose and her friends found it difficult because they felt claustrophobic in the tunnel. Despite their fears, they all made it through the tunnel and were hopeful for a long life. It was beginning to get late and the group left to go back to the hotel.
When they arrived at the hotel Akiko and Rose went to their tour guide to ask him for some pick up lines to try on Japanese teen boys. After they learned the pickup lines they went out of the hotel and walked around town. There were bright neon signs that lit up the street. After trying the pickup lines for hours with no luck, they went back to the hotel room. Eagon knocked on Akiko and Rose’s hotel door and he came in to talk with them. Akiko opened the window, which led to an outside walk way. Akiko, Rose and Eagon went out on the walk way. There were other rooms with windows that led to the walk way as well. They were acting like peeping toms, looking into other rooms, and Rose saw a cute Japanese teenager with orange fluffed up hair and warm brown eyes. Rose was stunned and stopped in front of his window, and he looked at her in shock with his mouth wide open. Rose waved at him and they all ran back into their room in laughter.
The next morning they traveled to Osaka and went to the mall. It looked like a small village with a bunch of different shops. Akiko and Rose went to a shoe and hair accessory shop to see the different fashion styles they had in Japan. On their way out of the store they went to the music store. They saw Eagon and Dakarai listening to music on the radio player. Rose wanted to buy a CD because she liked the music from Japan, but she didn’t have enough money for it. Eagon slowly convinced her that he would buy it for her and that it was not a big deal. After the music store they went to meet with their group because it was getting late. They came to a bridge, the group’s meeting point, and waited for them to show up. As they were waiting a homeless Japanese man with razor sharp eel teeth holding a guitar came up to Rose and said, “Very beautiful American.” Rose hid behind her teacher.
They arrived at the hotel room that night and they knew their trip was coming to an end. Before they left Japan they had their mind set on going to the famous hot baths. A hot bath is a sacred, natural spring where all women enter the water nude. The girls ran into the room to prepare for the hot bath. It was beginning to rain when they entered the outdoor hot bath, but they did not care. The girls felt closer as friends because it was a sacred place. After their bath they got dressed for dinner in Kimonos and everyone looked funny in the green and blue traditional robes. When they walked to the dining room there were little Japanese boys watching the group in the traditional outfits. At dinner Rose had trouble with her chop sticks. After everyone was finished eating the tour guide announced the plans for their last day and dismissed them to go to bed.
The next morning they went to different temples and were taken on a tour to learn about each temple. The temples were gold, green and white. They were very artistic and visually appealing. Rose was surprised to learn during the tour that the phrase you’re not my cup of tea came from Japan. She learned that this phrase came from a Samaria because if he did not drink the tea the geisha brought him that meant he was not interested in her. During the last part of the tour the group received fortunes from the sacred temples. The tour guide helped translate the fortunes – some were good and others were bad. The tour guide told the students with the bad fortunes to tie it to the tree with the other bad fortunes that people left behind in order to move forward. The students said their goodbyes to the tour guide and made their way to the airport.
They checked in to the flight back to San Diego. Eagon sat next to Rose on the plane and was looking at her with a smile on his face.
“Are you excited to go see Kiyoshi?” Eagon smiled at her.
“Ummm… not really, something happened between us and I don’t feel like talking about it.” Rose’s eyes dropped to her book.
Eagon felt regret for even asking this question because he saw the sad look on her face. For most of the plane ride home they did not talk and they just read their books. The plane finally landed and there was a circle of parents waiting for their children to come out. Rose’s parents weren’t there yet. While she was at the baggage claim her mother finally showed up. Rose greatly missed her mother and gave her a bear hug.
“Tomorrow you have to take the college entrance exam.” Her mother said in an informative tone. Rose was not comforted by this information. She had not studied for the test and she was not the strongest test taker. Rose went home to get a good night sleep before the test.
The next morning Rose drank a cup of coffee to wake her up. Even with the coffee, she fell asleep through half of the test. After finishing the test she called her mom for a ride home. Her mother picked her up after the test and they drove home to get dinner ready. On the way home mother asked her how she did on the test. Rose looked at her in a nervous way and her mother knew it didn’t go too well. Her mother was hoping she would not have to take it again because it was the end of her junior year. On the weekend Rose finished up her homework for her classes because she knew she would be bombarded with the state testing exam.

Monday was the state testing exam and all the students were seated alphabetically. Rose went to the tutoring room to take the exam. It was almost lunch time by the time she had finished. Eagon knocked on the glass door and signaled for Rose to come out for lunch.
“How was the math portion on the test?” He said with lightness.
“I never want to see another math problem again,” Rose said with resentment.
“Oh, could you come with me to Trader Joes I need to get something,” said Eagon.
Rose could tell something suspicious was going on and she didn’t know how to avoid the situation.
“Sure.” She said with uneasiness.
After Eagon bought his lunch from Trader Joes they both walked back to school. Eagon was determined to ask his question before they reached school. They remained quiet for a while until they reached the school parking lot.
“Hey… I was wondering if you would like to go out, like as girlfriend and boyfriend?” he looked at her with hope in his hazel eyes.
“I…I don’t really want to get back into a relationship. I am just emotionally numb right now and I don’t want to ruin this perfect friendship we have.” She looked at him with puppy dog eyes.
“It’s fine. We have next year to get to know each other more and I am not going to give up on you.” He said with diligence.
On the way back to school they walked in silence and she could tell that Eagon was hurt by her reply. Rose felt regret for turning him down and she was dreading to go to the mock college admission event where Eagon would most likely follow her around like a lost puppy. When they reached the door to her school Dakarai popped out in front of Rose and stole her jacket out of her hands.
“Dakarai give me back my Jacket! I’m going to get your jacket!” She said while running after him.
“I don’t care, you can take it.” Dakarai said with self pride.
Rose ran to the table with Eagon following her and she reached for the jacket, but before she could grab it Eagon’s hand grabbed her hand. She looked at him with disbelief and shock.
“You don’t know where that has been”, he said in a jealous tone.
She just opened her mouth in shock and he dropped her hand and let her put Dakarai’s jacket on. She went to her class wearing Dakarai’s jacket for the rest of the day.
After the long class hours Dakarai, Eagon and Rose went to dinner at Sammy’s, a local pizza restaurant. Richard, Rose’s friend from school, who was six feet tall with brown eyes and a white t-shirt, met them there.
“You guys should come over to my beach house instead of the college admission event,” Richard said with disappointment, looking at Rose.
“Sorry we can’t, but do you want to have dinner with us”, Rose asked excitedly.
“I might hang out with you all for a while,” Richard said in an unsure tone.
Ring, Ring.
Richard Picked up his silver phone, “Hello… Okay I’ll be there.”

Richard picked up Rose in his arms and said goodbye to her. Rose was starting to become attached to her friend Richard. Richard smiled and put Rose down and pulled out shiny car keys.
“You drive?” Rose asked with confusion.
“Yeah”-
“If you mean illegally yeah he does,” Dakarai said with enthusiasm.
“Why don’t you take the driver’s test to get your license?” Rose was disappointed in his answer.
“Because I need my license right now and it is easier this way,” said Richard, while walking to the parking lot.
After dinner Rose, Dakarai and Eagon went to the college admission event. They followed the yellow balloons to the check-in line. After Rose checked in she went to the mock admissions class to learn about the college application process. The information was not new to her and she felt prepared to write her applications for next year.
After the mock admission class Rose went into the mini college fair to meet the representatives of various colleges. Her mother was pushing her to introduce herself to every college she was interested in. Rose and her mother said bye to her college counselor and left.
On their way home her mother announced that Rose will be doing her ‘Behind the Wheel’ driving test very soon. Rose was overjoyed and could not wait for the moment to come to get her license. Her father was not going to stop her now because she had her mother on her side and it was almost her senior year. She knew that she would have to become more experienced with driving, so her mother set up time for her to drive in the week. It was a fulfilling ride home.
When they arrived home it was ten o’clock at night and Rose got ready for the next day of school. Before she went to bed she logged onto her facebook account to see what friends were online. Her friend Richard was online and she wanted to tell him about the college fair.
Hi.
Hey Rose!
How are you?
I am good, how was the hot tub?
Better than the college thing.
The college fair was actually pretty fun and how was the hot tub more fun with a bunch of boys … ahhah.
Whatever…. Hey could you keep a secret?
Yeah, what is it?
I was wondering if you wanted to be closer as friends, I could show you some pretty cool stuff.
Like, what kind of stuff?
With our shirts off, that kind…. So what do you think?
I don’t know… I am going to bed good night.
Rose was in complete shock over what had happened. She didn’t know how she was going to handle it when she saw him at school the next day.
When Rose arrived early in the morning to school she knew that she had to face Richard one way or another. At lunch she saw Richard at the usual table. All of her friends were sitting there playing a Japanese card game. Richard nodded at Rose to come and take a walk with him. He was distant today and seemed uncomfortable.
“So have you thought about what I said?” Asked Richard
“Ummm... about what?” Rose asked in a confused tone.
“Rose don’t play dumb!” Richard said with frustration.
“I just didn’t understand what you meant.” Rose said innocently.
She looked at him with her big blue eyes. He could tell she didn’t understand what they were talking about last night.
“I asked you for an open relationship, which means it is not a strict relationship.”
Rose was quiet for a second and looked around. She wanted to speak, but didn’t know what to say. Richard knew she had something on her mind and was becoming impatient with her.
“Come on tell me what’s on your mind!” Richard said desperately.
“Fine, I just don’t want to live anymore… I just don’t see the point.” Rose said nervously.
“No, there is something else you won’t tell me… What is it?” Richard questioned.
He was becoming impatient and annoyed now. He grabbed Rose around the waist tightly and said, “You can tell me anything, okay… okay?”
His face was closer to Rose’s face now and he softly kissed her on the lips and she kissed him back, confused of what to do next. She had a little smile upon her face and she was blushing.
He whispered in her ear, “Just for fun okay?”
She buried her head in his chest ashamed of what she had done. She knew it would not be easy to reject someone she had a crush on. He took her around the other side of the school and they talked until lunch came to an end.
“Why do you want to do it with me?” asked Rose.
“Rose I don’t want to be a virgin when I get out of high school and besides you look like you are doing nothing.” Richard said egotistically.
“Why don’t you want to be in an open relationship?” Richard asked.
… “Because it is a slutty thing to do and I do not think highly of doing this because I believe a person should only have one close relationship.” Rose said in a frustrated tone.
“Come on, you don’t know what could happen… maybe we will magically fall in love and be a couple.” Richard said in a flirtatious voice.
Rose just looked at him with her watery blue eyes and he was smiling at her waiting for the answer.
“So…. is that a yes?”
Rose lost her words and she left to go to class. She walked away and before she could open the door his hand grabbed hers.
“Let me know.” His tone was full of eagerness.
The next Friday at night she received a text from Richard it read:
So, have you thought about it?
Rose wrote back to Richard and was ready to make her decision. Rose would find the true personality of her friend. A side that she has never seen before that would shock her.
Yes, I thought and thought.
And?
I don’t think I could go through with an open relationship. I really like you, but not like that. Are you okay?
Yeah, why wouldn’t I be? I already have a bunch of open relationships. I was just doing it for you.
Rose turned off her phone and went to bed. Tomorrow would be the day to take her ‘Behind the Wheel’ test to get her license. She was extremely excited and hoped to get her license.
The next day Rose and her mother drove to the DMV to take the driving test. Rose was handed a number and was asked to get her car ready to complete the test. After waiting for a while, a young guy around his twenties gave Rose the test. Rose was very nervous and she was not doing so well during the exam. As she pulled back into the parking lot the instructor announced that she didn’t pass and Rose felt that someone hit her in the stomach. She was very disappointed and felt like a failure throughout the day.
When Rose drove home she reflected on what Richard said and was dumbfounded about his comment to her. She felt like her social life was falling apart right in front of her eyes. She only hoped that when she did go to school the next week her friends would be there to support her.
The next week on Monday was the last day of school and for Rose the last day of junior year. She was happy that her junior year had ended. She did not regret this year because she had learned a lot from it, such as relationships, responsibilities that come with driving, the true meaning of friends and about applying for college. She just hoped she would still have the friends she made this year and that they would be there for her during the tough times just like she promised she would do the same for them when they needed her.