Leah ran inside and jumped up and down. "Daddy! Daddy!" She hollers loudly with excitement. Her dad looked up to the screen door that just slammed closed with his daughter in front of it. He chuckled lightly and swallowed the hot coffee that had almost left his mouth a few seconds ago.

"Yes dear?" he asked her with a bit of a weird voice from the coffee burning his tongue. He lifted his old fashioned cowboy hat, that belonged to his dad, off his head and ran his hand through his very gray hair, from taking care of his lively daughter by himself for years.

"Daddy, Alicia's birthday is today and I was wondering if I could throw a birthday party for her?" She sat down in the chair next to her dads at the small table. She put her hand on his arm and looked up at him from under her lashes. Her long blonde hair framed her face perfectly. Her lower lip jutted out just enough that you didn't take much notice of it but it made her puppy dog face work perfectly.

Her dad looked away, then back at her, then away again before finally settling his eyes on her. His face was stern, hard, and almost leather looking from being in the sun so much. Looking at his daughter his face visually softened. THis only happened with his daughter, now. He almost looked like his youthful self again. "Just be safe, OK?" He told her with tons of concern in his face and voice.

Jumping out of her chair she kissed her father on the head, thanked him, and ran outside. She planned on having the party at eight so she had roughly for hours to get it set up and spread the word. So she started by texting everybody in her contacts. All she said was "8" They would know what she meant. She also had a couple of contacts that would put up flyers and mark the usual graffiti spot. Soon the whole town, and surrounding towns, would know about her party. She still couldn't believe her father would let her get away with lying to him. It seemed like every other week it was "Alicia's" birthday.

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Faster. Faster. Faster!

The room blurred past in a swish of color-- only the mirror in perfect focus every other second as her body snapped around and around, her eyes focusing on her reflection every time she completed the 360 degree turn. Sweat rolled down the curve of her back, soaking through the white ballet tunic she wore. Suddenly, her ankle twisted under her- causing her to fall over onto her side. "Fuck," she hissed as her hip made contact with her sun room floor.

Sucking air in through her teeth to stifle the slew of profanities that threatened to spill out, Lizzie slowly pulled herself off the floor. With a groan she made her way out of the room, reaching over to turn off her radio on the way out. Her big recital was next week. It would be the first time since joining the dance class that she was picked for the solo. Her nerves knotted in her stomach, twisting her standard smile into a scowl.

Once out of the shower and back in her room, Lizzie walked over to her phone where it sat on the bedside stand charging. Ignoring the feel of water dripped down her shoulders, she opened the message from Leah. It was short, sweet and to the point. Eight. Right. Got it. Her thumbs moved quickly across the iPhone, sending her response;

To: Leah
Message: I'll be there!

Lizzie smiled as she hit send and tossed her phone back onto the nightstand. Tonight was going to be amazing. It was the first official night of summer and she was finally free of her academic obligations. She had finished out the year with a solid 4.0 gpa, but somehow her parents had managed to ruin graduation for her. Why weren't you class president? Couldn't you have at least gotten valedictorian? Were you involved on campus at all? Did you get the required volunteer hours? You need to be in church more!

Their voices echoed in her mind as she finished blow drying her hair and pulling on her outfit for the night. With a sigh, Lizzie looked up into her mirror and stared into her reflection. A curious looking girl stared back at her. "What are you doing with your life?" The girl in the mirror seemed just as lost as she felt, so with another sigh Lizzie left her alone. She didn't feel like staring into her reflection for very long these days- there were things she didn't care to notice about herself. Like the fact that she had gained two pounds. The recovering anorexic walked away from the mirror and to her bedroom door as she pulled out her cellphone once again.

To:Leah
Message: Hey, I'm coming over. Nothing to do here.

With the message sent Lizzie made her way downstairs, ignoring her father who was in the study making a new Bible plan for Sunday. She slipped out of the front door and hopped onto her bike, heading over to Leah's house. When she arrived, she parked the bike by a tree outside and walked up to Leah's front door. "Mr. Limbery? It's me, Lizzie. Lizzie Moore? Is Leah home?" Lizzie could see the tired looking farmer sitting in the kitchen. The main door was open, leaving only a screen to separate her from the inside of their house.

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