Floating Read Online Free PDF Page B

a vicious, nasty piece of work. Not just to me, but to everyone, she just happens to be especially bitchy to me. She’s selfish, makes fun of people behind their backs, calls me names, and plays pranks on me all the time, that aren’t in the least bit funny. For example; last week she put crazy glue in my conditioner. Mom had to take me to the hairdresser and have seven inches cut off my hair to get it out. I cried for days after that because I couldn’t believe she would do something like that to me. Actually, that’s a lie. It wasn’t unbelievable, it was just the first time she’d done something so permanent. Food dye in my conditioner, Saran Wrap on the toilet, oil on the tiles in my bathroom, sure she’d done all of that, and some of it more than once. But all that stuff was superficial. This was my hair, it would take ages to grow back.
     
    What was really weird, was how my parents reacted to her behaviour. They would ground her or take away her TV privileges, but it was like they’d given up on disciplining her almost altogether. If they banned her from TV for two weeks and found her watching it the day after, they let it go, walking away shaking their heads. Verity was getting to the point where she was pretty much out of control. I have no idea what they’re going to do with her if she gets any worse. My parents’ lack of consequences for Verity’s crappy attitude always made me feel like they loved her more than me. I know deep down it wasn’t true, but that’s how I felt. I was only eleven, after all.
     
    The only person Verity’s remotely nice to is Nate.
     
    Nate moved in across the street from us about two years ago. He’s five years older than me, but he quickly became my best friend, other than Carmella that is. Nate listens to me when I whine about Verity. He makes me laugh when I’m sad because all the kids tease me about my hair or my freckles. He’s just always there for me, and I love him for that. About a month ago, when I came home from school upset because Bobby Donaldson called me a ‘spotty red headed freak,’ Nate gave me a big hug, and told me I was the prettiest girl he’d ever seen. At the time, I just laughed at him because, come on, let’s face it, Verity looks the exactly same. He’d seen both of us plenty of times so, how could that be true? He said Verity wasn’t even as close to as pretty as I was, and that I should believe him because he’d never lie to me. In fact, promised he never would. At that, I took him at his word because it was true, Nate had never lied to me. EVER. It wasn’t be until three years later he broke that promise…
     
    The birthday party today is going to be painful. I can’t wait until the days over, so much so, I almost wished it would rain. The party being outside will mean my parents will have to cancel it, because there’s no way we can fit fifty to sixty people inside our house all at once.
     
    This morning, we opened our gifts together in the living room. It’s tradition for us to get up, stay in our pyjamas, drink hot chocolate, and do presents as a family. The whole morning is usually just an extension of the Verity show, so I tended to open my gifts quickly leaving them to it. Verity laughed and made fun of my present, just like I knew she would. I don’t know why I bother expecting anything different from her. You would think over the years this has been going on for, her making fun of me and my choices, that I’d learn and not be as disappointed or hurt by her asshole-ness. Clearly not.
     
    Our parents started letting us chose what we want for our birthdays, a few years ago, when Verity had a tantrum, professing to hate everything they brought her. It got to the point where she made such a fuss that Mom and Dad took her out that afternoon and replaced everything with more expensive gifts. See… selfish, ungrateful, nasty bitch!
     
    The ONLY thing I asked for this year is a skateboard. I desperately want Nate to teach me