All Good Things

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The sun rays licked the two girls' backs as they ran about, stomping on the grass, through the driveway, to the grass on the other side of the yard. They giggled and laughed until they collapsed in the grass, breathless.

“I think we made it away from the big monster, Princess Fairy Vanna!” Vegas said between deep breaths.

“Yes, Princess Fairy Vegas, but I am melting like a popsicle, so I must go for a minute. I’ll be back quick,” Vanna got up and crossed the street over to her house, turned back to wave at Vegas once, and closed the door.

Before Vegas' heartbeat slowed back completely, Vanna was towering over her, slurping on a Capri Sun. “Back,” she smiled, and reached a hand out to Vegas with another Capri Sun.

It was cold! Vegaus ripped the straw off while saying “Thank you!”

Vanna sat down beside her. “You’re welcome. Vegas, You’re my most best’ist friend,”

Vegas said, “and you’re my best friend,” between slurps. “And you’ll be my best friend forever,”

***

Vegas remembered that as she sat at a round table in a glittering silver dress at an award ceremony, listening to the deafening roar of claps as one woman walked down stage with her golden trophy.

“And, the best novel of the year award goes to… Vegas Green!” the announcer yelled, and the clapping began again.

Vegas's heart was racing as she walked on stage. She couldn’t wait to tell her parents and social media fans, but most importantly, she couldn’t wait to tell Vanna.

“Listen, I know Vanna’s your childhood friend and all that, but ‘you sure you want to invite her to stay at your house? I mean, it’s a house to you, but to everyone else it’s known as a mansion, and I’m sure that girl would be green with envy,” Vegas' close writing buddy warned her at a fancy restaurant after the awards ceremony.

“Mark, Vanna ain’t know fan off the street. She’s my best friend. She’s been listening to my stories since we were kids playing in my front yard. There’s no way that girl gon’ be hatin’ on me. She's gonna be celebrating with me!” Vegas did a little dance in her chair as she thought about seeing Vanna again.

The next day, she came to pick Vanna up.
When she got to the bus stop, she looked around. Many people were leaving, but there was one girl who had her round face absorbed in her phone and a cigarette in her other hand.

Vegas’ face wrinkled. “Vanna?”

The girl hadn’t heard her, so Vegas came and snactched the cigerette out of her hand. “Vanna, what are you doing?”

“Girl I will rip yo-oh, Vegas it’s you!” Vanna’s face immediately brightened and the two girls started laughing. “I was just havin’ a cigarette for a moment, girl. Don’t worry, I don’t frequent smokin’. So anyway, we gonin’ to par-tay right?”

“Yeeeaaah!” Vegas smiled. “Common, Vanna. I can’t wait to show you my house.”

The way there, Vegas kept thinking, since when did Vanna smoke? All her friends from the suburbs told her stuff like, ‘you know Devanna be smokin’ right?’ Or, ‘Vanna does drugs,’ but Vegas had never believed it. If that was true, then why when she asked Vanna, Vanna said they were all lyin’ on her? So far, Vanna had only smoked one cigarette. Vegas knew her best friend wouldn’t lie to her.

They drove into a neighborhood with a splendid white and golden archway. There were vibrant green lawns that were all the same height and a peach stone pathway that led to long homes with towering windows.

They made it to a tall green mansion with arched windows and a balcony that went all along the top floor. The big castle doors could fit a car inside, but Vegas parked beside the fountain and turned to Vanna.

Vanna’s lips were smiling but her eyes weren’t. “This yo’ house?”

Vegas yanked the key out of ignition. “Yep. Now let’s go, the inside's more impressive!”

“Oh wow,” Vanna said, cluthching her purse handle.

Vegas showed Vanna all the rooms that would ‘matter to her’ for the next few days. She was going to show her the whole house, but Vanna seemed so out of it that Vegas lost the excitement to continue the house tour.

“This place is a’ight,” Vanna said, concentrating on lighting a cigarette. She shook it and set it in her mouth. “but that place across the street was real impressive.”

“Vanna, you can’t smoke in my house!” Vegas came and snactched the cigerette.

Vanna rolled her eyes. “It ain’t gon’ kill you.”

As Vegas wet the end and through it away, she avoided Vanna’s gaze. “So it’s true then,”

“What?”

“Everybody back home says you be smokin’. It’s true then right?” Vegas looked into Vanna’s eyes for a secound before going to straighten up a couch pillow.

“Girl it’s just two cigerettes! No I’m not a drug-addict! I’m not anything they been telling you! If you believe them then I don’t know how you went and got a book award.”

There was a moment of silence.

“Vanna, that hurt,” Vegas stared at her friend, examining the scowl that had been on her face since they got there.

Vanna shruged. “I mean, if you belive them then… but I’m not saying you ain’t a good writer. You about to have a party girl!” Vanna smiled and shimmed down.

Vegas' smile returned. “Right! Let me show you your room!”

The next day around noon, Vegas' writer friends were filling up her house for the party. Vanna glared and whispered snarky comments about most of them.

At dinner, everyone traded stories and listened to Vegas say how thankful she was for earning her award. She noted that Vanna rolled her eyes during her speech.

When she sat back down, Vanna slapped her hand. “Girl, why you ain't invite any of our friends? Like, the friends we had back in the neighborhood.”

“I’ve got new friends now too, Vanna, I can’t invite everyone,” Vegas said before digging into her salad. Vanna huffed and stared down at her plate. She then pulled out her phone and began texting away.

That night, Vegas heard faint knocks coming from somewhere around the house. She got up and walked to one of the grand staricases. When she heard a glass break, she new somone was in the house.

“Vanna! Vanna there’s a burgelar!” Vegas yelled and quickly ran to her friend's room and turned on the lights.

The covers were peeled. The vanity’s draws were on the floor. The room smelled of cigarette smoke that tickled Vega’s throat and made her bout into coughs. Everything was a mess, but there was no Vanna.

“Hurry, she’s up!”

Vegas frooze. That was… that couldn’t be Vanna’s voice. She galloped downstairs to see Vanna and a couple faces she faintly recognized. They were carrying her furniture out the front doors, along with pictures and vases.

At the end of the line stading in the house, was Vanna, who breifly looked at Vegas. “Dang it, she’s awake! We can’t take no more if she sees us!”

Vegas put a hand to her chess and nearly tripped as she steadied herself. “Vanna! Why are you stealing my stuff?!”

“You have the money to buy more, does it matter? This is all really your fault for thinking you could get all rich and leave me behind.” Devanna’s beady black eyes cut through Vegas’ and her vision blurred with tears.

“Devanna, if you don’t get out here soon we’ leaving your butt!” one guy yelled from outside.

Without a second glance at Vegas, Vanna ran out of her house and off into the dark.

Vegas cried that night, but the next morning, she pulled herself together. She spoke to Mark, who patted her back and gave her advice on what she should do next.

She took Vanna to court, and won. She deleted Vanna’s phone number. Vegas surrounded herself with her writing friends, and talked to her parents more often.

She breifly thought about her best friend, the friend that gave her a drink that one hot summer day. But then she thought about that same friend running out the door with her stuff, out into the cold winter night.

Vegas knew better now.

---

My latest novel, Shook, is being published to Hive in parts! See all released chapters in this post.

Hey there! I’m Shila! I’ve loved books since I could read, and decided I would write books I wanted to see written for others! Check my children’s book Imagination on Amazon!

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