magnolia-rhodes - Tumblr blog

[magnolia-rhodes]

You should have seen this from a mile away. The sentence alone is enough to knock the air out of her lungs. It's delivered with such surgical precision, hand-crafted to dissect her greatest insecurity. Because he's right. She should have seen it. Were she to play the supercut of their relationship (could she even call it that, now?), there would undoubtedly be red flags. There would be signs. There would be things that should have alerted something in her. All the things she'd found romantic and intimate would contort and twist until they seemed calculated, manipulative. But she hadn't seen it.

"Believing people are good isn't a crime. It just sucks that you weren't. I just -" a pause, while she caught her breath. "I just .... I thought you liked me, Link. And now I don't know what to think."

link was just about to ready to give up, sit and accept what he was getting, deserved for being so careless about this whole thing. but the sentence 'i don't think you're ready for a relationship' struck a cord, and triggered something that he thought he'd left behind during the summer break. yet, it continues to follow him everywhere.

he scoffs at her, "and who are you, lola, to decide what i'm not ready for? maybe i'm just not ready for a relationship with you. have you thought about that before you try to psychoanalyze me?" he'd gone too far, and he knew it. link was usually a master at hiding his ugly thoughts and words deep down, never letting them come out. but unfortunately, an undeserving magnolia had brought them out today. once it started, it couldn't be stopped. "and i mean, come on, lola — you probably should have seen this from a mile away. no pictures? secluded dates? i didn't even want to meet your other friends. maybe you're the one who's not ready for a relationship if you're missing the obvious fucking signs." it wasn't her fault. link was incredible at hiding the truth, making sure to cover his tracks. hearing that sentence again, it brought out the worst in him.

[magnolia-rhodes]

"No superpowers needed. I just have eyes. If I had legs like yours I'd show them off all the time" She shrugs then, taking the few remaining steps over towards the door to kick it shut. Once she's certain the door is closed properly, Lola sheds her current dress and steps into the one being held out for her. "Mind zipping me up? I swear these things are a two person job."

"Exactly my thoughts! How'd you get in my head?" she teased. Coming from a beautiful and popular girl like Lola, the compliment held a lot of weight for the platinum blonde. Approval was everything Rhia sought after, and this moment gave her hope that maybe she didn't have to stay a social pariah. She felt extremely close to Lola and wanted to hold onto the moment for as long as possible. "You better try it on or I will," Rhia encouraged, giving a playful raise of her eyebrows.

[magnolia-rhodes]

Lola shifted her grip on the robe slightly, the terry cloth soft and warm against her hands. It's an absentminded gesture, driven by some subconscious need to keep her hands occupied while thinking. As though the act of doing something could somehow slow down the need to think about something. She doesn't want Parker to think she's some kind of dimwit, doesn't want her to think that Lola is stripped of anything even resembling good judgement. And so she decides to circle the truth, rather than jump head first into it.

"I had a pretty unsuccessful summer fling, and now I've sworn off boys for the rest of the year. I'm all about investing in myself and whatever." A little laugh. "I'm hoping your summer was more interesting than mine?"

a hop, skip, and jump—or, more accurately, pack up, short walk, and car ride—later, and the two were being handed folded robes each topped with a pair of spotless slippers. parker took a deep inhale through her nose, already considerably relaxed by the fact that they were off campus. despite g's drastic decrease in appearances this semester, their ghost—as well as those of greer, penny, and ida—still lingered in each hall and room. to get away for even a few hours was, itself, self-care.

"so," parker started once they'd been directed towards the changing room, "i think the last time we had, like, an extended conversation was back in the hospital." her tone was gentle, fighting to be as casual about the statement as possible. as if anything that took place on campus was casual. the very genesis of their friendship, even, was quite the opposite—but there they were, so maybe there was hope in the world. "catch me up on your summer, your semester so far." parker leaned over so that her shoulder softly bumped lola's. "i want only the worst gossip. what's said in the steam room stays in the steam room."

[magnolia-rhodes]

It's not often she makes people laugh. She'd never been funny - not deliberately, anyway. Where she did manage to elicit a laugh from someone, it was largely offered up in disbelief or exasperation. A frustrated little chuckle by way of saying 'there's no way you're actually like this'. Lola's not living in denial about this - she knows people don't seek her out for her sharp wit, but it's nice to have brought forth this fleeting bit of joy for someone else. "Ah, speak for yourself." She always wanted to know. Always delighted in figuring out what others were up to. Sure, there was always the chance that she'd derail the conversation to talk about herself, but wasn't that the case for everyone?

"Honestly? There was a swim meet this weekend, and I've spent most of the time afterwards trying to get the chlorine tint out of my hair." She was even boring herself. "Please tell me your life is less of a dredge than mine is."

freddie pushes out his chair, thinking he'd stand up and greet her with a hug but when she opts to sit down opposite him, he shifts back into his seat. not a hugger, noted. the line still makes him laugh, though. "better than everything else i've had recently," he says. "how was your day," he mimics in a comical tone, "it's so dull. no one really wants to know anyway." a beat. then, a boyish smile: "so, how was your day?"

[magnolia-rhodes]

SABRINA CARPENTER for 'Please Please Please'

[magnolia-rhodes]

" I think you've just made that up. Like, truly, there's no way that's true." She lets go of the edge, letting her body be enveloped by the pool water, sinking through it until her feet are against the ceramic tiles at the bottom of the pool. A quick kick to bring herself back to the surface, face contorted into a half-grimace at the sensation wet skin meeting the faint breeze of the air conditioner. A faint laugh. "You almost sound like our coach." 'Lola, treat it as an opportunity, not a setback.' "Next you're gonna tell me the position has opened up and you've stepped in to fill it or something."

Nate shrugged up a shoulder again, amusement twitching across his lips as he watched Lola lower herself into the water. "Like I said - helps ya swim faster," he drawled in response, lackadaisical as he leaned back against the edge of the pool. Sure - he still had some of his workout left, but he'd take the distraction in the form of a pretty blonde. His eyebrows creeped up his forehead as slowly as she got into the water, fighting back the urge to comment until she was nearly all the way in, if only for his own amusement. "You know, it would be a lot easier if you just jumped in, mate," he finally said. "Not even that cold once you're in it."

[magnolia-rhodes]

"Slight issue with that," she says with a laugh, almost in immediate response to the mention of practice making perfect. "Charleston isn't exactly the ideal place for skiing." Subconsciously ripping open that same old wound : Lola missed home. Longed for it, even. Wherever she went, whatever she did, there was always that underlying understanding that she would eventually return.

She places one hand either side of herself, to help push her body off the bench so she's standing upright. "You do know what you're getting yourself into, right?" Lola all but laughs, snapping the goggles back into place.

"No whining when I beat you."

“Practices are usually before or after class, or on weekends, so it’s not hard to conciliate them.” He explains, with a shrug and a lighthearted smile, as though sports are just a hobby and not a means of escapism. But, in truth, he always makes time – piling activity on top of activity until the only free timeslot in his schedule was the six hours he reserved for sleep. That way, his mind is always so busy focusing on the stuff it has to do, that it can’t possibly waste any extra energy thinking about anything else!

“It’s not that hard, I promise.” He assures with a light smile, recalling all the sprained ankles and wrists from falling while gliding down icy slopes, and then proceeding to pretend like they never existed. “It only looks like it is, but once you learn how to find balance and break, it’s only a matter of practice until you get the hang of it.” Breaking was always the hardest part starting out. He reckons the whole feet maneuvering can be quite confusing.  

Finally, he stands up, tossing the towel to the side, and starts for the pool. He turns on his heel, eyes meeting Lola’s one more time, “Want to do some laps?” he asks, before diving into the colder-than-expected water. His teeth are about to clatter, so he puts a considerable amount of effort into not letting them do so. He doesn’t want to seem like a loser who can’t stand a little thermal shock in front of her.

[magnolia-rhodes]

"With legs like that, why wouldn't you want to show them off?" She asks, matter-of-factly. It's nice, almost comforting, to share a moment of normalcy with someone like this. When Lola had been sprawled out on her bed at home, flipping through college catalogues like they were issues of vogue, this was what she'd envisioned for herself. And what had she gotten instead? A mess. "It's still got the tag on. I was worried it'd wash me out, I think."

She giggled, delighted by the girlhood of debating wardrobe choices. Rhia believed moments like these were the key to living a good life; moments of lighthearted camaraderie shared between two chance individuals. Her adoration of life manifested as adoration for Lola, her heart swelling and a blush flaring as she watched over the blonde. “Guess that explains my problem,” she said, dangling a leg toward Lola as evidence. Rhia practically pounced at the dresses, holding out each one to examine with amazement. “Wow,” she breathed, settling on a particular one that interested her. “We love sequins!” she enthused, holding out a black slit mini dress

[magnolia-rhodes]

"Mh-m," she nods, word broken into two syllables - the first syllable as her chin was tilted upward, the second on the way down. "For now. If I find myself getting my heart shattered by some brunette in six-inch heels, I'll reassess. I'm not quite ready for celibacy yet."

"In return, are there any people you need me to kick?"

Nat's eyes softened for a moment, a nod for the sentiment, even if she didn't subscribe to it for herself this year. "Boy free specifically, huh?" Her features narrowed into something a little more playful and mischievous. "Does that mean that girls aren't off the table, then?" Wait. That was a good question. Were they off the table for her? Had they ever been on the table? Hmmm. Maybe she'd have to think on this a little bit. She was going for the full college experience this year, right?

But she was getting lost in an inner tangent. She pulled her focus back to Lola and shrugged. "Alright, fine. Fair point. I'll just do it a bunch of times in my head then."

[magnolia-rhodes]

" I just always assumed it was like ... " she wafts a hand through the air as though sifting through words, before settling on: ".. magic." Lola had no doubts; Parker's glow was likely all her, despite the other's insistence it wasn't. Some girls just had it - that effortless thing that she could never quite seem to emulate. Because for Lola, everything was an effort. "You're in luck. My calendar is virtually empty."

At the mention of the book, she is quick to slide the bookmark back into place and then slip it back into the depths of her handbag. "No, that'd be rude. I always try to give my friends my full attention."

parker could only really shrug in response before bringing her coffee to her lips for a generous sip. "you think i maintain this glow by myself?" she countered, shaking her head. her free hand rose to hover over her cheek, referencing said glow that... probably wasn't actually at all helped by the café lighting. oh, well. "not that you need the help there, but the place is amazing. so, tell me you have a clear rest of your day and are in." parker's eyes flit down towards lola's book. "you can even bring the book if you really want to take another crack at it." genuinely, she wouldn't mind, even if she was increasingly looking forward to some normal girl chat. complaining about certain teachers, gushing about hot classmates, taking a crack at when their anonymous assailant would attack again. the usual.

[magnolia-rhodes]

with: @freddiekolbeck where: c.ling when: sunday, november 12 (early evening)

Maybe things were coming up Lola after all. She'd manage to not come last at the swim meet, and now she'd actually been asked out for a drink. Sure, so it had been a sort-of-joke, she knew that, but it made her want to kick her feet all the same. She drops into the seat next to him, simultaneously letting her bag drop to the floor with a dull thud. "Congrats on the negative test results - that's a horrible opener for a date, isn't it?"

[magnolia-rhodes]

Lola takes Nat's hand into her own, squeezing it slightly before letting it free like a magician freeing a dove. "Stop. You're going to make me blush." She waves the compliments off with a flick of her hand. Giving them were one thing, receiving them a different one entirely. "This is why I'm doing the whole boy-free thing this year. Putting myself first."

"You're probably too good at kicking," she jokes. "And I do not want you to get yourself kicked out of college because of some stupid boy."

"Of course it will be okay," Nat said, voice muffled a little as her face pressed into the crook of Lola's neck. She squeezed her friend tightly for another moment, transferring as much love and adoration from her body into Lola's before she allowed herself to let go. "You're Magnolia Rhodes, and anyone would be lucky to have you. And if Link didn't know that then they're not as smart as I thought they were. Honestly, their loss." She shrugged one shoulder, meaning every word.

The smile slipped a little, turning into an exaggerated pout. "But I'm so good at the kicking thing. But fine. Heard and understood. No violence on your behalf." There. A perfectly good loophole in case she ever did feel particularly kick-y.

[magnolia-rhodes]

"I should have. But I was so blindsided by the suggestion that I just froze." And what if they had been right? There was security in letting someone provide for you. It had worked for her mother, so who was to say it wouldn't also somehow work for Lola? "Yeah, I get that, 100%. I feel like all the important stuff you learn in kindergarten. Say thanks, wait your turn, don't hit people with sticks. The basics." She glances at her phone screen, and stifles a curse at the time.

"Anyway! I don't want to hold you up on your very important day. Let me know if you get any awful presents."

end.

"Did you tell them 'mom I am a rich man'?" Ambrose asked, grinning a little bit. He had to give a heavy sigh at the question though, shrugging his shoulders. "I've been here for a month, I guess. It's hard to say. But it's unnecessary." He didn't have to go to school. He didn't have to study music. He didn't have to do any of this, and it was that thought that made it feel like this wasn't so important. "I want to be well rounded though," Ambrose added, with something of a grimace because he didn't like the idea of just … Being only one thing. "Anyone will tell you going to college is mostly for the connections and social experience, anyway. Not the education."

[magnolia-rhodes]

She counts the sports off on her fingers as he lists them. "So you're busy busy, then. How do you find the time?" Swimming was commitment enough for Lola, and that wasn't even the most time-consuming of sports. And add onto that everything else that seemed to happen at college? She's suddenly hit with this creeping sense of concern that Eddie may be spreading himself too thin.

"Were you any good at skiing?" She asks, thinking back to her own mediocre attempts at getting down a hill. "I swear that stuff can't even be taught. Either you know how to or you don't, you know?"

A little smile appears as he paints a canvas of Lola playing basketball in a court surrounded by giants that towered over her – running between their spread lamppost legs, usurping the ball before it bounces back to hands taller than her shoulders… A very unrealistic picture, overall. But amusing, nevertheless. He, on the other hand, never cared much for team sports. Even at tennis, he dodged playing doubles as if those games were ridden with disease. Imagine having your performance affected by someone else��s incompetence? He could not think of anything worse! “Eh… A few.” He shrugged. “I’m on the Ogden tennis, fencing, and sailing teams.” All of which he excelled at – according to himself, of course, but that was the only opinion that mattered at the end of the day. “I used to ski when I was younger, too. Now I kind of just do it as a hobby.” He didn’t mention working out because that was more of a habit than a sport – he also didn’t mention how he picked up a lot of sports in his youth to balance out the fact that he was a huge nerd.

[magnolia-rhodes]

"Oooooh," Lola coos, elbows folded neatly onto the table between them for support. The wood is warm against her skin, the sunshine having worked its magic on everything in its direct path. "Your secret is safe with me." She runs a pinched thumb and index finger across her lip, mimicking a zipper. "The costumes must be so pretty." She could almost imagine them - flowers, garlands of ivy, soft pastels, softer curls. Like something out of a Rossetti painting.

"What? There's a spa nearby?" She all but blinks. It never ceased to amaze her how many things she'd missed out on. Maybe, if last year had been normal, she'd have time to explore her surroundings. But for the most part, the wider world beyond Ogden remained a mystery to her. "How come no one has ever told me this?"

"a midsummer night's dream." the words were given a sense of whimsy, parker's eyes widening slightly with lofty reverence. she leaned in, chin almost meeting the table's surface. "with only women cast as the lovers." the fun fact was delivered in a near-whisper. "but that's top secret, so know that i trust you with such high-ranked information." levity was then swapped for a moment of grave seriousness, parker adding, "but really, staff outside of the department can't know. they didn't exactly mention it when they proposed the show for approval."

with the ping-pong back in conversation, her back straightened up, voice returning to normal volume. "probably right," she chuckled, "how about i save you from your fruitless efforts, then?" parker's eyes brightened. "lunch? shopping? spa?" the latter idea brought her head to lull backwards, eyes closing at the vision. "sauna gossip, the cure for everything." parker beheld all of the quelled excitement of a child asking an adult if their child could come out and play.

[magnolia-rhodes]

"I played basketball for a bit, as a kid - never stuck with it, though. I was terrible at it. You can imagine why." She holds up a hand to her brow-level, to indicate the reason all the same: basketball was a tall person's game, and she did not qualify. Lola wonders then, if maybe she shouldn't be such a monolith - she'd spent her entire life putting all her eggs in one basket. In love, in life, and well, apparently, in sports. And now she couldn't even proffer a satisfying answer in response to whether she had any other athletic hobbies? Making yourself look dreadfully boring in the eyes of a pretty boy had never been her idea of a good time. "What about you? I bet you do loads of sports."

He shrugged and cocked his head to the side slightly, in silent acceptance of the title. If she – who was a much better swimmer than he was – said that he was a swimmer, then he was in no position to argue. A little smile began to tug at the sides of his lips as she talked about her relationship with swimming, reminding him a bit of his own, before he offered her reassurance, “No, not at all. I kind of feel like that too. For me it’s so relaxing that I never signed up for the team because it felt like I would be turning it into an obligation instead of just a hobby.” Tennis had become his favorite place to deposit his competitiveness. “Are you into any more sports or do you just swim?”  

[magnolia-rhodes]

"It's okay. It will be okay." And it would, she knew that. For while she was quick to have her heart broken, falling head first into any relationship without any concern for the outcome, Lola tended to mend just as quickly. She'd mope, sure, empty ice cream cartons piling in her wastepaper basket, but then she'd wipe her eyes, shake herself off and begin anew. You might infer from this that she'd never been in love, not truly, but that's not a realisation she's ready for just yet.

But right now, right this second, it is nice to feel looked after. Lola lets herself sink into Nat's arms, the world reduced to silky hair and the faint smell of the other's perfume. Who even needed boys when you had friends? "I don't know. I wonder if other people looked at me and thought, like, look at that fucking airhead. She wouldn't know a red flag if it was draped over her."

"Maybe not quite that violent. But if you want to stick your foot out and trip him up, I won't hold you back."

Nat's eyebrows wrinkled, concern pulling them down as her features turned sympathetic. "Oh, Lola, I'm so sorry." And she meant it. Having been in a tumultuous relationship herself, and knowing just how damaging it was to learn that there had been someone— or someones— else, she had to curb the urge to jump into fix-it mode. It just didn't make sense. Link had been concerned enough about her to tell her about Nate's cheating. So hearing that he'd more or less done the same thing? She didn't get it.

But she wasn't about to defend Link to one of her best friends. She was a girl's girl first and foremost and she dragged Lola into her arms. "Okay, well, first of all, it is not your fault that you didn't notice. You see the good in people and you love with your whole heart. It's not your fault if people take advantage of that." She pulled back, searching Lola's eyes like she might be able to beam the words right into her mind and make Lola believe them too. "You deserve so much better than that. Do you want me to kick him in the dick for you? I've got a mean kick and perfect aim."