Our New Normal Read online

  OUR NEW NORMAL

  Copyright © 2020 by Jennifer Brooks

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means without written permission from the author.

  ISBN 9781098329129

  Table of Contents

  Dedication

  Foreword

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Dedication

  To Nickie and Andrew for keeping on me until I got this finished. I don’t know if this ever would’ve seen the light of day without your encouragement.

  To Alek for proofreading. I am grateful as always.

  To Tracy and Kira for being my beta readers. Your enthusiasm for the story helped immensely.

  To everyone who helped and encouraged me back in the day only for it to never come to fruition until now—especially Joe, Dani, Rachel, and Joanna.

  To the Beehive. Your memory lives on through all of us teens and young adults who sat at your tables and contemplated life, enjoyed time with friends and loved ones, and just plain enjoyed a good old cup of joe.

  Foreword

  Although I finished writing this book over a decade ago, I never took any measures to publish it despite having another published book series under my belt. One of the reasons that I never pursued it was due to my fear of persecution for its contents. Considering the negative comments I’ve received over Chloe’s and Tori’s mere presence in Braving the Storm—a novel in which they’re only two adults in an entire cast of characters—it, unfortunately, seems that I wasn’t too far off in my estimation. However, in this day and age, I think that it’s important to get as many LGBTQ+ stories out there as we can; we, as a community, have experienced quite a few advancements in the decade since I wrote this book, but we still have a long way to go.

  My other series takes place in a dystopian version of the United States where Tori and Chloe—along with most of the country—are forced to survive by escaping from the cities and living off the land. One may wonder, after reading this novel, how two fairly normal teenage girls end up being adults who thrive in the midst of a survival situation. If emergency preparedness seems like peculiar behavior, though, imagine being given a half-hour to vacate the only home you’ve ever known and forced to start your life over from scratch without any assistance or guidance.

  Now imagine you had to do that when you were 17.

  According to truecolorsfund.org and hrc.org LGBTQ youth statistics:

  Half of the teens who come out to their parents receive negative responses.

  Approximately 25% of LGBTQ youth are kicked out of their homes after coming out.

  LGBTQ young people are 120% more likely to experience homelessness than their peers.

  About 40% of the homeless youth in the United States are LGBTQ.

  Approximately 42% of LGBTQ youth state that the community in which they live isn’t accepting of LGBTQ people.

  LGBTQ youth are twice as likely to say that they have been physically assaulted.

  Tori, compared to other LGBTQ+ youths who endure assault, persecution, and death because of whom they love or how they identify, didn’t suffer as much as some youths in similar situations. Others are kicked out of their homes in a moment’s notice with nothing but the clothes on their backs—and some are fortunate to escape without their clothes covered in their own blood.

  I considered modernizing this story since so much has changed for LGBTQ+ persons in the past decade, but I decided against it for one very important reason: one of the scenes in this story involves a petition being passed around a church to ban gay marriage.

  This actually happened to me.

  While such a petition would have little bearing in our country after July 9th, 2015—the day that same-sex couples were afforded the same legal rights as straight couples—the nation in 2007 was a different story. Only Massachusetts had approved same-sex marriage at the time, and none of us knew if or when any other states would follow suit. I certainly don’t want to give the impression that all churches or that all religious people behave in this manner—I have met and observed many inclusive, compassionate people of all faiths who would never dream of such bigoted, harmful behavior—but I can almost guarantee that my church wasn’t the only one that passed around similar petitions. When you get to that part of the book, I hope that you can envision yourself in that church and think about what you would have done.

  I didn’t sign.

  Chapter 1

  Sabrina Trainor slid into the cold metal desk next to her best friend, Victoria Reynolds. Browsing a tabloid, Victoria lifted her eyes from the pages just enough to acknowledge Sabrina’s presence. Sabrina flipped her medium-length, streaked blonde hair over her shoulder as her brown eyes drank in Tori’s outfit. Her low-rise jeans and form-fitting shirt accented her body perfectly. While Sabrina felt that her pleated skirt and slim-fitting, button-down shirt looked spectacular on her slender frame, she felt worthless next to Tori. Tori was the head cheerleader, the most popular girl in school, drop-dead gorgeous, dating the star quarterback, and her parents were rich; Sabrina might as well have been invisible whenever they were together. She pushed her jealousy aside, however, and instead smiled at her friend.

  “Tori! Hi!” Sabrina greeted. “How did your summer go?”

  Tori looked up from her magazine with a bored expression. “Oh, it was the same as always: I spent most of the time poolside and the rest shopping. How about you?” Before Sabrina could open her mouth to respond, though, Tori had already refocused on the tabloid, her mind drowning out the world around her—including Sabrina.

  Sabrina frowned, discouraged that Tori didn’t even wait for a response before returning to her magazine. “It was okay, I guess,” Sabrina said, her voice raised in an attempt to get Tori’s attention. “I worked at SuperMart full time, went swimming a few times, hung out with—”

  Tori’s eyes darted to Sabrina’s. “Did you hear about Dustin Jackson and Amanda Brandt? I can’t believe they broke up! They were Hollywood’s dream couple!” She stared at Sabrina, waiting impatiently for her reply.

  Though Sabrina was annoyed by Tori’s interruption, she feigned interest. “I know! I totally couldn’t believe the celebrity news last night! I mean, who does Dustin think he is trying to force Mandy to have babies at such a young age? Do you know what that’ll do to her figure? She’ll never look right in a photo ever again!”

  Tori rolled her eyes. “Rina, you know that everyone in Hollywood has fitness
trainers; they’d get her back in shape in no time. Besides, magazines can airbrush out anything unbecoming. What right does Mandy have to dump him for wanting to stay with her for the rest of his life?”

  As Sabrina opened her mouth to respond, Tori’s boyfriend, Aaron, entered the room. Sabrina’s mouth stayed agape, but the reason had changed. Aaron had always made her stomach flutter. He was perfect in nearly every way: his dusty blonde hair was always neat and styled, his tight shirts hugged his toned physique, and his touch was always gentle despite his hands being coarse with years of playing football and working every summer for his father’s landscaping business. Sabrina longed to run her fingers through his hair and kiss his plump lips. Before anyone noticed her longing gaze, however, she regained her composure and nodded casually.

  Tori beamed as she rose from her chair, standing on her tiptoes to slide her arms around Aaron’s muscular neck. He drank in her beauty and amazing figure as he wrapped his arms around her tiny waist. They had been dating for nearly a year and had been inseparable since. He loved their hours-long make out sessions, though there’d never been any under-the-clothes action; Aaron attributed their lack of intimacy to her parents’ strict, moral upbringing. That didn’t hinder his desire for her, though.

  Aaron kissed Tori’s forehead and stared deeply into her eyes. “Hi, baby,” he breathed, kissing her neck and nibbling gently on her earlobe.

  Tori pulled away as goosebumps exploded across the left side of her body. “Hi,” she greeted, hugging him. “Did you get to talk to Coach McMahon yet?”

  Aaron released Tori from his embrace, finding a seat next to her. “Not yet,” he replied. “He asked me to stop by at lunch so we can come up with a game plan for our first practice. I already have some great ideas for what we can do this year to take the championship.” He eagerly started explaining his new offensive strategies and defensive formations for the game.

  Tori had a bad habit of drowning him out when he started ranting about football. She’d stare him in the eyes, nodding occasionally, all the while thinking about other matters—what she needed to do that day, which stores had sales going on that weekend, and what outfit she was going to wear the next day. Though she’d been a cheerleader her entire high school career, she didn’t pay much attention to the game itself; she just cared about looking cute in her uniform and making sure her routines were right. The only time that she ever focused on the game was when the crowd started getting rowdy; that usually meant that their team was going to score soon, so she’d get the squad ready to cheer.

  He finally paused, looking at her for acceptance. Tori nodded excitedly. “Those are great ideas, baby!” she exclaimed, supportive though unsure of what he’d just said. “You guys are sure to win this year if they follow your plan!”

  Aaron beamed proudly. “I know! I can’t wait to tell Coach!” As Tori went back to her magazine, he glanced back at Sabrina. She looked quite attractive today as her cleavage peeked out from the unbuttoned portion of her shirt, her short skirt showing off her long, athletic legs. Her hair framed her face well, too, and he enjoyed her warm smile. He also liked her sense of humor and how modest she was, even though she had every right to let everyone know that she was stunning.

  He smiled subtly, hoping that she didn’t notice him checking her out. “Hi, Rina,” he greeted. “How was your summer?”

  As Sabrina and Aaron continued with their niceties, Tori scanned the incoming students while they filed into the classroom. She was sometimes disgusted at how people looked; she couldn’t believe that these people were fine with wearing last season’s styles and looking like they’d barely brushed their hair before getting out of bed. She didn’t mind that they were aware that she was glaring at them; it wasn’t like they or their feelings mattered anyway, at least not to anyone important.

  At least the girl that just walked in has potential, Tori noted as the girl glanced at her while proceeding to the other side of the room. She was on the chubbier side, but her V-neck sweater and flared jeans brought just the right amount of attention to her ample breasts and curvy hips. Her brown hair was pulled up, loose curls draping down her neck as her teardrop earrings caught the light from the windows. With some hair products, makeup, and trendy clothing, she would be worthy of Tori’s time. Tori continued to observe her as she made her way across the room, trying to understand why the girl didn’t try harder to be popular.

  Chapter 2

  Chloe Summers walked into homeroom, taking note of where the Frosted Flakes—the not-so-affectionate nickname used for the clique of popular girls—were taking up space. She instinctively spun and hurried to the opposite side of the room, avoiding Victoria’s gaze. Judging me again because my sweater is so out of style, no doubt, Chloe thought bitterly.

  Chloe hated the Frosted Flakes and everything they stood for. They were the epitome of society’s pressure on adolescents to become what it deemed to be perfect —dangerously thin physique, religiously obedient to current fashion trends, grades just high enough in their classes to get by without showing any real aptitude or intelligence, apathetic to the world around them, and spiteful to anyone who didn’t fit into society’s current definition of stylish and cool.

  Chloe did her best to avoid all things in the societal norm as well as anything trendy. She wore comfortable clothes, regardless of their in-style status, and she never bothered with makeup; she had no one to impress in school, so there was no point. She generally wore her shoulder-length wavy hair in an updo or ponytail, and her jewelry was minimal except her favorite pair of gold teardrop earrings and a gold ivy leaf pendant, both of which her grandmother had gifted to her before she had passed away.

  Kristen Antonelli was the first to notice Chloe enter the room. A friendly smile surfaced on Chloe’s face as her eyes met Kristen’s.

  “Hey there, hun,” Kristen greeted, setting her book bag on the floor to allow Chloe the desk behind her. She was wearing a pink and black cropped hair, cuffed jeans, form-fitting alternative band t-shirt, tattered sneakers, dramatic makeup, and black nail polish. Though her appearance was vastly different from Chloe’s, they complemented one another; Chloe made Kristen appear more down-to-earth while Kristen made Chloe seem more daring.

  Chloe and Kristen had been kindred spirits since the first day they’d met in Kindergarten, their personalities nearly identical, and Chloe had yet to find anyone who matched her or understood her as well as Kristen did.

  “Hi, Kris!” Chloe glanced at her other friends who were already sitting around Kristen. Included in the group was her friend since fourth grade, Lisa Morrison, a curvy girl with flowing red hair; Mark Hutchins, a short, husky guy with shaggy brown hair; and Tina Edwards, a lanky brunette with newly-acquired braces. The group strived to not conform to society’s standards, making the most of their intelligence by writing poetry and stories, reading any books that they could get their hands on, working on art projects, and staying abreast of controversial topics. Their loathing for the Frosted Flakes had been the catalyst for their friendship; they avoided the group by staying on the other side of the room when possible, and sitting together had sparked their conversations and eventual friendships. Chloe said hello to everyone and started a short conversation about the summer as class began.

  Chapter 3

  Tori wasn’t looking forward to public speaking; it was the only class this year where she was completely alone, so she had no one to talk to during lectures or get notes from after class. She was accustomed to having her entourage around her to defend any feeble points she tried to make, and she was worried that she would make a mistake or sound like an idiot if forced to speak in front of the class all alone. She normally didn’t worry about how intelligent she sounded—especially when it came to talking to her friends about the same superficial topics—but this was for a grade. She quickly brushed her worry aside, though, and reminded herself that her grades didn’t matter. Keeping in good graces with her friends and maintaining her popularit
y were more important.

  She found a seat in the back left corner of the room, slouching as low as she could to keep attention away from herself. As she dug a notebook and pencil from her book bag, she noticed the girl from homeroom walk in. They briefly made eye contact, long enough for the girl to glare at Tori, spin on her heels, and sit at a desk on the opposite side of the room. Tori realized that the girl was purposely avoiding her. She frowned but quickly dismissed the insult, convincing herself that it was only because the girl was envious of her.

  In actuality, Chloe felt quite the opposite. She was in no way e of Tori; as a matter of fact, she pitied her. Tori and her friends were a waste of space, as far as she was concerned. She loved classes devoid of the Frosted Flakes as there were far less abrupt, mindless outbursts and interruptions. Chloe enjoyed the conversations that could ignite in a class of intelligent students. At least, Chloe reminded herself, Tori was by herself; if they all weren’t there to play off of one another, then there was a better chance of Tori staying silent and not getting in the way of learning.

  Randy Thompson stood behind his desk in the front of the classroom, gazing at his newest students. He had been warned about the group of popular girls referred to as the Frosted Flakes, and he was relieved to see only one in this period.

  Lazy students were his job’s only pet peeve. In his late thirties, Randy had been teaching for over a decade and was set in his ways; he was strict and taught his course without any detours. He’d seen and heard all of the adolescent tricks that students used to deviate teachers from their syllabus, and they’d stopped fooling him years ago. The tactics were the same every year; they used interruptions and misplaced humor as tools to both avoid working and prevent anyone else from noticing that they weren’t comprehending the subject matter. He knew from experience that they would be better off redirecting that energy towards learning the material, but it was nearly impossible to get any of them to recognize that hard truth. Instead, he did his best to minimize the interruptions and dissuade misbehavior.