The Unwarranted liar

I was chatting with Kiss today when Shamaine's name came up.
Oh, Shamaine! how do i forget thee!

I met her in 10th grade.
I'd always see her in the hallways as i passed and i knew she'd always check me.
not the "oh, girl i'd fuck you in a minute" type check but the "whoa! why she waltzing like a diva?" type check.

see... when i walk, i stride. i glide. my walk... i can go on and on about my walk but there are only 24hours in a day, so...

but then Shamaine and I started talking (dont remember how exactly)
she was one grade less than i was, yet we had one class together.
Shamaine was a bright student, so i wasnt suprised.

Shamaine!
5'6 tall, about 150pounds, dark skinned, never weave, hair permed, usually pulled back in pony tail, big puffy cheeks, little eyes, big nice lips... Shamaine!

i knew Shamaine was cheap. it didnt take me long to realise. From the tip of her hair to the sole of her feet, Shamaine never dedicated much money into herself.
...or anything else, for that matter. But she'd always boast about how much she spent on her outfits and how hot she looked.
If you ask me, she looked like a village girl (but no one is asking me so i wont go intomuch details about that)
i never really judged her for that. I figured, if she wanted to save her money, thats her business and its actually a good quality.

Shamaine was a good friend. We'd hang out in our group with a few other friends and have a great time each lunch break. We'd always walk home together...
but something was fishy about Shamaine.
her words, just never added up.
Shamaine would come out of the blue to say something like "This guy in my class likes me so much" and for some reason, it wouldnt ring true...
Everytime Shamaine would lie, i'd be able to tell and i dont know why, BUT i just could. Its like i had a SHamine Lie-dar or something!
But i started to doubt myself when it started to sound to me like I suspected she was lying everytime she spoke!
I thought; "no, maybe its just me. she couldnt lie so much." and pushed the thought out of my head.
I decided to start believing Shamaine. I started to trust her words.

Then, Christmas of '99...
Shamaine invited me to her church and i agreed to go. On our way down, she had a package with her. She said the package was a christmas gift and asked if i'd take a look the gift inside it and give her a feedback. I did. It was a white ceramic-like trinket box with silver trims. I didnt like it. maybe because i dont like trinkets. If you ask me, they're like the most useless things in the world and i had already had about 4 different ones. But i knew it was Shamaine's sort of thing. Something about it screamed "Shamaine!" so i told her it was cute (it really was)... but that was all i said.
Then she immediately said

"oh! okay, i'll get you one for Christmas then, since you like it! I bought it for $25.00"

Please, note that i never did say that i liked it, neither did i ask her how much it was. I asked her where she got it and she said "Oh, I got it from Aluwhalia Mall!"
I didnt even think that Shamaine had ever been in that mall since you'd actually have to want to spend money to go to Aluwhalia Mall. Its the more expensive mall.
Shamaine's attitude seemed odd to me because she isnt the type to give gifts (because gifts costs money), she isnt the type to shop at Aluwhalia mall (too expensive) AND she isnt the type to buy ANYTHING for $25.00!
I knew something was definitely up. I mean; WAYYYYY UP!

So you can imagine how upset i was, when i went with my mom to the local plaza with my mom the week after. I walked past the dollar store and guess what i saw in abundance! yes, you guessed right... WHITE CERAMIC-LIKE TRINKET BOXES WITH WHITE TRIMS! They were thesame make, thesame colour, thesame everything!

So when Christmas came, Shamaine, gave me my gift.
I wanted to tell her how i felt... but i was waiting to really suprise her.
Instead, i told her i'd give her her gift in class after the holidays.
She didnt fail to tell me numerous times that she wanted a (specific) pair of shoes for christmas.
She wanted the shoes, i got the trinket box at Yangrilla Plaza. Hmm!

During the holiday break, i was so upset. I considered my friendship with Shamaine, evaluated it, and thought about all the times I'd felt like she'd lied to me.
I was angry!

On the first day of school, in class...i told Shamaine to come and see me, and she did.
she sat behind me in class and i gave her the gift.
i didnt say anything, i had the gift wrapped, placed it on her desk and watched her watch it, wondering what it could be.

Then i turned aroung and looked at her.
I was disappointed. I was angry. I felt deceieved, for no reason.

"Shamaine, i feel like i have to come honest with you. May i speak with you?"
"okay, what?"
"I'm grateful for the gift you gave me."
"oh, thats no problesm, you're welcome" she almost smiled. But i guess she knew better. She looked at me, and the half-smile got stuck in the corners of her mouth, and receeded back into her throat as she listened.
"why did you lie to me?"
"what are you talking about?"
"tell me this: Shamaine, did i ever ask you for a Christmas gift?"
"no, ..."
"Did i ever ask you for a trinket box?"
"no"
"Did I ever ask you how much the trinket box cost?"
"No"
"When i did ask you where you got it from, didnt you tell me it was from Aluwhalia mall?"
"yeah, i did..."

When i get angry, i usually feel like getting physical. But not that day. Although she was only 3 inches away from me, i didnt feel the need to slap her shitless.
I felt the need to leave her, to never speak to her again. I wasnt angry much. But the disappointment that i felt, was enough to kill a newborn.

"Shamaine, I went to Yangrila plaza, and I saw an abundance of those trinkets in the dollarstore, being sold for a afghani (i.e like one dollar) as opposed to the $25.00 you told me"

she looked shocked, caught, and silly... she also looked confused because all those emotions were trying to dominate her face all at once.

"They have it there?" i wanted to slap her "thats weird because..."
"I cant stand you lying to me." i remained calm "and you know the part that angers me the most is that you lie, for no reason." i wanted to cry "you lie when you really dont have to, when i never demand anything of you. I place no pressure on you, you never have to impress me. thats what a friend is for; so you can be yourself, YET you lie! "
"No, Truth, honestly, i didnt know..."
"and your lies continue. But the difference between you lying to me now, and lying to me back then about the trinket is that at least, i can undserstand that you're lying now because you're ashamed. You're embarrassed that you've been caught so although you know that i know that you're lying, you do it to save your pride. But what i dont understand is why you felt the need to lie to me initially about the trinket. That was an unwarranted lie."
I was so angry. She was starting to look pathetic.
"I know you wanted the a pair of shoes but as you can see, thats not what i got you. I didnt feel like you'd ever purchase a pair of shoes for me, so now... i wouldnt do that for you. I'm giving you thesame trinket box back. No, it isnt thesame one that you gave me... its a different one that i got from the dollar store at Yangrilla Plaza. I figured since you love it so much, i'd get you thesame thing."

I turned around, i couldnt stand the pathetic look on her face any longer.

"I'm sorry. Sorry but i didnt know that they sell it at Yangrilla for a dollar"

she couldnt stop lying.
and i couldnt stop bring angry.

Shamaine never owned up to her lies.
Neither did she change her lying ways.
I remained "friends" with her for years after then but I've since lost contact with her.
Last time i saw her, she was finished with post secondary school as a Bio-technician and was working.
But since i got that information from Shamaine who was riding in the local bus at the time, i find that hard to believe.
That was the end of the friendship between Shamaine and I.