Juniper Matthews was the girl who would put on one façade after another, desperately trying to please every person she came across. Because of this false personality, nobody ever stopped to think about what happened behind her closed doors.
Yet, tha...
When I went into the diner Wednesday night, El rushed over to me and panicked about how I looked. I guess I really did appear like shit.
El made me some tea and increased the temperature in the diner despite multiple old ladies in the diner complaining, allowing me to warm up. She promised me she would work the next few nights until I was able to go back to my normal health. Fortunately, the next few nights El kept her promise and allowed me to stay at the diner instead of my car.
• • •
After school on Friday I sighed and tried to brush off any of my anxiety as I got ready in my car. Her mom was always judgmental on my clothes and I still wanted to keep a good reputation to her so I picked a causal yet uppity outfit to wear. The backseats of my car were an absolute mess from all my clothes I took from my old house. Next, I began working on my makeup and hair, using the natural light to make sure all went well.
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The dash of my car read 5:30pm and I figured it was a decent time to go over to Roxi's house. When I got there, memories flooded my mind but I pushed them away. The memories are euphoric but the present isn't.
The long driveway allowed me to park farther away from the house. Shaking off my nerves, I got out of the car and walked up to the house. A few seconds after I knocked on the door, Roxi's mom, Jade, greeted me.
"Oh my goodness Juniper I haven't seen you in forever." Jade tried to secretly judge my appearance before bringing me into a tight hug. "You look great." Her voice had a tinge of something but I couldn't pinpoint it.
"Thanks, Mrs. Lowe! So do you, as always." I politely spoke to her and forced a bright grin. It wasn't a lie, all the mothers in this town focused on their image so much you could never tell their age.
She waved off my comment and ushered me inside. "Roxi, your friend is here." She called upstairs from the bottom. After a few seconds, Roxi came down the stairs. When she saw my appearance her eyes widened in surprise and irritation before going back to a happy expression, "Hey, girl!" Her fake tone made me hold back a eye roll.
I greeted her less excited and we went into the living room. Her mom said she'd be in the kitchen, allowing her to listen and come to us in less than ten seconds.
When Jade left, Roxi rolled her eyes and got on her phone. I sat there quietly and took a look around the living room I had been in numerous times these past years. The mood difference made everything appear less familiar.
The couches we cuddles and watched romcoms together on, now had us sat on complete opposite sides. The family photos that I always poked with her about how she looked were now simply collecting dust. Everything was different.
I tried to start a conversation a few times but Roxi kept shutting them down, only replying with one word. After a while I started to get pissed off and sighed loudly. I began to get up and she looked at me, "What are you doing?"
