---

Suddenly realising that I probably look incredibly strange,
creeping on the neighbours with only my head in view, I
withdraw from the curtains and pull them closed swiftly,
turning on my heel to face a now grinning mother. She
wiggles her eyebrows at me, dancing forward to trap
my waist in her hands and press a small kiss against my
forehead. “What do you think eh? New neighbours for
the first time in years…”
I smile half-heartedly, heading over to the fridge. “I
wonder why they moved here. I mean, Lindale isn’t
exactly the most famous hotspot in Oregon.” I frown
confusedly as my eyes scour the shelves, but I’m left
disappointed. “No orange juice,” I murmur. My nose
wrinkles as I peer at the remnants of our fridge: basically
consisting of wafer ham, flavoured water and an old
piece of lettuce. Fun, right?
Mom shrugs in reply, slapping my hand away as I reach
for a cupcake without even looking up. She knows me
way too well. “We need to go shopping mama,” I groan
loudly, “There’s no food in this house.” What? Obviously
healthy stuff doesn’t count as food. She sticks her tongue
out mockingly at me, and I’m momentarily stunned by
how alike we are. The truth is, mom and I are similar in
more ways than one. Along with our almost matching
appearance- auburn curls and the palest of the pale skin,
we’re both sarcastic and jokey, with an abnormally weird
side. Thus the musical marathons we have on Sunday
nights…
“I’m going upstairs to do some studying,” I slam the
fridge door shut and grab a lollipop from my sweetie jar.
Just as I’m thinking about what homework I have, my
phone vibrates in my pocket. An amused smile curves
my lips as a particularly horrific picture of Violet pops
onto the screen. “Hey Vi,” I hum as I pick up the line,
“How’s the blind date going?” I stuff a cola lolly into my
mouth as I jog up the stairs, eager to hear her reply. No
doubt it will be entertaining; Violet never uses her phone
unless it’s urgent.
“Horrible!” She hushes, “I’m in the girls bathrooms at the
moment, hiding. Stupid period had to come today,
when I’m wearing white trousers. Plus, he has the table
manners of a complete pig! He spilt water down me for
chrissakes!”
I snort quietly in attempt to rein in my laughter, “Okay,” I
bite back my smile, “Dry yourself off a bit, first. You’re
wearing your cardigan aren’t you? Well, tie it around
your waist to cover the trouser stains and tell him you
have tummy ache. Works every time.”
“Thank you!” She squeals gratefully, “Okay, I’ve got to go
back out now or it’ll be rude. Do you think he’ll believe the
tummy ache story?”
“Trust me, even the grossest of men understand what
you want if you say you have a tummy ache.” I roll my
eyes at her panicky state, “Are you okay now then? I
have studying to do and you, my friend, need to get
your ass back on that date.”
“Yeah, okay. Chill your t--s woman, I’m going.”
“Bye, Violet,” My voice is amused, and I’m unable to
restrain the smile tugging at the corners of my lips. I
wouldn’t say that Violet and I are polar opposites, but we
are definitely very different. Although we’re both Class B/
C nerds, I tend to be a little bit more resigned around
people than what she is. Whilst I usually stay quiet
around strangers, she’s the slightly gabby, funny one out
of us two. I remember when she dyed her hair purple in
sophomore year, and slapped a jock for calling her a
witch. She really doesn’t give a d--n, and I guess that’s
what I respect about her.

---