Chapter 2
chapter two
lily
Alice and Narcissa were going to be going into their second years of university after the summer was over, and they were some of Lily’s favorite people in the world.
She walked into the cafe behind Alice and Narcissa, all three girls fanning their faces and complaining about the heat. The second they stepped through the doorway, they were hit with a blast of cold air, bell above the door jingling.
“Oooh, that’s nice,” Alice said happily, closing her eyes in appreciation.
Alice was like a pseudo-big sister to Lily—she used to babysit Lily and her actual sister when she was in early secondary school and they’d been inseparable since. Alice was there when Lily went to her first mock trial competition, she was there to help Lily when she got her first period—basically, Alice had been an integral part of Lily’s life for years. And eventually, when Alice and Cissa started dating, Narcissa had been there too.
“Let’s go get a table,” Alice said.
They sat down on the awkward metal chairs, and Narcissa twined her fingers with Alice’s. “You excited for summer, boop?” Cissa asked, leaning forward. Lily was always “boop” to Cissa, and Alice was always “babe”.
Lily sighed. “Well, I suppose.” Alice frowned.
“What’s up, Lils?” she asked, looking concerned.
“Mmm.” Lily looked at her hands. The black polish on her stubs of nails was chipping. “I guess I just got reminded about uni. I’m just a little nervous, I guess. I mean, it’s gonna be fine. I can figure it out.” She waved her hands, grasping for words to explain. “I have a planner and a summer packet and I’m gonna take a prep course, so.”
“Boop.” Cissa looked at her firmly. “You’re going to be okay. If you got into the university, you deserve to be there. Besides, you’ve been doing mock trial and bonus courses for years. I have absolute faith you’re gonna be awesome in college and awesome in law school.”
“You’re gonna kick ass, Lils.” Alice said.
Lily made a discontented noise. Logically, she knew what they were saying was true. That didn’t make it any easier to believe. It was taking all her restraint not to say something rude or sarcastic, mainly because she didn’t want to upset Alice or Cissa, but the longer and longer she let herself be vulnerable, the more she felt like throwing up. And sure, Alice and Cissa believed she was going to be okay—because they were Alice and Cissa. It was their job to be supportive, even if it wasn’t true. This thought made Lily’s head spin.
“So!” Lily stood up abruptly, unable to meet their eyes. “I’m gonna go get a lemonade. Do you want anything?”
Silence for a few seconds. “We’re good, thanks, boop.”
Lily walked briskly up to the counter, boots clacking on the yellow and green linoleum floor. She felt dizzy, almost like she was going to fall over, so she put a hand on the counter and shifted her weight over slightly. The barista hurried over, chirping a friendly greeting. Lily nodded, saying, “Hey, can I potentially get a strawberry lemonade?” Her stomach panged, and she was reminded she’d only eaten Froot Loops (without milk) that day. “And… a blueberry muffin?”
The barista nodded, “That’s gonna be $6.99—I’ll get that to you in a couple minutes.”
“Great.” Lily said stiffly. She spent the next few minutes avoiding Alice and Cissa’s gazes and staring out the window at the people walking by. She could see middle schoolers walking in gaggles and whispering to each other conspiratorially, old couples walking arm in arm, and a few high school students waiting at the bus stop and scrolling on their phones. And—oh my god? Lily blinked rapidly, trying to get a better look at the girl. It was Mary! Lily had the sudden bizarre urge to take out her camera and capture the way Mary looked in that moment—hair and eyes glittering with flecks of gold, surrounded by the fuzzy haze of the city’s smog and cigarette smoke, looking down at her phone through her eyelashes. She only had one earbud in, and was clutching the straps of her backpack. Lily shook her head—not only would taking a picture of her be incredibly creepy, but she didn’t even know Mary that well. Lily was shaken out of her reverie by the barista calling her name.
She startled, walking over and picking up her lemonade and her muffin, hands shaking a little. Lily shook her head a little and walked back to the table, chastising herself. God, she’s so gross. Lily is pretty sure she’s a terrible person.
Alice and Cissa give her a strange look. She pointedly ignores it. “So, how have your lives been going?” she asked, pulling her chair back with an uncomfortable screech.
Cissa made a little “hmm” sound. “Well… we had a show last month—it was okay, there was a bit of a fiasco with the model for my dress…” she sighed. “Anyway, though it’s been okay. Babe?”
Alice shrugged. She not-so-subtly glanced out the window, obviously trying to figure out what Lily had been staring at. “I’ve been working on a project with Nick—” (Alice was learning to weld and work with metal) “—and it’s going well. He’s going over how to do joints when the metal is super thin. I mean, it’s pretty basic stuff, but I almost snapped the structure I was working on last week so I guess it’s important. Anyway…”
“Tell us more about your uni worries, boo.” Cissa said gently. “It might make you less nervous.”
“What—no, I…” Lily stuttered defensively, picking at her muffin. Well… “Um… I guess it’s just sort of… feeling too real too quickly. I’ve wanted to go to college and wanted to study law for as long as I can remember, but in a few months it’s going to actually happen. I just, I dunno. I don’t feel ready.”
“Well, in my opinion,” Alice said thoughtfully after a short pause, “I think you should take a trip. You know, just get away for the summer.”
Lily sputtered, flapping her hands a little as she said, “But I still need to do the prep and pack my things and get ready and—”
“Lils,” Cissa said sternly. “Last time I checked, the prep is optional. Also, it doesn’t take that long to pack. And you wouldn’t be gone all summer. I think it’s a good idea. After all, you’ll be occupied for quite a few years. You’ll see plenty of this town—it might be nice to go out and see the world a bit before you throw yourself back into school.” She said this with an air of finality, putting a bracelet-laden hand on Lily’s.
Lily sat in silence for a minute, mind whirling. As much as she wanted to refuse, she found herself thinking it might be nice to be out in the country—maybe take a few pictures, and spend time with friends. Still, there were so many logistics—like, would she take her own car, would any of her friends want to come with her, and would she even be able to find a place to stay? She voiced this to Alice and Cissa.
Alice thought about it for a second, before snapping her fingers and pointing at Lily. “You could take my van!” Alice’s van was a blue-ish green Dodge van that she and Cissa had painted with pink and yellow flowers with soft pastel accents.
“Alice, I can’t. Won’t you need it?” Lily said nervously—she knew she was grasping for straws now, because Cissa had a car that the two girls could share.
“Psshh, nah. And you can bring a few friends, as well!” Alice had clearly latched onto this idea. Once she got something like this into her head, there was no stopping her.
Lily sighed resignedly. Who knows, maybe she could make the best of this.
Most definitely not, a voice in her head replied.
~~~
8:19
You
See you tomorrow!
8:20
Mary
see you!! :D
chapter two
mary
Mary kicked off her boots and nudged them into the corner by the door with her foot. She sighed deeply, wiping her forehead. It was far too warm outside, and it wasn’t any better at home, as they didn’t have air conditioning. The house was dark and quiet and stiflingly hot, and Mary almost flicked the light switch beside her, before remembering her mother might be asleep in the living room.
Mary padded softly down the hall, the wooden boards creaking slightly beneath her weight. She peeked into the living room and saw a fuzzy mess of curly brown hair partially hidden under a pile of blankets on the couch. She decided to let her mom sleep—she probably needed it, and it wouldn’t be worth it to wake her up and risk getting the piss ripped out of her for one reason or another. This decision was futile, though, because just as she took the first step up the stairs, her mother blinked awake. “Mary? That you?”
“Yeah, Ma.” Mary said, stepping back towards her.
“What time is it?”
Mary looked at the clock on the wall. “Six thirty-ish.”
“Why are you home so late?” Her mother’s voice sharpened. Mary flinched.
“I went to the library.”
Her mother snorted. “You’re not much of a reader. Were you going there to hang out with a boy or something?”
Mary looked down at her shoes. There was no way her mother would believe her if she tried to explain she was going to the library to stay away from a boy. So instead, she mumbled, “Yeah.”
“Don’t get yourself knocked up, then,” her mother said bitterly. She waved a hand towards the kitchen. “There’s food in the fridge for you. Don’t make too much noise, I’m trying to sleep.”
Mary walked into the kitchen, mostly for the show of it—she knew the fridge was empty. It was fine, though, she had enough money to get herself something from the corner store in the morning. She hurried up the stairs and tried to make as little noise as possible, opening the door to her small bedroom and throwing her school jacket on her bed. Mary flicked open the small lock on her window and pulled it up, swinging her legs over the edge, perching on the windowsill. She stared out at the neighboring houses and the sun slowly sinking beneath their roofs. The sky was painted in soft orange and pink hues, casting a golden shine over the city. Mary plugged in her headphones and let herself be carried away by Whitney Houston’s soft lilting tones. For someone who claimed she hated rom coms, Mary sure saw a lot of romance in the mundane.
Her phone buzzed, and she jumped, grabbing the side of the window. She exhaled sharply, opening her phone and tapping on the notification.
6:42
Marls
help me
all of these football dudes are so stupid
like
6:42
You
lol sorry love
6:43
Marls
imbeciles
morons
complete fools
6:44
You
woo lets go SAT words
6:44
Marls
shut up
anyway i gtg
6:45
You
have fun with the imbeciles! <3
Mary smiled. Come what may, she would probably always have Marlene. She hummed along with the music playing in her ears, and then a terrible thought occurred to her. When Marlene went off to a different university on her football scholarship, would they even have time to talk at all? Marls was already super busy. And maybe this was the last year they’d actually have time to be best friends. She felt like throwing up. Who was she kidding—this was bound to happen. She was bound to be left behind time and time again. That just seemed to be her fate.
Mary’s mind turned to Lily. Her stomach felt strange again. Didn’t Remus say she was going to try to become a lawyer? And where was Mary—fooling around with boys she didn’t even like, saving money to try and feed her own mother, and untalented in every way. She sniffled a little, but didn’t cry.
She leaned her head on the side of the window frame. Maybe things would seem a little less awful if she could finally leave. Some small part of her would feel bad for leaving her mother, but she felt like if she stayed here any longer, she’d die.
Mary shook her head at herself. Really dramatic, Mary, great job.
She decided to go to sleep. It was already pretty early, but she just didn’t want to be awake anymore. Just as she was slipping off into unconsciousness, her phone buzzed again.
8:15
Lily Evans
Excited for the last day of school?
Mary’s heart stumbled.
8:16
You
yeah
it’s a little bittersweet tho loll
8:16
Lily Evans
Yeah I totally get what you mean
I’m excited for college but also super nervous
Feels like I’m not really ready for it all to change
8:17
You
exactly
i’ll miss this dumb school
8:19
Lily Evans
Yeah
Anyway though my sister is bugging me
See you tomorrow!
8:20
You
see you!! :D
Despite everything, Mary went to bed that night with a smile on her face.