Chspter 6: Roxie
“Do you think you were maybe a bit harsh with the new kid yesterday?” Catherine asked, dabbing at her concealer. She had that tone in her voice again, the one that sounded like a lecture wrapped in a question.
“Wait, hold on. You actually talked to the new kid? The one with the whole brooding rockstar aesthetic?” Ember interrupted, freezing with her lip gloss wand mid-air to stare at Catherine.
“Yeah, that’s the one. Ricky,” Catherine confirmed.
“What even happened? I feel like I missed a whole chapter,” Ember said, leaning in closer.
“We ran into him at the car wash yesterday,” I said, checking my teeth for any stray gloss. “And I merely pointed out that his van looked like it belonged to a creepy old guy who lives in the woods. I was doing him a favor; it's called a reality check.”
“Does it really?” Ember asked, her eyes wide with genuine curiosity. “Like, does it have a 'free candy' sign and everything?”
"The guy can’t even spell 'starz' correctly,” I snorted, rolling my eyes so hard it almost ruined my liner. “He uses a 'z' like he’s trying to be deep or something. He needs to realize that he is lightyears away from being cool here. East Shore has standards, and DIY spray-paint jobs aren't on the list.”
“So? He wasn’t mean to us,” Catherine countered, turning to face me. “He was definitely a little weird, maybe even a lot weird, but he wasn't mean.”
"Why do you always have to be so..." I trailed off, searching for the word that described her constant need to see the "soul" in everyone.
“Nice?” Catherine suggested with a small, hopeful smile.
“Sensible. You’re being sensible, and it’s honestly exhausting,” I snapped. “Life is much easier when you just acknowledge that some people are losers and move on.”
“That's not exactly what I was going for—" Catherine started, but Ember cut her off.
“Why does he wear so much eyeliner, though?” Ember asked, looking at me as if I held the secret manual to boys' grooming habits. “Like, is it a medical thing? Or does he just have really dark eyelids?”
“I think it’s supposed to be a 'rockstar' thing,” I answered with a dismissive shrug. “He thinks he’s in a music video 24/7.”
“Wait, is he actually famous?” Ember’s interest was suddenly piqued, her eyes scanning her memory for any C-list celebrities.
“No, Ember. And trust me, with that van and that attitude, he never will be. He’s a total loser.”
“Wait, I should care about what?” Ember asked, looking confused.
“I said he’s a loser, Ember,” I sighed, rubbing my temples. “Never mind. Can we please talk about literally anything else before my head actually explodes from the sheer boredom of discussing him?”
“Oh! I can put my whole fist in my mouth; do you wanna see? I've been practicing,” Ember offered brightly, already starting to ball up her hand.
“Maybe later,” I insisted, shaking my head and grabbing my bag. “Like, much, much later.”