Cliche (2024 - In Progress)

(II) little sisters

 Mary is able to spend the first few days of her break uninterrupted. She likes to hide away in her room away from the rest of her family, to forget that they exist. The assignments she had been given did not take her long and soon enough Mary was able to completely forget about school for the time being.

By the fourth day of break, Mary is completely done with her work for Miss Maxwell's and is completely bored out of her mind. She spends a lot of her time sketching, the repetitive task bringing her mind some ease. She wonders if any of these sketches could become something bigger, like a full art piece or a tattoo idea.

As hard as she might try to avoid them, Mary cannot get out of spending time with her family. Her mother is very adamant that all of them have dinner together, the family of seven crowded around the dinner table. Mary's mother spends much of the afternoon cooking, the least they could do is pretend to get along for an hour.

That is where Mary finds herself, crowded between two of her brothers, attempting to get her fill of the apricot chicken.

Mary has four siblings, one older and three younger. There is Joshua, who she just knows he gets out of family dinner all the time during the semester for no reason. Then there are twins Samuel and Elijah, who are almost 16. Rounding out the family is her baby sister, Esther, who is very adamant that she is thirteen and a half. Something about the extra six months makes her more mature than just a 13 year old.

The Johanssen siblings are all easily recognizable. All of them have the same copper color hair, green eyes, and freckles for days. They take after their mother.

Mary does her best to tune out the conversation at the dinner table, not finding what her brothers have to say to be incredibly interesting. The twins are on the high school hockey team, meaning they have practice nearly every day of the week. While the school might have gone on break, the athletics grind apparently never ends. She cannot pretend to care about the drills, the scores during a practice game, or what antics their teammates have gotten into.

Her father, Abraham Johanssen, encourages the discussion.

Mary can only pick at her food silently, hoping that this dinner would end soon. The only silver lining is that she is in the comfort of their home, she does not have to feign interest. She would rather peel her skin off than engage in a conversation about hockey with her little brothers.

The only sibling that Mary really gets along with is Esther. The youngest is in that transitional phase of life, the one where the last pieces of true childhood are being given up and puberty has started. She is in her last year in middle school, her whole life in front of her. She is developing an interest in boys, learning how to do makeup, and an animosity towards the patriarchy.

A few days into the break, Mary is tasked with having a girls day with her sister in order to "help her grow into her femininity." Whatever that is supposed to mean. She just knows it is easier to not ask many questions and accept it when she is handed her father's credit card and the keys to her mother's car.

Her mother's request is likely superficial, to make Esther seem more mature, to ensure that the younger Johanssen daughter does not have as awkward of an early puberty as Mary had. Make her look pretty in the way that the middle aged women in town would approve of.

The sisters have a joint nail appointment later in the day, so they decided to go to the mall that is a short drive from the salon.

As they explore the higher end makeup store, Mary helps her sister understand how to find the right shade for her skin and how important undertones are for makeup. Mary is able to explain how different formulas are going to give her sister different effects, ensuring that Esther steers clear of the more matte finishes. Someone so young would look better with something dewier, lighter.