Equinox

Monsters Don't Eat Pizza

Angela's mother was helping her father with some concern at the church which left her to take care of the twins after school for the rest of the week. They were still energetic and could talk a million miles a minute. She had to work on making sure they did their homework and didn't burn the house down. Their parents would get home before dinner and she would help her mother get the boys ready for bed.

The twins growing collection of dinosaur toys were sprawled all over their room no matter how much they tried to get them to clean up. It left her repeatedly to step on one of those spiky, plastic things. For a brief moment she fantasized collecting all their dinosaur toys and throwing them into the ocean before throwing that thought away. Their crying faces would haunt her and she wouldn't be able to live with herself. And she was a bad liar and would never get away with it.

Her mother tucked the boys into bed and Angela made her way back to her bedroom. Mr. Mozart was giving himself a tongue bath and ignored her as she got ready for bed. Her nighttime routine consisted of washing her face and applying a lavender moisturizer Lauren gifted her for her birthday. She finished changing into her pajamas and shivered at how cold her room was.

Autumn was definitely making itself known. She looked out her window and saw the leaves were browning and falling down from the hemlock trees at the back of their house. She wrapped her arms around herself and imagined the blanket of snow she would be finding outside soon enough. A gust of wind blew in to the room and she finally noticed the small gap underneath her window letting the cold in.

She quickly closed the window. She swore she kept it closed even through the summer. Locking the window, she guessed that she opened it and just forgot. Pulling the curtains closed, she went to bed and didn't think more of it.

As if knowing they were planning on leaving town, it rained more in Forks come Saturday morning. Angela had to run to Lauren's car but even an umbrella wasn't enough to keep her dry. Lauren turned up the heat which Angela was grateful for. Jessica insisted on playing her show tunes CDs and they spent the ride to Port Angeles listening to the soundtracks of Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, and Into the Woods. Any mention of Andrew Lloyd Weber usually caused Jessica to go on an hour long rant on why Cats should be killed by fire.

The rain wasn't as strong in Port Angeles and they ran out of the car, umbrellas in hand, into the dress shop they'd been frequenting since Sophomore Year. The place was recommended by Mike's older sister and sold affordable but well-made dresses. Their only choice in Forks had been a Thrift Store with gowns so old they had smells and odd stains. Angela wasn't too stressed about finding a gown for herself since her budget was money she earned from babysitting and she still wasn't sure if she wanted to go to Homecoming.

Angela helped her friends looked through gowns and gave her opinion on which once looked good on them. Jessica had tried on every color of the rainbow before trying on a fuchsia gown that showed off her cleavage. Angela and Lauren sometimes forgot how naturally blessed Jessica was and found themselves unable to look away. Jessica smiled excitedly and asked how she looked.

Angela replied, "Depends on how you're trying to look."

"I want to look hot," Jessica snapped, adjusting her cleavage. "I want Mike Newton to notice me."

"He'll have a hard time not noticing you," Lauren remarked. "Or looking away from your boobs..."

Jessica nodded. "That is exactly what I'm going for."

Choosing Lauren's gown was easier. She was tall and thin and looked good in everything. She finally settled on a lavender gown, the color beautiful with her lighter coloring. Lauren inspected herself in the mirror, pulling on the material around her torso.