A group of friends tries to piece itself back together after losing its glue.
*****
It's a quiet October morning in Palo Alto, California, when the news break out--June Beaumont was...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
MERIDIAN
There was an obnoxious amount of glitter sprinkled in my hair.
Vienna had entrusted herself with decorating the campus for the New Year's Eve party, even though no one had asked her to, but, secretly, people were glad she was doing it instead of forcing them to worry about it. Finals had come and gone, and everyone was looking for an excuse to have a good time, whatever that was.
Tonight, a good time involved copious amounts of alcohol, shared between a bunch of underage college students and whoever they were inviting to the party, and I couldn't say I was looking forward to it. After a truly miserable holiday season, surrounded by family members who had purposely left an empty seat at the Christmas dinner table, I just wanted to be left alone, but no one would let me have that.
I was downright exhausted. Exam season hadn't been nearly as horrible as dead week, the period of time I had spent not sleeping, studying until I felt like my eyelids were going to fall off, and surviving on coffee, energy drinks, and instant noodles—sometimes I had even treated myself to a grilled cheese sandwich on days I had been more productive.
There hadn't been too many of those, frankly, and I was dreading to see my grades. I didn't want my professors to cut me some slack because I was supposed to be mourning the death of my sister, but I also didn't want to see my grades slip. There was a reason I had gotten into Stanford in the first place, and it hadn't been because people felt bad for me or because my parents had bought my admission; I had earned my place there fair and square and I was determined to keep proving it, even during my junior year.
Vienna, the glitter fairy, shoved a box full of fairy lights into my hands. "Go hang those on the trees, please."
"Why?" I furrowed my brows, examining the plethora of tangled strings and light bulbs. "People will be hanging out inside; they'll barely pay attention to however we decorate the courtyard."
"Because." She playfully punched my shoulder. "It'll show them that we care and that we're trying to be good hosts. We're already lucky no one will be around to check if there are any people under twenty-one juggling cups of beer. Keep up the attitude and maybe Natasha will spill it all over you again."
"Ha-ha."
"Are you always this helpful?"
"I'm tired, Vi. I haven't slept properly in weeks." Her eyes scanned my face, briefly lingering on the dark circles marking the skin under my own eyes. I was pretty darn aware I looked like crap, and definitely didn't need her to point it out. I had looked in the mirror, thank you. "Why don't you go ask Natasha to hang the lights? I thought she was oh so excited to help you with decorating the campus."
