Today was a particularly hard day for Skye; it was her seventeenth birthday. She did not inform anyone else of that fact since she did not want anyone else to know. She despised her birthday, and the last thing she wanted to do was acknowledge it or give it any attention.
In her last life, her birthday meant throwing a large party at her home. She would have to starve herself for days prior to the event to ensure she looked her best in the size double-zero dress she would purchase. All of her so-called friends would come over and the excessive celebration would begin.
When she turned 14, they began consisting of afterparties. The evening would start as a lavish dinner with bubbly champagne (only a single glass) and then a tiered cake. Pictures were taken after dinner to be posted on social media. After dessert was served and eaten, the real party would start. Any adults would head out for the night, and the drinking and smoking would begin.
She had lost her virginity on her fourteenth birthday.
This year, her celebration was going to consist of going out on the Pogue and drinking a couple of beers with people who truly seemed to care about her. She wouldn't have it any other way.
Her plans were altered slightly by Kiara texting her that she did not need to come on; Kiara was not either since her father decided he did not need their help with how slow the day was going to be. This simply moved the timeline for the day up by a few hours.
Skye was up as usual at around 7:30. She changed into a pair of the denim shorts Kie had gifted her, as well as a yellow top covered with small flowers. The shorts had a paper-bag waist, and Skye was unsure if it was intentional or not; she was not sure if it was just the way they fit her. Skye had come to the conclusion that most of the clothing items in the bag Kie had given her had to have been gifted to her; they were not Kiara's style in the slightest.
She then headed into the living area after brushing her teeth and hair. John B sat on the couch, scrolling through something on his cell phone. He glanced up at her and looked over her outfit as she headed for the couch next to him.
"Good morning," she greeted, giving him a small smile. He returned it, reinvesting himself in his phone for a minute. He then glanced back up at her as if in thought. His hesitation was just for a moment.
"You know, I've been thinking about something," he began, dropping his phone to his side. He stared at her for a moment. "Your hair is dyed, right?"
She let out a soft laugh, expecting what he was thinking about to be much more serious than what it was. "Uh, yeah. Cut and colored in a gas station bathroom in Trenton."
"Like, New Jersey?" he questioned, his eyebrows coming together. "Why?"
She swallowed. "Well, I took a bus down here. Well. a few different busses. And a train. Anyway, the first one took me from the city to Trenton," she explained, recalling the journey she had taken nearly two months ago. She very easily got off the subject. "In Trenton, I stayed three nights at a cousin's house that I had to break into. That's unrelated. I cut and colored my hair at a gas station the two hours before I got onto the bus to head South. I just didn't want to be recognized."
"You broke into your cousin's house?"
Skye inhaled, knowing she was going to have to explain that portion. "Well, he and his wife go on vacation for a few weeks this time of year. I didn't want them to know I was there, so I snuck in when the house-sitter left. I know the code, I've been there a few times. I guess it isn't technically breaking in. Just staying without asking."
"So, Skye isn't your real name, right?" John B realized. "I mean, you come from a super-rich family. Arturo isn't a household name at all."
Skye hesitated for a moment. She knew if she told him no, she would have to tell him her real name. That was not something she was ready to do.
Once people began to find out about her, she was going to have to leave.
She shook her head. "No. But people didn't know me, anyway. Besides, Skye is much cooler."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
The group had headed onto the Pogue with the arrival of Kie and then Pope. It was around 11:30, and the midday sun was beating down on the boat.
Skye wore the same outfit she had put on in the morning, electing to wear flip flops. Kiara had brought the cooler full of drinks like usual, Skye electing to sit on the bow and facing the rest of the boat.
"I still don't understand the whole B thing," Skye stated, not directing the comment at anyone in particular.
Kie simply laughed.
"It's for Booker," John B explained, not understanding what she didn't get.
"But why do they call you by your name and middle initial?" Skye pressed, still not grasping the concept.
"It's sort of a Southern thing, I guess," John B supposed. "My dad just always called me that. I guess since he was John, too?"
Skye nodded, that explanation clearing it up a little. She glanced over at JJ. "What does JJ stand for?"
"It doesn't."
"It doesn't stand for anything?" Pope questioned, not knowing that about JJ.
JJ shook his head. "Always called me JJ, never said anything else." He turned the attention onto Skye. "What's Skye stand for, Blue?"
She shook her head. "It doesn't."
─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───
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