The Literary Misadventures of Juniper Rosewood

27- Playing the Serpent

We spent that morning in a flood of tears and shaking sobs as my mother told granny and grandad about her cancer. I had to go upstairs to my bedroom and bury myself in a book before the pain came flooding back to me. I could hear my grandad's coughing sobs from the kitchen, and my granny telling him that it was going to be okay. I sighed into the pages of my book. I couldn't really focus on Eragon's adventures at the moment.

I got up from my bed and sat down at my desk. The tears came before I even knew I was crying. Despite my futile attempts to stop it, the pain came back almost immediately. I sighed loudly, resting my head on my arms. I knew I had every right to cry as much as I wanted, but I still felt bad. My mother must have felt terrible. She was so brave, but there was nothing she could do.

Eventually, my tears dried, and the voices downstairs had calmed down. I ventured down and found my mother huddled up in blankets with my granny on the couch. I sat down next to them, and my granny readjusted her blankets so that I was swaddled in them too.

"Your father and grandfather went out to get milk and tea bags. We've run out," My mother explained. I didn't reply, but I rested my head on my granny's shoulder, and she stroked my hair absent-mindedly. It struck me then that I should probably have a shower.

My grandparents set off for home when the sun set later that evening. My grandfather was still sniffling a little as granny backed the car out of the drive.

"Takeaway?" My dad asked. My mother nodded.

"I'll go and get it," I offered.

"Would you? That would be a big help, kiddo," My dad said. I nodded.

The Chinese takeaway place in our town didn't deliver, which allowed me a refreshing walk. By this time, of course, I had taken a shower and put on a nice dress. I was bundled up in a thick coat and a scarf, and this time I had the sense to remember my gloves. The night was descending quickly over the town, and I knew that by the time I was walking home, it would be pitch black. The street lights flickered on as I walked, and they lit my way to the high street. The Chinese was very busy, and so it was at least twenty minutes until I was served.

"Hey, Juni," Preston said glumly from behind the counter.

"Since when do you work here? I thought your mum let you work in the flower shop?"

"She got fed up with me and so she pawned me off on my cousins," He said. He really didn't look pleased.

"Tough luck," I said sympathetically, and Preston took my order.

"I can feel their judgement every time I turn around," He whispered to me as I handed over my money.

"What did you do?" I asked.

"I have yet to find out," He said, and I laughed, earning a sharp glare from an older woman standing behind Preston who I assumed was his aunt. "Save yourself while you can," Preston said, handing over my food.

"Text me when you find out what you did," I said, waving to him and leaving the shop.

The takeaway was nice, but it didn't distract from the solemn mood around the dinner table that evening. Regardless of the crazy things that had been happening in my life, the dull ache that was the fear of losing my mother was ever-present in my mind. In a strange way, it kept me grounded. It reminded me not to get carried away with teenage drama, and to focus on what was really real. A task that was easier said than done.

༓࿇༓

Things seemed rather strained as I walked into school on Monday morning. I hadn't expected anything less, since the video Stella had sent around had been viewed by almost everybody in my classes, but this seemed different. The video was a good mockery, sure, but it didn't seem cause for such whisperings that were to be heard about my person as I walked to my locker. People were staring at me too, which was mightily unusual and terribly uncomfortable. I vaguely wondered what I had done, but it didn't seem to be of much importance to Circe as she bounded over as happy as ever, and so I didn't dwell too much on it.

"I know I'm not Ingrid," She said hastily, helping me load various textbooks into my locker, "But you really must tell me what happened on Saturday night." I laughed. In all of Sunday's upset, I had almost forgotten.

"Dalton took me into the big warehouse at the end of the airfield and showed me the Concorde they're unveiling next week."

"Is that it?" Circe asked, clearly unimpressed, "He didn't snog you senseless or anything interesting?"

"Circe!" I cried, slapping her playfully on the arm with my textbook, "Of course he didn't. I didn't think you liked him all that much anyway."

"He seems decent enough. Of course, no human alive today would ever be good enough for you, and so you'll have to settle with one of us lesser mortals. Dalton seems a prime example of a lesser mortal," Circe said, deadly serious.

"You assume too highly of me my friend. I'm a demigod at best."

"Come on, let's get to class."

The whispers only became stronger as the day wore on. The trouble was, they were whispers, and so I couldn't hear them. Even Ingrid didn't seem to know what was going on, which was a disturbing notion indeed. I could feel scrutinous eyes boring into me as I sat down in class. I tried to ignore them, but they persisted. I had trouble focusing on my studies with the uncomfortable feeling of being watched crawling through my body.

By lunchtime, I was completely fed up with it. Circe and I decided to take our lunch under the stairs by the science corridor since it was almost always completely deserted. I knew the others would miss us, but today I had decided to be selfish. I had a ham sandwich, and Circe had a steaming pot of rather slimy, limp pasta, and we were getting on as well as we could with them when a pair of footsteps came around the corner, conversing animatedly and by the sounds of it, angrily.

"I told you, nothing--"

"Well that's obviously a lie, and if this gets out--"

"More than it already has, you mean,"

"--Then this will be the end of you, Dalton. I can assure you that."

Circe made to gasp, but I stifled her by placing a gentle hand on her wrist. Any conversation we were having was promptly derailed by Dalton and J.B's heated argument.

"Etta was going to break up with you regardless of Juniper's interference." I looked at Circe worriedly as Dalton said my name and I realized they were talking about me. I wanted to leave. To run down the corridor, but then they would know I was there, and that also seemed like an unwise truth to be made known.

"She loved me before your girl stepped in," J.B snarled, and I could almost see him backing Dalton into the wall from behind the stairs.

"She's not my girl," Dalton replied, his voice shaking.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Dalton said. I was breathing heavily, and I was sure that they would hear me, but they didn't. "She means nothing to me," Dalton said.

I inhaled sharply, and I could hear Circe's ragged breathing beside mine. My heart felt as though it had fallen out of my chest and onto the floor. I stared blankly at the wall in front of me, my heart pulsing rapidly against my ribcage for all the wrong reasons.

"You just want me to leave her alone," J.B said.

"She didn't do anything wrong. Etta had every right to break up with you after what you did."

I didn't bother listening to any more of that wretched conversation. Circe gripped my arm as tears welled in my eyes. I didn't want them to, I really didn't. But Dalton had said that I meant nothing to him. I knew that we hadn't known each other for all that long, but I at least thought we were friends. Apparently, Dalton disagreed. What other angle was there to view this whole thing from? Circe tried to stop me, but I stood up, hoisting my bag over my shoulder and rushing down the corridor with tears streaming down my face. Circe followed me meekly, shooting the world's most fatal death glare at Dalton and J.B.

"Okay," she panted as she finally caught up with me, standing hunched over one of the concrete bollards outside the school, "Maybe he's just a little closer to pond scum than a lesser mortal." I laughed, despite my teary eyes. It was like in his book. Dalton was Mary Malone, he was playing the serpent. Bringing about the downfall of Eden, and all that. He was a snake.

"Maybe you're right," I said glumly, and I dried my tears on my sleeves. I was still upset. And I was still angry.  But I went back inside anyway, Circe at my arm.