THIRTY TWO. far from the tree

18 2 9
                                    

"I swear to god, it's like everyone just wants to ruin my life

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"I swear to god, it's like everyone just wants to ruin my life."

Evie, Danny and Cindy were in charge of cleaning the mess hall in preparation for colour war that night, and Cindy was still getting all of her feelings of her chest. Evie was wiping windows and pretending to listen, and Danny was wiping down tables and actually listening while Cindy scrubbed the floor.

Cindy and Danny had this weird flirty thing going on, everyone was convinced they were dating. Evie knew both of them fairly well, and she couldn't really see it, but she also didn't want to ask. She didn't quite know why, but she was scared of what the answer would be.

"Alice, she just like... she just won't let it go, you know? It's like we're still twelve years old and her whole goal in life is to punish me for something that wasn't even my fault!"

Alice and Cindy had been friends in middle school, not as close as Evie had been with the redheaded girl, but still close nonetheless. The details for why exactly they had stopped being friends were fuzzy and, if she was being honest, Evie didn't really care. She loved Cindy, and she was always happy to listen to her talk about whatever was bothering her, but if Evie devoted the energy to actually caring about Cindy's grievences then Evie would have no energy to care about her own shit.

Big things, of course, Evie was all in on. But hearing Cindy complain about Alice wasn't one of those big things.

"I can't believe you guys used to be friends," Danny said.

"And Ziggy!" Cindy groaned. "I mean, it's only a matter of time before she ends up in jail or worse. And I'm just trying to be a good role model and make something of myself but no! No, I'm the stuck up priss who hates fun, which isn't even true at all! I like fun. I like fun! I just... I just want to get out of Shadyside. Is that so crazy?" Cindy gasped and Evie finally turned, seeing her friend on her knees with her sponge split in half. "Shit!"

Now, that was new. In all her years of knowing her, Evie had never, not once, heard Cindy Berman curse. She didn't even say god, instead using gosh or goodness or even one time 'oh my days.'

Danny laughed. "Did the Cindy Berman just swear?"

"Wow, look at you," Evie raised her eyebrows. "All it took was a sponge."

Cindy scowled. "Not now! Not in the mood!" She stormed off to the storeroom."

They both finished up in their areas and moved onto the next one in tandem. "I hope I didn't really upset her," Danny said genuinely.

Evie shrugged. "She'll be fine, you just gotta let her get it all out, that's the biggest part." A door slammed in the kitchen and Evie spun around, expecting to see Cindy. "God, this place is haunted," she shook her head.

They told ghost stories about that camp, the fact that Sarah Fier had been hanged on the grounds was reason enough for people to believe the place was cursed.

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