Turn me Upside Down

Chapter 12: Drawing

It was difficult to regain a sense of normality after everything that transpired. You could still feel the shadow of Barb following after you in the hallways of school. Her hidden giggles behind shelves in the library while trying to remain focused. Even her voice would comment on mundane day-to-day activities in your mind. Just the thought of her missing presence managed to suck away any life left in the atmosphere. A clear sunny day practically felt clouded over with the way that your body wilted away. She was never labeled dead. No, instead they felt like it was acceptable to label her missing.

Her parents were distraught at the news and there was no way you could blame them. They pulled at each other's clothes, grappling with their hands as they searched for something to root the back into their life. Barb was and will be a heavy presence to replace. Even Eddie knew to stray away for a while. He would still sit near you in the drama room, making sure to make casual conversation about the team's progress within the quest. You were a fragile vase tittering at the edge of its perch, just waiting to break at any second.

Nancy favored crying into her bedsheets rather than appearing weak to the public. The light pastels of her room already seemed duller with her neglect of care. To her peers, it was as though she didn't really care for her friend. Others thought that she was staying strong to balance out your puffy eyes, and they couldn't have been more wrong. Holding a funeral for someone with no body to recover or family to attend was difficult but manageable. Jonathan attended, holding onto your shaking hand while Nancy laid the bouquet of flowers at the base of the tree. She would still hold your hand while trying to stifle her cries, making sure that there were no signs of her sadness while she clung to Steve in the hallways.

The boy didn't question her clinginess or your sadness. If burning up some extraterrestrial monster taught him anything, it was that nothing can be questioned. His responsibility was to keep Nancy distracted enough to the point that she would be willing to temporarily forget. Steve assumed that Jonathan was fulfilling a similar role with the way he had practically become your shadow. If you were anywhere out in public, Jonathan was sure to follow closely behind. His hands would sometimes reach up for something that should be hanging around his neck before falling back down in disappointment.

His worry over your wellbeing was a natural byproduct of the battle undergone. You and Will were his priority (Will of course being higher up on that list). It was the worried please of his own mother and the fretting of yours that made him feel as though his role was necessary. If he weren't the one to step up, then your mother would surely scream at the poor office ladies. She would yell and search for a reason, a culprit, to explain her daughter's sudden depression. Something other than your friend's missing status was the cause of this and she wanted to know.

"Ma! Por favor... have I ever given you a reason to not trust me?" you pleaded, forehead resting against the wood of the dining table. Your mother sat across from you, arms crossed and stare unchanging as she wandered to the back of her mind for a fleeting memory. None came to mind... well at least ones where you were in legit danger (what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her). "Nancy will be there. Her entire family in fact! It's just a pre-Christmas celebration and since you would be working the holiday I thought..."

Your mother took a spoonful of her posole, allowing the time to be used for the making of a pros and cons list. It was true that you would spend most of the holiday on your own in an empty house, mourning not only your missing friend but also the lack of family that would usually be present. It had all been communicated through a brief phone call a couple of days before. Your sisters would not be coming anytime soon and your father would send his gift through the mail. The second was a common disappointment that you were used to, but the absence of your sisters was a harder punch to take. You tried to mask your sadness behind short responses, but any mother can tell when their daughter's heart had just been broken.