Lacuna(1)

Chapter 7

Weeks had gone by and Evelyn had barely heard anything new from Pip. Or, not anything Evelyn hadn't already known. Pip shared a few outlandish theories about Naomi and other associates to the case but nothing really came out of those theories.

"Is this even going to work? Am I doing all of this work of nothing?" Pip paced the length of her room, Cara and Evelyn sitting on her bed watching.

"I think it's helping Naomi open up a little more." Cara shrugged. Evelyn, Cara, and Pip had all been preparing for Cara's pre-birthday celebration. Now they were just waiting for Pip to actually pack up instead of talking about what she was packing.

"Pip, you have to hurry up. You're going to make us late and you're the time freak," Evelyn complained.

"No, you're the time freak," Pip retorted.

"I don't disagree..." Cara added hesitantly. Pip rolled her eyes, putting each of the list of items she had named off, in order, in her bag.

"Pip, we're not preparing for a zombie apocalypse, why are you bringing a walkie talkie- Did you steal Josh's walkie talkie set?"

"You never know what could happen!"

Rolling her eyes, Cara took the walkie talkies from Pip's bag and dragging her feet as she walked down the hall to return Josh's stolen items.

"You are being so dramatic about this," Evelyn chuckled, looking down at Pip as she rearranged everything in her bag.

Just as Cara came back, Pips told up, grumpily directing the girls out of the house. "Better get going now because you're so worried about being late." Pip swung her bag over her shoulder, making her way out the door behind Cara and Evelyn.

"Pippo Hippo," Pip's father, Victor, caught her shoulder. "Make sure to have some fun tonight." He then pointed to Evelyn and Cara. "You two make sure she has some fun!" He called.

"We will!" Cara replied just as loudly.

"As long as Pip isn't the fun police again!" Evelyn called.

"You two have to stop attacking me or you're not gonna have a friend," Pip snorted.

"We'll have each other!" They replied in unison.

Soon, Pip's car was packed with bags and girls, all screaming along to some random song on the radio. Evelyn had a habit of acting like she knew a random song and the radio and when no one else "knew" it, she would act surprised when they didn't know it.

Their karaoke car session soon came to an end seeing as the drive was around 10 minutes. Because of time freak Evelyn, they had, of course, been the first ones there.

"We can find the perfect spot now!" Cara whooped, throwing her arms up in the air in celebration. As Cara ran off somewhere into the woods, Evelyn turned to find a sulking Pip unloading her stuff.

"Well, aren't you just a ray of sunshine?" She snickered as she leaned in Pip's car. "What's for your panties in a twist?"

"Excuse me?" Pip slowly turned toward her, a bewildered expression on her face.

"You heard me," Evelyn stated.

Before Pip could explain her brooding, Lauren's car drove into the lot, the blasting music audible from outside of the car.

"Hey!" She sang as she slammed her car door, running over and practically tackling Evelyn. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"Probably trying to find a place to hide the vodka bottles," Evelyn snorted.

"We should get the canopy set up," Pip chimed in. "Help me carry it," she demanded.

They all picked up their portion and went on their merry way to find Cara.

Not too long later, they stumbled upon Cara who had at least four vodka bottles all hidden inside of a tree.

"Did you plan this or were you just magically blessed with a vodka bottle-shaped hole?" Evelyn laughed, helping Pip read the instructions of the canopy. Instead of answering Evelyn's question, Cara walked up to them, snatching the manual from their hands.

"I hate camping," Lauren grunted, tripping over the crumpled canvas.

"Yeah, well, it's my birthday and I like it," Cara said, reading over the instructions with her tongue tucked between her teeth.

It was the final Friday of summer, and the three of them were now in a small clearing in a beech forest on the outskirts of Fairview. Cara's choice for her early eighteenth birthday celebration: to sleep without a roof and squat-pee behind dark trees all night.

"It's technically illegal to camp outside of a registered camp-site," Lauren said, kicking the canvas in retaliation.

"Well, let's hope the camping police don't check Instagram, because I've announced it to the world. Now hush," Cara said, "I'm trying to read."

"For once in your life," Evelyn snickered.

"Um, Cara," Pip said tentatively, "you know this isn't a tent you brought, right? It's a cobalt with sides."

"Same difference," she said. "And we have to fit us and the three boys in."

"And they take up a lot of space!" Evelyn commented.

"But it comes with no floor." Pip jabbed her finger at the picture on the instructions.

"You come with no floor." Cara butt-shoved her away. "And my dad packed us a separate groundsheet."

"When are the boys getting here?" Lauren whined.

"They texted about two minutes ago that they were leaving," Cara said.

"And we are not asking them for help, because you have me!" Evelyn flexed her arms to show her muscles.

"I wasn't suggesting that."
Cara cracked her knuckles. "Dismantling the patriarchy, one tent at a time."

"Canopy," Pip corrected her.

"Do you want me to hurt you?"

"Ca-nope-y."

"I'm just so blessed," Cara did a hair flip, "friends that help set up tents, perfect, rich, close family, more friends than you'll ever have."

"My family has more money than yours," Evelyn commented.

"No..." Cara looked around.

"Then why don't they live in a house like mine?"

Silence.

"She got you with that one, Cara. Also, she has a grand staircase for fucks sake," Pip said.

"Stop boasting about your riches, Hastings!" Cara wiped fake tears as she pretended to cry.

"Women," Evelyn said sarcastically.

"So dramatic," Pip played along.

"Tell me about it!" Evelyn added as they finished setting some more of the canopy up.

"Done!" Cara screamed, making everyone jump.

"You didn't even help?" Pip commented.

"But I'm the birthday girl." Cara, again, did a hair flip.

"Not yet."

"That sounds very ominous..." Lauren murmured.