The Aesthetic Question

Acting

[11:11 - Taeyeon]

Berkley was discharged three days later. She probably could've been out of the hospital a day earlier, but she didn't mind having people serve her at the press of a button and her friends let her. Grace was there chattering the whole time they were on the way back home. She was gifted with the ability to fill awkward silences of all kinds and could be counted on to work light magic in tense situations. So although Berkley considered Grace a comical presence, she actually enjoyed her company a lot.

Maple and Grace had called her over the past three days. Aurora and Maple had even visited once each, to show concern. But honestly, Berkley felt fine. Her head hurt a little, yet her mind had never been clearer. A foreign emotion called embarrassment made an appearance, which didn't sit well with her, but she knew she deserved it.

It wasn't like what happened wreaked havoc in their lives. Grace didn't seem bothered, she paid her own hospital fees, Alex didn't even know she had alcohol poisoning. And though she could imagine scaring Maple quite a bit, it couldn't be permanent damage. She couldn't even deny that not waking up would be a better outcome. Still, she wished she didn't have to deal with people looking at her differently.

Already, the three other girls had made plans for her. Trips to the new ice cream shop, time slots reserved for shopping which nobody really did before, picnics in the nearby park...all of them as if they wanted to occupy every inch of her mind. In a way, they were trying to help without being verbal and terribly obvious about it because god knows, there's something wrong with her.

They didn't know, however, that she promised herself she would never go through that again. She didn't normally have great resolve to make changes but that much she could refrain from doing. It just hurt too much to go through alcohol poisoning and still be alive. What she didn't need was her friends having other ideas, but she didn't have the heart to reject them, knowing that could eventually set their hearts at rest.

As soon as they walked through the threshold, Berkley could smell seafood being cooked. Maple was trying and failing at cooking seafood pasta. Berkley took out plates dutifully, cherishing the one time they were cooking without Aurora or ordering takeout. Grace just sat down on one of the chairs and observed.

The pasta indeed tasted burnt, but they couldn't locate the burnt area, so they tried to finish what was edible. Grace filled the moments between bites with gossip. Maple made a few attempts at joining the conversation. It wasn't that bad, but it was pretty uncomfortable. What Berkley wouldn't give to have things go back to how it had been, if only to be spared the concerned glances.

'I'm fine, guys.' She reiterated when they finished clearing the table and were looking slightly confused. Berkley then went upstairs to find her liquor cabinet hanging open with not even one empty bottle left. She let out an enraged cry but as she got downstairs waiting to explode, she found that Maple and Grace had already fled outside.

* * *

Aurora surveyed her makeup in the dressing room mirror. It looked like the one at home but she looked nothing like the Aurie she had always been known as. For one, her eyes, so intricately lined with black liner, had the haunted look of a deer caught in headlights. The bridge of her nose was dusted with pearl powder so it looked more prominent than usual.

Since everyone had went outside to take pictures before the performance started, she maneuvered herself up onto one of the counters, careful not to ruffle her knee-length tulle dress. She had invited her housemates to the show, but so far only Maple had agreed to come, hesitantly too. All her previous friends lived hundreds of miles away and she didn't like having her parents watch her dance since they never approved of her career.