You Are Something Else, Juniper Zwinggi

Prologue

Early June

"The only reason I came tonight was to see him! You said he'd be here!" Jennifer exclaimed. She even had the audacity to stomp her foot like a little girl.

Confused, I tried to explain the situation. "I said, if I remember correctly, that he might stop by. Anyway, I thought you said it was just going to be a girl's night."

She scoffed and sneered at me. Something I'd only ever seen her do to people she hated. This was our graduation party. We were supposed to be having fun and relishing these last moments of being together before the summer and college. I was completely confused and wondering why my best friend was so upset about my twin brother's absence.

"Oh please, I suppose it's as good a time as any," she said putting her cup down and crossing her arms over her fake chest. They were her sixteenth birthday presents from her daddy. He'd run into money problems and had to hire a questionable plastic surgeon who would work under a discounted rate. No one had the guts to tell her they were visibly uneven. Not even me, her best friend.

Her shrill voice had caught the attention of the people around us and a crowd was forming.

"A good time for what?" I asked, looking uneasily at the people watching us. Why was she being like this?

"The only reason I put up with you all these years is because I wanted your brother. I listened to your constant whining about your horrible mom and kept you occupied, all in hopes of showing him how dedicated I was to being your friend. Well, I'm sick and tired of it, I'm done."

I stared, completely shocked and hurt at my best friend's outburst. It wasn't new to me that my brother, Patrick, was everyone's favorite twin. But, I thought I had a genuine friend in Jennifer. The alcohol coursing through my blood made everything I was feeling ten times worse. The disappointment, sadness, frustration, and anger hit me like a ton of bricks. Before I could stop myself, my cup full of red trashcan punch ended up all over Jennifer's face and white blouse.

She let out a shocked squeal and held her arms out wide. I stepped closer to her and tried to make myself look taller than I actually was. She was only half and inch shorter than myself so it wasn't hard.

"Do you honestly think my brother would want the girl who just humiliated his sister in front of our entire class? Patrick is one of the most real, sweetest people you will ever meet. He doesn't deserve a fake, uneven," I said, making it a point to look at her boobs, "bitch like you."

She scoffed and folded her arms over her chest, this time hiding her boobs in question.

"Don't you want to know why no one likes you, Juniper?" she said stepping closer almost touching her nose with mine. "You're an attention whore with no personality. You party so mommy and the bottom feeders will pay some sort of attention to you. You're kind of pretty and mildly smart but that will only get you so far. You're right, Patrick is real and sweet, but you? You're just as much of a fake bitch as I am."

That was a solid, punch to the stomach. I had no fake body parts but to her credit, she was kind of right and I didn't like that. Jennifer and I had fought countless times over the years but there was no coming back from this. There were no words left in me. Nothing. Just hurt.

I didn't care if she chastised me, hell, my heart was beating so loudly in my ears that I couldn't even hear as I walked away. Ignoring the stares and laughing onlookers, I left that party and vowed never to look back.