You Are Something Else, Juniper Zwinggi

Chapter 2

Lynn and Dave Fisher had been my dad's business associates and close family friends since mine and Pat's birth. Their son, Jake, was three years older and treated us like younger siblings. They had lived only a ten minute walk from us and we were always going over to each other's houses for some reason or another. He'd been a heartthrob back then too.

Dave had kept his old blue Jeep Renegade from his college years and gave it to Jake for his fourteenth birthday. They had plans to restore it in time for Jake to get his driver's license at sixteen. That explained why I thought the one in the school parking lot looked familiar, it was the exact same one.

Dad died suddenly of a cerebral aneurysm when Pat and I were eleven. After that the Fisher's moved to California and we lost touch with them. We were devastated and wondered why they never reached out to us. Of course, we got over it and they fell to the back of our minds as the years went on.

Now, my anonymity was going to the dogs.

------------------------

Jake and a few others looked in my direction but I ducked my head down so he wouldn't see my face.

"You okay?" Emily asked but I could only nod.

He went on to introduce other mentors and speakers. When he was done he left the room and the lectures began. We went over etiquette, best practices, and tons of other stuff. By noon they let us have an hour for lunch, which the school provided. We had to meet in our groups by one o'clock on the school lawn for team building activities, which I was dreading because Jake would be there. Emily frowned when we had to separate and be with our teams.

Secretly, I was glad Emily wasn't in my group. We lived together, ate together and rode to school together. It wasn't because I needed a break from her, it was because she needed to branch out. I didn't want her to be completely dependent on my presence. Jennifer and I had been attached at the hip since junior high and all along she'd been lying to me and pretending to be my friend. I had been dependent on her and when she admitted everything to me, it was one of the toughest things to grasp. I didn't hate Emily but if she found out about what I'd done, she could very well end up hating me.

I found my group while we waited on Jake to arrive. There were about ten of us and when Jake came around he had us all sit in a circle on the ground.

"We are going to do an ice breaker. So, I want you all to introduce yourselves, tell us your reason for picking veterinary medicine, and an interesting fact about yourself. Go!" he clapped his hands together and the girl to his left began. Looking around the circle I noticed every single girl in the group was sitting as close as they could to Jake while I sat as far away from him as I could. It didn't really work because I ended up sitting straight in front of him. I caught him glancing at me a few times as I fidgeted nervously in the grass.

Chill out, Juniper. You're acting like an idiot.

My heart raced as my turn came closer and closer. Jake and the rest of the group looked to me and I had to clear my throat.

"My name is Juniper Zwinggi and I chose to study veterinary medicine because I want to help conserve endangered aquatic wildlife. An interesting fact about me is that I'm from Texas."

I looked him straight in the eyes for the first time and I could remember why I had such a huge crush on him back then. His eyes were this strange hazel color that was more green than brown, his irises were naturally large which made his big eyes look even bigger and darker, and his eyelashes were long. His hair was brown and fell into his eyes when he looked down. He was taller than I remembered, way taller. When he smiled I noticed a slight gap between his front two teeth and I thought it was the cutest thing. He looked back at me and his thick, perfect eyebrows rose with realization. He remembered.