The Heartless Persona

4

The Walker's and the Hastings' sat at a restaurant nearby, chatting along with everyone else in the room. Keri pushed around her salad with her fork while the families laughed together.

"I'm in shock to see how much you've changed," Mrs. Walker said to Keri.

Obviously, you keep talking about it, Keri thought to herself.

Mrs. Walker always had a soft spot for Keri, since she didn't have any daughters.

"The last time I saw you, you were this little girl and now you're this woman."

Keri went from being a tomboy, with only one friend, and no boys liking her, to becoming this girly-girl, who had every boy chasing her, and a girl best friend, who ran the school with Keri.

Keri smoothened her strapless dress and flashed a smile at the woman sitting across from her. "Thank you," she responded.

Keri's hair was freshly curled, her skin was tan, and her makeup was lightly brushed onto her face. She looked like she just came from a photoshoot. Cam shifted in his seat and licked his lips, while he avoided looking at Keri.

"I remember when Keri and Cam used to dig around at the park. Oh! And remember that one time when Keri accidentally tripped in one of the holes and Cam ran to her aid?" Mrs. Walker reminisced.

Keri bit on the inside of her cheek. Was this entire trip going to be revolved around her and Cam's past friendship? She might as well dig a hole and stay in there for the next two weeks.

"How about that time they pretended to get married with Ring Pops?" Mr. Hastings joined in. Keri's eyes glanced over to Cam. She had caught his gaze for a second before they both looked away.

"Or when they decided to cut each others hair!" Mrs. Hastings laughed. Keri couldn't help but giggle at that remark.

"It took forever to grow my hair out," Keri smiled, looking over to Cam.

He stared at her for a moment, unsure of how to react. Was Keri actually acknowledging him? This was so rare of her. A smile crept onto his face, crinkles appeared near his eyes, and dimples formed near the corners of his lips.

"At least your mom didn't give you a buzz cut," he glanced over to his mother and back to Keri.

Keri started to laugh harder while twirling her straw around in her drink. Things actually felt...normal again between the two. It was like they were back to being inseperable and there was no tension between them.

"At least you didn't look like a deranged child from a horror movie," Keri argued.

"I liked your haircut," Cam chuckled.

"Of course you did, you gave it to me!" Keri continued to laugh. She stared at Cam for a moment. Everyone was talking about how she had changed, but Cam changed too.

He was over six feet tall now, he had a lean figure, but he was still muscular (which was probably from playing soccer and wrestling), a pierced ear, and some stubble across his face. Although his appearance had changed, his personality seemed to stay the same. Cam was still a bit shy and quiet. He probably hadn't changed personality wise.

Suddenly, Keri dropped the smile on her face and directed her attention to the table. No, she thought to herself, that was then and this is now. Cam and I aren't friends anymore and we never will be. This is only temporary.

Cam noticed that Keri had regained her persona and he bit down on his lip, watching her.

What just happened?