She is Not Made of Roses

twelve: you should, like, write for those motivational dove commercials

TWELVE: YOU SHOULD, LIKE, WRITE FOR THOSE MOTIVATIONAL DOVE COMMERCIALS

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“YOU PEOPLE HAVE absolutely no attention span.”

Rosie’s halfway through trying to spark a discussion about a passage from The Yellow Wallpaper when Lilly interrupts her train of thought with an overpowering chuckle. Even Maia, usually the second most eager to jump in on a discussion, is trying her hardest to hold back laughter at whatever it is that seems to be occupying the duo’s attention underneath the table.

“What are you looking at?” Aurora asks, her eyes peeking out from her copy of the novel, only to see the two both gawking at Lilly’s phone screen.

"I’m totally into this story and everything, but you have got to see this,” Lilly says through boisterous laughter, hardly able to form a full sentence. Danielle peers over their shoulders, and even she, almost always silent, has a hard time of keeping herself together. And after she takes a moment to catch her breath, Lilly holds out her phone, and Aurora is the first to snatch it from her.

Rosie peers over her shoulder, albeit a tad curious, noticing all at once that Aurora’s face turns stark white. She frowns, hardly having seen much at the entire grand spectacle in question, “What’s wrong?”

But her question is immediately put to bed once her eyes meet the screen, noticing the video playing on the screen. The person featured is clearly Elijah – one could hardly mistake that matted, brown hair and the oversized and over-worn gray hoodie – speaking freely in a YouTube video. Before she can read the title, Aurora’s mouth hesitantly forms the syllables.

“Skippy’s Peanut Butter Review – Chunky or Smooth – Who Will Win?” Aurora mutters under her breath, her voice falling more and more silent with every letter until Lilly and Maia could do nothing nearly bust at the seams.

“The best part is that he’s so serious throughout the entire thing!” Maia exclaims, “At one point, he calls himself a connoisseur.”

Lilly grabs Maia’s shoulder, as if she might drown in the laughter if she doesn’t have something to hold onto. “A connoisseur of peanut butter!”Aurora, her face now a mixture between stark white and tomato red, slams the phone facedown on the table, sliding it back towards Lilly. She doesn’t have to tell Rosie to stay quiet about her recent involvement with Elijah, and she knows she’d never tell them, but there’s the secret knowledge between the two of them of it that weighs a ton on both of their shoulders.

 “I know it’s funny, but can we just get back to Jane, please?” Rosie asks as politely as she can manage, pointing towards Lilly, Maia, and Danielle’s unopened books.

Lilly’s not listening, though, and instead her eyes are still plastered to the phone screen. She explodes all of a sudden, her grip on Maia and Danielle’s arms tightening like a bear trap, “Ohmygod!” She exclaims in one breath, “His username is PeanutButterandElijahSandwich33!”

“A modern icon!” Maia howls, throwing her hands in the air theatrically as the three dissolve into giggles.

Rosie sighs, about ready to dismiss the entire meeting when she hears the unforgettable sound of the doors to the library opening up. It’s almost as if Lilly, Maia, and Danielle have forgotten everything about Elijah as all five girls turn around to greet whoever it is that’s decided on interrupting their rather unproductive session.

“Hey, guys,” Ella greets, waving towards the group as she hesitantly makes her way into the library. Smiling halfheartedly, she can’t help but notice that Rosie’s the only one who seems happy to see her.