The Future isn't Bright

Fourteen

"You too?" I whispered in amazement. She shrugged her shoulders with indifference and stood up off of her comfy bed.  

"You might want to take a shower..." she suggested, eying my filthy self up and down. She sounded like my mother.  

"My bathroom is over there, you can use my shampoo and all," she gestured with a hand to a door on the other side of the room, which was also covered in posters of music bands unknown to me. I smiled as a way of saying thanks and strode over to the bath.  

After shutting the thick door softly, I realized how original of a bathroom Chloe had. It consisted of black colored floor tiles and ocean green walls. Just like Chloe's eye.

Although it seemed highly strange, I felt even more comfortable around Chloe after she showed me. It was as if people out there that were like me. All of them not particularly accepted by society, just like me. What were the odds that we would all meet each other?  

I took a deep breath and pulled my clothes off, throwing them down a white laundry chute as Mrs. Ripley had instructed me to just a few minutes before. I opened a glass door into a circular shower, tiled with the same beautifully colored tiles as the rest of the bathroom. I turned the sphere-like faucet and let a gush of lukewarm water to fall to the ground in under my feet. Once the water regulated to a refreshing cold temperature, I stuck my face under the current and at once felt at ease.  

As I lathered some of Chloe's vanilla scented shampoo into my hair, I thought deeply about what had happened today: first the Gathering, then my father's disappearance, and finally, Chloe and Oslo were twins? As I lathered my hair, I snorted at the ridiculousness of my situation, accidentally inhaling some shampoo bubbles. Once I was finished coughing, I turned off the water and grabbed a neatly folded clean towel laying in a small window in the shower wall, which enabled me to see the rest of the bathroom through it. Quite a nice feature.  

I stepped out of the shower with my soft towel wrapped around me under my armpits. I ran my fingers through my tangly hair. It was usually at its worst after a shower. As I scrunched my brown curls, I realized I had nothing to change into. On my toes, I crept on the cold tiles to the door and opened it slowly. Once I did, I saw Chloe laying on her bed, colouring moustaches on bleach blondes in a magazine. I laughed, and when she heard me she looked up.

"Wanna help?" she asked, holding up her magazine with a smile.  

"I would, but maybe after I get dressed?" I hinted. Her mouth formed an "o" shape and she jumped off of the bed and jogged over to her closet. She opened the door and waved me to follow her. I walked over once I made sure no one, or Oslo, was in the near vicinity. Once I saw her walk-in closet, I fell in deep love immediately.

"Your closet... Is incredible." I managed, my eyes open wide. She chuckled.

"What's mine is yours!" she told me, gesturing me toward the clothes. I put on a goofy smile and awkwardly shuffled to the numerous hangers. I grabbed multicolored jean shorts and a tank top.  

"I'll leave you to change," Chloe said, backing out of the closet through the door, "Don't get too excited, okay?" I smiled at her and got to changing.  

After I finished, I walked out the door and twirled around in my new outfit like a model. Chloe looked up from her magazine, giving me a thumbs up.  

"Wanna doodle now?" she asked, her one uncovered eye lighting up with a million watts. I shrugged and came over, constraining myself from laughter as I flipped through Chloe's numerous random doodles. I flipped to a clean page with no coloring on it. It had two incredibly thin models on it in bikini swimsuits, both blondes with orange skin. They reminded me of Hennessy... The headline read New Weight Loss Pills for Teens! Lose 40 Pounds in Two Months! The thought made me shudder. All kids born today were skinny enough, and didn't need any extra weight loss, yet skinny was never skinny enough.