quarantine // h.s.

part 2 // the roof

"i nominate wren and jess to go grocery shopping." alex says. my mouth falls agape and i shake my head, wide-eyed.

"we are the oldest, we are the most at risk!" i yelp, letting out a quick laugh afterwards.

"yeah, what ever happened to respect your elders!" jess agrees.

"alright fine. harry and i will go to the store. we can take down a few karens if we need to." another friend named kaleb volunteers.

"we will?" harry sasses back nonchalantly. kaleb shoots a glare and harry lets out a quick sigh and a nod. kaleb and harry had always been the dynamic duo that no one really knew well. they perfectly represented the typical bad boy best friends in all of the quirky high school movies. the two elude a sense of mystery and i'm not quite sure how they even got invited on this trip. sure, i've met them and talked to them a few times on this trip, but never long enough to get a grasp on who they really are.

i look to jess in a triumphant way and she smiles, showing her perfect white teeth. kaleb and harry grab the keys to the rental car from the kitchen and head out to the nightmare that is going to be the grocery store.

the next hour or two consists of everyone calling their parents and hanging out, trying to comfort each other without actually processing what's happening. jess, michael, sierra, penelope, ashton and i were all crammed together on jess and i's bed and just reflecting on life. when our conversation approached a pause, michael sat up and looked at the curtains flowing up due to the ocean air coming through the open window.

"hey why don't we go to the beach before they close, you know eventually we won't be able to go out there at all."

"unless we do it illegally." sierra smirks. we all chuckle and separate to put on our bathing suits. after a few minutes we follow each other out to the beach and sit down on the softly packed sand. the late afternoon sun beat down on our faces as the sky was clear of clouds.

"you know, its still so beautiful out here even though everyone is experiencing so much chaos." penelope says. she's always been the type to be a little more thought-provoking than the rest. she keeps everyone in check in the most realistic, lovely way.

"its literally a breath of fresh air." i respond. we both get up and walk into the ocean far enough where its up to our chest. we all stand in the ocean and let the waves take us wherever it wants while we just converse about life and gossip about those in the house.

mid-conversation we hear a few people come out of the house and holler at us that harry and kaleb are back with alcohol and food. michael said its the "college student fuel" before we grab our towels and head inside. i throw on a big t-shirt over my swimsuit and walk into the kitchen to help disinfect and put away groceries. after we complete our tasks, i head back to my room to get dressed and throw on some makeup before we start our partying for the night. i decide to throw on a faded lime green cardigan and matching crop top, mom jeans, a chain or two, and finished my look with lime green eyeliner and way too much blush.

"ah yes, e-girl fashion." michael says as he sits on my bed and talks to me while i'm getting ready. i walk like a runway model across the room and slip on my chunky white sneakers. michael, jess, sierra and i head out into the living room and discover that people are already drinking and music is already lowly thumping throughout the living room.

i head into the kitchen and pour a bag of doritos, chex mix, and tortilla chips into separate bowls for people to snack on and place them on the counter. "always taking care of us, wren. want a white claw?" ashton says and pats me on the back.

"obviously i want a white claw. i'll take a lime." i request. he looks at me with an amused look on his face and laughs. he passes out cans to harry and sierra, who were lurking behind him.