by Raven Snow
“If only we all could be so stoic,” said Rowen. She wasn’t sure he had caught the sarcasm in her voice, because he continued anyway.
“A lot of the same people came back to sit with me at lunch after Rowen and I broke up.” That thoughtful gaze returned to Ben. “They weren’t interested in sticking around once they realized I wasn’t going to tell them any stories. They all wanted tales about Greensmiths. What was their home like? What was the family like? What was sex like?”
Rowen felt her face growing warm. “We never had sex,” she said quickly.
The corner of Ben’s mouth tugged upward in the beginnings of a smile. “I know. I told them as much. Like I said, they lost interest. You’re lucky I didn’t tell them why we broke up.”
Rowen still didn’t regret putting that curse on his mother. It had all worked out for the best anyway. Ben and Rose were perfectly happy together.
“Peony?” asked a woman’s voice.
The whole table looked up. There were three women standing near the table. They all had their arms linked. They were all blond and of average height. Their makeup was even similar—ruddy red lipstick, contoured, fake eyelashes. Rowen wouldn’t have been able to easily tell them apart from one another had they not been wearing different dresses. The one on the left wore a green mermaid dress. The one on the right wore a soft blue empire. The one in the middle wore a little black number, albeit at evening gown length. Their hair was all big and curled. While not particularly fashion forward, they certainly matched up with a standard definition of beauty. Rowen still had no clue who they were—at least not at first.
“No,” said Willow.
The women all exchanged looks. “Excuse me?” said the woman in the middle.
“I’m not Peony,” Willow clarified.
Evening Gown scanned everyone at the table, wearing the slightest of frowns. “You’re Greensmiths though.”
“Right,” said Willow. “But I’m not Peony.” She finished her first drink and swapped it with the second. “I’m Willow. Peony is, you know, a different person.”
Mermaid Dress clicked her tongue. “Right, well, that one girl… Shoot. What’s her name?”
“Rose?” ventured Rowen.
“She said she saw Peony and that Peony would be over here and that we should all come to this table to get our pictures taken.” Mermaid Dress said that all in one breath before putting on a smile.
“I’m sure she’ll do it once she gets here.” Willow reached for her glass, but Rowen slid it out of her reach.
“Go ahead and take their pictures,” she said, softly. “You have the camera.”
Willow frowned. Clearly, she didn’t like being ordered around. “You do it.”
“I can’t work the camera as well as you can.”
“Sure you can. It’s easy,” Willow paused long enough to take the camera from her bag. She turned it on and offered it to Rowen. “Just shoot and click. A kid could do it.”
Rowen felt fairly certain that there was a bit more to it than that. Even so, she couldn’t bring herself to care about getting a good shot of these women. There was something about them that she instinctively disliked. She wasn’t sure quite what it was just yet.
“Fine,” she relented. She took the camera and stood. She smiled at the women. “Get close together.”
The women linked arms even tighter. They all put on shiny white smiles. Rowen snapped one picture then a few more for show.
“There,” said Rowen. “Great.”
Empire Dress frowned. “Don’t you need to be using the flash? It’s awfully dark in here.”
Rowen shot Willow a look. This was precisely why she needed her taking the pictures. Willow pointedly ignored her, taking a sip from her glass instead.
“Sorry,” said Rowen, looking back to the women. “If you want to wait a few minutes, Peony will be here. She’s the best photographer we’ve got. We’re a small publication.”
Empire Dress looked from left to right as if appraising the mood of her companions. “What paper is it that you run again? I don’t think I read it. Do you two read it?”
Mermaid and Empire both shook their heads. “I watch Channel 2,” said Empire.
“No offense,” said Mermaid. “I just don’t like to read my news, you know? That’s what you are, aren’t you? Like a paper, paper? Do people still do things that aren’t online?”
“We have a blog too,” Rowen offered.
“But you have to read it,” Willow added, no small amount of dislike for these three women in her voice. It was hard to blame her, even if she was being hypocritical. It wasn’t like Rowen had ever seen Willow reading an article or a book or anything more involved than a newspaper for that matter. Still, these three women were obnoxious. Where did she remember them from?
“Oh,” came a new voice. “Hey!”
Rowen looked up to see Tina. She and Peony had returned. They both had a couple of plastic martini glasses in hand. Tina looked oddly stiff. She clearly recognized these women. All three of them squealed. Apparently, they recognized her too.
“Oh my goodness!” exclaimed Evening Gown, overselling her excitement with a clap and a hop. “Look at us! The gang is all back together!”
It all came rushing back to Rowen then. She remembered who these women were—or who they must be, rather. How had she missed it? The hair, the makeup, the general sameness of them all. Trish was Mermaid, Tilda was Empire, and Evening Dress, of course, had to be Teaghan. Annoying, obnoxious Teaghan; the girl who smirked and whispered to her friends any time a Greensmith passed them in the hall. She had a boyfriend who made ugly stick figure comics. The characters in them were unnamed, but they were clearly the Greensmiths. Teaghan and her friends would laugh and pass them around. They would make their way through the school until a teacher or a Greensmith bold enough to chuck them in the bin got their hands on them.
Tina had been in their ranks once. Teaghan, Trish, Tilda and Tina. It had been a horrible kind of kismet. Tina looked intensely uncomfortable. She hadn’t even managed to put on a smile yet. She stood there frozen, drinks in hand. It was like she had malfunctioned. Her ties to her childhood posse were pulling her in one direction, and her more recent connection with the Greensmiths were pulling her in another. Finally, she seemed to snap out of it. She put on a smile and placed the drinks on the table. “Hey, guys!” she sang, spreading her arms wide.
All four girls embraced. There was a lot of laughter and chatter that was difficult to discern. Rowen took one of the drinks Tina had placed on the table and took a sip of it. She hoped everyone would disperse soon.
Rowen didn’t get her wish. To the contrary, the girls instead all plopped down at the table. They sat in the seats meant for Rowen’s cousins. Rowen considered saying as much, but the women weren’t allowing much room for interjection. They were all exchanging small talk, catching up with one another.
“We don’t see much of you on social media anymore,” Teaghan commented, giving Tina an exaggerated frown.
Tina shrugged. She had seated herself as well, taking the chair beside Peony. “Yeah, I just got tired of updating and checking it all the time, you know? Besides, I feel like I spend enough time on the computer at work.”
“Where do you work?” asked Trish.
“The library, right?” asked Teaghan. “I remember you mentioning it once, I think. Do you still work there?”
“They don’t read,” Willow said to Tina, making little to no effort to keep her voice down. “They wouldn’t know if you changed careers.”
Tilda’s expression darkened. Trish and Teaghan’s smiles wavered a bit, but it seemed they were choosing to act like they hadn’t heard.
“I still work at the library,” Tina confirmed. “What about you guys? What are you doing these days?”
“I’m a model,” said Teaghan, tucking a strand of blond hair behind her ear. “You’ve probably seen me in a few ads. I’ve done a lot of those over the years. I love it. It really gives you
the freedom to travel, you know?”
Rowen didn’t know, but she didn’t like what she was hearing. Teaghan living the life she had probably dreamed up for herself in high school? It wasn’t fair.
“I don’t think I’ve seen you in anything,” said Peony.
Teaghan kept that bright white smile of hers on as she turned to Peony. “Well, now you’ll know to keep an eye out!”
“Jealous?” asked Trish. “I know I am. I’m just a boring old house wife.”
“She’s being modest,” said Tilda. “She’s got a fantastic husband and kids she adores.”
“Oh, stop.”
“I won’t! Seriously, guys. She’s so involved at the school and all the activities our boys are in together. Lainswich wouldn’t have half the extracurricular activities it has now if not for her.” Tilda turned her smile to Tina. “I have a clothing line.”
Tina nodded. “I saw that. You’re great at it. You really have an eye for design.”
“Thanks,” said Tilda. At the same time, she waved a hand like praise wasn’t necessary. It was clear she wanted more of it, though.
Yet another new face joined them at the table. “There you are,” said a broad-shouldered, brown-haired man. He leaned over the back of Teaghan’s chair and planted a kiss on her cheek. “I was wondering where you had gotten off to.”
“Sorry, honeybunch,” Teaghan looked back to the others. “This is my husband, Dave. I’m sure you all remember him.”
Rowen did know that face after all. It took all of her strength not to cringe. That was Teaghan’s high school boyfriend, the one who had drawn the horrible comics of Rowen and her family. She hated that he was sitting down with them now like he had never done that. She hated that he and Teaghan were still together. Most of all, she hated that he was still handsome and that he still looked happy.
“You remember the Greensmiths, don’t you, honey?” Teaghan motioned to the rest of the table, like he could have forgotten.
Dave’s smile broadened. “I sure do,” he said, taking a moment to look at each of them in turn. “And Tina! Man, long time no see. How have you been doing?”
“Great,” said Tina, reaching for her alcohol. “I’ve been great.”
“You gotta hang out with the girls more often,” Dave urged. “They talk about you all the time. They’re always reminiscing about the crazy stuff you used to do together.” Dave turned his head. He took in Ben and Benji also sitting at the table. “Hey guys, how’s it going?” It was unclear whether he actually recognized them or not. At the very least, he seemed confident he didn’t recognize Eric at all. “I don’t think we’ve ever met.”
“We haven’t,” Eric assured him, standing enough to reach out and offer Dave a hand. “I’m Eric, Rowen’s husband.”
“Ah,” Dave shook his hand, “Good to meet ya.”
“Likewise,” said Eric.
From the corner of her eye, Rowen thought she saw Tilda raise her eyebrows and exchange a look with Trish. She couldn’t help but hope that meant they were impressed. There was no time to listen and find out. A second man approached. This one was tall and lean. He was still rather handsome, in a bodybuilder kind of way. He wore skinny jeans that emphasized his leg muscles and a knit cap with his suit jacket. He laid a hand on Trish’s shoulder. This must be her husband. “Channel 2 is asking for an interview. We should hurry.”
That got the women hurrying. They quickly vacated their seats. Teaghan lingered longer than the others. “We really do need to catch up.” She was speaking to Tina. She seemed to remember the rest of the table was there after the fact. “We should all catch up. I’ll find you guys later tonight.” With that, she turned and left.
Willow let out an audible groan before draining the last of her alcohol. “I definitely didn’t miss any of them.”
Rowen nodded in agreement. “They’re the worst.”
Tina made a whining, noncommittal sound. “They’re not that bad.”
Peony turned to raise an eyebrow at her friend. “Seriously?”
Tina shrugged, “High school was high school. We were just kids. Kids can be mean.”
“High schoolers still know right from wrong,” Benji grumbled. He hadn’t associated with a Greensmith, but it sounded like he had had his own run ins with their little group. “Besides it doesn’t seem like they feel bad about how they acted. They didn’t even acknowledge any of it.”
“An excellent point.” Willow put an arm around her boyfriend after he had agreed with her.
Peony was still looking in the direction they had gone. She gave a small, sad sigh. “They look happy, don’t they?”
“They do,” Rowen agreed. “Kinda seems unfair, doesn’t it?”
“You say that like you’re all unhappy,” Tina grumbled. She was looking down at the table, like she was on trial here and ashamed about it. “Can’t we just let the past be in the past?”
“Let’s just get through the night,” Ben rephrased, not looking like he really had much of a stake in it either way. “After tonight you don’t have to deal with them anymore if you don’t want to.”
“I like that idea,” said Rowen, even though she had just been gripped with the terrible feeling that she wouldn’t have that option.
Chapter Two
The night was long, horribly long. Rowen really wished Ben had called this thing in as a fire hazard. She kept checking her phone for the time. It was going by so slowly! She finally just set up shop at the table. For a while she had walked around, humoring Rose by asking people whether or not they would like to contribute to the Lainswich Inquirer’s next big article. Plenty of people were happy to talk nonstop about days gone by. Just about the only people attending this thing were those who had enjoyed their high school experience and were here specifically to reminisce about it. After a while, Rowen found that people would approach her.
Rose kept mingling. Peony and Willow busied themselves with photos, closely flanked by Benji and Tina. That left Rowen at the table with Ben and Eric. Neither of them seemed to be enjoying themselves either. Rowen was fairly certain Ben had fallen asleep with his eyes open. That might explain why he hadn’t made good on the fire hazard thing.
Margo showed up fashionably late, as expected. She was completely overdressed for the event, if such a thing was even possible. She was wearing a short black dress with a tulle skirt. It was uncommon, fashion forward. She had likely gotten it from Paris or something while traveling with her last boyfriend. It had probably come hot off the runway.
Jasper Stonewall was her date. He was no slouch either when it came to fashion. The Stonewalls were a witching family from Tarricville. They had no qualms about using magic to their advantage. The Stonewalls were very well off and had been for generations. Jasper had his blond hair slicked back. His three-piece suit was immaculate.
Margo didn’t pay attention to anyone as she made her way to the table where Rowen was seated. She didn’t much care for catching up with people, and there wasn’t a whole lot of work for her to do. She worked on the public relations side of things after all. She was just here to be seen… Well, that and everyone had insisted she come. If the rest of them had to come, they were really going to resent Margo if she was the only one who didn’t come along.
“This whole thing is pathetic,” Margo complained, frowning down at her sad martini with its bright red, plastic sword mixing stick. She made a sweeping motion around the whole room. Aside from all the bodies and the bar there was a dance floor roped off with balloons. Many more balloons were packed into a net in the ceiling. They were probably poised to drop while sappy music played. A projector was already running old school photos on a loop.
There was food served. It wasn’t exactly a classy buffet or anything. It was just a table where they served room temperature pizza for two bucks a slice. Pizza didn’t hold the same appeal it might have when she was a teenager. Still, Rowen got hungry enough that she went over and bought a few overpriced slices. She brought them back to
the table to share. “Sure you don’t want any?” Eric asked as he claimed the slice meant for Margo.
Margo looked at the piece of pizza and wrinkled her nose. “No thanks,” she said, looking back down at her phone.
“No one is going to think any less of you for eating a piece of pizza,” Rowen told her cousin, in case that was a hang up she was having.
As skinny as Margo was now, she hadn’t always looked that way. Her weight had been a real problem for her back in school. She had been a chubby little girl and teen, the largest of any of her cousins. Now she had a lot of issues about it. She was too skinny if you asked Rowen, not that anyone ever did. “I’m fine,” Margo said firmly. “No, thanks.”
Rowen didn’t push the matter. “You’re lucky you were home schooled,” she said, turning her gaze to Jasper instead.
Jasper looked around. He raised his shoulders in a shrug. “I don’t know,” he said, his tone thoughtful. “Everyone here seems pretty nice. High school might have been fun. I’d probably have more friends than I do now. It would be easier to socialize.”
“Does it look like we have a whole bunch of friends outside of our family?” asked Rowen, raising an eyebrow.
Jasper opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think better of it when he looked at Rowen. He just shrugged again instead. “I guess not?” he ventured.
“Kids are mean and teenagers are meaner,” Rowen said, looking out across the sea of faces. “They remember what they were like, and they don’t even think it was a bad thing. They’re not sorry about it. I doubt they’re even all that different now than they were then. They’ve just learned to keep their rude opinions to themselves.”
“That’s fine by me,” said Margo, still not looking up from her phone. “I have plenty of opinions about them.”
“It was just high school,” Ben said with a yawn. “Why still care about any of it? Why care what anyone thinks?”
Rowen looked to Ben. He was right. Logically speaking, it was silly to still be bothered by all this as much as she was. She looked out across the sea of faces. She couldn’t shake it. She still disliked them all intensely. She still worried about what was going through their heads when they looked her way.
