Page 29 of Now and Again

‘I feel like that when I see my sister,’ Juliet said. ‘Though we never had much in common except a roof.’

Riley smiled. ‘How is your sister these days?’

‘She’s about the same. Well, except that she manages a clothes shop, and she’s married with a son, now.’

‘Wow. Sounds like she’s a proper grown-up.’

Juliet smiled. ‘She still just seems like the same old Becca to me. Clothes obsessed and flighty. Even with a kid.’

‘I’m not sure people change after a certain point,’ Riley agreed. ‘It all sort of sets in. Look at my dad. He faked being nice just long enough to snag Amanda and boom. Reverted to the same old prick I grew up with.’

‘Yeah, I remember,’ Juliet said without thinking. She added quickly, ‘I mean, I remember… you talked about him. That time.’

Whoops. Here came the elephant in the room, walking in all big, snuggling itself onto the bed and getting comfy.

‘Did I?’ Riley said. Juliet had to assume she didn’t remember a lot about that night. Then again, why should she? All of that might have been a big deal, but only to Juliet. Riley couldn’t know how that night had marked her.

THEN

It was Monday morning, and Juliet was faking sickness. She knew it was under suspicion. Her dad had given her the eye this morning, but her mother was doing more than looking. It was her day off work, and she’d been sniffing around Juliet all morning, asking about symptoms. Juliet had told her she felt hot, sick, and tired, the last two of which were true. Her mother had nodded and left. Juliet thought she was safe. But not twenty minutes later, her mother burst into Juliet’s room with a small plastic device.

‘What have you got there?’ Juliet asked.

‘It’s an ear thermometer,’ Juliet’s mum declared.

‘We don’t have one of them. Where did you get it?’ Juliet exclaimed nervously.

‘I borrowed it from next door,’ her mother told her, pleased with herself. The woman never believed anyone was ill, at least not with anything they couldn’t battle through. Her work ethic was terrifying. ‘Right, pull your hair back.’

Juliet did as she was told. Her mother stuck the device ungently into her ear and pressed a button. It beeped, and her mother checked the readout. ‘Completely normal. I knew you were fibbing.’

‘I’m not fibbing,’ Juliet said weakly.

Her mother tutted. ‘Get dressed. You’re going in. I’ll ring the school now and tell them about your miraculous recovery.’

‘Mum, no!’ Juliet cried.

‘If you can give me one good reason why you can’t go in, I’ll consider letting you off.’

Juliet sighed. ‘Fine.’ There was no chance she was going to tell her mother about the party. Not one part of it was parent-suitable.Mary Sullivan believed feelings were things people couldn’t afford to indulge in, anyway.Not embarrassment, nor heartbreak. Because that was the other thing. That horrible text she’d gotten Sunday morning.

Hey Juliet. It was nice to see you at the party. I hope to see more of you soon.

It was obvious what she meant. What she’d seen. Whateveryonehad seen. She obviously thought it was funny. Well, Juliet wasn’t amused by her total humiliation.

She got dressed and prepared herself for social horror.

***

She was at school for eleven, just in time for geography. She walked in, took her usual seat, and waited. For what, she wasn’t sure. Laughter? Whispers? Being pelted with rotten fruit?

In the end, nothing happened. Maybe it hadn’t gotten around the entire school yet. But it would, Juliet knew it. There were at least three people in this class who’d been at the party. They could have it around the room in no time. By the end of this lesson, she’d get an indication that people were talking about her.

***

Lunchtime, Juliet sat with her usual people, Haley and Meera. For once, they had a real use. They always picked up every tiny bit of gossip and dissected it to the nth degree. They’d know what had happened and could tell her how it was being framed. ‘Hey, guys, did you hear… I mean, what’s going on, what’s the, er… goss?’ Juliet asked, trying to sound laid-back.

Meera, mid sarnie, stopped chewing. ‘What do you mean?’ she asked, little bits of tuna in her teeth.

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