Mineral Town was beautiful at night. There was a certain calming loveliness in the way the lampposts lit up promptly at eight o'clock; a certain sense of security in knowing Harris was patrolling the town, keeping an eye out for wild dogs or suspicious characters. In the springtime, the beauty was amplified: cherry blossoms gently floated down in the cool breeze against a backdrop of starry sky, and as evening progressed into night, a cold and clear stillness settled over the residential area as each neighbor turned out his lights and went to sleep.
Elli, however, wasn't asleep.
The nighttime bell had been rung hours ago. Her grandmother had gone to bed shortly after baby Stu had been rocked and placed in his crib, leaving Elli the only person in the house—Mineral Town, maybe—whose eyes were still open. These eyes were currently caked in mascara and eye shadow inexpertly applied, and Elli felt more and more hopeless the longer she stared at them in the bathroom mirror.
Maybe some lipstick would help her look more ladylike? She felt like a tomb raider, sifting through her mother's old makeup bag for a tube of cherry red. The bag still smelled like the poor woman's perfume.
The lipstick felt heavy as Elli's shaking hands applied it to her lips. She kissed a tissue to wipe the excess makeup off her mouth and admired her handiwork in the mirror.
Elli fought a sob of disappointment and grief at the sight. She looked like a sloppier version of her dead mother, not like a seductive young woman that Kai would take notice of. All that hard work, all that guilt at rifling through her mom's makeup kit, and Kai would just laugh at her when he came tomorrow.
Tears threatening at the corners of her eyes, Elli spritzed the liquid remover onto another tissue and tried to calm her shaking hands as she wiped off the evidence of her humiliation. No, Kai wouldn't care. Kai probably wouldn't even laugh. His caramel eyes would just glaze over when he saw her—or worse, they'd simply pass her over like she wasn't even there. Yes, that was far more likely. Elli was plain, and Karen was beautiful. Elli had the body of a twelve-year-old boy, and Karen had curves in all the right places.
When Karen had confessed that she'd had a crush on Kai ever since he first started setting up shop in the summertime, the normally gentle-natured Elli had fought the urge to smack her friend in the mouth. She'd managed to quell the urge, instead smiling and laughing, but she had managed to get a few digs in about how unlikely it was for Kai to return the favor. Fortunately for the two teenagers' friendship, Karen hadn't picked up on the insults, but neither had she picked up on Elli's own crush. The sleepover had ended in peace, except for the little niggle of jealousy and anger worming its way into Elli's heart.
Well, it looked like Karen would win. She had shown Elli the dress she'd planned to greet Kai in on the first day of summer, and wow, Elli had thought, it sure did emphasize Karen's tiny waist and long legs even though the slit up the side was a little more desperate than Elli thought a refined guy like Kai would go for. But, if she were being honest with herself, she really didn't know Kai all that well. Maybe desperate was what he liked in a girl.
Whatever, then. Elli gave one final sniffle, the makeup completely removed, and hurled herself into bed. Tomorrow would come whether she liked it or not, and the least she could do was not look sleep-deprived.
And tomorrow did indeed come, turning into today in the process. Elli put on her cleanest cotton jumper and, in a moment of daring, her open-toed sandals that she'd only worn once. She headed outside, the warm air and Karen greeting her as the door shut behind her.
Karen looked morose. No, besides that, Karen looked normal. No makeup, except for a little bit of smudged mascara that had obviously been almost entirely scrubbed off. No sexy dress—just her usual jean shorts and purple vest. And no cheerful, sly expression—just the aforementioned glum frown pulling at her usually pretty features.
"No dress?" Elli could have smacked herself. If she were a better friend, she'd have asked her what was wrong before pointing out the obvious. The green-eyed beast truly was a monster indeed.
"No dress," Karen said, disappointment etched into every faint line in her face. "My mother said it was too 'revealing.' Hello? It's summer! But she made me take it off. I think she's even donating it."
Elli made a "hmm" noise of sympathy even as her inner thoughts celebrated. Maybe after the initial glee wore off, she'd be truly devastated for her friends' sake, because it really was quite unfair, but for now, there was naught but the initial glee.
"Shall we go down to the beach anyway? I think you still look gorgeous," Elli suggested, the truth blurting out before she could help it. Oh, why was she always so nice? Not that Karen didn't deserve it, but—
"Yeah, okay."
They chatted about senseless things as a method of cheering Karen up, strolling through Rose Square and picking up speed as they heard the ocean. Meaningless chatter forgotten once they heard a familiar laugh, the two girls made a dash for the beach, nearly tripping over the stairs in their haste.
And there he was. The boy of their dreams. His tanned skin made him an easy target on the pale sand, and as the sea breeze blew hard, his purple bandana flew towards them, his shock of dark hair making him stand out even more. His teeth were white and straight as he laughed and bounded their way in chase of his bandana, but he caught it before they could.
He smiled at them both, and in that moment, Elli swore her heart stopped.
"Hi, Kai," she began shyly, just as another, louder voice crashed over hers.
"Kai! I'm so happy to see you! I escaped my brother for a few seconds—wanna hang out?"
Popuri skipped down the stairs behind them, elegant in her swishing skirt and corset.
Elli stared. Kai stared, too.
"Nice to see you, Popuri," he nodded, turning slightly pink at the ears as he covered his head again. "Let's go. I just made some spaghetti we can share."
And then the pair was gone, laughing and flirting as they headed towards Kai's renovated shack. Elli and Karen watched them go in stunned silence, the wind whistling through the umbrellas and playing with the ends of their hair.
Karen forced a laugh and headed up the stairs, and before long, Elli followed her. The glee was gone, replaced by a panging sadness. Karen may have tried to shrug her disappointment off with bad jokes with a bite to them as they made their way to the general store, but her pain was still obvious to Elli.
Jeff and Sasha didn't say a word when their daughter grabbed a pile of chocolate off the shelf and retreated to their home with her friend in tow, Goddess be praised, nor did they say anything when the girls returned an hour later with empty wrappers and complaints of a stomachache, but Sasha did rub both of the teenagers' shoulders sympathetically in a way that helped more than the physical pain.
Elli cracked a smile at Karen through Sasha's embrace, and after a moment Karen returned it. Elli may not have had a mother of her own to soothe her, but as long as she was borrowing Karen's, maybe her friend deserved a little kindness after today.