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It was Friday, August 27th. More importantly, it was her weekly movie night with Janis and Damian, the friends she'd made at the beginning of the year. Does she have a name? Yes. Why wouldn't she? Everyone does. Her name is irrelevant now, though. She's just a speck in the grand scheme of things. We'll call her Un. Short for unknown.
Janis cannonballed down onto the juniper-colored couch in her garage after hitting the play button to start their movie. Some of Damian's popcorn flew out of the bowl when she landed, but he didn't care all that much and proceeded to pick one up and throw it into his mouth. The Disney movie "Holes" started to play and they turned to face the screen and watch, but the air was still filled with joyful chatter throughout the movie. Mostly about the yellow-spotted lizard and how Cady (Caddy?) would've wanted one if they were real.
Un had never actually met Cady. Caddy. Cady. Ugh. She only knew her from pictures, and the things Janis and Damian said. You see, the Herons had moved back to Africa after they were informed that they were going to be funded again. Of course, Cady would miss North Shore and her friends, but she also missed Kenya. Besides, it wasn't her choice. Too bad. Cady/Caddy sounded like someone Un would've been able to relate to, being new in Evanston this year. They could've been friends.
By the time the movie was over, Damian was sleeping soundly with Janis leaning on his shoulder, about to fall asleep herself. Un was visually scanning the room for her phone, trying to figure out where she'd set it down earlier. The night could go one of two ways. Either she'd spend the night over at Janis' house, and call her parents to let them know where she was, or she'd walk home alone. Whatever happened, she needed that thing. Where /was/ it?
A minute later, the others were out cold, snuggled up together. There was no use trying to wake them up now. Even if you could, they'd be mindless zombies, and would probably fall asleep again right away. She found herself standing up after another moment, and walking across the room to gather her things. On a table covered in art supplies (So very Janis), Un found her phone and pocketed it before waving goodbye as she walked out the door. Even though they couldn't see, it felt weird leaving without saying (or in this case, doing) something.
Finally, she was home. The door was closed quietly behind her so she wouldn't wake anyone up, and she carried her things up the stairs on tip-toe. Down the hall, the third door on the left was her room. The door creaked open slowly, and Un stepped in. The only sound following the creaking of the door was her own breathing and footsteps toward the light switch. It flickered on after she grabbed the brass knob and pulled her white bedroom door shut. The room was decorated with fairy lights, paintings of trees, and her spruce desk had random trinkets such as bells, tiny animals, and metal skulls with jewels arranged neatly.
Un sat down in her swivel chair with a sigh of relief and spun around once in a full circle. The black-framed clock on the wall read 1:14, far too late at night (or early in the morning) for her parents to be up. If they knew she got home at this time, they'd probably yell at her. Un always loved staying up late with her friends. Not only did they have fun, but she got a thrill from the risk of her parents finding out that she disobeyed them. Not that they were overly strict people. She was just very sheltered. They were cautious. Staying up late was as dangerous as her life was going to get. Maybe. Probably.
There was a glass of water sitting on the shelf (that she'd nailed onto the wall herself) on the other side of the room. Un pushed off of the ground and swiftly wheeled the chair over to the shelf. She grabbed the drink and took a sip, admiring the wall. Was that an odd thing to do? Maybe. At least there was a reason for her admiration. When they moved in that summer, she got to pick whatever color she wanted for it, and she chose ultramarine. The color itself was already so pretty, but the paint was so smooth and even. It was something she was proud of.
The water tasted odd from being left out there so long. She took a mental note to pour it away in the morning, or water the garden with it, or give it to Janis to use for her paints. As long as she wasn't drinking it again. Ew. Un reached up to put the glass back, but once it was set down, the shelf collapsed and broke.
There was the sound of something smashing, then shattering, and then a flash of light. It glowed brighter than anything she'd ever seen. Brighter than the sun. Looking into it burned her eyes, and Un could feel the warmth radiating from it. Luckily, it was only there for a minute. And then she was back in her room. No, not her room. It was pink, frilly, girly. Not her style.
There was a Polaroid camera in her left hand, a photo in her right. A photo with her in it. Except, not her. It couldn't be. She never took it. Unless she did. But why would she wear a dress? And why was she with the Plastics? And was that other girl Caddy? So many questions, so much confusion, but no answers. No explanations.
She felt someone touch her shoulder and quickly turned, more alert than before, her senses heightened. Staring down at her was none other than Regina George, the head mean queen bee of North Shore High.