The End of the Beginning
She was done.
All of a sudden, it seemed, she'd had enough. All around her the low hum of people going about their daily business continued, completely ignorant of this unexpected and startling change. Or maybe it wasn't so surprising. Replacing the item back on the rack, she watched it swing slightly back and forth before she turned away.
Her friends were only a few steps away.
"I'm done." Her voice had an odd, bewildered ring to it.
The usual guarded smiles greeted her. "Okay, but we wanted to try these on. Where do you want to go after that? Forever Fashion just got in-"
"No," she said. "I mean I'm done. With this. Clothes, fashion. I'm done."
Their smiles froze. They didn't understand. It wasn't unexpected. After all, she wasn't sure she understood, either. Maybe it was the school year ending. Maybe it was the fact her parents had been talking about moving. Maybe it was the fact the mild interest that brought her into a school club wasn't enough for her to make the effort anymore.
Deep down, she felt she had been faking it for a long time, perhaps even from the very beginning. She'd tried to fit in for the whole year and thought she'd done a fair job of it. But she was done. Suddenly she hoped they would move away. Away from the town that made her feel claustrophobic, though the horizon was flat and seemed to go on forever. Moving would let her give in to the desire to be left alone, to stop trying so hard to be something she wasn't. Maybe she'd have no friends just like her mom had said when she'd been nudged and goaded into joining the club in the first place. Starting high school had been frightening to do alone, which is why she supposed she broke out of her usual self-imposed isolation and gave the club a try. But it just wasn't working. Fine, no friends would be better than forcing herself to be someone she wasn't.
She wanted a break. She wanted to be herself. She was done.
Looking to her sister, Daria shrugged. "I'm sorry Quinn. I just don't want to do this anymore. I'll tell them you'll be fashion editor until the end of the year."