(no subject)

[behindmothersback]

I have learned so much in this place, Father. I go to school now and have a job and do all kinds of things that real girls do. But there's still so much to do and tonight I hope to have another experience that I've heard so much about. I've watched movies and read books and nearly all of them talk about slumber parties as if they're the quintessential coming of age experience.

I want to have these experiences, things I never would have done had Mother succeeded.

So tonight I've planned a night with my friends, and invited them to invite a few of theirs. I have cookies and ice cream and pizza and games and scary movies to watch and I truly hope that everyone enjoys themselves. There are pillows and sleeping bags all over our living room and I have to thank you for allowing me to overrun the apartment like this.

I do hope we all have fun.

Comments

[makeithome]

Gwen can't even remember the last time she attended a sleepover — not just had someone else over, but been to a party with so many other girls, all laughing and talking and eating. It's nice, doing something so ordinary, so ubiquitous, that hasn't been part of her life in ages. Being surrounded by the others, it kind of feels like life is normal again. In a tank top and cotton shorts for pajamas, Gwen watches the others, grinning to herself. She leans forward to reach her foot, brushing another layer of purple onto a toe. "Can someone hand me the top coat?"

[behindmothersback]

I watch Gwen painting her toes with curiosity. I don't think I quite understand fashion here yet and as I hand over the requested polish I decide to ask. "Why do you paint your toes? Aren't they in shoes most of the time?"

I look down at my own feet, in socks and I can't help but wiggle my own toes a little. Should I try and paint mine? I never have.

[makeithome]

"Most of the time," Gwen says, nodding. Even in summer, she's not the kind to wander barefoot. She loves her boots too much for that. Rubbing the bottle between her hands, she flashes a sheepish grin Eleanor's way. "I don't know, I guess it's kind of silly. But when I'm walking around at home, it's kind of fun, you know? A little flash of color, like, oh, I forgot I did that, that's cute."

[behindmothersback]

"Should I do mine? I've never before." I wiggle my toes again. I've never thought about my feet as anything other than... feet. I walk on them, I can fight with them, no one sees them unless I'm wearing sandals and it certainly isn't sandal weather anymore.

[makeithome]

"Yeah, why not?" Gwen says. Pressing a fingertip tentatively to her toenail, she picks up the topcoat to add a layer. "It's a sleepover. It's the perfect time to try it." There's no better opportunity for fun and frivolous beauty adventure. Anyway, she doesn't think there is. Truthfully, she hasn't had a whole lot of sleepovers herself, and there hasn't been a whole lot of make up involved, but it seems right.

[behindmothersback]

"How do I do it? What do I use?" I have only the vaguest idea how to go about such a thing. I've never even painted my nails, although I suppose I should start there. But then it would make it difficult to do my feet wouldn't it? IF the paint has to dry?

"I'm rather bad at these kinds of things."

[thecautionarywhale]

Nails are something she knows, like it or not. Bren owned a salon and Juno had spent time in there playing with polishes even though it wasn't the sort of thing she usually went for. Leah had, and took advantage of it too, not that Juno minded.


"Want me to do it?" She offers up the bottle in one hand. "You'd be surprised how good at this I am."

[behindmothersback]

When the doorbell rings, I answer it with a smile and pay the pizza delivery man a nice tip. I'm in such a good mood. I have friends here and everyone seems to be having fun. It's everything I wanted it to be.

Taking the food into the living room and set the pies down on the coffee table. "There are all kinds of sodas in the fridge and I have vegetarian pizzas here, too. Does anyone want anything else?"

[arrowette]

"I think I'm good," Cissie said, already up and heading over to the coffee table. Sure, it was a really good scene going on in the movie they were watching but there was pizza. Surely everything could be forgiven for the tasty pizza.

"Do you need me to get plates or napkins or anything?"

[behindmothersback]

"Oh, yes please, they're in the kitchen over there." I check the pizzas and sort them out. I had to ask what the most popular ones were, I certainly don't trust my own tastes in these things. "Plates and napkins both, I bought disposables. Is that alright?"

[arrowette]

"That's perfect," Cissie reassured her. "It makes cleaning up so much easier and you won't have to worry about trying to get dried cheese off dishes. I've done that, it's really crappy."

[behindmothersback]

"That's what I was thinking. I'll clean up of course, I wouldn't leave this for Father, but this is much easier. People dispose of so many things here, it's a bit shocking, but it is easy." I never remembered things like this in Rapture, I imagine there might be something like these, but... Mother would think it wasteful. Mother would think this whole enterprise was a waste, she spent so much time keeping me away from the others.

"We didn't have pizza where I used to live. I rather like it."

[thecautionarywhale]

"Please tell me there's meat pizza too?" Juno looks up with almost-panic in her mind. She doesn't mind vegetarian when it's all that's offered, but there's something about pepperoni, sausage and bacon on a slice of pie that he loves.

[behindmothersback]

"There are all kinds. I may have ordered too much, but I didn't want anyone to feel left out." I move the cardboard boxes and set them out, lifting each lid to check what's inside. "Here you go, this one is pepperoni, and there's another with sausage and mushrooms. I asked the shop to give me the most popular options."

[thecautionarywhale]

"You are a champion," Juno says, bouncing up to grab a paper towel and a couple of slices. "Seriously, nice planning. Good party. I like it."

[behindmothersback]

"I'm really happy. I have to confess, I've been quite worried. I've never done anything like this." I never had friends to invite to a party before. Not even Amir, because I had to visit him in secret, behind Mother's back.

[arrowette]

Honestly, Cissie couldn't remember the last time she'd been on a sleepover so it was really cool to be invited to one now.

She'd put her hair up in a ponytail and changed into red and yellow stripped pajamas and now she was sitting in front of the nail polish collection, trying to decide what color she wanted.

"I can't decide," she said out loud. "Someone pick for me."

[makeithome]

Gwen doesn't really know all of the girls Eleanor's invited, but she's looking at that as a good thing. It means a chance to get to know some other people, and if Eleanor likes them, they're probably pretty cool to hang out with. She's friendly with her classmates, but she's not always so great at following up off campus.

"Let me see," she says, scooting over next to Cissie to look through the colors collected there. "Sparkles or no sparkles?"

[arrowette]

"That is a good question," Cissie answered as she surveyed the bottles. "I hadn't even thought about the sparkles or no sparkles thing! I'm thinking sparkles, though. I mean, it's a slumber party, right? If you don't get a little wild and crazy with the nail polish than it's not a real one, right?"

[makeithome]

"I wouldn't know," admits Gwen, laughing. "I haven't been to a whole lot of them, actually. But you are so right." As she talks, she starts to move the bottles around, isolating the glitter polishes from the rest to make it easier to narrow down the selection. "These are so pretty, oh my god."

[arrowette]

"Me neither," Cissie admitted. The one real sleepover she'd had was the Young Justice parent-teacher night and they hadn't even been supposed to have one. Whatever the typical sleepover was supposed to be like, she was pretty sure it didn't involve Superboy flying around the place shouting about how he was Peter Pan.

"But I mean, all the movies say there should be nail polish going on and oh - I like this magenta color! What do you think?"

[thecautionarywhale]

"Can we do stripes? There's this thing you do with tape that makes stripes. Stripes would be cool." She smiles at Cissie, pulling up a pink and an aqua.

[arrowette]

"We can definitely do stripes," Cissie grinned at Juno. "Or, well, by 'we', I mean you because I have no idea how."

[thecautionarywhale]

"I have no idea either, but we can figure it out." Juno figures it can't be that hard. Bits of tape and layers of polish, has to be easy. "I've seen Leah do it. It can't be that hard, right?"

[arrowette]

"I'm sure it can't be," Cissie agreed. "And hey, if we have to go through a few bottles and paper towels then it just means we're doing it right."