behindmothersback | (no subject)

(no subject)

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.

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"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.

The question surprises Gwen. Thinking about it, it almost seems like something she just knew, but she knows that isn't true. It's like any of the other little things she does routinely; she's done it so many times it feels natural. "My mom," she says after a moment, and smiles. "When I was younger and we were hanging out once, she showed me. It was nice, you know? Just me and her spending time together without my brothers, doing girl things."

"Oh, god, I know, right?" Gwen laughs, rueful, and begins rooting through the colors to pick one. "It gets everywhere. When I do my right hand, anyway; I'm okay with my left, because I'm using my dominant hand, but the other..." She's got steady hands, but she's far from ambidextrous. Biting her lip, she almost chooses a navy blue, but forces herself to veer away. It's a girls night. She should pick something more fun. Lifting up a shimmery aqua polish, she leans back. "I think this one."

"No one here has. Apparently, it's very rare, although it was rare back home. Rapture was a secret city. You had to be invited to live there, or be one of the workers that built it and once you were there it was, well, forever. Leaving wasn't allowed. The people above the ocean would have found out." I don't think about that much. My life had been tied to Rapture in such a different way than others' had been, it was hard for me to consider it. I couldn't imagine volunteering to live in such a place forever.

"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."

"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."

"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.

"I've had sleepovers, but not like this. Usually they were just my friend Leah and me." Juno pauses long enough to take a bite of pizza, chewing and swallowing quickly. "I haven't been to something like this since I was a kid. And then it wasn't like this."

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

"Ooh, I like that color," Cissie said approvingly as she reached out for it.

"And yes, that's exactly what happens to me. Nail polish everywhere but on my actual nails and the whole place looks like a disaster area. I can hit targets with my bow but not paint my nails. Go figure, huh?"

That sounded interesting - and more than a little bit sinister, Cissie thought. The name seemed familiar, though, but she couldn't figure out just why.

"I was going to ask what was so secret about it but then, that kind of defeats the purpose, right?" Cissie said. "I'm guessing you never got to go out of it or anything like that?"

"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?"

"What was it like?" I'm interested in all kinds of things people do, especially in childhood. As you well know, I had none of my own and can only listen to the stories of others. Those stories, sometimes I like to pretend it was me, laughing and playing and attending school with friends.

"The man who built Rapture didn't want interference from the outside, it was that simple. No oversight, no rules." It's hardly a secret, I've even read some things, in philosophy and some political texts here that tell me Ryan was hardly unique in his views. Just unique in how he expressed them. I wonder, could there ever be a place that could live by Ryan's rules and survive? "My first time above the ocean was when I woke up on the train. I was born in Rapture and there were times... well, I thought I might die there."

"Okay, I guess. Usually we'd watch a couple of movies. I'd always try to make them watch the scary ones, but no one ever wanted to. I dunno. I didn't really fit in with those kids." Juno hadn't ever minded that, though. She stuck out, but she'd always been pretty okay with that, with being who she was. "There would be some stupid games. Truth or Dare and someone would be dared to go and kiss the dog or someone's brother or something. Then their parents would tell us to shut up and go to sleep, pretty much."

"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."

No interference from anyone else, that sounded more than a little familiar to Cissie. She would have bet anything that the guy probably was Evil with a capital e.

"That must have been really weird," Cissie said. "Waking up on the train and realizing you weren't underwater anymore."

"You can shoot a bow?" Gwen asks. "Like archery?" She's seen other people do it — granted, mostly in movies — but somehow she never thought of it as something people do. It's definitely a far cry from her own skill set, which makes it all the more impressive to her.

"Exactly like that," Cissie grinned. "I've been doing it for - just about as long as I can remember. It's not exactly cool or anything, I know, but I enjoy it."

"Or we could get kicked out for destroying the carpet. Either way, I figure we're pretty good." Honestly, Juno doesn't think that they'll get to that point. At least she hopes they won't. "So... How's things with Chris?"

"Good," Cissie answered, unable to help the smitten little grin. "Really good. He's such a great guy and it's - it's so great to be with him."

"Told you so," Juno retorts with pleasure, motioning for Cissie to hold a hand out to her. She starts with what looks like a base coat, familiar enough with this end of the process. "He's pretty cool. You're not half bad either."

"Yeah yeah yeah," Cissie said, maturely sticking out her tongue as she gave Juno her hand. "But no, you did say so and I'm glad you did, even if it, you know, took me awhile to get my butt together."

Juno grins as she starts, being as careful as she can. That doesn't mean she's great at this, but it's not like it really matters. It's just a party type of thing. "Life would be so much easier if everyone just did what I told them to in the first place."

Cissie tried to keep from snorting, mostly because she didn't want to make Juno screw up on account of her moving her hands.

"I'll, uh, keep that in mind but I make no promises."

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