"Uh ... I need to, like ... uhh." The cheerleaders looked at her expectantly, though, oddly, they didn't seem terribly surprised as Karyn stared blankly into space, struggling for words. Finally, the gears (slowly) shifted in her head, and she found the excuse she was looking for.
"I think I'm, like, sick or something?"
It was true enough. Her stomach felt like a ball of lead was embedded in her chest. What was happening to her? Why couldn't she just talk like a normal person? Why was she here, with these girls that wouldn't have given her the time of day an hour ago? What was happening?
Karyn suddenly realized they were talking to her.
"Earth to Karyn! Do you want us to take you home, or what?" Tiffany seemed exasperated, but again, not entirely surprised that she had zoned out. Thinking was so hard. It was like her head was stuffed with cotton candy. Thick, and oddly sweet.
"Like, yeah. Sure." Karyn swallowed hard. She couldn't stop saying "like". She realized she was blushing hard. She let herself be led out of the mall, though she nearly left the shopping bags behind until the cheerleaders reminded her to take them. Karyn would have liked nothing more than to toss the girly clothes into a dumpster, but she was...scared. Scared and confused. She couldn't find it in her to fight.
"This is, like, your car." Karyn stated numbly as they arrived at a red convertible in the parking lot.
"Duh. You seem a little blonder than usual today, Karyn." Amber responded.
I'm blonde?, Karyn thought. Then, through the clotted jelly of her thoughts, she remembered. "You're taking me home?"
"Um..., like, yes? What about 'do you want us to take you home?' did you not understand."
Karyn looked down, noticed her pump clad feet, then quickly looked back up again, blushing. "Sorry."
Hesitantly, she climbed into the back seat, the other girls taking positions around her. Karyn still didn't understand. These girls...they acted like they knew her. Really knew her, not just as a random face in school. But the way she was dressed...the way they were dressed...
Were they her friends? The thought filled her with disquiet. Why was Jon doing this?
Slowly, so slowly, the question came to her. Was Jon doing this? Or could someone else have the empathy belly? It had to be. Jon wouldn't do this to her. Jon was nice and honest and...cute?
Where had that thought come from? Karyn felt the heat return to her cheeks. Yes...cute. She couldn't deny what she felt. Though she'd never used that word to describe a boy before. Even though she'd sometimes wished Jon...
She had to find him. She had to fix this.
