It was with the trepidation of a newborn deer that Karyn stepped out onto the brick-tiled patio of her back yard, clutching a towel and a bottle of tanning oil, clad only in a bikini that she had never worn before. As her feet touched the ground, as the sunlight touched her skin, she realized that she'd never felt quite so exposed before. It was a new sensation, and she didn't know if she liked it.
But she crossed the brick-tiled patio, and she made her way onto the grass, and she rolled out her towel out onto the grass, and she gingerly, awkwardly, laid herself down.
It was only a few minutes later that Lucy Corinth showed up in a tank top and cheer shorts. She must be one of "the girls," Karyn mused to herself. Lucy was very petite, but she was a firecracker, and her smile was infectious. A gymnast's smile. Lucy looked almost like Kerri Strug but with nicer hair, Karyn mused.
The smaller girl rolled out her own towel next to Karyn and shimmied out of her outer clothing to reveal a solid black bikini, Karyn couldn't help but return the smile, even if she didn't quite feel it.
Shortly thereafter, Melody Tyne rounded the corner of Karyn's house. If Lucy was Kerri Strug, then Melody was Serena Williams: tall, elegant, and determined. It was with unparalleled confidence that she joined the two already on the grass, dropping out of a purple sundress to reveal a deep purple bikini underneath. Lucy and Melody immediately started talking to each other about cheerleading practice. Karyn wasn't sure how to join the conversation.
Melissa Smith and Tiffany Sanders then showed up together, giggling with each other over something. The blonde Tiffany contrasted the raven-haired Melissa, but other than that they almost could have been sisters. They put their towels on the grass and joined the others, Melissa in a forest green bikini and Tiffany in canary yellow.
It was amazing, Karyn marveled, that none of them had overlapped colors.
Very quickly, the conversation seemed to overwhelm Karyn. She didn't really know these girls all that well. She didn't really understand the things they wanted to talk about. So, with more than a hint of self-consciousness, she tuned the other voices out and retreated into herself.
At the fifteen-minute mark, as they flipped sides, Lucy turned to Karyn.
"You've been quiet since I got here. Is there anything wrong?"
"No," Karyn sighed. "I guess I just don't know what to talk about. I guess I feel like I don't really fit in with you guys."
"What?" This was Melissa. "Of course you fit in with us! You're one of the girls!"
"Yeah," Melody joined, "you wouldn't be in our group chat if you weren't one of us. And we definitely wouldn't have come over. Stop talking nonsense."
Karyn felt a pressure in her chest. But somehow it was a good pressure. Okay, yeah. The were right. She had called everyone here, so she must be one of the girls. Tracks seemed to re-route themselves in Karyn's mind. Of course she fit in. These were some of her best friends!
