Karyn looked a little different. It was true that he hadn't seen her in a week or so outside of last night's driveway argument, but seeing her today in the empty lunchroom, something about her felt a little different. If you knew Karyn, you knew that she was the kind of girl who was cute if she wanted to be, but always seemed to pull her clothes from off the floor rather than from her closet. She wasn't ever dirty, per say, but a defining element of Karyn was that there was always one piece of her that just looked a little Jon struggled to find a word unkempt? Today though, she looked put-together. Almost professional even.
"Jon-boy! bon jour, dude, what's up?"
"Hey Karyn. Wow, you're pretty dressed up for a weekday, aren't you?"
"Oh, this outfit?" She gestured down at the tight black dress pants and stretchy scoop-neck black top that clung to her body unlike anything she owned. "Got it for free. Looks great, right?" Her hair was straightened and styled smartly to her shoulders kept in place by a white headband topped with a black and white satin bow.
"Yeah, it does. You do, actually. Listen, about yesterday "
"Oh whatever, it's fine, you know, c'est rien. Hey -- could you help me out with this?" She handed Jon a rag and they began to wipe down the lunchtables. "I mean, I was pretty upset when I got home, because Brittney-Lynne was acting like a pretty big jerk to me, but today, when I was in French class, I got a note from her. It actually was pretty nice, even if she couldn't spell the easiest word! Here, check it out."
Jon stopped wiping and took the note from Karyn and opened it - it was on Career Center letterhead.
Karyn, Sorry about last night. I overreacted - hope you'll accept this apology. Have you given any thought to what I said about the Career Center? Stop down, and they'll clean you up quick even if enrollment has ended -- it'll pretty easy to find a job that's maid for you." -Brittney-Lynne
"So did you go down there?" Jon asked with a bit of uncertainty. "I feel like something strange is going on, and it's all stemming from that place."
Karyn began to spray wood polish on a rag and wiped down the countertop.
"Yeah, you know, I did. Mostly out of curiosity. I didn't say yes to anything though. It was too fait peur for me. People would go into exam rooms all-unsure and come out completely confident. It felt strangely like the fabric and personalities of these people was getting tweaked with every visit." She rearranged the headband and smoothed her hair, which had gotten out of place during the wiping. "The only good thing is that they gave me these clothes for free! Whoever it was at the front desk said that they were a gift for the trouble of going down there. You know me, I'd never normally wear all-black and white stuff, let alone something tight like this, but I kind of feel really comfortable in this outfit, like it's what I should be wearing, know what I mean? I might pick up deux or trois more when I get the cash together. In a way, Brittney-Lynne was sort of right in her note. I should clean up more."
Relief. Lots of relief. Jon was glad that Karyn didn't actually enroll in the Career Center program. He wiped a bead of sweat off his forehead, careful not to smear his foundation. That could've been bad -- Karyn was his one plug-in to the outside world who understood him. The one who could notice any other changes in reality. If he lost her, he didn't know what he'd do. Brittney-Lynne always had good answers for dilemmas like this, but could she be trusted?
He casually tossed a gum wrapper toward the trash and missed, only to be met with the eyes of Karyn, making sure that he wasn't going to leave it there. "Man!" he thought, "since when did Karyn become such a neat freak?"
Jon hurriedly grabbed his books and headed to class.
