Jon woke up the next morning to a knock on his bedroom door at 6am. His alarm was set for 6:30.
“Jon?” His mom’s voice was muffled through the door. “There’s a girl from your school here to see you.”
“Karyn?” Jon replied groggily as he grabbed the nearest T-shirt and pulled it over his head.
Jon heard his mother snort. “If it was Karyn, I’d have said it was Karyn.”
“It’s okay, Mrs. Gibson, he’s not exactly expecting me.”
That voice. The same voice that had spent half an hour the previous night interrogating him about his relationship with Karyn. The same stuck-up, entitled, bitchy voice that had struck fear in his heart through four years of high school. The voice that he kept hearing echoes of yesterday in his own best friend’s voice. Sarah McMillan’s voice.
Jon opened his bedroom door stiffly.
“Good morning, loser.” The words were affectionate. Not as affectionate as Karyn had been the previous night, but almost amused. Like “Loser” was a pet name. Like Jon was a cat that she was greeting, and not a human.
It was kind-sounding enough that it didn’t set off any alarms for Jon’s mom, who retreated down the hallway to finish getting ready for the morning.
“What are you doing here?” Jon hissed as Sarah stepped through the doorway and pulled a small suitcase in behind her. She was immaculate, her makeup perfect, her clothes like she’d plucked them from a fashion magazine, her hair floating around her face in bouncy curls. But she was still Sarah McMillan.
“I’m here to help you. And you should be a little more appreciative: I woke up an hour early to make sure I was here on time to get you ready.”
“I don’t need your help.”
“Oh, you think so?”
“What, I didn’t pass your little test last night?”
“Hm,” Sarah made a mild affirmative noise. “Just barely. Like a C-minus. But if you’re going to be dating my best friend, she deserves better than a C-minus. And if you’re going to be seen with me, then you’re going to have to do a lot better than a C-minus.” There was a smirk in her voice, but it was almost a friendly smirk. Then she opened the suitcase, revealing a small collection of men’s clothes. “That’s why I’ve brought some make-up work to boost up your grade.”
