(no subject)
All the movies made turning sixteen seem magical, like the world could be falling apart around her but as long as she had the cake and the candles, everything would be okay for just a little while. Instead, her birthday had gone in fits and starts, starting high and then seeming to tank all over again. Sure, she’d gotten the car, and that had been awesome, but the thing she’d really wanted had gone so completely wrong in all the worst ways. The billboard near school should have been covered with her art by now, but the police had come by and she and Emmett had barely escaped, both of them bleeding and spouting farfetched excuses about what had happened.
Then Regina had shown up at the party and made that speech and Bay’s heart contracted because it seemed so sincere, so determined. How was she supposed to reconcile that Regina with the Regina who had stood by and watched Bay grow up, watched Bay become an outsider, and never once reached out for her? She thought she’d finally found someone who could explain to her how to be whole, only to find a big void.
Even the presents hadn’t helped much. Her stomach had sunk at the beautiful, but impersonal scarf. Especially when Emmett’s gift to Daphne had been a painful reminder of all the history he had with her, all the inside jokes and one-hundred mile road trips six months in advance, determined to get the very best present for his best friend.
Or, at least it had been, before Emmett had come to her later and given her that cool smirk and told her to put the scarf over her eyes. Bay didn’t doubt for one second that he’d known exactly how much that smile could make a person melt and agree to even the craziest of schemes. She could feel him now, turning her by the shoulders, positioning her in front of something.
She felt the scarf loosening, coming up over her eyes, and for a brief, perfect, second she could see the billboard. Emmett’s real gift was there; Axe Girl painted up for the world to see, blowing out candles made of dynamite.
And then it all went wrong all over again as the world hazed white and Bay grabbed the scarf, spinning around, trying to find Emmett but everything had changed. The pavement had melted into carnival lights and the rushing of cars into a whirling coaster. Heat was pressing in around her and Bay was struggling to breathe, to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Emmett?” she asked. “Where are you? Um…Toby? Mom? Dad?” Bay paused again before asking, “Daphne? Regina?”
((Ria here, debuting Bay Kennish from Switched at Birth, timed to evening. Find her anywhere in the carnival . First person explains, everyone else can find her wandering around and looking bewildered or curious.))
Then Regina had shown up at the party and made that speech and Bay’s heart contracted because it seemed so sincere, so determined. How was she supposed to reconcile that Regina with the Regina who had stood by and watched Bay grow up, watched Bay become an outsider, and never once reached out for her? She thought she’d finally found someone who could explain to her how to be whole, only to find a big void.
Even the presents hadn’t helped much. Her stomach had sunk at the beautiful, but impersonal scarf. Especially when Emmett’s gift to Daphne had been a painful reminder of all the history he had with her, all the inside jokes and one-hundred mile road trips six months in advance, determined to get the very best present for his best friend.
Or, at least it had been, before Emmett had come to her later and given her that cool smirk and told her to put the scarf over her eyes. Bay didn’t doubt for one second that he’d known exactly how much that smile could make a person melt and agree to even the craziest of schemes. She could feel him now, turning her by the shoulders, positioning her in front of something.
She felt the scarf loosening, coming up over her eyes, and for a brief, perfect, second she could see the billboard. Emmett’s real gift was there; Axe Girl painted up for the world to see, blowing out candles made of dynamite.
And then it all went wrong all over again as the world hazed white and Bay grabbed the scarf, spinning around, trying to find Emmett but everything had changed. The pavement had melted into carnival lights and the rushing of cars into a whirling coaster. Heat was pressing in around her and Bay was struggling to breathe, to figure out what the hell was going on.
“Emmett?” she asked. “Where are you? Um…Toby? Mom? Dad?” Bay paused again before asking, “Daphne? Regina?”
((Ria here, debuting Bay Kennish from Switched at Birth, timed to evening. Find her anywhere in the carnival . First person explains, everyone else can find her wandering around and looking bewildered or curious.))