Survival Of The Fittest

[[ Sierra Manning continued from The Alibi, private between Josie and Sierra ]]

Sierra lunged against the stubborn surface, attempting to use her entire body weight to force the jammed door open. It never failed to stick when it was moist out and lucky for her, today was one of those days. The fiasco at the Alibi hadn't left her mind and every time she thought she had gotten over it, it would decide to make a reappearance and stain her cheeks red. Today just wasn't her day.

After several minutes of pushing and pulling (and kicking, thanks to Josie), the old wooden door lurched open into Sierra's cozy kitchen. It wasn't as big as Josie's, but it wasn't horribly small either. Empty picture frames that had yet to be filled and shelves of weird little knick-knacks lined the worn yellow walls, mostly due to Bubba's odd decorating tastes. Sierra liked the oddity of it, though. It wasn't like every other kitchen in the world, just like she and Josie weren't like every other person in the world- as cheesy as it sounded.

Sierra set her backpack on the counter and headed over to the fridge, which looked like it was straight out of the 70s and pulled out a coke for Josie and a bottle of apple juice for herself. They drank the same thing every time they went to each other's house, almost as if it were their own secret little ritual. Josie even made sure her mom stocked the fridge with apple juice- just for Sierra.

"Where's Mom?" Josie asked, sipping her Coke and watching Sierra water the hanging plant above the sink.

"Thhe's working," Sierra peeped, standing on her tippy-toes in order to water the plant, "Thhe got another job, ‘cuz thhe wantth to get me bratheth," She added, running her tongue through her gap. It wasn't even the gap that bothered her- it was the stinking lisp that came packaged with it.

"And Bubba'th out with Ronald," she said with a flourish, "Y'know that guy thhe met at the thtore? He athked her out on a date awhile ago and they've been really clothe lately. It's thuper cute."

((Josie Vernon Continued from The Alibi))

After the whole event at The Alibi, the two friends decided to ditch the mall and head to the comfort of somewhere a little less public and a little more private - Sierra's house was the perfect candidate. It was almost like a home away from home for Josie. There were plenty of times when she would spend the night there for days at a time. The maximum was nine or ten. It was an all around better atmosphere at the Manning's home and was far more favorable to Josie's. Although Josie's house was considerably larger... her siblings made up for difference. And here? They were the only children. Score!

Josie watched with a slight smile on her face as Sierra attempted to open the door in vain. It was a very tricky door, always jamming on several occasions but Josie thought it only added to the house's charm. All things have their quirks, right? After kicking the door with the bottom of her shoe, it finally pushed inward and the two girls entered the eccentric kitchen.

Josie yawned and flopped her backpack onto the kitchen table. Several key chains rattled with a metallic clink as they hit the table. As Sierra went to go get the drinks, a nearly daily ritual for the two, Josie let her eyes scan the shelves of oddities. Her favorite item in the room was the cat clock. It had a black tail that swung back and forth and then little eyes that shifted from the left to the right. It was entertaining to watch, to say the least. And every hour on the hour... it meowed. At midnight, it screeched loudly, scaring anyone who doesn't anticipate its call.

After Sierra handed Josie a coke, she popped the top and took it sip. Mmm, it was like heaven! A little caffeine after school was just the thing she needed. She took a few more sips and watched Sierra water the plant above the sink. Admittedly, it was kind of adorable to watch. She was standing on her tip toes. "You're just too short, girl," Josie commented with a grin.

But the house was quiet... too quiet. After questioning where 'mom' was, a title that Josie had affectionately given Sierra's mother, Sierra replied that she had gotten another job so that they could afford braces. "Braces? You're going to be a metal-face? Hahaha! I can't imagine," she snorted, barely holding back her laugh. "And.. Ronald? Oh yeah! They're dating? That is cute," she admitted with a laugh. "Well, let's go to your room."

Exiting the kitchen and crossing through a hall, she pulled open the door to Sierra's room. It was a moderately sized room with walls painted a cheery, bright blue. It was quite reminiscent of the sky and always put Josie at peace. In the middle of the room was Sierra's small twin bed with a bedside table on each side. Then there was her dresser with a TV settled on top and her desk with a computer. TV, computer and a bed? It was the perfect room.

Stretching, Josie flopped down onto Sierra's bed and grabbed a large volume of Vogue and started flipping through the various ads and pictures.

Sierra chirped her agreement and followed Josie down the hallway, running her fingers against the textured walls and sipping her juice. As much as she was trying not to dwell on it, her mind kept going straight back to Vincent. Ugh, could she be anymore awkward? Ever since they left, a crummy feeling latched onto her and adamantly refused to go away.

Sierra released an inaudible sigh and looked up at Josie, triggering a small twinge in her chest. She really hated upsetting her. Josie was always sticking up for her and stuck with her through everything. A smile amidst all the gross feelings Sierra was feeling crept onto her face. As corny as it sounded, Josie was like the yin to her yang. She was that rare friend most people never found- the one that you just knew you'd be friends with forever. She secretly hoped both she and Josie had daughters that could be best friends.

That's not weird, right?

The smile grew when they entered Sierra's room and her eyes immediately landed on the extremely weathered, brown-gray blanket laying on her pillow. It was her childhood blanket- affectionately called Skanky Blanky by everyone who knew about it.

"Hey, move your butt, Huththy," Sierra joked as Josie plopped onto her bed and, by extension, Skanky.

"Fine," Josie sassed playfully and lifted up her head so Sierra could pull the blanket out, "It stinks anyways."

Sierra let out an offended gasp and clutched Skanky defensively against her chest. "Yeah well, at leatht Skanky thmellth better than you do. That outta tell you thomething."

Wrapping the wrinkled mess around her neck like a scarf, Sierra inhaled the scent. Sure it didn't smell like daisies, but she didn't think it smelled. It was just pungent. Slapping Josie's feet on the way, Sierra walked over to her computer desk and plopped down into the plastic chair. Opening the web browser with intentions of checking her Facebook, Sierra clicked her Favorites toolbar and was immediately sent back into her crummy mood. Sitting promptly above her Facebook link was her College Junk folder.

Ugh. For a split second she had forgotten about it- and was quite a bit happier for that whole nanosecond. She didn't even want to think about it.

It wasn't at all that she didn't want to go to college, it was more-so finding a college that would accept her that was totally killing her. She wasn't exactly the smartest kid ever. She tried, she really did, but she couldn't help the brain she was born with.

"I'm tho not ready for highthhcool to end," Sierra sighed, turning to face Josie,"D'ya think they'd let me, like, thtay another year or thomething? I mean, I could totally clean the cafeteria up and they could, like, give me creditth."

Josie was stretched across Sierra's bed, feet swinging lightly in the air. She rubbed her nose slightly and flipped through a few more ads until she realized that she was suffocating Sierra's 'Skanky Blanky' with her body. Belting out a genuine laugh, she rolled over slightly so that Sierra could retrieve the stinking thing. She always thought it was rather silly that Sierra continued to hold onto such a childish thing! What good would it do her now? It was just... silly.

"Josie, you are such a hypocrite."

Pink flooded into her cheeks and she couldn't help but slightly smile as she realized that even she slept with a childhood toy. However, she would never tell a soul and whenever Sierra came over, the old, tattered bear was promptly hidden. It was just too embarrassing for words to describe. She had to keep her rough and tough exterior somehow, right? "You're about as tough as Sierra's blanky, you know that?" she reminded herself.

When Sierra playfully told Josie that Skanky smelled better than she did, Josie couldn't help but laugh loudly. She sat up a little, magazine in her lap. "Well, is that so?" she asked, raising up her left arm. She leaned in to get a good whiff of her armpit and then pretended to gag. "Oh my god! It's awful! You're right Sierra, I need a bath! Right now!" It was just so easy to joke around Sierra.

She just couldn't imagine being without her friend. The world would seem so bleak. So boring. So... Blah. This was how she wanted to spend the rest of her life. In the bedroom of her best friend's, reading magazines. Yep. She wouldn't have to get married... She wouldn't have to get a job. She could simply live here and bum off Sierra for Pepsi's and ramen noodles.

Josie couldn't help but smile at her ridiculous thoughts. She knew that would never happen. She would have to leave her childhood behind sometime. But for now? She was content with just chilling out with her best friend. Stretching slightly, she watched as Sierra plunked herself down onto the desk chair. "Hey, are you going on FB? 'Cause I sent you a link to this cool song-"

Apparently, that wasn't what Sierra was looking up, for she turned around and faced Josie, telling her that she wasn't ready for high school to end. Josie braced herself for a potential serious and emotional conversation, but she couldn't help but laugh when Sierra mentioned working in the cafeteria. "Haha! I could just picture you with your cute little hairnet!

"Ah yes, please. Give me some milk and a sloppy joe!" Josie joked loudly, hanging upside down off the bed. "But I have to agree with you... School went by so fast. College just... It sounds scary.." she grumbled, running her hand through her red hair. "I'm ready to leave Bayview.. But then again, I'm not. Ya know what I mean? College just doesn't sound like my style..."

Sierra's mouth curled into her notorious gap-toothed grin. She had no clue how Josie managed it but, without fail, she cheered Sierra up with even the most miniscule of comments every time. Secretly, Sierra kind of wished she had the same effect on people. She'd love to be able to bring people out of their funks, y'know? But sadly, her only super power was snot-rocketing on cute boys. At least they'd remember her, right?

"I would look pretty fierthe in a hairnet, huh?" She joked, "I'd, like, hang little thell phone charmth on it or thomething. Jutht to make mythelf stand out from all the other cafeteria ladieth."

Sierra got off the cushy computer chair and took a seat on the floor next to Josie's dangling head, taking several strands of her red hair and braiding them. See, now why could life just be like this? No stress, no responsibilities, nothing. She knew as well as anyone that the minute you go to college, everything changes. Suddenly you're an adult and you have to worry about adult things. She didn't want to be an adult just yet.

"Oh, God, I know. But, like, don't you ever feel like everyone elthe got, like, manuals or thomething telling them exactly what to do? Like, a guide to life or thomething. I feel like I totally miththed out." She frowned, running her hands through another section of Josie's hair, "It suckth."

As Sierra's gap-toothed grin revealed itself onto her face, Josie couldn't help but smile wider. That smile was so comforting and familiar. It was unlike any other smile that she had ever seen before. It was unique and unlike anyone else. Josie always thought that the gap-toothed smile was what made Sierra unique. The smile was like a foreshadowing-tool. She knew that whenever that smile appeared, Sierra was about to say something completely off-the-wall and hilarious. When she started joking about hanging a cell phone charm off her hairnet, Josie roared with laughter and almost fell off Sierra's bed in the process. Somehow, she managed to stay intact. "You would!" she snorted. "Always trying to stand out in a crowd, hmm?"

With a grin, she ran a hand through her ponytail and examined some of the brightly colored strands of red hair. The two girls were always trying to stand out in some way or another. It was simply their way of life. Their style was one big effort to look different. Why else did Josie have fifty piercings (exaggeration), a tattoo and obnoxiously red hair? The same reason that Sierra had a brightly colored coon tail and a varied sense of style. They wanted to stand out and look different than everyone else. Unfortunately, that was an almost impossible look for Josie to achieve today. She just had on a pair of generic sneakers, jeans a hoody. It was her casual, lazy day after all.

As Sierra started braiding the strands of her hair, Josie lapsed off into a deeper thought. If college wasn't her style, then why go? College was for smart people anyway, right? She didn't want to go into business or technology. No science, no math, no English... It all seemed boring to her. She was struck with an idea, one of many Josie's infamous 'ideas.' What if she could just strike out on her own after high school? With Sierra too of course... if she wanted to accompany her. They could join a band, go into modeling or act in movies! It was a far better and more profitable idea... right?

The truth was that Josie was no idealist. Her ideas were usually poorly thought out and half-baked. She rarely thought realistically about the future and only focused on her current needs. School? That just wasn't part of her future. Making an image out of herself? Now that was a career! She could almost see the stars in her eyes. She could go on a huge road trip to Vegas! Or perhaps she could fly to Paris? Screw college, this idea was much more interesting! She was positive that her future would work out. Or would it? Her plans had a tendency to...fail, due to poor planning, but this idea felt golden! It HAD to work!

As she came back to reality, she felt Sierra running a hand through a section of Josie's hair and was saying something. What was she talking about? Blinking, she tuned her ears in. Sierra was asking Josie if she felt like people got manuals that told them what to do. A manual of life, so to speak. This made Josie smile and she slipped off the bed, pulling her hair away from Sierra. "We don't need no stinkin' manual! I've got the plan right here!" She pointed to her noggin. "I've got better ideas than you can even dream of thinking! Look, I was thinking. We could skip out on college and try to find our calling somewhere. We could try modeling and acting and singing.. We could even try opening up our own fashion shop! Look Sierra, THIS is our future!"

Josie didn't realize how ridiculous she sounded. Her future plans were so unstable and shaky, you could almost feel them slipping out from between Josie's fingers. But you couldn't talk a lick of sense into the girl. She was stubborn and hardheaded. Although she maintained a very logical view on life, her views on careers and jobs were quite fabricated and delusional.

(MIMI IS POSTING, WHAT!?)

Sierra's thin fingers found a stray thread hanging off of Skanky and instinctively twirled it around her index finger, listening half-heartedly to Josie's fantasy of their future. Though her smile lingered on her face, Sierra couldn't shake the worry that was settling in the pit of her stomach. She loved Josie like a sister, but without college they didn't have a future. That thought alone bothered Sierra more than anything else could. She hated, absolutely hated having downer thoughts like that, which is one of the things she admired most about Josie. She could live in the moment far better than Sierra could and could handle whatever the world threw her way. Maybe one day.

"Vogue'th actually thuppothed to be calling me any day now," Sierra grinned, still twirling the strand of grey-brown fabric around her right finger and pointing at the magazine in Josie's hands with the other, "They want me to model thome new midget line or thomething. Thame old, thame old."

The all too familiar racket of the old kitchen door resounded throughout the rest of the house, shaking the walls in its wake. Sierra's eyes darted to the digital clock sitting on her bedside table, which she insisted over the classic brand which took far too long to read. The loud red numbers asserted that it was a quarter to six, lighting up Sierra's eyes faster than a Christmas tree.

"Peanut?," A hearty voice that unmistakably belonged to Diana echoed before a clicking of heels made its way down the long hallway. Diana's face, weathered from years of stress; though possessing a maternal beauty, peeked from behind her door possessing the same smile that she passed to her daughter.

"Hey, Josie, you gonna stay for dinner or do your parents want you home?" Diana inquired of her ‘second daughter' while shooting a loving grin at her mini-me.

Sierra could only beam back at her mother as her friend answered in the affirmative. Diana shouldered the responsibility of playing both the mom and the dad without hesitation. And no matter how many times Sierra cried or how many times she failed, she could always go home to Mom and pick up the pieces together. No matter what happened, they were all one another had and they wouldn't have changed a thing about that.

Smile still plastered on her face, Sierra followed her mother and Josie out of the room and into the waiting arms of a family favorite, KFC.

[[Sierra Manning continued elsewhere]]

"No way!" Josie nearly shouted, snatching the Vogue magazine off the bed. "So lucky! Why didn't you tell me about that earlier? I want to get in on the deal!" she yelled enthusiastically with a mischieveous smile. "Then again, I don't think I'd be a likely candidate for a midget line... Unless, you know, my legs get severed from my body or something," Josie said with a snort.

Hearing the sound of the creaky kitchen door open, the red-headed girl placed the Vogue magazine back onto the bed and casually glanced over at Sierra. Sierra had a sort of happiness contained within her eyes. It was no secret that Sierra really loved her mother. Likewise, Josie was also fond of Diane. Even though there was an obvious age gap between them, Josie felt like she could talk with Diane like a friend. And perhaps not just a friend, but a good friend. Better than her own mother, even.

As Diane appeared in the doorway of Sierra's room and asked about staying for dinner, Josie gave the woman a wave and shrugged her shoulders in a casual sort of way. "Ah, my parents don't really care when I get home. I think I'll stick around for dinner if you don't mind," the teenager said with a smile. "C'mon Sierra! I'm starving." Getting up, Josie followed her best friend into the kitchen of the comforting and inviting Manning household.

((Josie Vernon continued elsewhere))