False Confidence

2

Senior year is fast approaching. In fact we are two weeks from its start. Harriet is excited, after winning nationals a few months ago she has been planning the new year with precision and a dedication only she would be able to pull off. Twiddling the red vines between my fingers I tug a little off and let it sit in my mouth, forgotten as I scroll through Facebook. Looking at all the Summer photo's , the weird things my aunts always tag me in. My mother has been posting baby photos of us again, so quickly, logging out and back into her account I delete them. She can never understand why they keep disappearing-my explanation is that Facebook takes them down to prevent child endangerment. But I do not need everyone seeing my baby fat in tight pink. 

"Mom is still on her phone, idiot." Harriet comes into my room on her phone- obviously just back from the pool because she is wearing her bikini and shorts. Her hair done up in a bun on the top of her head. "You have to wait at least five minutes before you delete them."

"Doesn't matter," I push away from my desk, spinning my chair to face her as she flops down on my bed. "I made her believe she has a virus."

"You are evil."

"You want your baby pictures all over the internet?"

Her eyeroll is enough of a reply. She has more of a reputation to uphold than I do. "Did dad try have the college talk with you?"

"No, they expect me to attend community college and be pregnant by 19." Harriet has a learning disorder that makes school work super difficult for her. We often joke that I got all the brains in the womb. Which really isn't funny but humor  to cover up the pain is a thing! "Besides, I have been avoiding him for days, ever since he caught Spencer coming out my room the other morning."

"I do not want to know." Spinning around I pull on my headphones. I made both of them promise that I would not have to hear about their relationships intimacy and they would avoid PDA as much as possible around me. 

"We didn't do anything! He just fell asleep."

"LA la lala." I sing loudly, interrupted only by our mother walking in with her iPad. 

"Harper, I think I should go to the shop, even my iPad seems to have a virus."

Internally, I am groaning, outwardly, I tell her I would fix everything. I am going to run out of technical issues to use as an excuse as to why her Facebook deletes baby photos. Harriet stares at me with raised eyebrows as if to say she told me so. Shooing them both away I throw her tablet on the bed, watch it is safe and get back to my social media scrolling. She will not ask for her iPad till later. 

A friend request pings in the corner and drawing my mouse closer and clicking my jaw drops mid red vine bite. There she is, the girl who disappeared after nationals and I haven't seen her  since. Her water bottle mysteriously disappeared as well. Or maybe I left it, I was super busy helping Harriet and the team. She requested to follow me? How does she know my name?

Alena Reed has requested to follow you. Hovering over the  buttons I press accept, almost a millisecond later I get a message.

"Does this count as finding you later?

"Certainly accounts for your stalker skills"

I do not have to wait long for a reply. 

"you are Harriet Wilders sister?"

"Twin sister...

"Will it bother her for us to be friends?"

"Who said we are friends- stranger." Grinning I open another packet of red vines, tearing them into my mouth with my teeth.