It didn’t help that frosting and sprinkles had melted during the walk over, making everything they were covered with a sticky, slimy mess. Junie’s hair now had streaks of pink and white, thanks to their parade down Main Street. Kenzie had chocolate smeared across one cheek. Poppy looked like she’d taken a bath in rainbow sprinkles.
Hugging her knees to her chest, Junie licked her lips, which still tasted like buttercream. The adrenaline had faded, leaving the dawning realization of what she’d done.
“I can’t believe we did that,” she whispered, half horrified, half proud.
Poppy snorted and scrunched up her shoulders. “You gotta admit, it was fun.”
Her friend was not wrong. “But we’re going to get into so much trouble,” Junie said.
Tildi licked frosting off her fingers. “It was worth it.”
Joy leaned her head against the bars. “My Daddy is going to kill me.”
Kip groaned. “Mine too. He’s going to make me write lines for a week. Maybe even a month.”
Kenzie bumped Junie’s shoulder. “Won’t Tanner be surprised, Junie-girl?”
Junie’s stomach flipped. She ran her hands through her frosting-crusted hair. “I know. I’m in so much trouble.”
The girls dissolved into a round of nervous giggles, half-covered in sugar and fully aware they were all going to be very sore by the end of the night.
Across the jail cell on another bench, Cherry had her face in her hands, looking down at the floor. Martha, Rena, and Starla, however, were glaring at Junie.
Junie stuck her tongue out at the trio, then turned her attention back to Cherry. The other woman looked so sad and alone, staring at the ground. All that sharp, mean energy she threw at everyone… it hurt, but Junie suddenly realized it probably hurt Cherry even more.
Before she could talk herself out of it, Junie walked over and squatted down on the balls of her feet right in front of her. Cherry didn’t even look up.
It was time to have some questions answered. “I have to know, Cherry, why do you hate me so much?”
Her question was met with nothing but silence. Was Cherry even going to answer her? She was about to return to her place on the bench when Cherry said, “It’s so easy for you.”
Okay, so Cherry was talking, but what she said was confusing. “What do you mean by ‘easy’?”
Cherry finally looked up. She ticked the points offon her fingers. “You’re a successful businesswoman. You’ve got one of the hottest, most badass men in Wilder chasing after you. Everyone loves you and your bakery. What’s hard about that?”
“Maybe those things are true, but even if they are, they didn’t come easy.” Did this woman not know her history at all? “You want to see easy? Look in a mirror, and I don’t mean that as a slam. I mean, you are a really beautiful girl. You have great clothes and a great car. Lots of money and a family. I’d say the one who has it easy is you.”
Cherry gave a sardonic laugh. “Yep, that’s what everyone says. As a matter of fact, that’s all they say. Everything people say about me is either skin deep or given to me by someone else. My life may seem more glamorous than yours, but it’s not easy either.”
Junie wondered if perhaps her brain had gotten as tossed around as the bakery’s pastries because for some reason she thought maybe she was getting somewhere. “So neither of us has it easy. But why me, Cherry? I’ve never tried to hurt you. Well, not until today. But that was because you pushed me over the edge.”
Junie's eyes might be deceiving her, but Cherry acted ashamed. “I know. I shouldn’t have said those things about you.” She gave a crooked grin. “Even I know what I said wasn't true.”
“So, what gives?”
Cherry sighed. “When I was young, being popular was the only thing my parents ever expected from me. They didn’t care about the grades I got in school or ask about the plans I had for my life. They couldn’t have cared less about the trouble I got in. Couldn’t have cared less about me, really, as long as I was popular.”
Junie had no idea what to say. She and Cherry were more alike than Junie thought. Cherry didn’t have anyone there for her. But unlike Junie, that wasn’t just her feelings talking. It was true. And that sucked because now, instead of being angry at Cherry, she was feeling sorry for her.
Cherry rolled her shoulders, as if she was getting ready for a fight. Junie braced. “Before you showed up at Wilder Community School, I was the most popular girl there. I was meeting the one expectationmy parents had for me. But when you showed up, even though you came from nowhere and had nothing, suddenly everyone loved you, and I fell by the wayside. I was a bitch, the bitch queen of Wilder Community School, because you had everything I ever wanted: people who liked you foryou, and not for what you had. And there was nothing I could do about it.”
Junie truly thought she would faint from shock. Cherry’s friends were looking at Cherry as if she’d just confessed a desire to murder Mother Teresa.
What could she say? When all else failed, go for humor. That was Junie’s motto. “Wait, are we bonding here?”
Cherry’s eyes widened. "God no!"
Her expression was so typically “Cherry” that Junie burst out laughing. It took a second, but then Cherry joined in. Junie didn’t care what Cherry said. They were definitely bonding.
