Short Stories: The Trials of Teendom

By Blossom Peasley and Veronica Gumm

Blossom:

My mum is a seamstress. And she works for Veronica’s mum. Veronica is so cool; she’s the coolest girl I have ever met, and I would do anything to be her friend.

But faeries don’t go to the same schools as human kids do: it’s against the law. We have special schools, which for me means I have lessons four times a week with my auntie Tulip Peasley, my three cousins (her sons), and the tinker’s kid, who has the unfortunate name of Mathblad Cornerstone. The poor guy! But it’s so boring, only hanging out with the same five faeries all the time.

And then, my mother made Veronica a dress with a Poodle Skirt! Like, she sewed a poodle onto the dress and gave it a pink collar and everything. I begged her to make me one exactly like it, with a matching jacket.

And then the best thing happened! Veronica’s mum came to pick up Veronica’s dress, and I just happened to be wearing mine (ha, ha!). She was “so charmed,” she said, that she would get Veronica to take me out to lunch at the Diner! The Diner is where all the mortal kids go after school. I would love to go there, but my cousins are afraid to go, and I’m not going anywhere with Mathblad Cornerstone. That’s just good taste.

Isn’t Veronica beautiful? She has such beautiful hair, and her body is shaped like all the girls on television, with curvaceous hips and breasts that jiggle when she walks. Mum says I shouldn’t say that out loud.

Veronica:

I cannot believe my mother is making me take that little faery freak Blossom (why can’t they name their kids something normal?) to the Diner. This is social suicide. OK. If we go like on a Saturday late morning, I’ll tell her I’m making Brunch a Thing, and we sit outside… I mean, they don’t usually have outdoor seating, but there’s a table out front the staff use for smoke breaks; I’m sure they won’t mind.

Ugh, I hate my mother! It’s bad enough I have to do this, but then she’s like, “Take your new car! Almost no-one’s seen it yet.” So now I have to go pick up Blossom Peasley (seriously?) at her house, because her mum doesn’t have a car— I thought faeries flew everywhere. Don’t they have wings?— in my brand new white convertible that I got for my sixteenth birthday from Mum and Dadsy, and drive all the way across town with her to The Diner, where I hope none of my friends are also trying to make Saturday Brunch a thing.

It’s bad enough that we’re wearing matching dresses and jackets, because despite everything, her mum is a fantastic seamstress (wait till you see my prom dress!), but Blossom’s dress is red. My mother would never let me wear red; she says it’s sinful. Red is my favourite colour. But no; here I am in my white dress, in my white convertible, and my black jacket because everything goes with black, and let’s just say I can’t leave the house with this lipstick on.

And then on the drive, she’s like a dog putting her head out the side and going “Keen!” at the top of her very small lungs at everything we pass. I am very glad I wore my sunglasses. I’m going to tell her my eyes are sensitive and keep them on the whole time, so she can’t see my eyes rolling.

I charm the staff into letting us use the outside table. I whisper to one of them that it’s Blossom’s fault because faeries don’t like to eat inside or something. It takes a minute, but they clean up the table and wipe the ash stains off of it.

And the first thing Blossom wants to do?

“Let’s take a selfie!”

Kill. Me. Now.

Blossom:

The staff got Veronica’s special table ready for her. It was impressive! I couldn’t wait for us to take our first selfie—I want to be her friend and hang out and go to pep rallies and maybe even dances!

There weren’t very many people there, even though The Diner is open twenty four hours a day. Veronica says she is making a new trend called “brunch”, which is apparently in between breakfast and lunch. Isn’t she clever?

Veronica:

Everything Blossom says makes me want to stab myself in the eye with forks we don’t even have yet. When I finally get her to go back to her chair (underneath the tree, because I’m not risking a bird pooping on my head, thankyouverymuch), it turns out she doesn’t eve know what brunch is and assumes I have invented it. Whatever. I decide to go to the ladies’ room to have a rant at my mother in the mirror (screaming at my mother when she is not around is like therapy for me) and figure out what I’m going to do next.

Pointy ears aside, she is slender. And blonde. And I am pretty sure she looks better in this dress than I do. Which only makes me want to scream at my mother some more.

Blossom:

Poor Veronica! Apparently she has to go check on her Aunt Flo, and there’s a telephone in the ladies’ room at The Diner. While she’s gone, the first part of my food order comes—just the hot dogs, Mac&Cheese, stack burger, and my chocolate milkshake. I am getting kind of hungry just sitting here, but I know humans don’t think it’s polite to start eating before the other person has been served, so I wait.

This trip to the ladies’ room is taking a while. Maybe she won’t notice if I just have one of the hot dogs. That burger is calling my name, but I’ve already decided I’m taking it home to share with Mum.

Finally! Veronica’s milkshake arrives, along with a single patty burger and a salad, and she comes out. I wave happily. This is so much fun already!

She stares at the table like she’s just realised the only faes in town are her cousins. “You,” she says slowly, “cannot possibly be going to eat all that.”

“I’m taking the burger home to split with my mum for lunch,” I assured her. “It’s only the hot dogs, the Mac&Cheese, and the milkshake for me now.”

Veronica:

It’s not fair.

I told myself it was a treat to get that milkshake, even though Mother will probably scold me if she finds out what I’ve done. And the plant burger with the salad is what all the popular girls get. It’s so you can show you don’t eat much. But there’s Blossom, with a table full of food she fully intends to eat. At least partly in public. My mother says if boys see you eat a lot in public, they will never marry you because they will be afraid you will get fat later in life.

Reluctantly I sit down and pick at my plant burger while Blossom goes to town on hot dogs and Mac&Cheese, talking non-stop (with her mouth full: ugh).

“I’m sorry,” I say, “I really can’t understand you when you talk with your mouth full.”

“Oh, oh, right!” she replies, through the same mouthful of food, chews, swallows with a gulp, and wipes her lips with a napkin. The lipstick stays on. It must be some kind of magic.

“I was just going to ask…”

Oh, no. Oh, no. I leap up from the table, put a finger over my lips. “Ssshhh!” I hiss.

“I just wanted to know if you had a boyfriend,” Blossom finishes, completely not getting the universal signal for shut your mouth.

Blossom:

I don’t know why Veronica seems so anxious all of a sudden. I can smell the pheromones. It’s a bit yucky, but I am not going to tell her that. When someone is anxious, telling them they have overactive pheromones and any whistler worth his salt would have them off to fairyland in an instant, plus it smells kinda bad, but humans can’t really smell anyway…

Oh.

There is a boy approaching us. Veronica already saw him; that’s why she leapt up. I am hurting my neck twisting around to see him, so I get up too and cross behind the table. Wow. It’s a boy! An actual human teenage boy, like in all the movies!

Veronica:

I hope I don’t have food in my teeth. I smile my best girl-predator smile, because boys love that.

“Who’s that?” Blossom asks.

“Henry,” I reply. “Henry Feeney. His father runs the dairy farm outside of town.”

“I love milk!” Blossom exclaims, just in time for Henry to come into earshot. That’s it. My life is over.

“What an interesting opening line,” Henry says as he approaches us. “Ooh, I’ve never met a faery girl before. Hi there!”

Blossom:

Oh ye gods he spoke to me. What do I do? I reach out and grab the back of Veronica’s jacket. Help!

Veronica:

Wow, this girl is a complete loser. “Hey, Henry,” I say. I am so nonchalant the food is probably going cold. “This is Blossom. Her mum works for my mother. Blossom’s mother made these dresses we’re wearing.”

“I guess it’s true what they say about faerie dressmakers,” Henry says.

He keeps looking at Blossom. I really don’t like that. Skinny blonde fae … it’s my worst nightmare. I pitch out a hip. “Listen, we probably have to go soon, but maybe you can ring me if you want to?”

Henry’s still looking at Blossom. “Um, sure, Ronnie. Your mum’s in the book, right?”

Yeah, and I gave him my number like ages ago, but maybe he lost it. “I can write it down for you again,” I say. “Here, give me your hand.” I write it with eyeliner; that’s cool, right? I hope it doesn’t smear.

Blossom:

Oh, my gosh! she’s writing her number on his hand in eyeliner! That’s so cool! But she says we have to go, so I go into the Diner and ask for a takeaway bag: I’ve barely started on the Mac&Cheese, but the hot dogs were great, and I know Mum will like sharing the stack burger with me later. When I come out of the Diner and pack my food away, Veronica is giving her milkshake to Henry. Wow, she must really like him!

“OK, she says, and she gives me that half smile that I think means we’re definitely going to be friends. “That smelly food’s not riding up front with us, so let’s put it in the boot.”

“Sure!” I pop the food neatly into the boot and then join Veronica. I wave at Henry. “Bye, Henry!” It comes out in a weird squeak.

Veronica:

I’m so glad this is almost over. Look at her, not a smudge or smear anywhere; I’ve had to reapply my lipstick twice since this whole nightmare adventure started. Her hips don’t even touch mine when she gets into the passenger seat. At least Henry has my number. Again. I give him a half wave and pull my sunglasses down to wink. “See ya!”

He waves back, and he smiles; this time I’m sure he’s smiling at me. I hope he is smiling at me.

Blossom:

“It was really nice of you to take me to brunch,” I say as we start to drive away. “I had fun. Should we stop at yours to play with makeup or something?”

“Don’t mention it,” Veronica replies. And then, “Heck no; my mum hates it when I play with makeup. I’m going to have to wipe this lipstick off and replace it with clear gloss before I get home,” she says, conspiratorially. We have a secret! Our first secret! I’m over the moon.

“You could do it at my house! My mum doesn’t mind,” I say.

“I’ll do it in the car,” she replies. “Kind of easier that way and I have a curfew.”

Veronica:

I don’t mention that my curfew is ten o’clock. I do definitely have a curfew, though. I drop her off at her weird house on the other side of town: it has a tree in the doorway: I just don’t get that. She grabs the rest of her enormous meal out of the boot, and I’m gone before she enters the house. I hope nobody saw me.

Blossom:

I tell my mum all about the Brunch over our lunch. The Mac&Cheese is just as good reheated as it was at the restaurant. I don’t know why she isn’t as excited as I am that I have a new friend. Maybe she’ll understand more in time. I can’t wait to see Veronica again.

Henry:

I think that faerie chick likes me. You know, I really think she likes me. And you know what they say about fae chicks, right? Maybe I’ll ask Ronnie for her number when I call her. This shake is really good. Ooh, Ronnie left her plant burger! Chow time for Henry!

Notes & Credits:

(Sponsored items noted with a *)

Veronica: played by Mystical Edenflower
Henry: played by Jaxx Ravenwood
Veronica and Blossom’s matching dresses: Purplemoon, Nancy Dress and Jacket (At Summer Lovin’)
Blossom’s jewellery: MiaMai, Cherry Pop Gauges, Cherry Pop Necklace * (At Summer Lovin‘)
Blossom’s Ears: Swallow, Pixie Gauges
Veronica’s Glasses: DarkMouse, Cat Eye Glasses (At Summer Lovin’)
Blossom’s eye makeup: Hexumbra, Evangeline Eye Makeup* (At Midsummer Enchantment)
Blossom’s Hair: Magika, Kayla
Blossom’s Skin: Lumae, Lorelai* in T4
Blossom’s Lipstick: Aura da Luna, Summer Lovin (At Summer Lovin’)
Blossom’s Nails: Eventyra, Vintage Dots & Lace (these were at Vintage Fair but will no doubt be in the Eventyra Main Store soon if not now!)
Blossom’s Shoes: SenzaFine, Frances Heels (these were at Vintage Fair, but will no doubt be in the SenzaFine Main Store soon if not now!)
Outdoor Diner Table, Chairs & Checkerboard Mat: Blacknest, Grease Dining (At Summer Lovin’)
Food & Drink: Vespertine, Comfort Food
Veronica’s Car: Surplus Motors, Malvern GT
Diner Backdrop: Focus Poses, Diner Facade Backdrop
Huge Old Burger: FireEyes Fauna, A Real Nice Burger Friend, 2022 Meatverse Edition (this was a birthday gift from a friend, and it is the most fun ever!)
Blossom was styled on a MaitreyaX body and a Lelutka Avalon Mesh Head.
Veronica’s Hair: Stealthic, Monarch
Veronica’s Shoes: Cult, Olivia (At Summer Lovin’)
Veronica’s Earrings: Andore Hello, 50s
Veronica’s Necklace: Rawr! Astral Necklace
Veronica is styled on a Legacy body and a Lelutka EvoX Billie Mesh Head.