linger [Jet/Lani]

“I know I’ve been practicing in the apartment, and I can walk just fine thank you, but I can’t walk so fast. You think my suffering is funny- I picked up on that after the whole roller incident so don’t try to deny it-, but I’m begging you Jethro, please slow down.”

The woman to my right is staring at me with one green-glittered eyebrow raised so high into her forehead I actually fear for her well-being, not to mention that her face is a rather alarming shade of purple. Perhaps it's her makeup. Or perhaps... It’s very hard to ignore the snake coiled around her neck like it’s an heirloom from her great-great-grandmother instead of a creature trying to literally suffocate her. My attempt at a reassuring smile is unconvincing, I know, I can feel it, so I curl my hand around Jet’s arm and steer us to the left, hoping I have seen the last of Snake Lady for the evening. The fluttering in my stomach tells me I’m wrong.

Or that I’m hungry.

Or that I feel like I could vibrate out of my skin.

There are so many people, and I find myself scanning the crowd for dark, angled faces shadowed behind towering headpieces and ornate table displays without even thinking about it. They’ll always be there, right in the back of my mind, waiting to make me uneasy in my own skin. All I wanted was to get away from home, but despite how far I’ve come, I fear I’ll always carry it with me.