New Normal
Chapter 2
Night came and went, and Jenny looked at the clock as she prepared to leave. It was only 8am, she couldn’t believe it! Even though she slept at 2:00am, she managed to wake up on time at 7:30am and not feel tired! As she got in the car she went through her mental self checklist:
- brown hair tied back
- clean (not tired!) washed face, with just a touch of lip gloss
- black scoop neck shirt, grey skinny jeans looking clean
- black flats to round it all out
- small gold stud earrings, just a touch of class, (for class! she thought)
Everything looking as it should, she drove off to class to tell Alexis the good news.
She went to the same seat she was at before, finding Alexis already there. “Guess what Alexis? It worked! That patch does wonders! I feel so rested, thank you!”
“OOh great! I’m so happy for you! Looks like you had some time to dress up a little I see,” Alexis gave a knowing look to Jenny, who didn’t return it.
“Huh? No, I always dress like this. It was nice to have more time to do it though.”
“I see,” Alexis said. “Don’t forget to keep using the patch. It takes a few weeks for your new sleeping habits to become normal.”
“Ok, I don’t think that will be a problem given how great I feel!” Curious about Alexis now that she’s become her classroom-friend, she asked “Hey, what time do you wake up anyways?”
“Oh I get up at 6am. I live on campus though so I don’t have to drive.”
“Wow that’s so early, how can you do that every day?”
“Well it’s normal for me, so I don’t really think about it.”
“I guess I can see that,” Jenny thought, but then it occured to her, “But what time do you go to sleep? Surely you dont go to bed late if you wake up so early?”
“Actually I’m out pretty late too, not studying like you though,” Alexis giggled a little as she thought about it, “More like out partying I think”.
“Oh,” Jenny thought, a little disappointed in her hobbies, “but I guess that’s normal for you, huh.”
“That’s right! Maybe one day you can come with me, and we’ll make it a girl’s night out!” The two girls laughed, and class ensued. Afterwards, Jenny was feeling happy about her unexpected new friend, when she approached her on the way out of class.
“You know, I was thinking about it during class, and I think with just a little make-up, you’d be super pretty! Like, accentuate your features and whatever.”
Jenny felt a little insulted by the apparent backhanded compliment but decided to let it drop once again. Still, she was a little uneasy at the suggestion, “I don’t know, I don’t really own much, and I usually don’t have much time.”
“It’s not a big deal, it’s cheap to try out too, why don’t you stop by the mall, and buy a couple of things. Look, I’ll go with you and maybe we’ll buy you some clothes too!” Alexis smiled encouragingly.
“Hmm, maybe,” I don’t really like clothes shopping, but since she’s so into that stuff maybe she can help me. I guess my wardrobe can use a little update anyway, she thought. “All right, we can go but just today”.
“Yay! C’mon I know just the place.” And Alexis dragged Jenny to her car.
The next morning (Friday)
Jenny was in the car at 8am once again, having gotten up at 7am just as she planned to. She had a bit of trouble picking out an outfit, her clothes were really filling up her closet these days, she’d have to throw out a bunch soon, she thought. Looking in the mirror in her car, she went through the normal checklist:
- brown hair, loose with a touch of hairspray to keep bits in place
- clean face, with the usual lipgloss and mascara, and a little concealer (don’t want those blemishes to show)
- scoop neck black shirt, wide belt over it on her waist, and grey tights to just above her ankles
- black flats
- her usual jewelry of a thin small gold necklace, gold stud earrings, and gold bracelet (not too much, its just class, don’t want to overdo it now!)
Once again she sat next to Alexis, who noticed her and spoke, “Girl, you’re looking good today!”
Jenny was thrown off by that comment, “Do I? I didn’t do anything different. But wow those patches work great! I feel like I’m doing even better today!”
“You still look a little stressed out though. Is studying getting to you?”
“No, I think I’m doing ok...” Jenny asked, wondering if she looked tired even through her concealer.
“I’m not sure about that, you seem pent up, with the way you’re sitting, you should really figure out some way to let all that energy out.”
Jenny was interested, “What do you mean? I have been feeling a bit tight lately, do you have some way to help?”
“I mean, well, I don’t want to offend you, I know I might be into different things but,” Alexis said in a lower voice, “I’m talking about, y’know, getting yourself off. Releasing sexual tension, that kind of thing.”
Surprised at the comment, Jenny reacted “what? You mean masturbating?”
“Have you never had sex or something before?”
Flustered but determined not to be embarrased, Jenny answered “Well, I’ve had a boyfriend and we did a few times, but I don’t really know if that’s something I want to do. I mean, I’m usually not in the mood.”
“I think you should try it, it does wonders for your tenseness, I mean look at me, I’m totally relaxed, if you know know what I’m getting at hehe,” said Alexis with a suggestive grin.
“I don’t know, I guess I’ll see about trying it out sometime.” It’s kind of wierd to suggest it, but she does have a point. It’s been a while since I’ve been with anyone, and it’s probably all built up in me, Jenny thought.
“That’s cool, no pressure. It was just a suggestion,” said Alexis, still smiling, “You know I talked about us having a girl’s night out, we should totally do one tonight!”
“Oh I don’t know,” said Jenny, feeling unsure. “I was planning on doing stuff this weekend.”
“Like what, study? It’s still early in the quarter. Besides it’s a Friday! You have to relax a little at some point!”
Jenny was still feeling uneasy about it, and Alexis caught her hand while she was thinking. Looking her straight in the eye, Alexis excitedly spoke, “I know what we can do, I’ll take you this weekend with me to the salon, we should get pedicures! I love having my feet look nice!”
Jenny looked into her piercing blue eyes as she tried to speak, “A pedicure? I’ve never had one, I’m not sure—” Alexis didn’t let her finish. “Oh c’mon it’ll be fun, I’ll even pay! All you have to do is show up!”
“I suppose I could...I mean, we already have our weekend shopping trips...” said Jenny, sounding more convinced.
“Look, your normal clothes and makeup budget is what, 300 bucks a month? Whats a couple more for some nice upgrades anyways?”
I still have room in my budget I guess, and it would be nice to have a change from the plain things I’m always wearing... “Alright I’ll go with you this weekend.”
“Yay! I’ll come pick you up tonight, it’ll be great!” Alexis said, as Jenny’s thoughts turned to what she was going to wear that night.