Read Online Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky - Free Book Online Page A

Juniper. “Eat up, eat up, eat up,” she cooed.
    Confused and cautious, Juniper took a seat, closely eyeing her parents. They seemed pleasant enough, not a glint of shame or guilt in their actions from the previous night. Mrs. Berry was smiling and Mr. Berry was whistling; he even gave a wary Kitty some eggs, something he never did, saying it was good for her coat. Did they even remember what had happened only hours earlier? Now, in direct opposition to their previous night’s state, they were filled with energy, their skin shining, their bodies humming. The only thing that betrayed all of this was their eyes. The glow Juniper remembered seeing in them as a young child had nearly faded completely. Was this just yet another version of her parents?
    â€œThis is delicious,” Mr. Berry told his wife. “This is just what I needed today. So much work to get done. I finally know how to tackle this character. I can hear his voice as clear as my own. It’s as if he’s pushing and shoving to get out. This is going to be my greatest work yet. I just know it.” He clapped his hands, then pumped his fist into the air a bit awkwardly.
    Juniper turned to her mother, who began to speak quite merrily. “Well, the work we do, you have to start your day like this.” She scooped some eggs onto a piece of toast and took a large bite. “Rehearsals start at noon. I have absolutely no fear anymore. I’m sure they’ll be heaping accolades upon me in no time. I can already hear the whispers. Listen.” And everyone went silent, even Kitty.
    â€œAward talk. I’m hearing award talk,” Mr. Berry said, hand cupping his ear and grinning.
    â€œI know, for the both of us.”
    â€œIt’s always nice to suddenly wake up with a new perspective on things. The heaviness of life is gone. I feel light. It’s like I’m a new man.”
    â€œEveryone should be as lucky as us.”
    â€œI can’t sit around anymore,” Mr. Berry said, rising from the table. “Let’s get this day started.”
    â€œYes, let’s.”
    And Mrs. Berry joined her husband in exiting the room, leaving Juniper sitting at the table, speechless.
    She didn’t know how to respond to any of this. She wanted to ask questions about everything; she wanted to say, Aren’t you going to explain what it was that happened last night? But she knew she would be wasting her breath. Either they would have denied it ever occurred or they had already chosen to believe it never actually did. And maybe it didn’t happen at all, not to the two people in front of her. With her face flushed and her eyes still puffy and red from a restless night, she knew; it was going to be up to her to set things right.
    She had to get back outside and explore that tree.
    But first she would have to push through another day of lessons with Mrs. Maybelline.
    It turned out to be a test day—something Juniper completely forgot in all the perplexities taking over her life. Not that it really mattered; Juniper was an excellent student, and there hadn’t been a test yet that she had failed to ace. In fact, sitting alone at the kitchen table, she completed the two-hour test in just over forty minutes—that included checking her answers twice for careless mistakes, of which there were none.
    She never told Mrs. Maybelline how quickly she breezed through these exams, and this allowed her to be free from her tutor’s gaze for the full two hours. Meanwhile, Mrs. Maybelline just so happened to hand out tests quite frequently because it gave her the chance to roam the house and try to get a firsthand glimpse of the private lives of her favorite celebrities. Juniper had a feeling she wouldn’t last very long at this job. But this was the least of her concerns. Right now she was busy looking out into the yard and what lay beyond it.
    Binoculars around her neck, she walked across the lawn until she was in