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Arabella nodded. She silently walked towards the kitchen and June

followed. She flicked on lights as they went, illuminating old, worn carpets,

faded and peeling wallpaper that was nowhere near back to being in style,

and an outdated kitchen. The stove and the fridge were different colors,

yellow and pink of all things, the cupboards that ugly brown that looked

one step above cardboard, the countertops tiled with seafoam green tiles,

bizarrely enough.

“Wow,” June said. “This is pretty cool, actually.”

“It’s like a mish mash with something left over from every decade, but

not in a good way.”

“No, I like it.” June pointed to the round globe light above the sink.

“That’s pretty sweet. And I like that the stove is pink, and the countertops

are tiled. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“It’s less charming in the full light of day, I can tell you that much.”

Arabella went to the coffee maker, dumped in a few scoops of the delicious

grounds that she still splurged for because she just couldn’t bring herself to

drink shitty coffee, and filled the machine with water. The coffee maker,

like most of the appliances, had also been saved from the house so it was an

expensive model.

June pulled out a seat at the table. The thing was crazily overpriced,

probably worth more than the lot the house was on. The chairs were black

upholstered leather and surrounded a black circular glass table. It was too

big for the kitchen, really, but Arabella’s mom had cried when Arabella

thought about selling it, so they’d jammed it in instead.

“I like the furniture.” June attempted conversation again, which was

awkward because Arabella still had her back to her, angled towards the

counter. “It’s really nice.”

Arabella nodded. She bit her bottom lip, working it hard until she tasted

the bite of iron and stopped before she did any damage. “I was thinking that

I should find a way to get my parents health insurance. My sister is covered