june bug

BIOGRAPHY !

Kira Jones Warwick was named after both her mother and her father, although she always went by the name KJ. She was a rough and tumble kid, always scraping her knees on the sidewalk or falling down the stairs. If not for the guidance of her grandfather's stories, she may very well have ended up in far more dangerous situations—but with a single KJ would you like to hear a story?, he was able to slow her down, get her to sit, and listen. It was that love of stories, particularly fairytales, that led KJ to studying creative writing and eventually getting a job in a publishing house. She remembers the night she met her husband vividly. It was at an author event by her publishing house and he was a prospective author. The two immediately hit it off and on a trip to Vegas the two got married. Unfortunately, after the marriage, the relationship soured and eventually Lewis left on a European book tour and bought a villa in Spain.

Eloise May and Imogen June were born nearly three hours apart. While Eloise was ready, Imogen took her time. KJ named them after both her mom and grandmother—giving them matching middle names May and June based on their birth order. Being a single parent was tough, but she was thankful her publishing house had childcare and she was able to rely on her parents to help. As much as Eloise was a wild card, Imogen was easier. She slept when she was supposed to, ate when she was supposed to, and rarely cried. Meanwhile, Eloise was louder and much more demanding. The were opposites in every way. Growing up together meant that it was the two of them against the world. As they grew, they tried to make their mom's life easier. Imogen trying to rein her sister's more wild ideas in whenever she could. It seemed like Eloise was cut from the same cloth as her mother—and Imogen was more like her grandfather. For the first few years of their life, Lewis tried to stay in touch, but as his books became more popular, he slowly stopped calling as often until one day his calls only came once a year on their birthday. Despite this, KJ never spoke bad about them—saying they were two soulmates that met in the wrong lifetime.

The Adventures May Day and June Bug was a series Eloise started. Only the two of them were allowed to call each other that. The story started out innocently. Two sister's sharing adventures with each other. Eloise had gotten her mother's love of stories and her father's love of writing. Secretly, Imogen did too, but she let her sister have all the fun. The book was a series of short stories about a pair of twins getting into trouble. All of it was innocent, sneaking off outside when they were supposed to, pretending to eat their dinners (except dumping them into the garbage disposal when mom wasn't looking), bringing stray cats home (in their defense they didn't know it was the neighbor's cat). May Day and June Bug may have gotten in trouble for some of the adventures they went on, but it was all in good fun. The stories they shared were all worth it when the two of them giggled themselves to sleep well after their bedtime.

It all changed a few weeks after their thirteenth birthday. Eloise had been so excited to be a pre-teen. The two got dressed in their Halloween outfits when they ran into their friends. It was relatively easy to sneak away from the teenager babysitting them, really all they had to do was tell her the girl she liked kept peeking over at her. They promised they'd be fine on their own and wouldn't go further than the end of the street. Of course, they lied and they went towards the abandoned house a few blocks over with their friends. One of Eloise's friends dared her to go in and while Imogen begged her sister not to go, she didn't listen. Imogen watched her sister go into the house—and she never made it back out. They never found a body. Whatever happened to Eloise remained a mystery. Police ruled it a kidnapping, as the only thing they found was the pillow case of candy. Imogen considered The Adventures of May Day and June Bug officially over, packed into a box in the attic.

For a year, KJ stayed in their home, but whisper always seemed to follow them. When Imogen was fourteen, her mom moved them to Aurora Bay, which wasn't that far away they'd never see their grandparents again, but far enough away Imogen could enroll at a new school. KJ's job let her work remotely—only occasionally making her come into the office for a meeting. It didn't take long for them to adjust to the life in Aurora Bay. Imogen made new friends and thrived in the new town. Although her sister was always on her mind, she felt like she was a bit of her own person now. The cautious person she was didn't seem like a hinderance to her life. She joined clubs and went out with friends to the movies. Imogen reestablished a relationship with her father—strained and distrusting at first. He sent her letters and photos from his travels. He met someone new, an Australian woman that despite her initial disinterest became a confidant. for Imogen, someone she could go to when she didn't want to talk to her mom. Aurora Bay felt like a fresh start.

College had been an argument with her mother. Imogen didn't want to go at all. She needed a gap year, wanted to visit her father and new step brother. Her one gap year turned into three and just before her 22nd birthday, Imogen returned home to Aurora Bay and enrolled in college. Her mother and grandparents were happy she returned. She'd never admit that she was also glad to return. The years she'd spent with her step-mother had sparked an interest in geology—the same field her step-mother worked in. She got a job as a front desk attendant to earn money while she was in school because she's hoping for her senior year to move out into her own apartment.

HEADCANONS !

She wears a friendship bracelet that she and Eloise made together—with hers saying best on it.

Imogen moved the box of stories her and Eloise wrote together into the attic when she left to visit her dad.

CONNECTION IDEAS !