***flawless

Too good-natured for his own good and always thinking the best of everyone, Jacob was probably completely oblivious to Karina’s tendencies, and frankly, he’d probably be flattered if he found out. “You need help with that?” He offered, despite the fact that he still had a few blocks to go, and passed her the mail, offering to trade the broom for it as he listened to her story, eyes widening in shock. “Really? I didn’t know people did that through the mail that’s–” He looked at her with concern in his eyes suddenly. “Sick,” he finished. “I can’t imagine if my little sister got roped into something like that, I used to get paranoid enough from her using those chatrooms you know?” 

Did Karina have any actual plans of cleaning up the front porch? No. Was she going to allow him to start cleaning as a ploy to get him to stay longer? Definitely. “You sure?” She asked, though didn’t hesitate for a single second to trade the broom for the stock of mail. As soon as the trade was made, she began looking through the mail, as though she handled any of the bills that were among them. “Mail fraud is a serious crime,” she stated, continuing to go along with her lie. “Oh, chatrooms are full of catfishers. Whether it be creepy guys trying to befriend teenagers or women trying to dig for some gold. My mom did the latter once but turns out, he was the former. Huge mess. I steer clear of those.” 

Entering the door of Wild Flour Bakery, Elsie couldn’t stop the smile on her face as she was greeted by the smell of freshly baked goods. It was something she’d never tired of. Since moving to town it had fast become one of her favourites with her making almost daily visits to grab some cookies. Today, she’d opted for some shortbread. After recieving her order, she admired the goods that were on show. “Don’t you wish you could bake things that tasted this good?” Elsie admired the cakes in front of her. “I’m the worst baker. It’s a skill I just cannot seem to master so I gave up. Maybe I should start trying again.“ @frostfordstart​

Grabbing a blueberry muffin from the bakery in the morning was a habit Karina has been doing for as long as she could remember. Her mother was no cook, or at least, she never tried to be. But every morning, she always stopped by a gas station or bakery to get Karina a muffin for breakfast. She had her mouth full when the girl started going on about baking, a skill Karina had zero interest in. “Why?” She asked, swallowing the bit she had been chewing on. “It’s easier just to buy from professionals.” 

He stares down at the order, baffled, and looks at her, flabbergasted. Maintaining his stare on her, he adds another cookie to the order. The register beeps. “Just my two cents, Mrs. Adult, but with this many cookies, I’d fear diabetes in my future.”

“They’re not all for me,” she informed him as he continued trying to convince Karina to think about her choices. Of all the things she could be doing, this was definitely the least troubling. “You know, usually people try to convince customer’s to spend more money. Not less. You sure you’re in the right business?” 

Isaac smiled wryly as Karina accepted his request. Frostford, being the small fishbowl that it was, had the tale of Tonya and Karina Harper echoing around it for a while. Isaac was always intrigued by the kids who were openly rebellious, who found a way to have secrets in the petri dish that was their town. While there hadn’t been much cause or circumstance for Karina and Isaac to truly get to know each other, it seemed tonight would be Isaac’s chance.

He chuckled at her team name. “That might’ve been the best one I’ve heard. Here,” he slapped down the answer sheets and a pencil on her table. “You start labelling these at the top with the name, I’ll grab us a pitcher of beer.” He started to turn towards the bar before pausing, shifting around and offering her his hand. “Isaac, by the way. I don’t reckon we ever actually formally met.”

“Well, I am the best so makes sense,” she stated, very confidently. If Karina had one thing going for her, it was her borderline delusional confidence that she was the prettiest girl in town and being around her made other people happy and better. Of course, the delusion crumbled anytime she’s asked a math or science question. Hopefully this trivia night wouldn’t consist of anything like that. 

She let out a breathy laugh as he introduced herself, not even looking up as she went on to write their name names at the top of the sheets of paper he handed her. “Has anyone ever formally met someone in Frostford?” She questioned, glancing up to see his hand stretched out toward her. “Karina,” she introduced herself, deciding to play along as though she’s never heard of Isaac Cohen before. “It’s nice to meet you,” she added with a bright smile as she shook his hand. “You should get a pitcher of sangria. It’s way better.” 

It had been a long day and she’s in a bar itching to get a drink. Normally she doesn’t drink, but the way her day went today, she could use a bottle or two.  “So… any recommendations? I’m the worst at drinking so I don’t know what to get.”

( @frostfordstart​ )

“Well, usually I’d say that depends on your tastes. You know, like...are you into fruity cocktails, boring beer or something strong enough to peel the paint off the walls. But typically, someone who is the worst at drinking is either an alcoholic and doesn’t need a recommendation or someone who barely ever drinks and can’t handle anything too strong,” she rambled on, pretty much endlessly. “I think the safest bet is a classic margarita. Practically impossible to screw up.” 

“You,” He jabs a finger at the person with a hard squint, “Are a child.” @frostfordstart​

“Uh, I’m an adult,” she snapped back at the man. “Which means I can have as many cookies as I want. So, please...add another pecan lace cookie to the order. Or I’ll...take my business...somewhere else.” 

@frostfordstart​

It was another night after his monotonous job and the town was dead, typical on a Wednesday night after eight. The only thing that would keep him distracted and give him an excuse to drink was the weekly trivia night hosted at Bootlegger’s. He clicked his tongue as his friend texted him they were no longer coming and shoved his phone back into his pocket. Fuck. Can’t be alone at a bar on a week night again, his dad would hear about it. How pathetic that Isaac still had to worry about what daddy would think, he thought bitterly. 

He turned to the person next to him ordering a drink at the bar. “Hey, wanna make a trivia team with me? You apparently need more than one person to be a ‘team,’” he said, playfully rolling his eyes. “I’ll even let you pick the team name.”

Trivia night wasn’t really something that Karina enjoyed. She never did very well in school, mostly due to the fact that she was barely in one place long enough to actually understand what was going on in class or turn in school projects. She was also a high school drop out; which normally she didn’t care too much. Plenty of people dropped out of school, she wasn’t ashamed of the fact. But trivia questions really brought out how little she actually knew academically. 

On the flip side, she didn’t have anything better to do and the guy seemed desperate. “Fine,” she agreed. He was going to have to do most of the work, unless all of these questions were about celebrity gossip and R&B music. “Team name....Destiny’s Step Child.” 

Lilian shared a look with the young woman near her, before she shared a sigh of relief. Even if this wouldn’t make this easier, at least it would help her to feel slightly numb towards the situation. “You’re an angel. And I’ll be forever thankful about this,” with a grin, she held the woman’s flask taking a sip from the drink, taking a leap of faith since they were just getting to know each other, before handing the flask back at the woman. “I’ll take that advice for the heart, next time I’ll be prepared for any events I’m part of. And, hey, I’m Lilian, by the way! It’s nice to meet you.”

Typically, Karina was probably on the better side of the scale, as far as people go. But moments like this, where she brought a flask along with her to a family friendly event; she was teetering being her mother’s mini me. But the girl seemed like she needed it at the moment and she wasn’t going to leave her hanging. “Nice to meet you too, Lilian,” she said, putting her hand out toward the woman. “I’m Karina. And I promise I ain’t the town alcoholic or anything.”  

Mitch looked almost a second too late. Catching it before it hit him in the face, he tilted his head at her. “Probably could have warned me before you threw it,” he chuckled, walking over to her. “I’d assume so.” He shrugged softly, looking around the bucket to see if there was a price or a sign stating otherwise.

She shot him an apologetic look as he walked over toward her. “Well, you caught it so, all good,” she decided. If it had actually nailed him, she’d feel a little bad for being late on the heads up. But it didn’t, so she doesn’t. “Good! If they’ve got us stuck out here, might as well let us snack for free.” She grabbed another apple from the basket, once again checking to make sure there wasn’t a waxy coating before taking a bite. 

It wasn’t surprising to see Karina sitting out again, she seemed to be there every day around this time, a perpetual stoop kid of Frostford, he hadn’t exactly put two and two together that she wasn’t just excited for the mail to come, he was kind of oblivious to this sort of thing. Still, he liked talking to her everyday and he didn’t hesitate from flashing her a winning smile, pulling out the letters and catalogs that were more than likely for her grandmother. “How come you don’t come by the post office anymore?” He asked. “You used to stop by almost everyday, no more pen pal?”

@karinahhh​

Maybe it was a little stalkery, but sitting outside on the porch every afternoon as an excuse to casually check out the mailman was something Karina just wasn’t ready to give up yet. Of course she tried to make it look like she was doing something outside so it wasn’t totally creepy. Usually it was tending to the little garden she set up on the porch, though she wasn’t so great with the upkeep and have to replace the plants all the time. “Hey,” she greeted Jacob as he walked up the sidewalk, broom in hand as though she was actually cleaning up. Of course his question cut her off guard, causing her eyes to widen in surprise. “Uh...um, you know,” she laughed, awkwardly, trying to buy time as she thought of a lie. “Turns out, total catfish. Like, fifty year old dude pretending to be a teenager. So, yea, like...had to cut that off.” 

local: market 

She had tried to contact her mother the moment the announce had been made, but it was in vain. Lilian didn’t have the best phone service at the market and it only made her less comfortable. Even if she didn’t have the best relationship with Ophelia, she could — maybe — help her daughter feel more tranquilled over the situation she was in, as her light hues were constantly moving to the man at the same spot, James Rowe. She wanted to walk away from that place, if only she could. She didn’t have a book on her purse to keep her company nor headphones and while she was overthinking and living within her mind, Lilian was almost squishing the apple on her hand. “Of all places I could’ve chosen to be stuck at, I’ve ended up at one with no drinks. Doesn’t it sound delightful?” She shared a few words with the person next to her. “I could use a drink, definitely.” |  ( @frostfordstart​ )

Karina was going crazy at the market. There wasn’t anything to play with, there wasn’t any candy to snack on and there wasn’t really anyone she knew all too well around to start chit chatting with. And for someone as insanely talkative as she was, it was pure torture. Thankfully, someone else seemed to be having a difficult time. “Honey,” she let out a soft laugh, glancing around to make sure none of her grandma’s church friends were lurking around a corner. “I got you,” she whispered, pulling a flask out of her purse. “My mama always said, never leave home without a drink unless you know for sure there will be an open bar.” 

“I’m not giving you a choice,” she was more than a bit drunk as she sat down next to her friend, face painted in some sort of weird tiger butterfly combo that she’d only asked for after one too many hard ciders, something she’d regret when she would try and wash her face that night. “We’re doing both the haunted hay ride and the haunted house.” She wrapped her arm around Karina. “Why haven’t you had your face painted yet?”

@karinahhh​

“But I wanna pick apples,” Karina whined as the other woman decided what as going on their agenda for the day. If it weren’t got the ciders that Karina had been downing, there would be no way in hell she’d make such a fuss about not getting to do free manual labor. In fact, on her way over, she accused the apple picking as being a trick the Rollins played on the town into getting everyone to do their jobs. “Girl, that line was super long. Plus, why would I want to cover up perfection with paint?”