Loving You Differently

Forty One

Aria Adkins

My eyes dart to the time stamped in the corner of the clock in/out machine as I type in my employee number and clock out for the day. Sidney lightly hip-checks me once I'm finished and types in her own information. "You ready to go?" She asks.

I snag my purse from underneath the front counter and shove my notepad and tip money into it. I zip it up with a sigh. "Yeah. Thank you again for doing this for me, Sid."

She waves me off with a flick of her hand, her engagement ring twinkling in the light. "It's no problem, I told you that. It's on my way home."

I untie my apron and bunch it up in my hands, wringing it in frustration. "I know. I just hate having to ask for rides all the time," I grimace.

"Aria, it's fine, really," She throws over her shoulder, the bell atop the door jingling as we exit RJ's together. "Have you thought about taking Austin up on his offer of teaching you how to drive?"

I purse my lips. "I know how to drive."

Sidney comes to a halt in front of Lincoln's truck. "I mean legally."

My laugh trickles into the air as I hoist myself into the vehicle. "Besides the obvious, I don't even have a car to drive if I were to actually get my license."

Sidney reaches over and squeezes my hand. "Everything will work out. You're about to enter a new season of life, babe. And in this chapter, anything is possible if you want it."

I blink back tears and lean over, gathering her in my arms for a quick hug.

Sidney laughs as we part. "I'm still getting used to emotional Aria. I like it, though."

I let out a small laugh, a grin curving on my lips as she starts the truck and begins to pull from the lot. "Me too."

——

I give Sidney a wave and pretend to catch the kiss she blows my way, laughing as I turn and make my way towards the building in front of me.

Southwest Tennessee Community College sits proudly, sunshine gleaming against the shiny glass windows. Students leisurely walk down sidewalks with backpacks slung across their shoulders, and some even sit cross-legged on patches of grass, studying in the sun.

I think back to high school for a second, remembering how I would walk down the halls with my resting bitch face in full force, which acted as an invisible shield that kept the rest of my peers at bay. There's a drast difference in environment here compared to the dingy, worn-down halls of my old high school. Before I walk into the building, I relax my posture, unclench my jaw, and paste a serene smile on my face.

The old Aria, the hurt Aria walked around like she hated the world, but the new, healed Aria doesn't.

I stop by the front desk and let the secretary know that I'm here to pick up Savannah after she completes her SAT testing. Even though my baby sister has already tested twice and even been admitted to college, she still wanted to take it again just to improve her score. Like I've said before, I have no clue where she gets that gene from.

The secretary advises me to sit in a little waiting area off to the side. Instead of sitting in one of the chairs, I slowly walk towards one of the bookshelves standing tall in the far corner of the room. I lightly run my fingers across the spines of a few books sitting on the shelf. Some are random biographies, but many of them are labelled as introductions to different career-paths.