Part 4: Senior Year - Scene 2

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I'm sitting outside with a cup of coffee by the time Nichole rolls her car around. She idles for a moment, staring at me through tinted windows before driving off to her place. A moment later, she comes walking my way dressed in a pencil skirt and a blue blouse, heels click-clacking against the cracked pavement.

She stops right in front of me. Her heels sink into the grass. "No beer?"

I shrug. "Not feeling it."

"And no cigarettes?"

"Dad's all out."

She stares at me for a long time. I stare back, taking occasional sips from my cup. When the silence becomes unbearable, I rest the cup on my lap and look down at the dark liquid, saying, "Did you just get back from work or something?"

"Yeah, it's my break. Are you just going to sit out here all day?"

"Probably." I let out a cold laugh. "Casper says he needs space. He's hanging out with Winston and another guy."

"You know, couples are allowed to hang out with their own friends."

"I know that."

"Then are you just bitter because you don't have any friends?"

Damn. The world is filled with cold people. "Fuck off," I say and take another sip, but Nichole doesn't budge. She smiles instead.

"You're growing up."

"Am I?"

"Your voice is deeper."

"I haven't noticed."

"Is that stubble I see?"

I give her a look. "Fat chance," I say, but my free hand still shoots to my face just to make sure. That makes her laugh.

"Alright, come on, get up. I'm taking you out for ice cream. You can always count on it to heal a pissy mood."

"Don't you have work?"

"I'll drop you off before I go back to the office. Now get up. You don't want me to change my mind, do you?"

I don't. I dump the coffee on the grass and make my way inside, carrying the lawn chair and cup with me. After shoving them in their rightful places, I follow Nichole all the way to her car and get strapped in the passenger seat. Getting in the car makes me feel a little bitter, to be honest. Her face keeps flashing in my mind, her eyes staring out this exact window.

Where are we going?

I blink. Nichole's staring at me, eyebrows furrowed. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I said, where are we going? Do you have a specific ice cream shop in mind?"

Oh. I shake my head, waving my hand in the air. "Anywhere is fine. I don't go out for ice cream anyway."

"You mean you and Casper never had an ice cream date?" She says it like it's some goddamn crime as she back out of the driveway. "Isn't that what teenagers do?"

The last thing I want to do is talk about him, so I stay quiet. It's not like I hate him or anything. I don't think it's even possible to hate someone like Casper. He just pisses me off from time to time, and one little thing would make me sour for weeks. Hell, sometimes I think he does it on purpose. I mean, he's always watching me. Like he's waiting for something I don't know about yet.

Despite my mood, countless of upbeat songs are playing on the radio. After each song the DJ would say something corny like, "Carpe diem, baby! Summer's almost ending! Get your last blast of fun before fall hits!"

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