Fake It 'Til You Make It

|31| New Friend

I drove to Patty's Patties in my new silver convertible. It was stylish, comfortable, and had a roof that could slink away and leave me with an open sky and gentle wind. Or, you know, a downpour of rain. Since it still continued to pour, the roof remained up. And, yes, I did get the idea to drive a convertible from Vienna's. I had to admit that I enjoyed riding in her convertible. Now, I had my own to drive whenever I wanted. That made me extremely excited, as well as earned Melanie a huge thank you for lending the money to buy the convertible. It also earned Lydia a huge hug for driving me to pick out a vehicle and having a sliver of patience.

Now, I smiled, dropping my hands from the wheel and yanking the keys out of the ignition. I'd parked in front of the familiar burger shop, and walked through the light drizzle to the door. Carson waved to me from the usual table. Carl and Shell sat across from him and Lydia sat next to him. I couldn't help but smile as I squeezed next to Lydia, who didn't take up much space anyways. They'd already ordered our food, and I was the last of our group to arrive. Vienna, of course, was still sick, even on that Tuesday. Yesterday I had bought my car, and today school was cancelled due to flash flooding. Only, the flooding had already gone down, so we all decided to eat burgers at ten in the morning.

"Liking your convertible?" Carl asked, a bright smile on his face.

I nodded. "Yup. It's amazing!"

Shell folded his arms on the table. "Yet you haven't given us a ride."

I rolled my eyes at my friend. "Maybe one day."

"I hope she's a better driver than Lydia," Carson casually smirked.

Lydia hit him on the arm. "Hey, I'm not that bad!"

"When it's raining," I laughed.

The waitress came over and smiled at us. All of us, which surprised me given who she was. She sat down Carl, Shell, and Lydia's baskets of burgers. They already had their drinks, and I realized mine was in front of me. I pulled it forward and took a sip, trying to ignore Amara staring at us and vice versa. The others all knew who she was, but they ignored it. She left to get Carson and I's orders, and I sipped on my root beer as the others whispered.

"Wow, she didn't even sneer at you," Lydia commented. "Maybe she dropped her bitch phase."

I slightly smirked at that. Then, I looked up as my own basket of food was plopped in front of me. Carson received his as well, and the others began to dig in. As Amara walked away and I questioned if my food was poisoned, I realized I needed to use the bathroom. So, I did just that. I told them where I was going, to which Carl replied "We didn't need that visual, but thanks." His brother rolled his eyes while I headed to empty my bladder.

After I exited the stall and washed my hands, someone else walked into the bathroom. That someone else happened to be Amara. I simply gave her a look. Did she wish to murder me? Yell at me? I didn't have time for her games, and I had told her such the day before. Only, the girl in front of me looked nothing like the girl that cheated on Asher. She looked like someone who had too many issues to count, and a girl who had just let her guard down for the first time in a while.

"Hi." When she spoke, it was soft. Her eyes reflected something I couldn't quite place, and I felt confusion rise within me.

"Um, I didn't know you worked here."

"I just started," she replied.

"Why does someone like you need a job?"

She shrugged. "Because I want to do something for myself."

That surprised me. Despite everything i knew about the girl, I let out a breath. "What's wrong, Amara? Why are you talking to me?"

"Because I've heard of everything you've done, Adalaide. Because I've heard of the good you've done for this town. You helped Tala with her one night stands. You helped Asher get away from me. Because all this time, I thought what I was doing was right. I began home schooling because my parents realized I was into drinking and screwing guys. They, unlike half the parents in this town, wanted me to turn out better. You know what? I listened to Lexus and Cara. I was jealous of you, because you don't have to be what you're not. Because you're a better person than me. Asher could see it. That's why he likes you." She began to cry, but didn't bother to wipe away her tears.