By Chance (Accidentally In Luck #1)

8. Ahhhh, La Vie - Cora

*Cora*

That weird summer boredom had officially sunk in. We'd made it over halfway through the summer and it was the point that we realized school was starting up soon. It's that time when you run out of things to do, but you still want to do something.

Elle was vacationing with her mom in Brazil and I was left at home with no other friends and parents who worked crazy hours. What was she thinking, not taking me with her?

No, I don't really think she should have taken me with her, but at this point having something to do would be worth the complete and total intrusion.

I was going stir crazy in this stupid house. It was huge, it was nice, and it was boring as crap. I had every luxury I could ever really want, but they were no fun when you didn't have an Elle to share them with.

Knowing that sitting on the couch staring at the TV or my phone was just going to make the boredom worse, I decided to get up and go do something.

I made my way to my room and grabbed my phone off the bed. I never felt the need to have it with me at all times because I only ever talked to Elle and, at the moment, she was probably zip lining through the tropical rain forest and meeting hot Brazilian guys.

Yeah, I'm not salty at all.

I didn't rush getting ready. I threw on some clothes and curled my hair into thick, big curls. I never did that, and it was nice to see how good it looked. I took the most time with my makeup, being sure to apply everything as Elle had carefully instructed me to do. Elle would've been proud of my effort today.

I had no timetable for the day, and I was glad because it was closing in on 11 am before I was ready to leave.

Stepping out my front door and locking it behind me, I looked back and forth down the street before I realized that I wouldn't be seeing Elle's car coming to pick me up.

Sighing, I pulled out my phone to call a cab. I didn't want to, but it was a really long walk.

I had also convinced myself to wear the outfit I'd gotten with Elle that day last week at the beach. I decided to never tell her that I was wearing it voluntarily because I could already hear the loud "I told you so!" coming from her if I did.

I never used to understand why girls wore this kind of stuff, but now I do. Wearing this, I felt confident. Not confident to, say, start twerking on the beach, but confident enough that I could walk around with my head up and meet people's eyes. I've never been able to do that.

I had the cab drop me off on the edge of town and started trudging through the streets. Thanks to the summer heat, I was already regretting the decision to come out today.

I sighed again and kept walking.

***

"Oh. My. Gosh. That looks incredible on you!" The lady gushed. I would've been flattered if I hadn't been trying so hard to hold back extreme laughter. The lady sounded like Janice from "Friends" and I couldn't handle it.

I was in this weird little boutique called La Vie and was trying on a selection of overpriced French-themed clothing. Elle and I always went to the mall, so I took this time by myself to hit all the little stores in LA that we never visited, and it turns out that I love little stores like La Vie.

It was the name that caught my attention to start. La Vie. Life. I love French sayings and la vie and mon ami have always been two of my favorites.

I spun in front of the full length, tri fold mirror and smiled. Janice was right, the dress did look incredible. It was a plain black halter top that hugged every curve perfectly and had a blue, teal, and purple swirly skirt that spun out fabulously when I twirled. I wanted it so bad.