The Diary of Existing

THIRTEEN

THIRTEEN

When I stepped into the restroom I saw Morgan standing by the sink. She looked at me through the mirror and gave me a smile. "Hey Alex." She greeted as she washed her hands. "Didn't expect to see you here." she said and I smiled even if she wasn't looking. Why did I smile?

"I'm with my mother." I said and she laughed. "I'm with my grandfather." She answered. She reached for a couple of paper towels and started drying off her hands. "I'm going to tell my grandfather I have to go. I'll give you 10 minutes, meet me at that boutique across the street. Let's hang out." she said and tossed the used paper towel to the trash. She didn't wait for me to respond. I didn't even know if we were allowed to leave since the boarding school knows that we are with family.

I stood in the bathroom contemplating. I couldn't even remember why I was here, I didn't have the urge to use the restroom. I washed my hands, and dried it off with a paper towel like her before heading out. I looked around the restaurant and my eyes landed towards the front door, she was leaving with a bag in hand and a coat on. I watched as she crossed the street and entered the little boutique across the street. My eyes diverted back to my booth, my view being the back of my mother's head and Amanda putting food in her mouth as she was nodding.

I walked up to them and started grabbing my stuff. "What are you doing?" my mother asked. I grabbed my phone off the table and checked the time. It was 12:23, noon. "I saw one of my friends from boarding school, she's at the boutique across the street and she reminded me that we were going to have a social event soon. I need a dress. I'm going to check some out with her, she's already there." I lied and my mother just waved a hand. "Get back soon because Amanda has to be the one to take you back." my mother said and I didn't even bother to comment again on how she's an absolute gem of a mother.

I rushed out and ran towards the boutique. I had a hand on the door, and through the glass I watched as Morgan checked out some of the clothes. There were three other customers and a sales lady who could care less by the cash register. I walked in, the small bell by the door rung and Morgan turned to look at me. She smiled and continued to check out the clothes. As I made my way to where she was I casually checked out the clothes as well.

As I got near, she walked up to me. "Let's get out of this shop. The material's cheap." she commented as she swayed one of the clothes away. I followed her out the door and we began to walk a couple of blocks away from the restaurant. I was slightly beginning to panic because I wasn't sure if my mother was going to send Amanda to check on me. I fished my phone out of my pocket and sent Amanda a text.

I'm not at the boutique, checking out other stores. Don't worry, I'll call you after so you can pick me up wherever.

I turned my phone off and hid it away in my bag.

Morgan and I ended up at a trendy looking neighborhood. I wasn't sure where we were, and none of the street signs were useful to me either. We stopped in front of a two story apartment building that was painted in an ugly shade of mint green. The windows were white and the door was a bright red. It looked as if there were possibly only two apartments inside or three. It was just as small as the other places. We walked up the steps and Morgan simply opened the door. I was surprised to see that it wasn't multiple apartments, the entire building was the apartment.

Still, it looked small enough to be half of the building. "Whose house is this?" I asked as Morgan took her coat off and tossed it on the couch before plopping herself down. "Anybody's." She said and I just did as she did, and tossed my coat and sat adjacent to her. "This is Notting Hill. This house is owned by my cousin, and the front door is purposely left unlocked. Anyone can come in. Whether they know him or not. He likes to think of this place as an area that anybody can come into. So he leaves the door unlocked, and the fridge full of food, hot water running and a bar full of drinks." Morgan said as she grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels.