Before You Leave [finished short collection]

Chapter 1

June 24 2019
Monday
You never truly know what's going inside a person's head.
You may think, "If I feel this way about a certain situation, it's only accustomed that another person will think the same way."
It isn't true, I've learned it isn't true.
The way people think is controlled by so much, the media, our families and friends, even the way we think a person may react to us thinking that way.
Did we ever have a own voice? Did we ever have the freedom of our own thoughts?
Of course everyone is going to be thinking differently.
For instance, I'm at a book shop with my best friend standing beside me. We're both staring at the same piece of art on the second floor of a secondhand book shop on Faight Avenue. I may an blue and gray snot canvas, but the way he stares at this painting makes me think other wise. Like he looks at things a very more clear perspective, a deeper meaning shall I say.
William Madeline (don't tell him I told you) Wilder is my best friend.
Really rolls off the tongue doesn't it.

I wonder how much longer we are going to be standing here, the lollipop in my mouth had to have at least decrease in size by a quarter in the past 5 minutes of standing here and looking at this painting.

Will has a lollipop too, except he definitely hasn't been moving it around in his mouth as much as I have. He's actually been paying attention to the articulate details of the painting. For the past five minutes, "All I can think of is, at least he's using the two dollars we paid to get into this second floor art gallery to use." I scoot closer and nudge him on the shoulder with my shoulder, sure to keep my eyes on the painting.

He doesn't look over at me, instead takes the lollipop out of his mouth. "I think it's a woman, crying on her knees."

I cock my head to the side.

"I think it looks like a half eaten turkey leg that you get from traveling fairs." I say.

He cocks his head to the side.

He bites his bottom lip, "Yeah, honestly that too."

I couldn't stand there anymore, instead I grab his arm and lead him towards the exit. "What, not interested in anymore intellectual conversational topics?"He laughs as he follows me downstairs.

"I give up, you win. I am simply not a person of the arts, or at least not those arts." I pout, knowing he had already known from the beginning what was going to happen. We start walking along the street, watching the children and people walking by our large town's biggest attractions.

"I told you." He scoffs and places his hands in his pockets. "But hey, it's your bucket list for us." He mocks me and I gasp.

"Don't act like hanging out with me is such a burden, sorry I wasted your time Sir Madeline." I walk ahead of him and purposely strut to make him extra angry at my cockiness, I feel him catch up to me and pinch my hips extra hard. "Ow!"

"Don't say my middle name in public ever again or I'll go over to the voodoo shop we just passed and ask the lady who works there to curse the day you were born." He looks at me sternly and I nod, although part of me wanted to laugh even harder. "Besides, lets not forgot who has copies of your naked butt from middle school."

I feel the tips of my ears start to heat up at the embarrassing incidents, I tug harshly on his sleeve. "Don't talk about it! Besides that's child pornography!"

He smirks at me because he likes when he wins, "Not if my butt's in the picture too."

"You're in a particularly snappy attitude today Madeline, sad?" I skip on the rocks as we pass the fountain, couples all around it taking pictures of the statues squirting water from their mouths.