As an exchange student from Scotland, a whole new world opens up to Darren Green when he moves to the United States. He'll live with a host family, start at a new school, and he'll have to make new friends. However, what won't be a part of this new...
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DARREN HAD NEVER THOUGHT MUCH of Juice. It was a smoothie bar, not the type of place he'd hang out, and he only knew about it because Dakota worked there. That fact was the only thing that gave him a good feeling about today. Aside from that, his thoughts were plagued by one question: why did Dakota want him to come here on a Monday?
And yet, when Dakota asked him to do something, he did it, no matter what he thought of it. He hadn't the least clue about what to expect; if Dakota wanted to tell him something, why hadn't she just done so yesterday evening? But if it wasn't to tell him something, why did she ask him to come here? While Juice was a lovely place, full of bright colors, a fruity smell and an overall trendy vibe, there wasn't anything to come here for besides smoothies.
So, based only on the instructions to be at Juice at noon, Darren walked into the little bar. At this time of day, there weren't many people; the only guests were a blonde woman in the back and a couple in the center. Behind the bar were two employees, and despite their identical uniforms, he could spot Dakota easily. While her hair was timidly bound up into a ponytail, her simplicity made her stand out.
He walked up to the bar. "Hey, Dakota," he said. His voice was unconfident, the insecurity about today having seeped into his tone.
She had been chopping up fruit, but when she heard Darren, she turned around. "Hi." Her face lit up.
Her unexpected happiness caused a smile to grow on his lips. She seemed happy to see him, and that hadn't been the case in months. "I came."
She grinned. "I see."
He shrugged and approached her. "So...?" The question he wanted to ask was readable in his facial features, but she pretended not to notice. "Why did you ask me to come here?"
Dakota's grin grew even wider. "I think it's better if I show you," she said playfully. She tapped her coworker on the shoulder. "José, I'll be taking a break."
"You've just taken–"
A wave of her hand and her turning her back towards him was enough to get him to stop talking. This must not have been the first time she did this, and it was the least surprising thing she'd done today. She walked around the bar to enter the area for the guests and led Darren towards the back of the space.
"Am I allowed to go back there?"
"You're not going back there," Dakota said, and at the same time, she halted at the table where one of the guests of Juice was sitting at. Darren blushed, feeling guilty for disturbing the woman who was sitting by herself, seeming to enjoy her me-time.
Dakota sat down at the table opposite the woman before Darren could even protest. "Hey mom, what's up?"
The blonde woman looked up from her phone at the commotion, and she seemed to know Dakota, because she put her phone facedown on the table and set up a little straighter.
