When All The Stars Align

✦ ONE - GET IN LOSER, WE'RE GOING SHOPPING ✦

My legs were swinging back and forth, the wind encompassing my entire body, raising each hair. My tongue wrapped around the smooth surface of the ice cream in my hand as I gulped it down. A small drop dribbled down my finger but didn't get far, I licked it up as soon as it touched my skin.

A loud crash sounded from behind me as I continued to stare at the setting sun, the sky behind it painted with orange, red, yellow, and purple watercolors. The silhouettes of families, friends, and dog walkers passed by as little specs compared to their background, it was a strange thought to think that each of them had their own lives, their own story. Every spec of dust had its own tale.

"REYNOLDS GET THE FUCK OVER HERE!" Sal Evers' booming voice passed through my ears from behind me. An array of groans were heard due to the fact I didn't move and continued to stare at the specs of dust.

Cold fingers broke me away from my little world when they snatched away my ice cream just as it was on the tip of my tongue, "What the fuck, Ronnie?" I squealed as I watched the shaggy-haired man take a lick of my vanilla ice cream, spilling a drop on his Hawaiian patterned shirt.

"Sal called you. You better go see," he laughed at my stern look and took a huge bite of my delicious treat.

Who bites ice cream?

I didn't move, instead, I settled back into my deck chair, enjoying the sound of the waves hitting the sand.

"If you don't get up right now, this ice cream is going on your forehead... so unless you want to become a unicorn, I suggest you go see what happened." Ronnie waved the half-eaten ice cream in front of me, jerking it towards my face every now and again.

"Fine," I huffed, "Where is she?"

"In the kitchen." He pointed inside the house, through the patio doors.

As I began to walk inside, I hesitated for a second, "On a scale of one to three thousand... how bad is it?"

"Three thousand and one," Ronnie said as he took my arm and pulled me inside where the warm air heated up my body, "Jesus woman, you're freezing."

"Well someone didn't provide me with any blankets." I rolled my eyes as we walked through the living room and into the marble-topped kitchen where Sal was stood, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Yeah, well some of us just aren't cold-blooded," Ronnie replied as he sat down at the stool, throwing the ice cream in the trash.

Well, that was a waste.

I simply scoffed at his reply and focused my attention on the red-cheeked girl in front of me, "What the fuck did you do?"

She bit her lip and looked down at the floor. My gaze followed hers and my heart stopped at the sight. There laying on the floor was my three hundred dollar handheld telescope, broken in two.

"You better get a head start," Ronnie chuckled to Sal as he bit into an apple.

I looked up from the floor slowly and glared my eyes at a guilty-looking Sal.

"Easy tiger, look we can fix this..." Sal pleaded, picking up the telescope for it to only shatter into more tiny pieces.

"Oh, you are so FUCKING DEAD!" I shouted, pouncing at her but she maneuvered herself away just in time. My eyes scanned the room for a suitable weapon and an alarm went off in my brain when I laid eyes on the open tub of sour cream.

"We can talk this out, Reg." Sal raised her hands in the air when she saw where I was going, "I'll get you a new one!" She leaped to the side as I speedily grab the pot and swung the sauce in her direction. "This is so unfair! I can't hit the brain-damaged girl!"