Written in the Stars *EDITING*

Chapter 27: Sophie Returns for Holiday

It was Saturday and Mia was bored out of her mind. Her parents had decided to go on an extended date, driving to a different state, and renting a hotel room. They would go sightseeing, swim in the hotel pool, dance at clubs, and eat local food. Her Dad had said that was the key to a happy marriage, "keep the magic alive in any way you can, sweetie." So even though Mia was a little jealous her parents were having fun, she was happy they were still in love. With a sigh, Mia flopped onto her bed and called Hazel. Her best friend picked up after three rings. "Hey babe, want to hang out?"

Hazel let out a deep sigh. "As much as I would love to, I can't. My parents are dragging Jade and me to my grandparent's house for the rest of the day."

"Which grandparents?"

"The ones without wifi and who try to feed us peppermint candy I'm pretty sure expired like ten years ago at least. Not to mention, Mitten still has it out for me. I swear that cat is homophobic. It hissed at me last time I visited."

"Oof," Mia said in sympathy. "I'm sorry. If you need to, send me an emergency SOS text with data and I'll drive however long to rescue you and Jadey."

"Thanks, babe. My parents are yelling at me to get to the car. I love you."

"I love you too, Hazey." Mia felt the boredom creeping in. Her options at home were slim. Watch Netflix or read a book. Having read every book on her shelf and not being in the mood to reread, she opened Netflix. Nothing caught her eye so she closed her laptop in frustration. Picking up her phone, she called Nathan's number. "Hi. Are you free? We could conquer a fear or just hang out. I'm down for food or whatever."

"Hey. Sorry, I can't. Sophie is on break from school, except they call it holiday over there, and she bought a plane ticket. She's staying in Redwood for a few days and I'm picking her up from the airport. We're going to catch up for the rest of the day. Maybe we can all hang out tomorrow," he rambled, the excitement evident in his voice.

"That's cool. Have fun and yeah, maybe we can all hang," Mia responded. He hung up and Mia stared at her night sky ceiling. Spending the rest of the day at home was not ideal. She couldn't hang out with Rose, she was busy with student body government-related stuff. Having about three friends sucked sometimes. Mia scrolled through her contacts and called a number. "Evan? Hi. I know we've only hung out a few times and we really only know each other through Nathan, but do you want to hang out?"

"I would love nothing more, wifey. Text me your address and I'll be there as quick as I can," he exclaimed. Mia hung up with a grin. Having four friends didn't suck. Throwing on jeans and a clean shirt, Mia grabbed her phone and wallet before waiting in her living room.

When the doorbell rang, Mia opened the door with a smile. The black-haired boy smiled back, decked out in black jeans and a blue shirt. "What do you want to do?"

"I have quite a few ideas," he announced, gesturing to his car like a game show lady.

First, they hit up the grocery store and grabbed a couple of snacks and a drink each. Mia was about to leave the store when Evan stopped her. He took out a few quarters and inserted them into the different machines near the entrance of the store. He handed Mia one of the stickers and candy before he ate some of his own. He inserted his last quarter into one of the machines and out came a toy ring in a ball. He put it into his pocket and they made their way to his car.

"How do you feel about karaoke?" he inquired. "I know a great place but It's like an hour drive away."

"I love karaoke! I'm down. Good thing we bought these snacks."

"I can be smart when I want to be." In the car, they warmed up their vocals, singing everything from pop to indie to rock. When Evan parked his car almost an hour later, he turned off Paramore and told her they had arrived. Sky Bar was a small black restaurant, but looking around the parking lot she could tell it was popular.