the moral of the story

chapter four: the bubbly blonde actress who won't shut the hell up

wiping away the sweat from my forehead, i glanced down back at my phone, which conveniently, i couldn't see because it was so goddamn sunny out.

"you've got to be kidding me." i groaned when my phone screen went completely black. that stupid fucking battery never seemed to work, and when it did, it was during all the wrong time.

i kept mindlessly pressing buttons, desperately trying anything to make it work again. but it wouldn't here.

"fucking perfect." i sighed, bringing my hand up to my forehead to slap it.

there i was, freshly fifteen years old and stranded in the big city of london by my own family. i didn't even know where they were. it was our first day in london for the summer and i woke up with a note from my mom saying that her and my father had decided to go sightseeing, without my sister and i. and as for verona. i had no idea where she was. probably off to meet with her mystery boyfriend, even though he "didn't exist". my aunt and her husband were likely at their respective jobs, which yeah, i didn't know what they were. i mean, can you blame me, i hardly knew them!

we had just arrived the day before, school ending for the summer just the day prior before that one. i had just wrapped up my very first year of high school, which wasn't all that bad. i mean yeah, my sister, verona, was a senior who liked to make my life hell, but i had my friends to help me get through it. not to mention i was a cheerleader, so that seemed to help a bit. anyway, my parents had been planning that trip to london for at least a few years. my mom had a sister that lived there with her husband that she'd been dying to see. and with my sister going off to college that fall, they wanted one last trip before our family changed forever.

god, i probably looked so stupid. i mean, this dumb american teenager who decided to arrogantly leave the safety of her house to go sightseeing. i didn't know why i left, i was just bored, i guess. i should've stayed home and figured out how the netflix worked. would've been easier than—

"are you lost?"

i jumped at the voice.

i looked up. squinting and placing my hand above my eyes, i was still unable to make out the figure that spoke to me. i had to be cautious. i mean, this dude could've been forty five years old and ready to kidnap and murder me!

"oh, no, my family's just over there." i pointed to a random older couple and young boy seated at one of the benches. "i should probably be getting back to them."

that should've sent him away right? wrong. so wrong.

when i turned away to leave, i feel a hand grasp onto my arm. feeling my instincts kick in, i immediately went to slap his hand away.

"oh, sorry," the guy rushed to apologize, "i didn't mean to startle you. it's just, you dropped this."

i looked down to his extended hand and quirked my eyebrow at the sight of me. "what's this?"

"it's, uhm, it's money. you know, you use it to buy stuff—"

"no," i felt myself giggle at his remark, "i mean, it's not mine. i don't even have money from here yet."

still, tried as i did, it continued to be to bright to see this dude's face. i felt like an idiot just squinting at him without even seeing if he was hot or anything. not that his level of attractiveness would change my opinion on him. well, to a certain degree. after all, i was a straight fifteen year old girl who had never been shown any interest before, so it was safe to say that i was pretty naive.

"oh," the guy responded, retracting his hand, "thought i'd sensed an accent. american?"

"you sensed right. i am american." i replied with a laugh, tucking a strand of light brown hair behind my ear.