𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍

two

『 two 』

THE NEXT FEW WEEKS PASSED slowly. 

Leila Zimmerman, Natalie's mother, had promised her a car by the end of the school year. Her seventeenth birthday was coming up on December 8th. Sharing one SUV between each of their schedules was becoming tiring. They desperately needed an upgrade. 

So to make herself feel better, and just cause she felt it, Natalie made a deal with Leila. She would pay for seventy-five percent of the budget. Whatever the price or lease, she would pay for three quarters of the car. Leila didn't try to argue. 

Eli got a bit salty after hearing that, because now his father would be expecting him to do the same when his time came. 

But in order to go through with this deal, Natalie needed a job. 

She applied for several positions. There was a wide variety of options. She was surprised by how many businesses were hiring. 

Natalie got half the call backs for interviews. She only had to attend two. The second interview landed her her first real job. It was a small business in the valley's mall. Overall, the process went better than expected. 

It was difficult to find free time, Natalie soon discovered. School and employment combined sucked up every afternoon in a week. At least she wasn't balancing schoolwork and a tiring activities, like Miguel. She had been at that point her freshman year, with the swim team. No going back to that hell. 

But that was her life. School, work. School, work. Maybe a shower thrown in there.

This was the perfect opportunity to come to terms with just how rude public customers could be. Before August she had never had a real encounter with a Karen. To her, they had always been mythical creatures. People claimed to see mermaids and dragons all the time, so why couldn't Karens be the same case? 

Kate swore she saw one at a deli one time. But even her story was difficult to believe at the time. 

But now Natalie understood. The species of Karen was a true and very dangerous force to be reckoned with. One of her coworkers almost lost their job over a Karen debacle. It was terrifying. 

She eventually had to set a reminder on her phone to stop complaining. She was grateful to have the job, and soon her own car. 

Nothing ever got done in life when people spent half the time complaining. 

Her homework time was spent on the beach. There was dock she loved to swim by as a child. It had low popularity, just because of its location. It was too far from any parking lot or resort hotel. That would mean a lot of walking for any tourist. 

But tourists didn't know the secret roads you could take. There were at least two unpaved roads that forked off random places in the main boulevard she took from school to work. You drove down the path of your choosing for about ten minutes before hitting dense forest with absolutely no reception. Eventually you found your way to the beach, with a convenient parking space just a short walking distance to the dock of her childhood. 

It would be a killer to have your car break down in the middle of that forest. You would be one hundred percent screwed. But that was part of the thrill of it all. She investigated it thoroughly. It was all public land, so she wasn't trespassing on any random old man's booby trapped property. 

It was just her own secret little passageway to her calm place. Her and her father's. 

Natalie had discovered them when out with her father as a young child, a very young child. She was surprised she still remembered the way. It had only been the two of them at the time, so she couldn't turn to her mother or friends for directions. Hopefully her memory would hold out for her for many years to come. 

She completed any homework that didn't require a computer on that dock. She spread her papers out using hand made paper weights. She abandoned her shoes in the car every other day. With her hair tied back and sweater on, she could relax on the pier. Listen to seagulls. Pray nothing pooped on her books. Watch the beautiful sunsets on the endless horizon. 

She could easily stay out there for an hour. More, if she didn't have an evening schedule to attend to. 

Natalie did this every day. And she intended to continue doing this until she got bored. 

Which would be never. 

Around the beginning of September, Natalie grew tired of seeing Aisha Robinson sit alone at her lunch table. She was either alone, or with people who wouldn't even look at her. She reached out to her one day, offering the remaining spot at her table with Eli and the others. Aisha gratefully turned down, but they ended up exchanging numbers. 

By the end of that week, Aisha became the number she texted most out of her contacts. Aisha always had something to say, and it was always something interesting. They stuck together. Natalie would say they were like two peas in a pod, but that title was reserved for Kate. 

The two had serious chemistry. Not just shared interests, but shared opinions as well. There was a lot to bond over. 

+ + +

Things were getting interesting outside of school as well. Her first date since, well, ever. She had never been overly interesting in romance since high school hit. She used to go on playground dates in second grade all the time. Another fresh start for this year. She was excited. 

His name was Theo. They worked the same shift at the shop. He was a nice guy. Natalie was ninety percent certain he wasn't a dog murderer with twenty skeletons in his closet. 

They went to catch a movie on opening night. It was cheesy, and extremely predictable, but that was the fun of it. They chose that movie because the reviews called it cheesy. 

Theo was such an incredible guy. He was kind, considerate, intelligent, didn't smell. This may have just been first date etiquette, but she didn't feel that. He wasn't going out of his way to give her an enjoyable time. They were just two teenagers spending time together. They were being themselves. 

Natalie would much rather have someone who was himself for every date, instead of a prettied up version for the first few. She knew the whole deal; if something is too good to be true, it usually is. But this time she felt it was right. He was the whole deal. 

A Peeta Mellark, she would call him. 

By the time he dropped her off at her house, she was glowing. Absolutely glowing. She ranted about it for the rest of the night to Kate. 

Did she land herself a boyfriend?

+ + +

this was so hard to write for no reason

last edited June 11, 2021