Colorblind [h.s]

2

"Violet, wake up! I have a surprise for youuu!" Bella squeals.

My heavy eyes force themselves open. My head is pounding, I feel insanely nauseous, my feet are still sore, and I forgot to take my makeup off last night.

"It better be ibuprofen and a makeup wipe," I say hoarsely, sitting up and leaning against the headboard.

"Girl, have some faith in me," Bella says as she hands me 2 Advil, a gatorade, and a makeup wipe.

"My God I could kiss you right now," I say, popping the Advil immediately and washing them down with my gatorade.

"But that's not my surprise," she continues as I begin to wipe my face. "Avery was looking online for stuff we can do today, and she found a local winery that's only a 5 minute drive from here! We have to go."

A winery?

I just woke up feeling sick in just about every way imaginable. The absolute last thing I need right now is more alcohol, and wine at that. I think just looking at a bottle of red would be enough to spill my guts.

"Guys, it's like- what? 9:00 am? It's way too early to start drinking again," I say, shaking my head.

Caroline laughs. "Good guess, but it's actually noon, Vi."

What?

I never sleep this late. And I mean, never. My mom always woke me up before 9:00am every day, claiming I need to "make the most of my day" and "be productive with my time." Plus, even when I black out at school, I can still get up early enough to make my 8:00 am class.

"Noon? Why didn't you guys wake me up?" I ask in shock, rubbing my temples.

"We all slept until 11:00 and decided to look for something fun to do." Avery shrugs, adding, "We wanted to let you sleep in."

"Yeah Vi, now it's time to get dressed and head toward the winery!" Lilian says excitedly.

"Ugh, fine," I groan. "I'm gonna need a sec though."

We all get ready in about a little under an hour, making ourselves look presentable for the day, and then we're out the door. We drive the short distance to the winery, called "Through the Grapevine".

Clever.

When we walk in, there's wine everywhere. The walls are completely filled with probably thousands of wine bottles, all neatly organized into different aisles, numbered 1 through 15. There's so many shelves, I think I died and went to heaven. I mean, it isn't ideal to be wine shopping while battling World War III in your stomach, but I can't pass up this opportunity.

This can't be a real winery or vineyard because the wine doesn't appear to be made or produced here. And the closer I look, I realize this wine is from various states and countries. I take in my surroundings, and notice a sign near the front door that says:

Through the Grapevine: A place of culture, adventure, and most importantly, alcohol. With wine imported from all around the world and a patio area overlooking the California coast, the experience provided here is one of enlightenment and joy. Please pick any wine your heart desires, and check out at the front. Cheers.

Seems easy enough.

The sections appear to be organized by type of wine, but all different states and countries are cross referenced on the "map" of where to look, which takes up the entirety of one wall. I glance at "Cabernet Sauvignon x Oregon'' and learn it's on shelf 184 in aisle 1.