The Know-It-All

Ch. 7

Sunday morning only had one optional outing; attending a motivational speaker at the convention center in the hotel. To put it plainly, Nini Salazar-Roberts just wasn't in the mood to sit through a lecture, although she did decide she wanted to clear her head.

And so, she put on her old East high hoodie, threw on her converse and made her way down to the lobby where she surprisingly saw Mr. Mazzara and a quarter of the debate students huddled together.

She was actually quite surprised at the amount of students going since none of them seemed like the lecture types. Regardless, she successfully avoided being seen by her teacher and made her way out of the lobby, breathing in the brisk Vancouver air with a smile evident on her face.

She aimlessly strolled through the streets, fretting people she'd pass or walking into some quaint shops for souvenirs. She was about 20 minutes into her walk when her stomach decided it needed a snack. With an inward groan, she kept walking until she landed on a cute little ice cream shop.

She figures that even though it's chilly outside, she's from Salt Lake so eating the chilly desert didn't bother her, and she was never one to turn down ice cream.

Nini walked up to the counter and bought a double scoop of mint chip (in a cone, of course) and decided to stroll through the small park across the street.

She took a seat on a nearby bench overlooking small pond, admiring the serene nature around her before she felt her phone vibrate. She pulled it out of her hoodie pocket and noticed it was a text from her Mom, who had regularly been checking in on her.

Of course she was she was, she was a thousand miles away.

Hi honey, how was your sleep? Mom and I miss you bunches!
Xoxox

Nini grinned. Mama D texted her every morning and every night before she went to bed. And sometimes Nini would be the one to text one of them if she was bored or homesick.

It was great, mama D. How was yours? How are you and mama C doing? She replied.

That's good, sweetheart. Mama C and I are doing just fine here. Both swamped at work. We miss you though. It's too quiet around here. Dana replied a couple minutes later.

I miss you guys more. I'm having fun here but I'm also stressed because of the debate. I really want to win so I've been studying like crazy.

Nini threw her phone back into her pocket when the texts from her mom stopped coming. She assumed her mom was probably dealing with something at work and knew she'd respond eventually.

Nini stayed on the park bench a little while longer, finishing her ice cream before getting up and making her way back towards the hotel. She figures she needed to get more studying done anyway.

******

By the time Nini made it back to the hotel, it was two in the afternoon. She was about to make a beeline for the elevator when suddenly she spotted Kourtney at the buffet.

"Hey, girlie!" Nini beamed at her. She was feeling all nice and happy after that ice cream. A little cold, but it never killed anyone.

Right?

Kourtney glanced up from her plate. She had the prongs of the fork in her mouth and was looking through the pastries at the dessert table. "Hi. Where were you this morning? I was looking for you so we could go to the all day karaoke thing the hotel is offering later."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that. I went for a walk earlier to clear my head and I guess time kinda escaped me. Also had some delicious ice cream." She said. "I'm here now though, obviously."