Tennis Instructor (A.K.)

Chapter 4: Serena and Venus

By the end of her shift, Owen's feet were killing her and any sort of social battery she had was drained. Between nonstop phone calls, back to back appointments for most of the stylists, and the small tasks they requested- the teenager had been run ragged. It took a lot of self restraint to not cancel on her best friend.

Though, as she clocked out after a nine-hour shift and made her way to Liza's parked car, she remembered how long it had been since they did something. They had last spoken at Liza's graduation party, which Owen left early due to the growing crowd. She knew it would be busy, with Liza being a social butterfly and her brother inviting all his friends, but she still showed up to see her best friend. Liza was understanding of her leaving early and promised to do something just the two of them.

It was really only a few weeks ago, but Owen was missing her best friend's witty humor badly. She climbed into the car to be met with Liza's grinning face, only have a moment to look at her before she was tugged into a tight embrace. Both girls giggled excitedly into the hug, breaking apart to speak after a few moments.

"How was work?" Liza's dark blue eyes stared at Owen with great interest, framed by her neon pink and green locks of hair.

"Busy," Owen sighed, but her joyful expression remained. "I'm just glad to be out of there. It was... hectic to say the least."

"Oh yikes," Liza frowned. "Hopefully a small shopping trip will turn the day around." She reached forward and squeezed Owen's hand with her slender fingers, giving her a smile that told Owen to be hopeful.

"I'm sure it will." From there, Liza drove them both to the nearby mall to shop. They didn't do very much shopping, as much as they wondered around from store to store chatting, buying the occasional piece here and there.

Shopping wasn't really Owen's favorite activity, even if she enjoyed doing it with Liza. She easily found it quite monotonous and boring, ending whatever spree she was on wanting a nap. When she needed something or was looking for an outfit for an occasion, she bought it and moved on. Walking around for hours just to buy things she only sort of liked was just stupid to her.

That being said, their banter and stupid jokes made it a good time. They went from shop to shop either making fun of things or referencing inside jokes from middle school. Their laughter was definitely obnoxious to other shoppers, but they both struggled to care when they were together.

     "Have you thought about school?" Liza asked as they flipped through a rack of clothes.

    "Not really," Owen frowned. She knew time was catching up with her and she better choose something, but deciding what to do with the rest of her life sort of horrified her. It would be smart to go into law like her brothers, taking over their mother's firm together. But, as smart as it may be, Owen dreaded a job like that.

    She wanted something more in her control and relaxed. It wasn't that she minded working hard, but she didn't want to lose purpose in her hard work. Law seemed frustrating and too stressful for her, not to mention her usually timid behavior. She could suck it up if need be, but that didn't mean she wanted to.

    At the same time, she didn't want to give up her somewhat lavish lifestyle. She was aware hard work got her the big home she lived in and closet full of nice clothes. If she wanted to keep that up, she'd need to settle for something.

     "I'm just going to do community classes until I decide," she settled. If she took a gap year, as appealing as it may be, she'd probably go through hell starting school up again.

    "That's smart," Liza smiled. "Don't waste money on a nice school if you're just going to change your major." Owen agreed, carrying that thought process. Surely, she could figure out her life in the next two years. Well, hopefully, actually.