The Date Planner

2. 23. Bring Me Back

Picking you up at 10. Don't be late xo

That is what I woke upto this morning and that is why I'm waiting for Justine's call at 10 in the morning, all freshened up.

I don't have an idea of where she is taking me but I think it's part of the surprise. Thankfully I had no plans today however that did not prepare me for the long awaited moment.

It took her extra thirty minutes to reach my building. I thought it was going to be just us two but when I got in the car, I was surprised by a grinning Cole with her.

"Good Morning!", he shrieked almost making my ears bleed.

Although his happiness was so infectious, it made me smile.

"Good morning, Cole. Could you help me with where we're going today?", I raised a brow at him teasingly, hoping he tells me.

He mimics the action of zipping up his lips, locking the key and throwing it away.

"No can do", Justine says in a sing-a-long tone.

I sigh.

"It's a surprise!", Cole shrieks again, almost deafening me.

I flinch but narrow my eyes at him too.

"I thought your lips were sealed", I say, thoughtfully.

He immediately shuts up at that and faces the front as Justine maneuvers the car ahead to our destination.

***

By the time we do reach our destination, I'm a little deaf because Justine and Cole decided to have a concert in the car itself.

Concert was fine, it was fun watching them bond on songs and yell endlessly. The outcome however, they're really not the best singers.

I'm just glad to have arrived at our destination sooner rather than later. My ears are still kind of ringing when we get out of the car.

However the surprise, definitely surprises me.

A community center is the last place I thought we would be going.

I turn to Justine with a puzzled look while she just smiles at me a knowing smile.

"Come on! I'll show you everything!", Cole shouts before dragging me by the hand and I stumble in behind him.

Jesus, the kid has the energy of size of a mammoth. It's hard to keep up with him.

What's surprising is though the fact how Cole navigates inside the building with such familiarity. And everybody knows him.

I mumble in my 'Hi's' as he introduces me to every person.

There's old aged people, kids in another corner, teenagers too and then people in of my age helping everyone out. Even some of the kids are helping. Not even five minutes in and I could feel the bond that they've.

I meet few of the kids, Cole tells me about them plenty. Few of them are cancer patients, then there's the disabled ones. My heart nearly breaks at their injuries but seeing Cole talk to them enthusiastically, makes me feel better. It's incredible to see how at ease he is around them and so are they.

"Tate over there really gives me a competition when it comes to baseball. He's so good. It's so irritating!", he points to a kid who's helping this teenager on a wheelchair, while making faces at Cole.

Cole returns the favor before taking me through to more kids.

"Then there's Lindsey, she's the pretty one sitting by herself in corner and reading", he points out to a blonde girl who is indeed reading without a care in the world.