Discovering Kate

Chapter 2

"Good! You're home." Caroline chirps as she steps through the front door.

"Just got here ten minutes ago." I respond, carrying my basket full of clothes to the laundry room.

"You went out today?" She's surprised...of course she is.

"Just to Reynolda gardens to read."

"Finally! I was worried about you. I don't want you going back into your depression." I'm glad she's worried about me. She seems to be the only person I have that cares.

"I don't want that to happen either." I sigh as I shove the door closed on the washer. "So what happened today? You seem excited." I desperately try to change the subject.

"Oh!" Caroline tosses her backpack on the sofa and makes her way to our small kitchen. "Michael said that someone made an appointment for Monday and they want something small and simple...and he said I could do it" her excitement grows with each word she says.

"Do you know what it is?"

"A lock"

"A lock?" I question.

"Yea, like a lock and key, but they just want the lock."

"That's awesome." I cheer walking into the kitchen to join her. "So are you going to practice?" I ask her. I already know her answer, but it would be nice of her to at least practice drawing a lock since it is going to be tattooed on some person's body for the rest of their life.

"What? No. It's so easy." She laughs as she searches for something to eat, leaving every cabinet open in her wake. That drives me nuts.

"Well, I hope you're right." I say climbing onto a bar stool. Caroline has been working as an apprentice at a tattoo shop for a few months now and I would hate for her to throw that away because she messed up someone's tattoo.

"Stop worrying, Kate." She throws her hands on her hips. "But we might actually starve. We have no food."

"Um... we have cereal." I laugh.

"No milk."

"Let's order something then. I'll go grocery shopping tomorrow."

"I'll leave you dad's card in the morning." Caroline's dad pays for absolutely everything. He feels guilty about her mom leaving so now he buys his kids love...or so he thinks.

I let her pick what to order since she is paying for it. Once I have and income I'll start having some opinion on what we eat. No surprise to me when Caroline called 4th Street Filling Station and ordered our usual. When the food came I turned on The Blacklist and sat on the sofa. Caroline poured two glasses of Riesling before joining me in the living room.

"Who keeps texting you?" She mumbles with a mouth full of food.

Crap. I was hoping she wouldn't notice.

"No one." I pretend to be interested in the show.

"That's a load of shit, Kate." She calls me out, "Who is it?"

"Will." I mutter

"Who is Will?" She's not going to let this go.

"I met him at Reynolda today." I say

"Why didn't you tell me this when I asked you how your day was?" her voice is escalating.

"Well you were so excited about the fact that I even got out of the apartment. I didn't want to overwhelm you."

"Oh, please." She laughs

"He nearly decapitated me with his frisbee. He came over to apologize and we ended up talking for a little bit."

"About what?"

"Just that he goes to Wake." I answer

"A Wake Forest boy? They're always super hot." She smirks, and then notices the look on my face from her remark. "He is, isn't he?"

"Yea, he's not bad. His friends are pretty good looking as well." The two of us laugh together and she insists I describe them to her in great detail.

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"See you at lunch!" I shout to Caroline from my room when I hear her grabbing her keys out of the bowl by the front door. The morning sun is leaking into my room through my open door. I hate that there aren't any windows in my room, but at least the top half of my wall is made of glass so it lets some natural light in.

"Love you!" She yells back as she shuts the door, locking it behind her.

"Love you." I say to myself. I know trying to yell it back will be pointless. She's probably running down the stairs to the lobby right now. That girl is notorious for being late for work.

I know it's about time for me to get out of bed. I should get my homework done before I have to meet up with Caroline. After I untangle myself from the sheets, I head to the bathroom to brush my teeth and wash my face. Once I've freshened up from my night's sleep I grab a box of cheerios from the kitchen cabinet before I remember Caroline saying "No Milk."

I really need to get my homework finished. This is my everyday routine, if I don't do my school work as soon as I get up I know that I will put it off until the very last minute. I'll have to go grocery shopping after lunch. I grab the box of cheerios and head to my room.

When I close my notebook I realize I've been sitting at my desk for the past three hours and I only have twenty minutes before I have to meet Caroline. Quickly I pull the t-shirt over my head and throw on a plain white tank top as well as my favorite jean shorts. My hair is hastily tied up in a bun on top of my head and I grab my purse before hurrying out the front door.

When I've finally made it to Mellow Mushroom, after fast walking the past five and a half blocks, I am completely out of breath. Caroline orders our favorite Magical Mystery Tour pizza and sticks her hand out towards me.

"What?" I ask

"You brought my dad's card, right?"

Suddenly I'm frozen. I was in such a hurry that I forgot to grab the card off the counter where Caroline left it for me. The look on my face must be enough of an answer for her.

"I'm sorry, nevermind. We can't pay for this." She says to the long haired guy behind the counter that I'm pretty sure we went to high school with.

"Uhhhhh so you don't want it?" he looks so out of it.

"No, I forgot my card. I don't have any money with me." She explains

"Throw in a meatball sub." A voice says from behind us.

I turn to see Will and he's handing the cashier his card.

"What?" I squeak.

"I've got this if you ladies don't mind me joining you for lunch." Will smiles.