My Next Door Bully

Chapter 7

CHAPTER 7 - TOO COMPLICATED FOR MY LAZY ASS UNDERSTAND

I FEEL MY BODY shake uncontrollably, and it is not only uncomfortable but also incredibly annoying.

"Stop!" I groan and turn on my stomach.

"It's literally nine o'clock, Tessa," a friendly voice replies. Without opening my eyes I know Priya. "We've got a shift in less than two hours but we have to get there early."

"How did you even get in here?" I ask.

I feel my bed shifting and sense Priya sitting down on the corner. "Well, I got here at six, and your mom was coming in from work so she just let me in. She's sleeping now."

I drift back to sleep and when I don't respond, Priya shakes my shoulder again. "Leave me alone!" I sit up and finally look at her, "It's a Monday holiday and we have no school, couldn't your parents have found somebody else?"

"We're shorthanded, and just because it's Veterans day doesn't mean you have to sleep all day."

"Fine," I groan again and stand up to make my bed.

I'm interrupted in the middle of setting up one of my many pillows when Priya eyes me suspiciously and asks, "is that Ashton's hoodie?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot to give it back to him," I answer and shrug.

She's still looking at me as I enter my bathroom to brush my teeth. "But why did he give it to you?"

I spit the excess and wipe my mouth, "because we're friends and I was freezing my ass off," I suggest seeming annoyed because I am and I don't need this at this time of the day.

"Nothing more, right?" She asks warily.

I laugh at this and reassure her, nothing more, but she still appears hesitant.

Then, I walk to my closet and pick out a tea green cropped top with blue jeans. I apply a little concealer, mascara, cherry gloss, and fill my eyebrows in a little. I spray some perfume and find myself smiling once more as I hold the chain he gave me last night between my fingers. I leave it on, along with some rings.

"Okay, ready," I tell Priya.

"Took you long enough," she mutters and rolls her eyes.

"Damn Priya, what's got your panties in a bunch?" I ask, and smile to reassure her it's a joke.

She rolls her eyes again and murmurs, "whatever."

I lock my door behind me and rush to my car, I ask Priya how she got here and she gives me a one-word response: uber.

The whole ride to her parents' restaurant is awkward and kind of annoying. I think about how her mood suddenly changed at the mere mention of Ashton. Then my mind travels to Ashton and I almost miss the designated turn to go to our destination.

When we arrive, Priya hurries out of the car and goes into the establishment. I stare up at the Singh's Kebab N'Curry sign and smile when I open the door and get a scent of all of the spices.

I walk into a mess of chaos as the Singh family is hurrying and rushing around, cleaning counters and talking intensively. "Oh good, Tessa. You're here!" Priya's mom, Leela, welcomes me.

"I'm here to help, Leela," I exclaim. I go into the back, greeting Priya's family on the way, drop my purse into a bin and grab an apron. I tie it around my front and twist my hair into a much more presentable bun than last night—my mind, once again, travels to Ashton and our sudden reconnection.

"Bells!" Jay, Priya's oldest brother, calls after me, interrupting my thoughts. Jay graduated last year from high school but turned down Stanford and decided to take a gap year to help with his parents' business. "Thank god you're here, the twins and Rahul bailed for some reason and we're expected to have two birthday parties and a business meeting. All of that and our daily customers. It's going to be chaotic!" He hands me the small pad of paper and a pen out of his apron, "Mom said that tonight you're waitressing, tell Priya she's washing dishes, I can't find her anywhere." I tuck the pad of paper in my own apron and nod.