I Know This isn't the End

VIII If Only You Knew

"Well that was a lot of cleaning, wasn't it?" Dad says as Munro and I align the last sofas and fixtures. We each let out a sigh, as we've been cleaning for hours. "Yes it was," I answered. "Don't worry, I'll have the sofas patched up and the chandelier replaced soon." Dad says. "Great. Wish they weren't even messed with in the first place... Oh, by the way, I start my first day of work tomorrow at the Bookstore. My position is a bookseller." "Oh honey, that's great, you'll do well." He says. "Thank you. And I was just thinking... I would love to be homeschooled, rather than having to attend that God awful school again." I say. "Hmm... Well to my understanding, you are old enough to make your own choices." He replies. Munro nods his head in agreement.

"Ding, sing, ding," "Oh, someone's at the door, I wonder who it could be." I say, as I walk towards the front door and open it. To my surprise, it's Violet. "Umm, hi" I answer. She's dressed in all pink. Wasn't she just here with Vladimir? "Hey!" she exclaims. "I need to talk to you. It's important. And I couldn't say it over the phone." "Okay, come in. Munro's here." She walks in and kindly greets my dad. "Hello, I'm Violet." He smiles as they shake hands. "Hello. I'm Yasmine's dad, you can call me Mr. Rios. Please excuse the mess, there was a disaster in our home this morning, some students ravaged the place. I'm sure Yasmine can explain." "Violet, do you know anything about Vladimir?" I ask. "Vladimir?! Oh I hate his freaking guts! He had the biggest crush on me growing up, and I rejected him. He finally got his revenge by dating an evil girl who looks just like me. But many people believe she IS me. And he tells them we dated, just to make himself feel better." "Oh, my gosh, Violet, we thought you were his sister!" I exclaim. "What?! Oh God no, I'm not his sister! If you ever see a girl who looks like me, with him, it's his evil ex that he still hangs out with." "Ohh.. I'm so sorry Violet." "This has really gotten out of hand. Because I saw them in the middle of the night, and they were heading towards your house." She says, worried. "They forced themselves in and ruined the whole living room." Munro says. "Hey, where's Sean?" He asks. "He's still asleep, he stayed up all night trying to figure out what they were up to." Violet answered. "Vladimir was here the other night as well, he broke into Yasmine's bedroom through her window, and the police took him away. Guess he escaped again." Munro says, as Violet gasps. “Yes! He always escapes!” “Well he's not going to hurt us anymore, don't worry,” I say, reassuringly. “How about we go get some ice cream?” Munro asks, eagerly. “Sure!” Violet and I both answer. “See you later Dad, we're going to go get some ice cream. Be back soon,” I say, as I head out through the front door with Munro and Violet. “Bye honey. Be safe,” he replies.

We get into the car and head to Marie’s Ice Cream Shop. I've never been there before, I'm still new to this town and all. But I'm really excited for my first day of work tomorrow at the bookstore. “Hey Violet, I'm going to start working as a bookseller at the bookstore soon, after my two weeks of training.” “Oh great, that's really nice, I'm sure you'll do well.” “Thanks,” I say, “Munro and I were talking about being home schooled, what do you think about that?” I ask. “Hmm, well that would be good, so you won't have to run into Vladimir, if he escapes again.” “Yeah, Munro is into literature, he reads books in his spare time. So we could both study together.” “Yeah I'll help you out with your English class, Mr. Rivers is known to be a tough grader on quizzes and essays,” Munro responds. “That sucks,” I say, rolling my eyes.

It looks like the ice cream shop is only a couple blocks away from my house. I can see a big blue sign that says “Marie's Ice Cream,” in cursive letters. It's not too far away. “What are your favorite ice cream flavors?” Violet asks. “Mine is cherry,” she says. “I like strawberry,” I answered. “Vanilla for me,” says Munro. 

Two minutes later and we're already pulling up to the parking lot. “This place is packed!” Violet exclaims. “Must be super popular,” says Munro. “Let's see what it's all about,” I say. “I wonder what flavors they have.” I'll probably still be getting strawberry. As we walk out of the car, we notice the line seeps all the way out through the door. “No way the line is this long.” Says Munro, seeming a bit agitated. “Don't worry, it'll go by fast,” I say. We can see a large sign full of flavors, hanging horizontally above, inside the store. “Oh my goodness they have cotton candy!” Violet screams in delight. “I'm totally getting that!” “Wait, they have bubblegum?” I wonder what it'll taste like. “I've changed my mind too,” I say. “I want bubblegum.” “You and your wild flavors,” says Munro, chuckling a little. “And you're right, Yasmine, this line seems to be going by fast.” He pulls out his wallet. Gray leather with stitched edges. “I have just enough for the three of us,” he says. “Oh no, that's okay. I'll pay for myself," "Yeah me, too.” Violet and I both say. “Are you sure?” Munro asks. “Yes.” We say at the same time. “Hahaha, it's funny when you two speak at the same time.” Hearing Munro laugh is so nice, he always seems serious.

Before we know it, we're next in line. “Hello, may I recommend razzle dazzle berry for you today? It's our best seller,” says the cashier, in a cheery tone. His hair is dyed green and he has freckles along his cheeks and nose. “Um, sure! That sounds good,” Violet exclaims. She seems to change her mind a lot. “Small, medium or large?” The cashier asks. “Hmm, medium! No wait, small please. I can't have that much dairy.” “We offer 3 flavors that are entirely dairy free. Pistachio pizzazz, watermelon sorbet and mango freeze.” “Oh, well in that case I'll have watermelon sorbet.” “Violet, this is your fourth flavor choice already, you're holding up the line!” Munro softly shouts. “Sorry,” Violet says, apologetically. “Alright, a small watermelon sorbet will be $5.45 please.” “Here you go. Violet hands over a $20 bill.”

Munro and I each order our ice cream and look for an empty table to sit. To our benefit, there's an open table for four in the corner. “Mmm, this bubblegum ice cream tastes so good,” I say in delight. “Mine is really good, too!” Violet says. “Same as always,” says Munro.