In Search of Tomorrow ✓

Two

My van broke down halfway between the after-school center and the ice cream shop. I was able to pull it off the road and into a grassy patch before it shut off completely, but beyond that, the situation was utterly hopeless. I knew nothing about cars.

Running my hands through my wind-blown hair, I got out of the van and plopped down in the grass to call my boss and tell her I'd be late. At least she was decent to me; not mean like all the bosses from the horror stories the girls at school had told me. She'd probably understand.

I dialed and held my phone up to my ear as it rang, surveying the open road around me. I was sitting in what wasn't a patch of grass as I had initially thought, but a meadow of dandelions. Looking around guiltily as if someone would catch me commiting some heinous crime, I plucked up one of the weeds and held it close to my face, so that it tickled my nose.

I wish everything will turn out okay.

Just as I was about to blow the seeds of the dandelion away, an unbearable pain crushed my chest. I hurled the flower as far away as I could and sat back on the ground, tears pricking my eyes. I didn't believe in making wishes.

After seconds of sitting and fighting back my tears, I finally got a response on the other end of the line.

"Skyport Creamery, this is Katie speaking."

"Hi, Katie," I said, brushing my eyes with the back of my hand and standing up to head back to my van. "This is Evelyn. My car broke down oon my way over, but I'm going to try and get over there as soon as possible."

There was a silence while Katie took a customer's orders, and then she said, "Poor thing. How about I send someone to pick you up? You can call a tow truck for your car."

I tried not to think of how expensive it would be to fix my van. "That'd be great, thanks."

After I called a tow truck, I leaned against my car and waited, squinting my eyes in the harsh sunlight and waiting. Moments of quiet, where I had nothing to do, made me anxious. I was so busy, with so many responsibilities, I felt like I always had to be running around, crazed, at least doing something. My gaze travelled guiltily to make backpack in the passenger's seat, but I ignored my conscience. I could work on homework when Cameron arrived to tutor me tonight.

Finally, Katie's forest green Jeep pulled up onto the side of the road shortly behind my car, followed by the tow truck. I reached into my car and grabbed my things before watching as my van was hoisted onto the truck. I could practically picture hundreds of dollars going down the drain.

"Come on, then," said Katie, ignoring my gaze. I shook my head to clear my thoughts and climbed into the passenger seat, my fingers nervously fiddling with the zipper of my backpack.

~*~*~

Behind the counter of Skyport Creamery, scooping ice cream for anxious costumers and ringing up orders, it was hard to worry about the trivial things that had haunted me earlier, like dandelion wishes and my homework. I had lapsed into the same easy mindset I always got into when I was busy: work now, fret later.

It was springtime, which meant the busy season was approaching and the shop was getting more crowded after school. I'd worked for Katie for almost a year, and the feel of the ice cream scooper in my hands or the handle to the glass case against my palms was ingrained in my head.

"Want to work at the cash register while I scoop for a little while?" asked Katie, coming up behind me and tucking some of her bob-length brown hair behind her ear. We were the only two working in the shop today, which was exactly how I liked it best. "I know you love collecting tips."