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VALENTINA WISHED SHE WERE AT THE MALL rather than the pool the next morning. It sucked that her schedule always worked out this way, although it wouldn't make much sense for a pool to be open at night when it was dark and cold. But Mr. Dillard, the owner of Starcourt Cafe, took her availability in the afternoon and ran marathons with it.
Steve being Steve, and knowing this information, also ran with it. As a full-time employee at Scoops Ahoy, he took the pleasure in taking the closing shifts most days while some other employee opened. Steve somehow managed to sync up his and Valentina's schedules perfectly.
Most days, she was eternally grateful for that. Most days, she looked forward to seeing Steve at night, as it had become a daily routine. But right now, Valentina was so pissed at Steve. She wished the pool could be open later so that, for once, she could not work the night at the mall and not deal with Steve Harrington.
She was just coming off of the lifeguard stand near the end of her shift when her eyes caught onto the forms of two familiar girls, one in a yellow rain jacket and the other embracing her rain-soaked jeans and t-shirt. She looked similar to the blonde with wet hair and water droplets dripping down her revealed skin. Valentina frowned and began chasing after Max and El.
"Hey, guys! What are you doing here?" she asked, a bit out of breath once she'd caught up to them. The pair didn't stop walking until Valentina was right behind them and placed her hands on their shoulders, nearly forcing them to turn toward her.
El looked at Max with that expression she made when she didn't know the word she meant to say. Oddly, Max had a similar look on her face.
The redhead turned to Valentina and eventually said, "Hey!" It was lacking enthusiasm, despite practically yelling, which sent a pang into Valentina's stomach. Her and Max hadn't talked as much as they used to since the older teenager started working, but they were still close.
"Hi," El said a moment later. Valentina smiled at her.
"What are you doing here? The pool closes soon." She was also ninety-nine percent sure that Max and El didn't have a membership to the pool—not that she'd ever snitch, but it was weird for them to be here. It was also raining, so the pool was practically empty. They also weren't wearing swimming suits.
Valentina could tell Max was racking her brain for an excuse when she didn't answer immediately. She'd told enough lies herself throughout her life to know when someone was doing it, and with the amount of bullshit she'd received from Steve over the last week, she was immediately hit with another pang of some heavy feeling. Maybe guilt, for thinking she'd done something to offend all her friends. Or maybe it was betrayal, thinking they'd done something to her.
Max finally spewed out, "We were just looking for something I left here the other day. Can't find it, though."
