When Penguins Fly

Chapter 4

Over the next few weeks, I started hanging out with Drew more and more. He wasn't as bad as I thought he was, and was really kind and caring towards me. Of course he still had his jerk-y ways with his cheesy pick up lines or trying to defend his masculinity, but he is a guy, so what do you expect? 

I had been drawing more and more these days, in my sketchbook, ever since Drew brought me to the carnival grounds. I loved relaxing and putting all my thoughts into a drawing on paper. Especially now that we were on Spring break, I usually gave myself an hour a day to just sit down with a cup of tea and draw. It was definitely the highlight of my day and I looked forward to it, other than hanging out with Mel or Drew. 

My drawings were usually personal, and not even Mel had seen them. Of course Drew saw the drawing I did at the fair grounds, but that was because he brought me there so I decided that he should be able to see what I was creating. 

Other than drawing, I love to read. Just curling up with a good book and immersing myself into the characters gave me such a rush. It's awesome to just get insight in the life of any character. Sometimes my expectations are set really high because of these books, which Mel had to remind me were fiction. 

I also like to sing, even though I'm terrible at it. I'm not tone-deaf, so I know when I'm out of pitch (which is most of the time) but I still love to sing and just belt out lyrics like a crazy mad-woman. 

And another interesting fact you should know about me? Well, I love penguins. And I don't mean a silly liking for penguins; I mean an obsession for penguins. Basically everything that had to do with penguins were my favorite. My life was all about penguins. From my bed covers, to the stickers on my wall, I had penguins decorating every part of my room. But there was one thing that really annoyed me: penguins can't fly! Sometimes I wondered what would happen if penguins could fly, and how awesome it would be if I could have a magical flying penguin. One of my guilty wishes is to find some way to get penguins to fly...

Anyways, today was Sunday, and I was looking forward to this whole week of no school. With the weather getting hotter, I could actually go places without freezing my butt off. It was another me day, and I was bored. I only had a little bit of homework, which I would probably do the day before school started again. Mel was on a trip with her parents to Hawaii, which I was so jealous of, so I couldn't hang out with her. I figured Drew was probably busy today, so I didn't bother him. 

I decided to go make some brownies, so I walked down the stairs, each step creaking as I stepped on them. My mom was sitting at the dining table, working, with papers strewn everywhere. 

"Hey mom, how's work going for you?" I asked her, since she seemed frustrated. 

"Hey honey, work is okay I guess. Just the same old... customers wanting more than they can afford." My mom was an interior designer, meaning she worked with clients to remodel their homes or decorate their homes to make them more functional or more appealing. It was hard to deal with clients who wanted a lot, but didn't have enough money to execute their ideas. 

"Aww, poor Mom. It's okay, you'll get through it. You always do." I gave her a big hug, because it was hard being a single mom, and to raise someone as crazy as me, it takes a lot of work. 

"Thanks honey. Are you gonna bake something?" She asked me. 

"Yeah, I actually am. Do you want brownies or cookies?" I let her choose because I was fine with both, and I had nothing else to do. 

"There's a box of brownie mix in the cupboard, you can use that and follow the directions on the back." My mom replied. 

I set to work, pouring out the brownie mix in a mixing bowl, then adding 1 egg, some vegetable oil, and some water. It was a very easy mix, and all I had to do was mix thoroughly. 

Putting the brownie pan into the oven, I hear my phone ring, so I set everything down and pick it up. 

"Hello?" I asked, forgetting to look at the caller ID. 

"Hey, it's Drew. Do you wanna go somewhere today?" 

"Yes! Definitely! You have no idea how happy I am that you called me. I was about to die of boredom." I said with exaggeration. I heard him laugh on the other end. 

"I'm really bored, too. I didn't know if you were busy today, so I decided to call to ask. Anyways, I'll pick you up in 10?" He asked. I nodded excitedly, then realized he couldn't see me. 

"Definitely!" I said instead of nodding my head until it rolled off. 

I ended the call and decided to clean up the mess I made in the kitchen. 

"Hey Mom, can you check up on the brownies, and take them out when they're done? I'm going to hang out with Drew and he's coming in 10 minutes." I called out to her. I heard a small squeal and then: 

"Of course honey! I'll take care of everything. You go have fun with your guy!" Her voice literally went to a higher pitch. I just mentally rolled my eyes. 

"Thanks Mom, but he's not my guy." I replied. 

I quickly ran back upstairs to change, throwing on a t-shirt, shorts, and my trusty converse. I grabbed a small purse and put my usual stuff inside, then brushed my hair out. It was a big, tangled mess, so that took up most of my time. 

After making myself look presentable, I walked back downstairs just in time to hear the honking of a car. I yell good bye to my mom while closing the door and run to Drew's car. 

"Hey!" I smiled at him. "Where are we going?" 

"We are going to this new burger shop I found that just opened. And by the way, you look beautiful." He added with a wink. 

I just laughed at him, excited that we were going to eat burgers. 

"You're quite the ladies' man, huh? And that's awesome, I can't wait to get there!" I replied. 

"Of course I am. I'm the smoothest person you will ever meet. I'm smooth as ice." I laughed so hard at this that I started snorting. And then I started laughing again because I snorted. It was uncontrollable. 

Because Drew was driving, I decided to try to control myself before we got in a crash. We chatted the rest of the way to the restaurant. 

When we arrived, the aroma of burgers and fries hit my nose, making my stomach grumble. I looked sheepishly at Drew, who had heard the noise. 

"Let's go eat, shall we?" He asked teasingly. I just nodded, because I was starving. 

The restaurant was busy, with college students or other young people waiting for their orders. The sounds of loud chatter filled my ears as I looked at the menu. It was filled with so many different burgers; even the burgers that you could make yourself! 

I decided to make my own burger, with bacon, avocados, cheese, tomatoes, and ketchup. Drew decided on a plain double cheeseburger, and when we went up to the counter, he took out his wallet before I could and paid for my burger as well. 

"Wait, I could've paid for my own burger." I protested. 

"Haha, Zoey, it's okay. I got it. It's respectful for the guy to pay when the girl is someone as beautiful as you." He smiled genuinely, and I felt a bubbly feeling inside me when he stared into my eyes. The feeling grew, making me feel warm and tingly. It was weird. 

When we got back to our table, it was kind of awkward, but Drew just brushed past it and turned the topic to penguins, which he knew were my favorite animals ever. I told him about how it was annoying that penguins couldn't fly, even though they were birds. But then at the same time, they could slide so that made them chill. 

We were at that restaurant for about an hour, just eating and talking. It was really fun, I got the chance to talk with someone with Mel gone, and I got out of the house. Drew definitely was a nice guy. 

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