Hay Creek

Chapter 11.

"Avery! Your boss is on the phone!"  My mom called from downstairs. I jumped out of bed and hurried down. She didn't look too pleased, and my heart sank as she handed me the phone.

"Hello?" I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

"Hi Avery. I'm calling because you haven't shown up for work lately. I'm really sorry, but I have to let you go."

Work! How could I have forgotten? I felt a wave of embarrassment wash over me. "I'm so sorry."

"I'm sorry too. If you could stop by in the next few days to return your uniform, that would be great. Bye, Avery." And just like that, the call ended. I was fired.

"I can't believe you haven't been showing up for work. That's so unlike you, Avery," Mom said from the kitchen. I closed my eyes and leaned against the wall, frustration bubbling inside me. Just great. I shook my head and jogged back upstairs. Just as I entered my room, my phone rang. I really needed to change that ringtone—"Rather Be" by Clean Bandit wasn't doing it for me anymore.

"Hey," I answered.

"Hey! What are you doing? I'm so bored; could this Saturday get any worse?" Quinn whined.

"Tell me about it. I just got fired," I said, letting myself fall onto my bed.

Quinn chuckled. "Fired? Girl, what did you do?"

"That's not funny." I sighed loudly. "I didn't show up." An awkward silence fell on the line.

"You, not showing up to work?" She hummed thoughtfully. "What have you been doing after school? You know hanging out with your 'love bug' won't pay the bills."

"Instead of rubbing it in, how about helping me forget about it?" I rolled over to lie on my stomach.

"Food!" Quinn exclaimed. "What about it?"

"That should help. Let's go to the grill."

I laughed. "Oh, why not?"

I hurried to get ready. When I was done, I left the house and headed over to Quinn's. Since I didn't have a car of my own, I borrowed my mom's. As I pulled into Quinn's driveway, I saw her mother taking out the trash. I hopped out and greeted her.

"Oh, hey, darling! How are you?"

"I'm fine, Mrs. Michaels. Is Quinn ready?"

She nodded. "She should be in her room. You can go in; the door's open." I thanked her and made my way upstairs. Having visited often, I knew my way around. I knocked on Quinn's bedroom door and waited for her to invite me in.

"Come in!" she called. I opened the door and stepped inside.

"Hey! You ready?"

"Yes, let's go!" she replied, grabbing her purse off the bed. We headed downstairs together.

"Did you walk all the way to my house?" she asked.

I shook my head. "I took my mom's car."

"Nice!"

Moments later, we arrived at the grill. To my surprise, it wasn't as crowded as I had expected. As we entered, the doorbell jingled, announcing our arrival to the cashier. We chose a table by the window.

"Ugh, I'm so hungry! What are you getting?" Quinn asked, flipping open the menu.

I pondered as I browsed the options. "I think I'll have a banana milkshake and fries with bacon and cheese."

"Then I'll take the same!" she replied, pulling out her phone.

"Can I take your order?" A tall girl appeared next to our table, her deep blue eyes and straight blonde hair unfamiliar to me.