The Reality of Growing Up//Wattys 2k16

△luke△

published: 3.2.16

chapter 2: △luke△

Jumping out of the car, I practically run inside Vic's.

"Luke!" a waitress, Maria, greets me. She wraps me in a hug and doesn't let go for a long time. I've known her since I was a kid. She always greeted me with smoothies and always scolded me about 'putting more meat on my bones'.

I smile at her. "Hey, Maria. No one's here yet?" I ask, looking around the empty diner. Vic's breakfast usually isn't popular, but I could basically live on their waffles.

Maria shakes her head. "First one. Sit, I'll whip up those waffles for you and your friends," she promises.

"Powdered sugar?" I request giving her my best 'good boy' smile.

She playfully hits my head with her pen and strolls back into the kitchen.

Right as she's through the door, Cora and Blake walk in. My eyes practically bulge out of my skull. I hardly recognize Cora at first. Last I saw her, back in September at Mrs. Riviera's funeral, she had been chubby earning her nickname from Blake 'Chubs'. She had lost a ton of weight, making her thinner than Brandy Riviera. Her blonde hair is now straight, instead of the usual frizzy mess it was and she's missing her glasses.

I start thinking about the Riviera's. More specifically, Maeryn Riviera. Her long tan legs, her eyes that look jade green from a distance but are actually a soft brown, her silky caramel colored hair tumbling down her shoulders.

"Hey!" I greet the Simmon twins.

Cora gives me a long hug and Blake gives me a fist bump. He also had clearly been working out over the year. Blake was the more athletic one out of all of us. On varsity football, soccer, lacrosse, basketball. Any sport you could think of, he played and excelled at it.

"Where's Maeryn?" I ask. "She's usually the first one here."

Blake scrolls through his phone and taps it a few times. He then shows me a text from her saying she can't come.

My heart sinks. It's no secret I've been crushing on Maeryn since we were kids. But that's not the only reason. I also feel bad because she obviously is going through a hard time.

Cora senses my mood and puts her hand on mine. It surprises me, since usually she's so shy and quiet. She gives me a sad smile. "It's really sad, isn't it?" she says, softly.

I sigh. "Yeah. She really needs us this summer. It's-it's our last one," I remind them.

Blake groans. "Way to remind me, dude."

Maria comes back with four waffles. She looks between the three of us and furrows her brows. "Where's Maeryn?" she demands.

"She said she couldn't make it," Cora explains.

Maria gives us a look that seems sly. "Probably with that new boy, eh?" she asks, bringing up a chair and sitting at the head of the table. She slides us each of our waffles. I don't waste any time gobbling mine down, savoring the sticky sweet taste of syrup and sugar and whipped cream.

I stop mid-bite at Maria's words. "New boy?" I repeat, my mouth full of waffles.

Maria nods solemnly. "Yes! I think he's some sort of movie star. He certainly looks like it. Nice, handsome boy."

Blake looks at me and starts to laugh, which causes him to choke on his food. Maria rushes into the kitchen and gets him some water.

"Serves you right," I mutter as his face turns redder than the ketchup bottle sitting at the head of the table.