The Smile Always Fades

18. Spontaneous Shopping Spree

Thank you so much for the banner girl! It's so cute and totally different! ^^ I think my favorite part is the author name font! lol :)

Okay, maybe breaking things wasn't the only thing that came to Anna's mind. What was she going to destroy anyway? The sweatshirt Bentley bought for her? No, not yet, it was too soon to get rid of anything from him.

Instead, Anna called Sandra. She thought about calling Jordan, but just the fact that she was Bentley's cousin kind of ruled that option out. She didn't want to have to relay all of the facts out right now and Anna was afraid that Jordan wouldn't stop asking until she was told.

Sandra answered her cell phone on the first ring. "Hello?"

"Sandra, it's Anna."

"Hi sweetie!"

"Hey..."

"Everything okay?" Sandra asked with a worried tone. "You sound upset."

Anna let out a faint sigh. "I am upset," she admitted. "But I don't want to talk about it right now, I just want to get away."

"No school?"

"Not right now," Anna proclaimed. She felt a little guilty for saying so since there was school, but she was not about to go back and risk facing Bentley again.

"Alright, well if you want to get away then meet me at the mall. I'll take you shopping, baby. That always helps me feel better when I'm upset about something. Do you need me to pick you up?"

"Nope. I've got Jason's car today."

Sandra laughed. "The joys and perks of having an older brother. Okie dokie, see you at Macy's, sugar!"

"See ya."

Anna rolled up in Jason's maroon colored Honda with Mr. Saxobeat blaring from the stereo--she couldn't get enough of that song.

The mall parking lot was jam packed with cars. Doesn't anyone have school or a job? Anna thought, contradicting her own self. Oh yeah, I should be in school too. She smiled at her slight rebellion. Once Anna parked and killed the engine, she grabbed her brown hobo bag and jumped out of the car.

Sandra was waiting for her by the entrance of the mall. "Let's get this party started," she exclaimed.

Anna laughed. Sandra tried so hard to stick with the young and hip generation, but really she was just out-dating herself. "Yeah, let's do this!" Anna said. She was beginning to get excited herself. Even though she had just ended things with Bentley, she felt alright, not on cloud nine, but okay--considering the situation. And heck, maybe shopping really would get her into a better mood...at least for the time being.

"Anna, are you sure you're okay?" Sandra asked once again. "You seem like you've been crying."

It was true, Anna had let a few tears escape her eyes on the drive over, but she didn't think it would be that noticeable. It had only been like four tears, tops. Anna wiped under her eyes just to make sure her mascara wasn't running. "I'm fine," she assured her. "I just...had a bad day, that's all."

"I hope Bentley wasn't the problem."

How could Sandra be so good at guessing what was wrong? "Did you know he's moving to California?" she accusingly asked Sandra.

"Joyce said that he had been throwing the idea around, but that he hadn't made the decision yet."

"Yeah, well he made it. He's leaving the weekend before spring break which is the same time I leave for New York."