Academy Everlasting

Tuck Everlasting

Gabriel drives the four of us to a furniture store in the tiny town that is part of the Academy. The store is called "Tuck Everlasting". I find the name a bit odd for a furniture store and make a mental note to ask about it later.

"Ready, Trouble?" Gabriel asks, basically jumping up and down in the parking lot.

I giggle at his excitement and nod. "Let's do this!"

He grabs my hand and pulls me toward the store.

"Watch for fucking cars, Gabriel!!!" North bellows behind us.

"Shut it, North! I know how to cross a God damn street!" Gabriel yells back as we enter the store.

"Gabriel?!" I hear a female voice calling from the corner of the store. "Is that you bellowing out there?"

"Hey Winnie, of course it's me, who the fuck else would sound this awesome! I was only bellowing because North is a jack ass," He grins.

A pretty girl around our age, with dark blonde hair and a bright smile, comes walking around a corner. "I thought that was you," She grins. "Oh! Hello, are you the new girl I have heard about?" She asks, smiling kindly at me.

"Um..." I mumble, putting my finger to my bottom lip. I have no idea if I am the girl she has heard about. Are people talking about me? I only know the guys, who else would be talking about me?

"This is Sang, she is new in town," Gabriel explains, not really answering her question. "She is living with us."

"Very nice to meet you, Sang," Winnie shakes my hand. "What are you guys lookin' for?"

"We are going to be getting a lot today, Win," North grunts. I get a pang of some emotion I can't really identify in my chest when I hear him call her by a nickname. "Can we just write it all down for you and Jesse?"

"Yeah, no problem!" She runs behind a counter and comes back with a clipboard and a pen, handing it to Gabriel. "Just write the model number down and I can deal with the rest on the computer."

"Sounds good, Winnie," Victor nods to her. "Thanks!"

"Sure thing!" She skips away to what I assume is a back room as we start looking.

"Okay, first thing's first trouble!" Gabriel says, bringing my attention back to the guys. "What type of dresser do you like? We could get the chest of drawers or a long dresser or even one with a vanity."

"Er..." I follow him around as he shows me examples. I notice the chest of drawers is cheapest so I point to it. "This is good?"

"Trouble," Gabriel sighs. "Is that the one you like or did you pick it because it is the cheapest dresser in the store?"

My eye widen at his accusation, how did he know?

"Trouble, you said you like grey, so what about this one?" He points to a beautiful long wooden dresser that has been painted grey. It has nine drawers total and the handles are a pretty silver color. I like it a lot, but the price tag makes me choke on air.

"Great! I like it for now, too," He grins, writing down the information.

The same thing happens with the nightstand, and desk. Walking past the living room furniture an adorable grey and white chevron chair catches my eye. It would look so cute in my room, I could really picture myself curled up in it, reading a book with a cup of tea.

"Princess?" Victor calls, getting my attention. "You okay?"

"Sorry, I got distracted," I mumble and start to walk away.