Clocks

Chapter 2

Click.

Who was this Quinn person? How did she know so much about me? I didn't have any answers, but the only thing I could do to find them was to listen to what Quinn said and head to the corner.

I opened the maps program on my phone and looked up 65th Avenue and Brookside Street. It was a coffee shop called Brookside Café only a mile north of my house, within biking distance. I assumed that I needed to get there quickly, so I immediately threw on some jean shorts, black Converse, and a solid white t-shirt. I knew it would be hot outside, so I threw my hair into a high ponytail with a pink ribbon tied around it. I grabbed my favorite black backpack and put in an extra set of clothes, my toiletries (I wasn't sure how long I would be gone), and of course my charger and some earbuds. I ran downstairs to the kitchen where my mom was making pancakes for breakfast.

"Hi, mom!" I exclaimed, running up and hugging her while secretly stealing a pancake from the stack sitting next to her. 

"Good morning, Ari," she answered, eyeing the pancake I just stole. Moms see everything. And only she is allowed to call me Ari. "Where are you headed this early in the morning?"

"I'm just going to meet a friend,"  I replied, which was technically true even though I didn't really know Quinn. 

"Ok, well have fun and be safe!"

"I will, don't worry. Bye, Mom!" I walked out the front door onto our sweet little porch. It had a white swing hanging from the ceiling right in front of where I always parked my bright pink beach cruiser. I wheeled the bike into the driveway and hopped on. As I began to pedal down the driveway, I realized I had no idea where I was going. I stopped and pulled my phone out of my pocket to put on the special phone stand my dad mounted to the bike so I could have it right there and accessible. I opened the map again and told it to tell me how to get to Brookside Café. I then connected my earbuds to my phone to play my favorite summer playlist and took off down the street.

I pedaled calmly, enjoying the nice summer breeze that came with living near the ocean. I love biking in the summer. 

All too soon, I arrived at the coffee shop. I wondered if Quinn would be here waiting for me, so I called her.

"Have you made it?" she answered her phone with.

"Yes. Are you here?" I inquired.

"Oh, no. Of course not," Quinn replied. "You don't get to meet me until tomorrow after you meet your soul mate."

Right. My meeting. I had almost forgotten. Almost.

"Alright, Miss Mysterious. What am I supposed to do now?"

"Head inside and ask to speak to the manager. When she comes out to talk to you, ask for a package for Ariana Evans. She'll get it for you. Once you get it, sit down at a table, preferably in a corner. Corners are always better when you want to avoid people. Open the package, and it'll instruct you from there. Got it?"

"Got it." 

Click. She never said goodbye to me. How rude. 

I locked up my bike and walked into the shop. I ordered a medium vanilla latte, my favorite. As the barista was preparing it, I asked to speak to the manager. The barista seemed worried, but I assured her nothing was wrong. She seemed a little better after that.

I saw the manager come out of the back room. "Good morning, miss. How may I help you?" she asked.

"Do you have a package for Ariana Evans?" Why did I ask? I already knew she had it. I guess it's just polite.

"Yes, here you go." She handed me a small box, small enough to fit in my backpack comfortably yet big enough to hold a small puppy. I secretly hoped in the back of my mind that it was a puppy, but I knew it wasn't.

I walked to the table in the very back corner of the shop and sat down with my latte and puppy box. Should I shake it? I wondered. What if it really is a puppy?

I decided against shaking the box and just opened it. Inside was another box, with a pink ribbon tied around it and an envelope taped to the top. I opened the envelope and pulled out the paper inside. 

Ariana-

I see you've gotten my present. I know you must be curious what it could be because it isn't your birthday or anything. But it is the day before your meeting, so I wanted to give this to you. Don't open it yet. Relax. Finish your coffee. I know you got some. Then when you're ready, open the box.

-Quinn

I wanted to open the box right then and there, but I knew deep down that I shouldn't. I just sat there, drinking my latte calmly and wondering what could be inside the box. I must've sat there for a while because the lunch rush started coming in.

"Ariana, order for Ariana," I heard the barista call. I looked around, confused because I didn't order anything else. I decided to walk up to the counter and get whatever it was they were giving me. It was a chocolate chip cookie with a sticky note on the front of it.

Open the box. You're ready.