"Have you ever been to Boston?" I ask, sliding into the seat across from her and Jazzy.
"What?" Pippa asks, thrown off guard.
"I know that's out if the blue. I just wanna know."
"No, I have not. Why? What's this."
"School college fair and I know that I have a while left but they have all schools go and I feel like I'm gonna die because I'm never gonna get in to these schools and like I don't even know enough about them so-"
"That school is ridiculous." She says, taking the pages and pamphlets from in front of me. "They're stressing thirteen year old girls out to the point where they can't dig themselves out of pamphlets to schools that they're applying to in a few years."
"I'm fifteen!" She slides a coffee cup to me. "I feel better." She laughs. "Thanks."
"Well, you don't need to stress about this now. Take a breath." She grabs my hand. "In. Out. You don't get these pamphlets back until we all leave."
"Alright. Thanks. I need to drink this." I say, lifting up my cup. "Talk about anything but college, please." She does so. I learn about the cast a little and even about their relationships and a little about Renée's kids since she is with them right now. That's when I see Conner walk in, his arm slung around a pretty blond girl with all the right curves but not an ounce of fat anywhere else. Conner has a smile plastered on his face. A dumb little happy grin that could make just about any girl fall for him. But of course it's a lot harder when you talk to him. When you realize that he loves William Faulkner and can have a conversation with you for more than an hour, simply about Hemingway and will actually listen to you opinion on him even though you find him slightly more overrated then he finds him. The man was smart and influential but the way he portrays woman has always bothered me.
How can he enjoy her company if she most likely thinks that Hemingway is just a street or something. I look back at my coffee, hoping he won't look over at me. They notice.
"Who's that?"
"He goes to my school."
"Clearly. I see the uniform. What's with the look. Do you like him?"
"We had a thing last year."
"Ohh." She sings.
"Don't do that. It's over. For sure. Nothing could ever fix what happened between us."
"There's plenty of other boys out there. And if it helps," she leans forward, "She's too tall for him and all the pink makes her look like a less smart version of Elle." I laugh. Pippa isn't mean but she's trying to cheer me up. And she did. She suddenly drops her phone.
"I swear to god, If she does the bend and snap." Jazzy says. She stands, letting Conner reach down and get it, not thanking him when he hands it to her. She is quite stereotypical.
"I don't care about the girl. He hasn't had a girlfriend that lasted more than two weeks."
"Since you." I shrug.
"I should get going. And you guys have a show. Perhaps I'll watch some Gossip girls." I tease, putting my backpack on my shoulder. Pippa hands me back my papers and pamphlets.
"Don't worry too much about this. Just keep doing what you're doing. I'm sure you'll be all set when the time to look at them comes."
"Thanks."
"I'll see you around. Bye."
"Bye." I say, taking my cup and leaving the shop. Today is not unbearable but the air stings a little. It's not normally like this for a little while longer but what am I gonna do about it? I just hold my coffee on my hands and make my way home.
-
"Pippa?" I ask, walking out of the front doors of my school, my hands on the bottom of the straps on my bag. "What are you doing here?"
"Well, we didn't call to meet at the shop and I wanted to talk to you so I just came and hoped that you'd come out the front door."
"Yeah. Um, it's my favorite door." She laughs and starts walking. I walk next to her. "So what's this about."
"It's about some tickets that these people had bit they cancelled just and hour ago. And they're a cast members families seats so they've seem the show. And the tickets aren't refunded or anything. So we have that and we thought you would like to see the show."
"Really?"
"Yeah. Well, you seem to know a lot about musicals but you never see them. And it must have been a long week at school."
"So this isn't out of pity just 'cause I'm an orphan?"
"Not at all. We really like talking to you. And you don't have to call yourself that. I know you technically are but at least you have your brother."
"Yeah."
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Well, you coming?"
"I'd love to see it. Thanks so much."
"No problem."
