Goldfish

Chapter 2

       Ahhh that feeling of sleeping in on a Saturday morning that every teen loves. Well... not today. At 5 a.m. I heard the sound of the vacuum in the halls and suddenly remembered. Why must my mother choose to have the real estate agents come on a Saturday? I tossed and turned for a good thirty minutes until finally, arose and slipped my house shoes on, poking my head out of my door.
The real estate woman  who had already arrived was short and plump, dressed in a black and white dress and had an extremely loud, obnoxious voice. I had thought with all the noise that several of them had came but nope... just one high pitched woman.
I looked in my mirror and quickly decided that before stepping out of my room I needed to make myself look presentable. I walked to my bathroom and took a quick shower, then decided to go to the mall.. I had something on my mind and I needed it off. So I grabbed a t-shirt and ripped jeans and headed out.
      Walking down the stairs the real estate agents voice was even louder. I tried to sneak past without being seen but tripped on a fake plant my mother had so wisely placed on the stairs. "Oh honey are you alright?" My mother said quickly rushing over to help me gather the spilled contents of my purse.
      " I'm fine mom, I'm just going to run to town and go shopping at the mall for a few things," I said placing the plant right back where I tripped over it.
       "Okay Rachel, be careful honey." She said to me while handing me a twenty. I had a job and also had money of my own for gas but, she insisted on spending all of her hard earned money on me. "This is Mrs. Linda, our real estate agent." She said nodding her head towards Linda.
         "Hello Rachel your mother has said so much about you!" She said with way to much enthusiasm. I waved and said good morning, then walked out to the car. My mother had a Volvo but insisted that when I got my license it would become mine, so she kept her word and bought herself a knew one. I would have much rather preferred saving up and buying my own, without having multiple arguments with my brothers about why I was the one of all three of us to get the car. I always sat back and said little about it because I too knew it was completely unfair. Both of them had to pay for there own vehicles so why shouldn't I have to?
         My trip to town was short, so I stopped at the donut shop to shorten my wait for the majority of the mall's stores and shops to open. I could have stayed home, waited for some more of my friends to wake up and asked if they would tag along, but I didn't know how much longer of that women's voice I could take.
     My parents originally decided to sell the house because I'm older, and they wanted a smaller one but soon my brothers convinced them to get an even larger one, because they soon would be having children of there own to come and spend the weekend with grammy and grandpa. This, I thought was very selfish because they would not be paying for the house, my parents would be.
So we have found a house that we plan on buying a couple of miles away that is twice the size of the one that we have, which I think is already to big. They can afford this now because of my fathers promotion to chief of surgery at the hospital he works at, I already never did see my father.. but now it seems his existence is not even real.
     I was awoken from my daydream by the sound of arriving cars beside mine. I was in the parking garage waiting in my car for the doors of the mall to open. I turned my car off and tossed the donut bag and my coffee in the trash. The bag missed the trash can, but I didn't think twice about it and kept going.
         In early mornings the mall is usually deserted so I didn't have to wait in lines or be shoved past people and this made me feel more comfortable. Passing by everyone I met eyes with I gave them a slight smile and directed my way towards 'Paint City', a store I had never really thought about going into. When I found the store I walked in and was greeted  by an elder lady with a pointy nose who wore paint brushes and pencils in her hair. "Hello, may I help you find anything in particular?" She asked with a sleepy grin.
       "I'm alright, thank you," I noted passing by her with a smile.I found my way toward a back wall with little table easels and canvases. I picked a small package of big canvases and a wide easel and made my way toward the paintbrushes. Kits usually didn't come with a lot of variety of them so I might as well grab some.
I got what I needed and checked out. I made a few stops, but after walking to an exit, saw a bulletin board full of flyers and posters of clubs and volunteer jobs for the community teens. I shrugged my shoulders and turned to keep walking but instead ran into a freckle faced boy with headphones in.
        I completely fell on him, knocking my bags loose and his headphones fell to the ground. "I'm so sorry!" I said picking up his headphones. I could feel my cheeks burning of embarrassment. The boy chuckled and helped me gather my bags
        "It's okay, partly my fault." He said shaking his headphones. I shyly gave him a smile and tucked the loose hair hanging in my face behind my ear. His eyes followed my movement. "How'd a girl like you find herself by the bulletin board?" He said sarcastically.
       "A girl like me? What do you mean?" I honestly was confused and felt myself turn even redder. Have I mentioned that I'm also socially awkward?
       "My names Harvard, and I'm a part of that one right there." He stated pointing at a flyer that read 'The Green Giants: help your community grow stronger and healthier with every move you make! Join us now by listing your name and number below!"
      "That's great, but it still doesn't explain my question." I said with a shrug.
        "While cleaning this morning, I watched you jump out of your Volvo and carelessly throw trash on the ground and walk right inside like you did nothing wrong." He stated seriously.
          "Oh... I'm so sorry did you have to clean that up? I'm usually not that careless... what can I do to make it up to you?"I said disappointed in what I did.
         "It's okay I'm used to it.. what's your name again?" He asked.
     "I'm Rachel Ronald."
    "Well I'll see you later Rachel Ronald. Here's my number if you ever think about joining one of these." He smirked pointing toward a number in the fine print. I blushed deeper and said goodbye... but just in case, when he left, I entered the number in my phone and ran along home. Feeling like the child everyone thought I was.