Chapter 4
I jumped out as Liam held open my door like a gentleman. A smile crept onto my face as I saw the hundred and two storied building.
"Come on." Zach said, grinning at my obvious delight. My face fell when we saw the lines to get in. We finally walked in through the doors and waited for a long time for our turn to go up the elevator.
While waiting, I looked at the murals on the walls. There were plenty of tourists around. We got in, and listened to the elevator music, trying not to laugh. And suddenly we were at the line to buy the tickets to go to the observatory. Yes, another line.
I groaned internally.
When we got the tickets and had gotten into the second elevator, I was brimming over with impatience. But as soon as we walked in, forty minutes after we had arrived, I stopped still. Because all the waiting had been worth it.
We were on the eighty sixth floor, and the observatory provided three-sixty degree views of the city. I walked around in a circle, taking it in.
"People say that if you drop a penny from here, it'll make a hole in someone's head." Scarlett said, somewhat randomly.
"Got a penny?" I said sarcastically, but keeping an excited expression on my face, just to see their reactions.
"No..." Jasper said, looking at me weirdly. "You're a disturbing girl Lexa."
I sighed and said "I've heard." Liam chuckled.
"She's messing with you man." Zach explained. Jasper scowled and muttered something about girls and sarcasm being a dangerous combination.
Scarlett smirked, and it oddly felt like she approved of me being dangerous. But then she went back to looking at me like I was an unwelcome visitor.
I took my phone out and started clicking a few pictures. Then I turned around and took a few of my new friends. Jasper stuck his tongue out childishly. Liam smiled hugely.
He stopped Scarlett from slipping away by putting an arm around her and dragging her into the frame. She didn't complain but instead looked suspiciously pleased.
"Shall we go somewhere else now? Preferably with no lines." Liam said. I nodded gratefully. Soon we were in the car, feeling the wind in our faces. I could totally get used to this. It was a beautiful feeling.
"So where are we going now?" I asked.
"Chinatown." Zach replied, grinning.
"Why in the world...?" I started.
"Because it's an integral part of this city. And we're the ones giving the tour so shut up and watch."
I scowled. "Fine, you don't need to be so touchy." But then I was smiling again as he started talking about his favorite Chinese food.
"You have to have the wanton soup." he told me. "It's time for lunch anyway." I nodded. I wasn't going to argue with him again. Especially about Chinese food.
We reached the beginning and a variety of sights and smells hit my senses.
I didn't know where to look. There were quite a lot of green grocers and food stalls here. Zach led the way to a particular stand and ordered for all of us. We sat on the benches nearby and had noodles and the soup he had wanted me to try. It was pretty good but a little spicy for my taste.
My eyes were watering for a whole minute when I bit in, but I got used to it. Liam must have noticed that, so as soon as we're done he got me a water bottle.
I shot him a grateful look and chugged some down. He smiled and then we started wandering again.
The next stop was the jewelry district and Scarlett showed me some of her favorite shops, though she did act like it was a bit forced.
In a section on Canal Street, I was amused by a few knock-offs that were being sold on the streets like 'Mio Mio' instead of Miu Miu and 'Blurberry' instead of Burberry.
People were also selling imitation perfumes, watches, and hand-bags. Scarlett said she didn't like branded items or their copies. Jasper took us to the statue of Confucius and tried his best to stop Zach from trying to take weird photos with it.
"Oh wise man, where is this boy with the weird hair taking us next?" Zach asked then, looking pointedly at Liam.
"Central Park. And don't, call my hair weird again. Ever."
We got stuck in at a traffic signal on the way there so I started looking around. Then I saw something that stopped my heart. My parents were going to pull up right next to us. They hadn't seen me yet.
I started moving frantically. This car doesn't even have windows I can hide behind! I dropped to the floor and hid in the tiny space there. I told Liam that my parents were almost next to us. Jasper quickly jumped in front and sat on my seat, but with his feet tucked up, zen style.
Our gray minivan was next to Roxy now and my mother was looking at the band curiously.
All of them gave her artificial, creepy smiles. She turned away quickly. I think she didn't want to look at the overly friendly teenagers in the red car. I breathed a sigh of relief as they left. Jasper went back and I crawled out from my painful position and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Thank you." I told them.
"No problem." Zach and Jasper said at once.
To ease up the tension in the car, Liam suddenly said "We still have a lot of questions left, you know. Do you mind answering a few now?"
"No, I don't. Go ahead."
"Favorite color?" Scarlett asked.
"Silver." I said, wondering why she was asking me such a normal question. And then everyone started throwing questions rapidly at me.
"Fave song?"
"I have many. Right now though, it's Iris."
"Star sign?"
"Aquarius."
"Favorite food?"
"Pizza."
"First artist you became a fan of?"
"Not telling you." I said, feeling embarrassed.
"Why? Please tell us." Liam asked, pleading me.
"Taylor Swift." I said, feeling resigned.
"Really?" Jasper said laughing, and then started singing Love Story. I put my hand out and flicked his forehead. Hard.
"Ow!" he exclaimed, rubbing his forehead. "I hate it when people do that! And you're so violent."
"Aww. Is the poor little baby hurt?" I said flatly.
"Burn!" Zach screamed and then made a weird grunting noise. I realized that Jasper had punched him.
"So immature." Scarlett said, rolling her eyes. I agreed with her.
"But you still love us Scar." Jasper insisted.
"I really wonder about that sometimes." she said, but there was an uncharacteristic warmth in her voice. The way they behaved together, it was like how a family would. They must have known each other for a long time.
And as I thought about it, I felt alone. Because I was no one here. Just the weird new girl. Maybe I was kidding myself thinking I would fit in. I was a misfit everywhere I went.
Even back home, no one really understood me. Then I thought of Nathan and I felt a sharp pain near my heart. I really shouldn't think about him now. I wont let him hurt me again.
So when Zach asked me to hurry up and join them as they jumped out the car, I did. Because I couldn't stop myself even if I tried.
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