A young teenager, Plumeria, gets sent off of her beloved island to live with her sister's best friend, Begonia, in Los Angeles, California. Struggling to fit in at school, Plumeria feels the need to change who she is in order to fit in. With the hel...
Ceasing to make eye with her, we leave and make our way to the car. She seems to notice it, and tries to make small talk. I ignore her.
"Hey, why are you ignoring me?" she asks.
"Why do you think, HAILEY?" I sassed.
"Ohh... Look I know this doesn't make a single bit of sense to you right now. I understand, but you need to trust me that this is all-"
"For my own good!" I cut her off.
She sighs.
"Look, if it's something I've learned about this country, it is that you have to work hard to make something out of your life. When I first moved to California I didn't lie about my name. I got judged by a lot of girls from my senior year, because to them they didn't know what a Begonia flower even was. All they could think of when they heard my name was a fat old lady." She says.
I start thinking of why she would listen to what people told her. Begonia, Hailey, was always strong and definitely knew how to stick up for herself.
"So I decided to never let that happen to me ever again. I moved here to Los Angeles from San Francisco. Before I started college I decided that I was going to give myself a fresh start. I cut my hair, dyed it, completely changed my wardrobe to the trendiest clothes, started a diet and workout plan, and of course changed my name." She continued.
"How were you able to afford all of that?" I ask in shock.
"Two words. JC. Caylen." she replies with a grin.
"...Your boyfriend?" I guess.
"Yep. He was the only friend I had in San Francisco. He was the only one who actually cared. Since his parents are fiiiilthy rich, he decided to help me in anything, and everything. He even bought me this car, the house right on the beach, he's even paying for my college!"
"BEGONIA! I-I mean... HAILEY!" I yell. "THAT'S INSANE! What do you have to do in return?"
"N.O.T.H.I.N.G." she grins. "Well, except marrying him once I graduate." She adds, smiling wide.
"Well, isn't that promising." I say jokingly.
We make our peace, and before we know it we're back home.
"Hey I kinda have a date with JC tonight, and would it be okay if I..."
"Go on girl." I cut her off
She smiles and digs her purse for a credit card and hands it to me.
"Here. Take this and take my car. Go shopping and don't be shy on the spending! If you see something you like, buy it. No need to check the price." She says.
"I.. I can't." I answer.
"Don't you start being humble now. Take it."
30 minutes later, JC comes and picks her up and I head off to the first store I see.
Walmart.
I notice that people here dress a lot differently than what I'm used to. They wear a lot more jeans. So I head over to the clothing isle and pick up an outfit.
Once I'm done I walk up to the register and give the cashier the items. She scans me up and down and looks at the clothes I've picked. I chose a navy blue t-shirt with the American flag on it and the ends of the sleeves and color were red with a white stripe, a pair of grayish-black, loose jeans, and a pair of white sneakers. She shakes her head and starts scanning my clothes.
"Your total will be $23.87." She says annoyed.
I swipe my card, and wait for her to hand me my receipt. She stands there picking off the nail polish from her nails.
"Umm, Miss?" I ask politely.
She turns her head slowly, rolling her eyes as they meet mine.
"What.Do.You.Want?" She sasses.
"Nothing, just my receipt, please." I answer shyly.
She rips the receipt off of the machine, tearing it in half and throws it at me.
"Thank you!" I answer back with a smile.
She sighs and yells, "NEXT!"
I grab my bags and head out to the car. Luckily, I remember the way.
I arrive to the house to find Hailey in JC's car. They look busy, so I honk the horn startling their kiss.
"ANDREA!" Hailey screams.
I laugh.
"That's not funny Andrea! JC, stop laughing!"
"Well, then could you please have your little boyfriend move his car so I can pull in?" I sass her jokingly.
"Yes, ma'am! JC move it!" she demands, and he follows.
I pull into the drive way, grab my bags, and head inside. Hailey follows.
"Hey, did you go grocery shopping?" she says looking at my bags, written with the logo 'WALMART'.
"Oh, no! I went shopping. I bought an outfit, here's the receipt. It's kind of torn up tho.." I reply.
"I'll see it tomorrow, since you'll be wearing it to school. But hey, why wal- never mind. Let's just watch a movie!" she says.
We lie down on her comfy couch with some popsicles Hailey swears are healthy, and start watching one of her favorite movies, Titanic. We both cry at the end when Jack dies, and rant about how stupid Rose was for letting him die.
Hailey checks her phone and her eyes and mouth widen.
"It's almost midnight! You need to get to bed, we have class tomorrow!" she says in shock.
We get up and rush towards our rooms and trade our goodnights. I can't sleep until I talk to Kai, so I send her a text.
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