Forever Summer | Justin Bieber

Chapter 6

"You give me purpose everyday you give me purpose in every way."
___________

                                       Lola

"Lola? Is that all you're having?"

"Si, Abuela. I'm fine." I looked across the table and smiled patiently routine at my grandmother. This was all part of the normal breakfast routine I had to come to expect ever since my grandmother had come to live with us. And it was so predictable I was often tempted to walk into the kitchen, slap a tape recorder right next to my cereal bowl, lift my spoon, and push play.

"Let me make you some eggs and toast," my grandmother offered, soothing her shapeless floral cotton dress as she rose from her seat.

"Abuela, please. I don't want eggs. Besides, Ellie will be here any second," I said, glancing at the clock on my phone and hurriedly finishing my Cheerios.

"Nonsense. You hardly ate any breakfast. You're too thin," she said, eyeing her tiny granddaughter with disapproval. "You'll never find a husband looking like that."

"Well, considering that I'm still in high school, that's probably a good thing," I said, getting up from the table and placing my bowl in the dishwasher.

Abuela was my dad's mom, who, after Abuelo's passing just over a year ago, had reluctantly moved from Mexico City to live with them, bringing nothing more than two trunks full of cotton house dresses and all of my old-school beliefs, activity disapproving of just about everything in my new life in Laguna Beach.

If it was up to me, my mom would stay home all day preparing meals for her family, and I would be twenty pounds heavier, dressed in her first communion garb, and engaged to be married to a nice Mexican boy from a good family the day after my high school graduation. The only thing Abuela seemed to approve of was her son. My dad could do no wrong.

"Lola, don't forget you have cotillion practice this evening," my mom said, striding into the room and bending down to briefly kiss Abuela on the cheek.

What a contrast they are, I thought, looking at Abuela's short, round body clothed in one of her numerous tent dresses and her mom's tall, sleek, elegant form perfectly turned out in one of her designer suits. I got Abuela's lack of height and major stubbornness, but thankfully my mom's slim build and straight dark hair, I thought. It's my eyes that were like my dad's, shiny, dark, and deep like onyx.

"Mom, I'll try to make it but I can't promise anything. It's the first day of school and all."

"No 'and all,' Lola. Say 'it's the first day of school,' period."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, bending down to kiss Abuela just as Ellie pulled onto the driveway and honked.

"Is that Ellie?" Abuela asked.

"Si, Abuela. I'll see you later," I said, grabbing my bag and heading towards the door.

"Can you please inform her, once again, that it is impolite to honk?"

I shook my head, put my hands on my hips, and breathed an exasperated sigh. "No, I cannot. Because she's doing me a big favor by driving me to school. And if your son and daughter-in-law would just buy me a car, once and for all, then I could drive myself and you'd be spared the honking," I said.

"What did she say?" Abuela asked, looking to her daughter-in-law for help with the translation. But I knew better. Abuela's perfect English always seemed to fail in the most convenient moments.

My mom shook her head. "Get your grades up, and we'll talk."

"Yeah, yeah." I slung my book bag over my shoulder and walked out the door. I'd gotten only one B in an all- A lineup, but that had been enough for my overly strict parents to refuse me to have a car. True, the deal had been all A's gets the wheels, but still. I've had done my very best, and just because I got four wrong answers on chemistry test (chemistry! It's not like I wanted to be a scientist!), I was relegated to another semester of being chauffeured to school by my friends. And it was really getting old. Usually I didn't mind being driven everywhere, but in the last few weeks I'd found a very good reason to get my own car and a little more privacy. So now I was very motivated to get straight A's and not screw up.

"Hey, El." I opened the passenger door of Ellie's new jet-black mini cooper convertible and plopped down onto the seat next to her. "Are we picking up Jade?"

"No, she's meeting us there," Ellie said, turning onto the street as I released my long, dark hair from it's tight ponytail and removed my high-necked sweater to reveal the tight little t-shirt underneath. My family may call me Lola, but my friends, knowing the real me was only revealed when my parents weren't looking, often called me Lolita.

"You missed some good waves this morning," Ellie said, taking in my friend's transformation.

"I just can't wake up that early anymore. I don't know how you do it." I applied shiny peach lip gloss while checking out the cute guy in the black jeep wrangler right next to us.

"Discipline, that's how I do it."

"Yeah, discipline and no social life," I said, smiling at the guy with my newly shiny lips.

"Excuse me? I have a social life. For your information, I'm planning on yet another year as your class president, yearbook committee, Surf Club president..."

"I mean a social life that takes place after the final bell," I said, interrupting my friend and laughing.

"Not all of us stay out all night, Lolita!" Ellie said, looking over at her smiling. "Oh my god, are you flirting with that guy?" She stared in disbelief.

"Maybe."

"Oh my god, he's like, old."

"No, he's not. He's probably twenty-five, twenty-six tops. And he's sooo cute," I said, rolling down my window to get a better look.

"He's probably married, with three kids, and a wife at home who's gonna come after you when she hears about this," Ellie said, half joking and half worrying it could be true.

"I never flirt if they're wearing a ring, or a girlfriend is present. I'm very old-fashioned that way," I said, all my attention focused on the cute driver of the black jeep.

"Well, could you please stop? The last thing I need is to have some pervert following us to school," Ellie said, sounding more than a little uptight.

"Relax, it's over. He's turning right. Well, it was good while it lasted," I said, waving at the back of his jeep. "Hey, can you drop me off at the corner up there?"

"What? Why?" Ellie looked at me confused as hell.

"I'm meeting someone," I said, running my fingers through my long dark hair and double checking my lip gloss in my mirrored visor.

"Do you want me to wait for you?" Ellie asked, slowing to a stop.

"No. I'll see you at school."

Ellie gave me a suspicious look.

"Really, I'll catch up with you later."

"If I didn't know you better, I'd swear you were either a drug dealer or a special agent."

"Who, me?" I asked, grabbing my books and slipping quickly out of the car.

Lola is Lily's close friend. Also, I felt like posting another chapter today.

I love you guys already! I've been getting so many reads. It's great.

-meagen