The Other Side

A Pink Little Boy

Song: Candy Wrappers by Summer Salt

I can say with absolute certainty that you have never been to Caljo Bay, Florida. And if you have, my deepest apologies. If one wanted fast food, you would have to drive 45 minutes to Daytona. But then you have traffic, thanks to snowbirds. With all of the grandmothers moving at a snail's pace down i-95, you'll never get anywhere close to a Big Mac. As a result, most teens in the bay area just cut over to Trini's.

Trini is the most eccentric person you will ever meet. Her burgers are almost as eccentric as her. Almost. She opened the 24 hr diner right out of college, even with her psychology degree. But Trini always said she loved her burgers more than a stiff button up and a polished mahogany desk and teens who would grunt when you asked: "So how are you feeling?"

Pulling up to Trini's, I questioned why she would have even spent all that money towards a degree if all she wanted to do was flip burgers for the rest of her life. I shrugged and pulled the key out of the ignition and grabbed my beach bag from the passenger's seat. I pulled open the yellow door to Trini's, greeted the diner's owner, and took a seat in The Booth. Nobody else had arrived, even though we had agreed to meet at 11 am. I opened the group chat between the five of us and sent a message asking what the hell was everyone doing. 

I set my phone down as Trini walked over and placed down the strawberry milkshake I had ordered upon arrival. I smiled and took a sip. "Delicious and creamy, just for you", the older woman stated as I sucked the beverage down.

"That's what she said!"

I raised my head to the front door where Ash was smirking at me and Jaden was rolling his eyes. Declan and Catie pushed past them to hug Trini, who was busy trying to smack the perpetrator but kept missing due to him dancing around her.

"Babe, leave the poor woman alone, gosh", I sighed and fought a smile. 

"You better watch that mouth, Mr. Foley, or your mother will have a hell of a time figuring out which one of your stupid skim boards to confiscate". 

The brown-haired boy turned a bright pink and slid in next to me. "Yes, ma'am", he smiled his million-dollar smile that would make any girl's knees buckle, except for Trini. She scowled and took my friend's orders.

"So what was so important that all of you were 10 minutes late?" I snapped and eyed my boyfriend, who would undoubtedly speak for the rest of them. They shifted uncomfortably and Declan let out a cough that suspiciously sounded like a laugh. I turned in his direction, my hazel eyes landing on him.

"Well," he dragged the word out.

His sister clapped a hand over his mouth and Ash leaned across the table, quickly slapping his hands over Catie's and providing an extra layer of protection against Declan's word vomit. His eyes turned wide and looked to Jaden for help. Simultaneously, Catie and Ash shouted "NO". It didn't do any good because Jaden rushed out the most embarrassing story of the century.

"IDroveTheTwinsToAsh'sHouseButWhenWeGotThereHisMomSaidHeWasUpstairsSoWeDidn'tBotherKnockingWhichInRetrospectWasProbablyAReallyGoodIdeaBecauseAshWasInBedWithAPictureOfYouAndHisOtherHandHeWasMessingWithHisDi-"

Jaden was tackled over the table by Ash. My milkshake glass tipped over, spilling pink liquid all over my new swimsuit cover-up. Catie had ducked out of the way in time, whereas her brother was not as lucky. In his fit to shut Jaden up, Ash tackled him but accidentally brought both the secret-spiller and Declan. The poor blonde and not been able to pull away as fast as his sister, and now all the boys were on the floor of Trini's.

"Y'all better not spill any blood in this here diner. I'll have to file an incident report then, and do you know how many burgers I could flip in the time that takes?" Trini marched over and bent down, crackling knees, bad hip and all, and pulled the trio apart. Declan scrambled back into the booth next to his sister. Catie took a napkin and wiped it against my sweating, empty, messy milkshake glass. As she was holding the makeshift ice bag/washcloth against an already-forming black eye, the other boys were sitting on the floor. They were being reprimanded by Trini, both looking ashamed to some degree. Although he had just gotten beat up, Jaden looked satisfied with himself, and Ash's face was the color of my spilled milkshake for the second time that day.