Finding Your Way Through

Chapter 1- The First Signs

Chapter 1 The first signs

As dust gathered itself on Brooke Meyer's shirt, she laid lifeless on the parking lot's ground in Central Municipal Mall. Her legs and arms were extended, as if she were making a snow angel, refusing to move from her spot.

"You are so immature Brooke! Get your butt here, or things ain't gonna be pretty." Jessica O'Brien, her best friend warned her, her voice laced with exasperation as she looked at the golden blonde haired teenager in front of her.

"I didn't even want to come!" Brooke shouted, rolling on the ground to emphasize her point, as Jessica did the same with her eyes.

"You have five more seconds to stand up and enter that mall!" She shouted.

"Make me!" Brooke's stubborn self retorted, thinking about her best friend's obnoxious attitude.

"Please tell me I didn't just waste 15 minutes of my time, begging you to come off that dirty floor so we could get your birthday items!" Jessica mumbled more to herself, in perfect annoyance, placing her fingers on her temples to calm down.

On the other hand, Brooke who had had enough fun messing with her, decided to stand up and brush the dust off her clothes. Jessica immediately looked up, and sighed in relief. "I owe Chloe ten bucks now. She knew you would give up in less than twenty minutes." Brooke informed the brunette.

"You guys bet on me?!"

Ignoring Jessica's question, Brooke groaned at the thought of giving Chloe those ten dollars. But instead of wasting more time in that filthy parking lot, she decided to get moving, tugging onto Jessica's sleeves so they could approach the mall entrance. "Jessica can I ask you something?"

"You just did."

"Okay. Can I ask you two things?"

"You just did." Jessica replied again, as Brooke breathed out of her nose in frustration.

"How about four things now?" She demanded, hoping the pain that was standing next to her wouldn't find a new way to avoid the question.

"You just did."

"No I didn't!"

Trying to push Brooke off her edge, Jessica emphasized one more time, "Yes you did."

"When?" Brooke wondered. She was conscious of her friend's immature mind games, but played along for the sake of it.

"Just now..."

All she earned was an eye roll from Brooke, who shoved her to the side lightly. "Now if you're done acting like a ten year old, I would like to ask you why you brought me here, on a Sunday afternoon."

With a sigh, Jessica turned towards Brooke, stopping them from walking for a while. "Brooke baby," she started.

"Don't call me that."

Brushing off the request, Jessica continued. "Brooke baby, for the third time, I'm taking you to the mall." She spoke slowly, as if Brooke didn't have a high enough mentality to understand the simple words she was trying to say.

"I got that already. What I'm trying to ask you is why? You come here all the time, why do you need to drag me along with you, on my birthday?"

"Night before your birthday you mean." Jessica corrected her.

"Same thing."

"But back to the point, I'm bringing you here because tomorrow, on the seventeenth of September twenty seventeen, you're turning eighteen. You're going to be a legal adult Brooke. Don't tell me you don't want some change. Especially when it comes to your wardrobe." She explained, giving off a weird look towards Brooke's clothes.