Chapter Three
I had been working the house for around 6 months by now. One day after work, Landon and a couple of his friends and I all went to the beach together, happy to leave the disgusting, heavy air of the Tinkering buildings. We were laughing all the way there when I realized I didn’t have a bathing suit.
“It’s fine, I’ll walk you home so you can get one.” Landon eagerly volunteered while his friends snickered behind him. Landon and his friends changed out of their work uniform, but I was still in my green tank top, jean shorts, and construction boots. He had changed his shirt to a blue and white striped tee shirt. He was still wearing his jean shorts and converse.
“Yeah, Landon, we’ll wait up!” One of his friends, Jack, smiled. He had jet black hair, bright green eyes, and tan skin. He was wearing a pair of black board shorts, a white tank top, and his sandals. He was tall and strong, with a smirk plastered across his lips and his arms always crossed across his chest.
Another one of his friends, Milo, who was tall and more lanky, smiled too. He had a slight acne problem, with paler skin and darker eyes than I was used to. He was wearing a vintage tee shirt with the words “WE ARE YOUNG” on the front, that looked like it was supposed to be one of those old 3D movies from over 40 years ago, jean shorts, and black converse. He traveled here from Free Eagle Country, which explains his paler olivey skin, but it was still unusual for me to see someone like that here.
Two other girls were there, one with platinum blonde pin straight hair, sun kissed skin, and freckles. She was like a model, with long legs and a perfect smile. She wore a yellow and gray short tank top, white shorts, and white sandals. Her name was Jamie.
I could see that she didn’t like me all too much.
The other girl was paler too, seeming as she emigrated here from Krignes. Her accent was hard to understand at times, but she just laughed that off. She had dark brown curly hair and big blue eyes. She was shorter and more cutesy, with two always blushing cheeks and a huge smile. She wore a long pink tube top, jean shorts, and black flip flops. Her name was Skye, and she liked me a little more.
I pushed some of my hair to one side, playing with the blonde ends and trying not to look into Jamie’s eyes. I may look tough, but the girl was intimidating. She had hard eyes and she didn’t twitch once when she was staring me down.
“We’ll meet you at the beach.” Skye smiled, batting her eyelashes.
I was glad to get out of Jamie’s sight. I didn’t understand why she hated me so much. Skye tolerated me, at least I thought so, and Milo and Jack liked hanging out with me too.
Landon and I walked down the dusty roads, listening to the birds in the trees and the kids outside playing. I smiled at how amazing the sun felt on my face and how relaxing the town was. I looked over at Landon.
He looked amazing.
He stared at his feet, his hands in his pockets, a small smile spread across his lips. His eyes, although I never noticed it before, he had little spots of gold in his eyes that stood out in the sunlight. He looked up, staring out to the horizon and the sun that was still high in the sky.
I smiled and felt the butterflies in my stomach again.
We finally got to my house. From the outside, it was a modest little house with a small lawn and bright flowers surrounding the porch. It was painted white, with the smooth steps up to the porch glimmering in the sun. The pillars and fence surrounding the porch were a soft blue, matching the window panes. The door was a sky blue with no doorknob. We walked up the steps and to the door. I pressed the small button next to the door.
