Endless Summers

Chapter 2

Driving home I realize it is almost five o-clock. I also remember mom's orders to buy bread and milk on the way home. Instead of dropping by the normal store, I just decide I will stop by the Dollar Store because my best friend has a shift there for tonight. Pulling in, I grab my phone and lock my car. I am immediately greeted by the boss, Ms. Mel who is an elderly woman that practically everyone knew in our town.

"Hey Ms. Mel!" I greet her sweetly. I came regularly to visit Alana Rae, one of my best friends in the world, so Ms. Mel knew me well.

"Good afternoon Emma. How was your day?" She asks, her voice shaky and sweet. She has called me Emma since I introduced myself.. it was not something I let everyone call me. I don't mind it from her though.

I nod and smile, inferring that my day has been okay. Ms. Mel smiles and gently touches my back. Bash I immediately think, remembering my encounter with him in the coffee shop earlier. Chills go through my body and I zone back into the conversation that Ms. Mel is having with me.

"Alana is in the back, restocking some of the air fresheners dear." She finishes, pointing towards the back of small store. I thank her and immediately scuttle towards Alana and decide that I am going to scare her.

As I walk in and out of isles I stifle a giggle as I watch Alana curse and fumble with the air fresheners. I tip toe around the back of her and as soon as I am within scaring distance..

"BOO!" I yell, earning a gritting of teeth and a punch to the arm.

"Emmaline!" She yelps, giving me a frustrated look. I look down at the air freshener she dropped which was now lying on the ground, leaking a strong smelling liquid. I look at her with a face that only she would be able to analyze.

"Okay. I can tell you have something to tell me, so let me clean this freshener up because I can only handle so much lavender in one setting." She says, as she begins to pull a rag off of her belt. She finishes wiping up the smelly mess and stands up, throwing the rag in a nearby waste basket.

"Spill." She states, sitting down in a child's chair that went to a small table for $24.99. I follow her lead and sit down in the other chair.

As I tell her about my annoying encounter with Bash, she nods and responds when she should, assuring me that she was listening but I can tell she is holding back from saying something to me. As I finally finish my story, leaving all the details out that included my feelings for the jerk, I sigh.

"So that's it." I say, trying not to smack Alana, who was smiling like a 6 year old that was just told they were going to Disney World.

"What are you smiling at, Alana!?" I finally crack, pushing her arm from its position of holding her head up. Although she is stressing over work, school and her own serving of boy drama, she still looks pretty, her blonde curls and blue eyes reflecting from her pale, fair complected skin.

"You like him." She states proudly like she had just stated the answer to a million dollar question. Her confidence that the answer is right is annoying.

"What!? Why would you think that? I just told you how annoying and disrespectful he was to me! Alana, do you ever even listen to me!? Plus I don't even know him!" I stare at her in disbelief.

"I don't think so, Emmaline. Your mouth says you hate him but you had this gleam in your eyes when you were telling me about him. What was his name? Bash? I think you liiiiike him." She says, wiggling her eyebrows at me and poking me. I glare at her.

"Oh, right. Like the time that you thought that Hayden had a crush on me in eighth grade even though he has been my friend since we were 3." Hayden Baker is my best guy friend. He is also my neighbor so he spent a lot of time at my house and when his parents got divorced in eighth grade he depended on my and was around me a lot more, I continued, "Alana I know you think you have this sixth sense, but it hasn't always been right so what makes you so sure that you are right about this." I say, trying to hide my feelings. Looking to the front of the store, I realize it is already dark outside.

"Okay, Em. True, I was wrong about the whole Hayden thing but I can tell that you have feelings for this sexy, mysterious, dark, attracti-"

"OKAY!" I cut her off. Did I have feelings for Bash even though I didn't even know his last name? Who knew.. because I sure didn't.

"I think you should sleep on it. I will see you tomorrow. Make sure you don't forget to buy your milk and bread." She says, standing up and me following in her footsteps.

"Okay," I reply, grabbing the nearest loaf and pulling out a gallon of skim milk from the freezer and pushing the door of it closed with my hips. When Alana rings my items up, I throw three packs of Airhead extreme mini bites bags because I have the worst addiction to those sugary rainbowed unhealthy bites. Alana furrows her eyebrows at me, she and I have this pact to eat healthy and excersise together as much as possible. I just liked to add my healthy dose of addiction here and there.

I smile at Alana as I turn and push the door open with my backside.

"Get his number if you see him again!" She yells, I know she is referring to Bash again. Then she adds, " And tell the squirrels I miss them!" She calls my younger twin siblings the squirrels. I start my car up and began my way home, as sprinkles of rain begin to show up on my windshield. I pull into the driveway of Home Sweet Home, just as the rain starts to come down in a down-pour.