In Fair Verona

XLVIII

Arianna walks downstairs and looks at me.

"You're awake early," she says rubbing her forehead. Her hair is in a messy bun and she's in her pyjamas.

"It's eleven."

"You sleep till one."

"Nope. At home I wake up at eight on weekends."

She raises an eyebrow as she stares at me from the kitchen. She stands in front of the island counter before grabbing a pan.

"An egg?" She asks.

"I'll make it," I say getting up off the couch.

My back aches a bit from sleeping on the couch all night.

She furrows her eyebrows even more.

"What do you mean? You can't cook."

"Ari, that was like seven or something months ago. Anyway, the Buteau family is a family of bakers. I've learned a couple things."

"Great, so make me pie," she says.

"I can make apple pie and that's about it. Also I can't do it very well and I'd need instructions and Phoebe to be here but we've done it before."

"Apple pie from scratch?"

"Yeah," I crack an egg on the counter. "We've made spaghetti and bread from scratch too."

"Spaghetti?"

"We had to hang the noodles everywhere so they could dry," I laugh thinking about it. "That's what we get about to on weekends."

Arianna frowns a bit, almost unnoticeable. Then she leans back and grabs the book I've been reading.

"Almost done this?"

"Yeah I started it on the plane yesterday."

"You don't even have a bookmark," she flips through the pages. She stops on the very first page. "Isaac's book."

"Yeah. I don't know why he felt the need to write his name in there. Maybe he doesn't trust me," I smile a bit as I search for a spatula. "Although, I take great care of books."

"There's bacon in the fridge too if you want that."

I nod my head.

"Where's your parents."

"Tegan's hockey practice," Arianna says.

Tegan is one of Arianna's four siblings.

"And everyone else?"

"Sleeping or at the practice with them. They like to tag along because they get to go out for breakfast that way."

I hum a bit in the silence as she reads a bit of my book.

"Boring," she groans as she slaps the book down on the couch and I flinch.

"What's the plan today?"

"We'll meet up with Jake. I don't know then maybe some others."

"Meet up where?"

"Under the bridge maybe."

I haven't been there in ages.

About a year ago, the three of us used to hang out under a bridge. It was in a forested area and the bridge was going over a stream. Well, it was bigger then a stream. We could swim and hangout till it was dark. Graffiti was everywhere. It's a cool place.

"You guys hangout with anyone else?"

"I'll sometimes hang out with Abby and Arlene."

As I wait for the bacon to cook my phone goes off.