Hybrid

Chapter 8

The frozen yogurt place is packed, which isn't surprising. It's one of the first nights of summer, so obviously there's a ton of people here enjoying it. "Load up guys, my mom's paying," I say, waving her card in front of their faces with a grin.

It takes us fifteen minutes to finally pay for our yogurt, which is help yourself. By the time we get out of the crammed little shop, our frozen yogurt is melting. We find a bench to sit on and finally, I get to take a bite. I got the peanut butter flavored yogurt, and topped it with chocolate chips and Reece's peanut butter cups.

"I'm going to take a guess and say peanut butter is your favorite," Max smiles. He got a basic vanilla and chocolate swirl, but went above and beyond with the toppings. There's M&M's, sour patch kids, butterfingers, chocolate chips, gummy worms, and chocolate syrup.

"How did you know?" I tease.

Mara laughs beside me. "Give that girl peanut butter anything and she'll love you forever."

"Thanks for the advice," Max laughs. He starts picking off the mound of sour patch kids one by one, popping them into his mouth. Even though peanut butter anything is my favorite, sour patch kids are still pretty good. I reach over and steal a red one from him, and his face contorts into a look of absolute hurt.

"How could you do that to me?" he gasps. I stifle a giggle as I eat it. "The red ones are my favorite!"

"Sorry sweetie," I say, patting his cheek gently. I take another bite of my yogurt, letting it melt in my tongue and run down my throat.

When the three of us finished, we throw our bowls away and get back into my car. Max gets in the front seat, and Mara happily takes the back without complaint. She buckles herself into the middle so she can still leave forward. "What does your mom need us to get?"
she asks. I awkwardly slip the list out of my back pocket and hand it to her. I pull out of the parking lot as she starts to read it out loud.

"Pizzas, shredded cheese, popsicles, apple and orange juice, hamburger meat," Mara says. "Bro we're doing the full week of grocery shopping." Her voice sounds terrified, and rightfully so.

"Is that a bad thing?" Max asks, sounding confused at Mara's tone of voice.

"Max, how many people are in your family?" she asks, and I let out a sigh of amusement. Mara's about to get really dramatic, and it cracks me up every time.

"Five," he answers, and I see him turn to face her out of the corner of my eye.

"And how old are you're siblings?"

"Six."

"Exactly. Grocery shopping for your family is a walk in the park. Try shopping for a family of twelve with six growing boys. It's traumatizing."

"I'm sure it can't be that bad," Max says, but there's an uneasiness in his tone.

"Don't make your final decision until we're done." Mara advises.

Three hours, two carts, and nine hundred dollars later, Mara and I waddle into my kitchen, our arms weighed down by bags. My mom and dad are sitting at the counter, watching us with amused smiles on their faces. Max is waiting in my room for me. "Did you guys enjoy yourselves?" my mom asks.

"Of course we enjoyed ourselves, mom," I say sarcastically, setting the heavy bags down with a thunk on the counter. This makes her laugh, which only dampers my mood that much more.