A Year Around the Sun

e i g h t e e n - what's got you all gloomy?

you're a rebel in disguise,
is that the devil in your e y e s . . .

🌊🌊🌊

The following week couldn't have been more agonizingly slow. It's funny how when you're really excited for something, it takes so damn long to get to you. Then once it comes, it's gone in a flash.

After a painful, dragging Thursday spent at the diner all morning, then at the pier until 6 o'clock, I was done work until Tuesday. No early 6 AM shifts at The Sand Dollar, no endless lines for tickets – none of it. For a whole long weekend, I get to spend it with my guy.

The only early awakening I have ahead of me is for Owen and Brody to pick me up tomorrow morning. I'm already planning to sleep in the car, because we have about a three hour drive to Jersey. All I have to do is finish packing some last minute things tonight, and then I'll be ready to go.

According to the clock above me in my booth, I have three minutes left. The pier wasn't too alive today for some reason, which just means I sat in my stool for a majority of my shift, staring at whoever walked by me. I'd make up ridiculous scenarios about their lives to entertain myself and pass the time. I was concocting a tale about how the older man by the miniature roller coaster probably liked to collect stamps when someone popped up in front of my window.

I gasped at the green eyes and wicked smile staring back at me. Chills climbed my spine, as the rate of my heartbeat went out of control. Whether it was because I got scared, or who scared me, I think it was a mixture of both.

"Hi, Lena! What's up?" Sky's shrill voice had me clenching my teeth. If there wasn't a thick wad of Plexiglas between us, I'd have her by the throat.

Okay, maybe in my dreams. Where I'm a lot more confident and indestructible.

A million questions swam in my mind while I stared back at the deranged beauty. With my teeth clenched, I managed to spit out a response.

"I'm working."

"Duh. I can see that from your shirt," she chuckled with a roll of her eyes. My lips twitched like I wanted to laugh just to appease her, but why the hell would I do that? She took a lock of her messy brown hair in her thin fingers, twirling it around aimlessly. "Anyway, I came here because I really need to talk to you."

"M-my shift's almost over, I was just going to go home and-"

"Great! This is perfect," she exclaimed, her grin spreading across her face and only serving to scare me even more. How can someone be so pretty but so goddamn frightening?

Obviously she didn't understand that I was trying to leave and avoid her. I guess the girl is a little more dense than I thought. Or maybe she's just that smart to twist my words.

I tried to stammer out another excuse, but my blank brain couldn't come up with anything.

"Don't be intimidated. I'm totally normal, I promise. I just wanna talk, that's all," she spewed out her words so fast, it took me a moment to register what was happening. Before I could protest, she whirled around and disappeared, probably to wait for me to come out of my booth.

The irrational part of me thought that I could wait her out and stay here for as long as I could possibly stand it. Then I realized that when the next girl comes in for her shift, she'd probably be wondering why I was hiding out in a ticket booth, and I couldn't explain that situation. I'm hiding from my boyfriend's psychotic ex-girlfriend. That would go over so well.

Three minutes never went by so fast. Now I wished I had a few hours left of work so that Sky would leave. But of course, fate isn't on my side today.