I’m Allyson, I’m 17. Your average teenager I guess you could say, just a little to obsessed with things such as, long walks on the beach, and Of course how could I forget art. I did it all mostly painting, sketching, and sculpting. It was just my thing.
I live in Greenwood California, with my Mom Katie. Right near the beach, it’s nice really. Most people would think it’d get old, but actually it doesn’t. On the other hand what does get old is going to visit my dad in Michigan every other summer. My parents are divorced, long story with too many boring details.
“Allyson?” My mom yelled from down stairs. “Coming!” I replied, as I quickly ran down the steps. “Yeah?” I asked. “Um, I’m going to the store to pick up a few things, do you need anything?” “Actually, I’ll just come with you; I need some paint for my room.” I replied. “Alright I’ll be waiting in the car.” I heard the door shut, as I made my way upstairs to get my shoes.
You see my mom and I just moved here a couple weeks ago, there isn’t a lot I know about this town, but I’m starting to get to like it, surprisingly. It’s summer here, so what that means I’ll be staring my senior year at a new school, great, right?
I heard the car horn beep. Frustrated, I closed the front door behind me following the stone path to the car. “What took so long?” Mom asked. “Well you know how it is, finding a matching pair of shoes in a room that messy can be challenging.” She looked at me sternly, but couldn’t help but chuckle.
Greenwood was a small town, you know like the ones you see in those classic romance movies. So it didn’t bother me that much. I didn’t really care either way. It was so gorgeous though. The sand on the beach was so white that when the sun shined down on it, it looked a million tiny sparkling diamonds. And the water was so blue, and clear.
We finally arrived at the store. It was the town’s only hardware store, which was sad, really. “Alright, um I’ll go find what I need and you can go find what you need, just meet me at the register in 30 minutes. Alright?” mom asked me. “Just go.” I said with a smile, turning the opposite direction.
This was the first time I’d ever been in the hardware store. It was pretty big to me. All I knew was I needed to find some paint. “Could I help you with anything?” a faint voice said from behind. A turned to find a boy, a very appealing, yet attractive boy. “Um, yeah actually could you help me find my way to the paint?” I asked shyly. It wasn’t every day I talked to boys this attractive.
“Follow me” He said as he turned away. And so I did. We had small talk on the way to the paint. And I made it without embarrassing myself, shocker. “Here we are, do you have anything in mind?” He asked. “I was thinking a gray, with some yellow for my walls.” I said. “Alright well I’ll get the color book, cool?” “Okay, I’ll just be waiting here.” I replied. He giggled when he turned the corner. I was freaking out on the inside, but I surely didn’t want him to know that. It took him a few minutes before he returned with the book.
I smiled, sheepishly. He placed the book down on the counter, flipping through the pages. “Okay, so here are the yellows, I personally like this one.” He said pointing down to a color which read off daisy yellow. “Eh, it’s alright.” I said, as I grabbed the book taking control. A saw a grin release from him when I did. “So are you new around here, I mean I get out a lot and haven’t ever seen you.” He asked curiously. “Yeah, my mother and I just moved here about 2 weeks ago. We are still settling in.” I said now looking him in the eyes.
We were so close; I could feel his breath beating on me. “Oh” He whispered. “Okay so I’ll go with these two.” I said as I backed away. “Um I’ll go get it ready for you.” He scurried away. Wow, what just happened is all I could think…
I sat there in a stool quietly scrolling through Facebook waiting for him to return. Minutes passed which felt like hours in the moment. And he finally showed up. “Here you go.” He said placing the containers of paint on the counter top, making a loud bang, making me jump. He chuckled at the fact of me jumping.
“Thanks.” I said, picking them up. “Oh those are heavy let me help you.” I just smiled. “Where to?”, “Um, the front registers, where else?” I said. I walked a distance behind him to the front where my mom was waiting on me. We arrived, and he placed the paint on the counter. My mom greeted me with a smile. “Thanks again.” I said to him right before he turned to leave. “I’m Allyson, by the way.” I stated, placing my hand out for him to shake.
He looked at me for a second, and then broke into a smile. He placed his tan, warm hand in mine. I felt his warmth run through my arm sending chills through me. “Drake… Drake Johnson.” He replied and once again smiled.
