Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
⠁⡐⠠⠁⠄☼☽⠠⠁⠄⡐
"All I'm saying is that Romeo was not truly in love with Juliet. Look. In the beginning, he is deeply in love with Rosaline. He says she's the only one for him. Then, he meets Juliet and suddenly is infatuated with this girl. I'm just saying if another girl came into the picture like Juliet, Juliet would have easily been another Rosaline." I close off my small rant by letting out a sigh.
We had been walking down to the Arcade to purchase some ice cream.
Red scrunches her eyebrows up while throwing her hands into the air.
"The thing is that sometimes it feels like you've found your person and it's so exhilarating that it's easy to call it love. But then you meet them. This game changer and everything just falls into place. Your heart flutters when they are around. And if that's not love I don't know what is." Red smiles twirling to face me. She walks backward further adding to her argument.
"And come on the thought of having to live a life without her was so unbearably painful that he ended his own-," Red was interrupted by a tall pale boy grabbing her by the waist and spinning her around.
The sudden action startled me, but I later recognized the boy.
"Where have you been, love?" He holds her close. I nearly gag at the public display of his affection. It annoyed me for some reason.
"Hi, nice to meet you I'm Lana, Lana Spring." I extend my hand to interrupt the little moment they were having.
"Sorry. I'm Finn Wolfhard." He shakes my hand, letting go of Red.
"Wolfhard. That's peculiar. Where you from Wolfhard?" I question forcing myself, not physically of course, in between them.
"My parents are from Canada. Vancouver to be exact." He awkwardly smiles, shoving his hands into his front pockets. Red loops her arm around his, "We were actually on our way to the lake. Wanna come?" She asks him.
"Umm yeah. If that's ok with you." He looks at me with an awkward smile.
I'm not going to lie I was hoping it'd just be me and Red, but I wasn't going to be rude.
"Yeah, that's cool." I hum while nodding my head. He nods his head flashing a genuine smile.
We walk the same path Red had taken me the first time we came. I clutched the straps of my corduroy backpack while kicking some large pebbles under my dirty red converse. My film camera swaying back and forth, hanging down my neck.
I picked up my camera taking a picture of the trees that hugged us from every direction. The light bleeding through the holes in the leaves made the water on a tiny stream glisten.
"What about you Lana?" Red called out to me. I blinked a couple of times trying to get a grasp of what I'm being told.
Sadie slips her hand into mine while she holds Finn's. "Cherry or strawberry?"
I pull my hand from hers, pushing a strand of hair behind my ear. "Strawberry," I respond picking up my camera and snapping a couple more pictures.
We finally arrive at the lake and I set my things down on the patch of grass near the dock.
"Come on Lana." Red tugs on my arm lightly.
"Yeah give me a sec." I wave her off sitting on the ground. Red runs into the water meeting Finn with a splash. He smiles at the freckled girl.
Red strays from him while floating upward facing the sky. I grab my camera and put it up to my eye. The sun glistens on her pale skin. I hesitate. But snap the picture anyway.
I move my camera a little to the right and capture a picture of Finn. I am trying to like him, but I can't. He's never done anything to me. For gods sakes, we've just met.
"Are you coming in?" Finn approaches me shaking off the water from his black curls. I shake my head, dropping my camera to it's original position around my neck.
I continue watching Red splash around the water. She looks so happy.
He sits beside me hugging his knees. "I - um. I don't want to overstep." He fidgets with a piece of thread he pulled from his shirt.
"Tell me." Turn to look at him.
"I'm sorry about Mrs. Spring. She was such a genuine person." He looks straight across at Red still splashing around in the water. He can't look me in the eye. The crazy thing is that it seemed so genuine. He looked sad.
I was very taken back. I had never in my life seen him before. How was it possible that he knew my grandma?
"You knew her?" I question.
"Yeah. I was saving up for a new bike and I asked her if she had work for me to do. I would mow her lawn and clean the pool every Saturday morning. At first, I was just doing it for the money but we would sit on her porch and she would tell me stories about Mr. Springs and I just started going for the company really." His eyes go watery and I stay still stunned at what I was being told. I felt a pang in my heart.
She was so kind to everyone. She's all I ever want to be and more.
"I didn't know that," I whisper clearing my throat.
"She told me about you. She said you were really smart and pret-," He was interrupted my Red walking towards us.
"You guys ok?" She asks. She wraps a towel around her waist.
Finn wipes his face quickly and nods.
"Yeah, everything's fine. I'm kinda tired. I- I think I'm just going to head home." I collect my things and put them into my backpack.
Red looks at Finn and then back at me.
"Oh. Do you want us to walk you home? It's getting dark." She stands up with me.
"No. It's fine I'll just see you tomorrow," I say.
She nods giving me a hug and a kiss on the cheek. The first time she had kissed my cheek I went stiff in shock, but it has now become a norm to us.
