Snow, Snow Is Here To Stay

Mall Encounter

Soon enough, Friday came along. Today was my presentation with Ben about animal testing. I carried the poster with me to the bus. I noticed Ben had saved me a seat, but so did Marco. I apologized to Marco and explained the presentation to him. He gave me a sad smile and glanced at me when I sat down beside Ben. We practiced our script until we got to school.

"See you in Social Studies," I said to him after homeroom, heading to my next class.

By the time Social Studies was over, the presentation had gone smoothly.

I was navigating my way through the cafeteria, looking for someone I knew, until I felt a tug on my arm. I looked down to see Marisa smiling up at me. "Hey, Anna! Why don't you sit with us today?"

Once I gingerly sat down beside her friend Janet, I could tell there was no going back. I had entered the gossip central. Marisa didn't hesitate to give me all the dirt about school. It didn't take long before I felt uncomfortable. When I met Ben's eye, he quickly looked away. So I did something that surprised even myself.

"Listen. Thanks for inviting me but I'm going to sit with Ben, Jacy, and Paul. See ya." I stood up and glanced at Marco who was watching me, his expression unreadable, then turned around.

"Anna!" Marisa called after me. I ignored her and placed my tray on Ben's table. Jacy hugged me and Paul smiled. Ben didn't say a word. I explained everything to him and he finally forgave me, partly because I promised him two cake pops on Monday. I looked over my shoulder one last time to catch a glance of Marisa. We locked eyes for a second, her gaze icy. I smiled at her and turned away.

Saturday was spent catching up with my family and friends in China. Mei listened carefully as I told her about Ben and Marco. I laughed as she told me stories about her cat, Prince. Oh, how I missed her!

On Sunday, Adrien and I went to the mall. Adrien wanted to go to the food court because his friends had told him about poutine. I wanted to go to Aritzia, so we parted ways. Once I got inside Aritzia, I heard a loud squeal, and when I turned to see who it was, I saw Janet and a few others of Marisa's friends. The one named Nicole waved me over.

"Hi guys," I smiled. Vivika nodded at me but turned to Janet who was choosing every single sweater to try on.

I waited for a time where I could slip away to do my own shopping, but before I could, Janice said, "Anna. Which one do you like better?" She held up a cropped knit sweater in her left hand, and in her right, she held an oversized sweatshirt.

Honestly, I didn't want to give her any fashion advice, but I forced a smile and said, "I'm not sure. You should try them on and see which one looks better on you!" I waltzed away without another look back at them.

Later on, I found some adorable jeans and bought them. As I exited out of Aritzia, I saw my brother about 8 feet away from me holding hands with a girl. A girl I didn't know. I didn't know what to do. I tried backing up but ended up hitting a clothing rack.

Was this Helen, the girl he asked me about earlier? They seemed pretty close, like they'd know each other for years. Why hadn't he told me that he had a girlfriend? Should I go up and confront him, or hide and pretend it never happened? I pushed away from the clothing rack. Before I could decide what to do, I bumped into someone.

"Oh sorry," I said, turning around. I expected it to be a random stranger, but instead...

It was Ben.

He ran a hand through his hair. "Hi, Anna."

"Uhh," Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Adrian walking away with that girl. I tried to think of a polite way to excuse myself and chase after him—sneakily, of course,—but nothing came to mind. "Hi!" I said, a little too brightly. "What are you doing here?"

"My mom wanted me to pick up her order from the candle shop next door," he replied, smiling.

"That's cool. Hey, I'm starved. Want to go to the food court with me?" I asked.

His eyes widened and he immediately blushed. "Yeah. Definitely."

We walked to the food court and each ordered a slice of pizza. I ordered cheese and he got Hawaiian. We sat down at a table for two and started talking about how school was before I came along. I caught him looking at me for a long moment. Was there something wrong?

"What?" I wondered.

"Oh, nothing." he smiled, looking past me.

"Well, I'm finished and I have to meet Adrien at the front in ten minutes," I said.

Ben walked in front of me and held out his hand. I was stunned but quickly recovered. I held on to his hand and stood up, beaming. We walked silently to the front of the mall.

"I have to go but I'll see you at school," I said, a tinge of sadness in my voice. I turned to walk away but he grabbed my hand, pulling me back towards him. Our eyes met, our faces were so close, the distance closing faster than I could manage. I was so surprised I didn't know if I should move away.

Just then, Adrien came around the corner. The girl from earlier was no longer with him. We hastily moved apart. Saved.

He scanned the food court until he found me and Ben awkwardly standing next to each other. "Anna—Wha—" Adrien started. I grabbed his arm and quickly waved goodbye to Ben.

"Hey. Let's go," I cut him off abruptly, though not necessarily in a mean way. I was hoping that both Ben and Adrien wouldn't question me.

Luckily, they didn't. "Okay," Adrien said.

Ben waved, his face expressionless, as we walked away quickly.

Phew, that was a close call.