Chapter 20
Coffee in ten?
I definitely needed some girl time, and who better to talk to than Melanie?
Sure thing. See you then.
The thing was, I knew that by saying ten minutes, Melanie would be twenty at the least. This gave me time to try to make myself appear presentable. Even though it was really warm in Australia, I wore a beanie. I paired this with a loose tank top, denim shorts and flip flops. My toenails were hideously unpainted, a pet peeve of mine, so I quickly put on a coat of a light pink polish before grabbing my phone, sunglasses and wallet and heading out the door.
Sure enough, by the time I was at the café beside our building five minutes late, Melanie still wasn’t there. I grabbed a table by the edge of the patio, a favorite place of Mel’s and mine; we both liked to people watch.
I turned my attention to my phone, scrolling through my Facebook news feed.
“Mommy, why doesn’t she have hair?” a child sitting near me whispered to her mom. I looked up in that general direction as the mom gave her child a scolding look and hissed, “That’s not polite dear.” I was used to this by now.
Finally I saw Mel headed towards me, looking fabulous as ever. Honestly, she couldn’t look bad if she tried.
“Hi Ella!” she exclaimed, drink in hand. I stood up to hug her and then we both settled into our seats.
“I have so much to tell you…” I sighed, shaking my head.
“Something wrong?” Melanie asked, looking concerned.
“Little bit,” I told her.
“Who’s fault?”
“Mine.”
“That’s rough.”
“Yup.” I took a long sip of my iced tea.
“So are you going to tell me or not?”
“Yes…”
“Well then spit it out!” Melanie exclaimed.
“Alright…I just don’t know where to start.”
“How about at the beginning?”
“Meaning you want me to go all the way back to when he and I first came to Australia?”
“So it’s about Nico…” Melanie said prodded.
“Maybe,” I replied sheepishly. Nico was, and seemingly always had been a touchy topic for me.
“Start talking,” Mel insisted.
“Well I um…it’s just that…I may have done something I shouldn’t have.”
“Being…”
“I kissed Nico,” I said quickly, squinting my eyes so I didn’t have to make eye contact with Mel.
“You did not,” she gasped, leaning towards me.
“In my apartment a couple days ago,” I told her, nodding. Guilt welled up in my chest once again.
YOU ARE READING
A Bucket List for Ella
Roman pour AdolescentsI had always lived a life of lists. To do lists, to remember lists, goal lists, you name it. Lists were my way of feeling in control, of staying organized. They lowered my stress level and made me feel better in general. So when I found out I ha...
