Brayden's POV
The narrow streets of Kinsington lie just below Shadyside's downtown. Shops clog every corner of my sight, all connected by weathered shingles on a low, one-story roof. Brightly painted signs decorate them all, and windows reveal goods of all kind. The roads are set up so that they box in collections of shops, which have X-shaped walkways extending between them where people lounge at tables despite the cold, travel across to stores, or some who perform for money. The smell of bread wafts from a bakery door as I pass by with my friends, Linny, kelsey, Fatima, Darius, Aimée, and Hazel all around me.
"I hate how commercial Christmas has become," Kelsey spouts. "Everyone looks forward to boxing week more than the actual holiday. Why can't Christmas just go back to its roots?"
"Then it'd be called Yule," Aimée replies.
Fatima comes up beside me, asking, "Brayden, are you sure you know where you're going?"
"Yes. I remember coming to this bookstore before."
"How before?" she questions.
"August. They have a huge sale this week—80% off historical fiction—and I need to stock up. I've run out of good books to read."
"I gave you a book," Hazel mentions. "Have you read that already?"
"I said good books."
My cousin looks offended, but I'm more focused on the street signs, which are hand-painted in cursive.
"It should be right here," I say, pointing to the left.
I lead my group rounding the corner, but right where the bookstore should be, a store for maternity clothing exists instead.
Darius steps forward, saying to me, "Anything you wanna tell us, man?"
I give him a scowl and respond, annoyed, "It should've been here."
"Maybe it went out of business," Linny proposes.
"It's in business. It's just...not here."
Interrupting my befuddlement, Aimée swings her hands together, saying, "Cool, well, I saw a crystal shop a bit back, so, uh, I'ma—"
Right as she tries to step away, Fatima grabs her arm and pulls her back to the group, and Aimée sighs.
"How about we all split up and look for the book store," Fatima suggests.
"Won't work," Darius shuts down. "The Scooby-Doo gang has five. We're Seven"
"You know," Aimée chimes in, "I bet it's behind the crystal shop."
She steps back again, this time too fast for Fatima to stop her, but then Kelsey shouts, "Wait, I wanna look at crystals!" and the two girls go scurrying off down the sidewalk together.
"My apologies for Aimée," Fatima says. "She's unreliable."
"It's fine," I reply and get back to the matter at hand, pointing left. "I think it could be this way."
"How sure are you of that?" Fatima asks.
"Not very," I admit.
"Wonderful," she breathes but follows me nonetheless.
Marty's POV
The car beeps as Buffy locks it, and we travel onto the Kinsington sidewalk with Andreas and Cara dragging on behind us.
"Marty, I like your siblings and all," Buffy says, "but I wish they didn't want to have lunch in a neighbourhood with paid parking only."
"This place has amazing food," I justify. "Once you taste it, you'll forget about he parking."
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The Good Hair Family Sitcom
Fanfiction{4 seasons and complete} Tyrus, Ambi, Muffy, and Wonah are adults now, but growing up and having families brings new kinds of challenges. Through the complications of them and their kids, their life-long friendship is the one thing they can always r...
