Page 10 of Fast Lane

It’s a beautiful day in Los Angeles. The kind that I love and somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to get the entire day and night off. It’s a rare occurrence these days. I’m used to working just about twenty-four seven but it’s different when you’re doing something that feels fulfilling versus working as a waitress. Some people probably love being a waitress but it’s not for me. I’m pretty sure I mess up more than I get right and the only reason I still have the job is because Catron, the manager, feels sorry for me. As much as I’m wanting to enjoy the day off, Baylor woke me up way earlier than I would have liked. Going on just a few hours of sleep is never a good idea for me. I had barely gotten home a little after three, and at eight this morning she was bouncing into my room announcing plans for our day. My only plan had been to sleep until noon then get up and watch Supernatural for as long as humanly possible before going back online and looking for a job in my actual field of work. Instead, I rolled out of bed, took a quick shower, and got dressed. When I come out of my bedroom Baylor is waiting for me. Her purse sits beside her on the island in the kitchen where she is perched on one of the bar stools, flipping through a gossip magazine. When she realizes I’m finally ready, she huffs, rolls her eyes, and tosses the magazine onto the counter. “It’s about time. I could have starved to death by now, you do realize this, don’t you?” she asks dramatically. Baylor is smart, funny, sarcastic, and slightly dramatic, in case you were wondering.

I shrug my shoulders. “You seem pretty alive to me.”

Baylor glares at me. “How rude.” She winks at me before turning around to grab her purse and keys. “Let’s get out of here before brunch becomes lunch.”

As we head out of the door I decide to bite the dust and embarrass myself. “Where are you planning on going for brunch?”

Her tan wedge-heeled foot pauses on the staircase. “Why?”

My eyes dart around and study everything but her. “I just wanted to know how much money I should bring.”

“None. Today is my treat.” Baylor turns around and places her sunglasses over her eyes.

I sigh as the embarrassment sets in. This is the one thing I’ve never wanted. I’ve never wanted charity or for people to feel like they had to take care of me in any form. “I have the money, I just need to move it to a different account.” That’s not a lie. I have money saved but it’s in my savings account and not my regular account and I like to be prepared ahead of time. “That’s not necessary.”

Baylor doesn’t answer until we’re in the parking lot and have reached her Jeep. She stops and moves her sunglasses to sit on top of her head. “I know but days like this used to be common for me. It was always Summer and I, but now she’s married and pregnant and I’m so happy for her but I miss having a girl’s day. So, I figured you and I could give it a try. Please, just humor me.”

Sighing, I nod my head and we climb into her Jeep. As we pull onto the street I ask Baylor, “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“First of all, food because I’m starving.”

I laugh. “Yeah, we established that part.”

“Then the spa for massages, facials, manicures, and pedicures… all the good stuff. After that I figured we could do a little shopping before grabbing some tacos from Rico’s and heading home to binge watch some Hallmark movies,” she explains with a shrug. A very little known fact about Baylor is that she’s actually a hopeless romantic and loves all things Hallmark. If there is a number one fan… it’s her.

“Sounds like a great plan.” I sit back in my seat and try to relax. Baylor turns up the music. My Chemical Romance comes through the speakers. I bite back my laughter. The other thing about Baylor, and it’s probably a more well known fact, is that she loves early 2000s rock. Especially emo rock. Before I know it we are driving around in circles. Baylor reaches forward and turns the music down. “What are you doing?” I ask.

“Brunch is supposed to be Croissants a Million but they moved locations this week and I can’t see the street signs,” she explains.

My eyebrows pull together. “And turning down the music helps you see better?”

She comes up to a four way stop and looks over at me, sticking her tongue out. “Yes, apparently it does.” Baylor tosses her hands in the air like she gives up. We bust out laughing and we continue to look for Croissants a Million for the next ten minutes. Finally, the sunshine yellow food truck comes into sight. Baylor cheers in victory. Croissants a Million is so underrated in this area. They have amazing food. Everything is in or on a Croissant and the croissants are to die for. Fresh, warm, and flaky. Just thinking about it makes my stomach growl. Baylor grabs a parking space a few blocks down and we make our way up to the line. “So, how was work?” Baylor asks as we wait.

I shrug my shoulders. My normal response these days. “It was okay. Busy as usual. A few guys had to get removed by the bouncers.”

“Really? Why?”

“Just getting too rowdy and handsy with the girls.” The line moves and we shuffle with it. Baylor’s long red hair dances in the California breeze. Her cuffed denim shorts are slightly distressed paired with a pair of sandals and a light blue halter top. Her fair skin looks even paler in the sunlight. “You remembered to put on sunscreen right?”

Baylor laughs. “With skin this light it’s the first thing that goes on.”

“Touché. So, how’s school?” Baylor is a teacher at one of the most elusive private schools in Los Angeles.

“About the same as always. Most of the students are so entitled by their parents’ absence that they expect everything to be handed to them in this world. When I don’t do that they throw a fit for a while but eventually get over it and buckle down and do the work that needs to be done.” We reach the window and place our order before taking our number and moving to the other side of the truck where most of the people are waiting.

Her job sounds even more stressful than the one I got laid off from. “So, why do they feel so entitled?”

Baylor takes a deep breath. “Well, really it’s just that most of their parents have highly demanding careers and the children are often cast aside. Then the parents start to give them material things to make up for their absence. Eventually, the children start to normalize materialistic things as the things that matter.”

My head is spinning with all this information. Baylor and I have been friends for a while and she saved me when she let me roommate with her after I had to let go of my house, but now that I think about it we don’t really know each other all that well. “I would have never guessed. So, are all the students like that?”

She shakes her head. “No, not all. We do have some scholarship students that are amazing and some of the celebrity students do fine too. It all depends. I have a new student who just transferred and he’s been great.”

Something about the way her face changes when she brings up the new student makes me curious but I don’t want to pry. “Is he a new student to the school or just to your class?”

“The school, the city… all of it. His parents got killed in a car accident so he had to move here to live with his uncle who seems a little lost but he’s trying,” Baylor explains. Her eyes are a little dreamy looking so I can’t help but wonder. I don’t bring it up again and soon enough we get our order, we sit at one of the picnic tables along with a couple and enjoy our brunch.

After brunch we make our way to the spa. On the way, Baylor’s phone rings through the Bluetooth in the car. Summer’s name is dancing on the screen. Baylor answers, “Hey, doll face!”

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