Page 6 of Fake It Till You Break It
Either way, it would be a blast to hang out with them. Chill and relax. Listen to some new musicians and take advantage of the weather before it got too hot. In another time, that would have exactly been my scene. Before Finn left. Now I had sworn off all of that.
My phone went off again. But a different ringtone this time. Reserved to warn me of calls and texts from Finn.
Even if it weren’t for the ringtone, I’d still know it was him. Finn always texted me around this time from the cruise ship. Like clockwork. It didn’t matter if I never responded. Which I never did. Why should I? He was the one who left us right after graduation years ago. And barely a glance back or a wave goodbye to Mom and me. No phone calls. No emails. Nothing for practically two years.
And now, out of the blue, he suddenly wants to talk to us again? Mom talked to him every time, but I didn’t. Whyshould I? He had a family, and he ditched us. Simple as that. Just because he suddenly rememberednowthat he had a brother didn’t mean I had to accept it.
I crammed the last of the chocolate cookie in my mouth and dusted my hands on my black apron. Whatever. Time to get back to work before I picked up Mia. Those tomatoes weren’t going to cut themselves.
TWO HOURS LATER, Ialmost ran a red light racing to the theater. Crap, I was late. REALLY late.
There was a cherry soda explosion just as Mr. MacArthur came back, so by the time I actually left the store, it was already almost eight. The theater’s parking lot was nearly empty by then, but I could see Mia pacing around Carly’s car. Carly was this older chick who was the assistant director for the play Mia was helping out in. Something about… families? I think. She told me what it was about, but to be honest, I didn’t really remember. Mia talked a lot.
Judging by the way Mia was stomping her feet, I could tell she was pissed. I could practically see waves of irritation radiating off her body.
Great. First I had to deal with Thin Mayo Dude, then the soda explosion, and now this. Plus, my shirt was damp and sticky with soda. And I was pretty sure some of it was still in my hair. I had rushed out to pick up Mia and didn’t get toclean up. I could still feel it on my scalp. And it wasn’t a good feeling.
I pulled up next to the silver Accord. “Sorry I’m late. Let’s go home.”
Mia crossed her scrawny arms and didn’t budge. “You said you were only going to be alittlelate. If I had known it would take this long, I would have taken the bus or something.”
“Yeah, well, I could have been a lot later, so just be thankful for that. Now, can you move your ass?”
Still grumbling, she finally pulled open the car door and hopped in. “I swear I’m too nice. I should have just let you go home and deal with your mom on your own. Don’t know why I even bothered.”
I rolled my eyes at her martyr act. “Uh, you bothered because you knew thatyourmom would have been on your back all night if you didn’t come home with me.”
She wrinkled her nose but didn’t deny it.
Satisfied that I got the last word for once, I leaned over Mia’s lap and waved at Carly. “Thanks for keeping her company.”
She crossed her arms and smirked at us like we were a couple of kids she was babysitting. “No problem. Anything for Mia’s boyfriend.”
Mia shoved at my shoulder in front of her, but I deliberately didn’t move to piss her off. If anything, I leaned into her even more, practically lying on top of her. At least until she elbowed me in the ribs. Hard. With a grunt, I sat back in my seat.
“You know we’re not dating. I have better taste than that,” Mia complained as she pulled the rearview mirror down and combed her dark hair with her fingertips.
Carly just laughed as she walked back to her car. Her black boots clicked against the pavement. “Sure, you’re not. Not now anyway.”
“Not ever,” I called out as we pulled away. We sat in silence for a few minutes while Mia continued to fix her hair. “So she’s nice. A little crazy, but nice.”
She rolled her eyes and finally sat back. Her pink lips pursed together. “I think you mean a lot crazy. I mean, come on, us together?”
“True. That would be like if owls and hawks mated.”
“Exactly. Although I’m assuming that you’re the owl since you’re a nerd.”
I snorted. “Says the girl with a Harry Potter phone case.”
“Hey, you were the one who got it for me!”
“Only because my mom made me.” I switched on the left turn signal and merged into the lane. “Hold on, I need to grab some coffee to study tonight. Want anything?”
“Like I said, nerd.” Her fingertips tapped against the car door in a steady rhythm as I pulled into the drive-through line. “And no, I’m good.”
Sure she was.
There was static on the other end of the intercom. “Hi. Can I… your order?”
