The level of warmth in the fast-food place they chose was comforting. Not as sweltering as the weather outside and not too stuffy either.
Three large plastic cups of orange juice, a tuna sandwich for Storm and Adana, and a cheeseburger for Leilani, and lastly fries for everyone sat before them.
After being served, Leilani took a cautious sip through her loop-shaped straw and observed her friend closely with narrowed eyes. "You ready to talk now, Dana?"
Adana would've loved to get rid of the damp mood in the atmosphere between the two of them but she bit down the comment about her name. "Just a bad case of the flu, nothing else."
Storm took his time chewing and swallowing a piece of French fry before countering her explanation. "The flu huh, but you didn't call or text Leilani," he started, "and you look like you went through something more than the flu."
Adana lowered her head, her hunger forgotten. "It was a really nasty case of
Glancing at his wristwatch, he tapped his feet left with nothing to do. The single drop of perspiration rolling down his back wasn't helping matters either. Asking her this question was a huge step for him and the fact that she seemed to be late contributed to his fidgety state.Mr. Yale kept babbling on and on about the history of something he wasn't keeping track of. History of art? Whatever it was, Lake couldn't stop alternating between his watch and the door.As if the world was finally working in his favor, the door banged open and there she stood, panting and covered in a light sheen of sweat but he wasn't complaining because he was no different.Still recovering from her light run, Adana apologized to the teacher, and wanting the attention of the class off her, she hurriedly searched for an empty seat. Familiar dark eyes and dimpled cheeks smiled at her, patting the seat beside th
With Adana now at the base of the stairs, he went back to his game. His body battled with the console without restraint but his mind was a thousand miles away. Thinking back to this weekend.That boy knew Adana. He didn't know why he felt a twinge of jealousy that she knew another guy. He didn't have any control over her or her decisions.They had all driven back in silence, the boy passed out immediately his head made contact with the leathery seats of his car.Leilani gave him instructions to her place and exited the car after a short 'goodbye', exchanging meaningful gazes with her friend in the back seat through the rearview mirror. Making sure to adjust Sean so he was comfortable, Adana went to sit at the front.After a two-minute silence which felt like a century to Storm, he asked, "so what do you think we do to him?"She knew who he was referring to and honestly, she was clueless. "I don't kn
A heavy screen of light grey smoke, blanketed her face, filling her nose. The rough feel of the fume rushing into her mouth and traveling into her slowly failing lungs helped numb the activities of the day away and the medium-hard cylindrical tube gave her a sense of control.Tapping the butt of the stick on an ashtray she tricked one of her dummies into getting for her, she released the toxic puff into the polluted climate of the room.A loud bang resonated through the house, knocking the death stick out of the loose grip of her thumb and index finger.Protesting under her breath, she threw the sundress strewn negligently over the back of the couch on, tidied the living area, and dragged her feet to the door taking look through the peephole.It couldn't have been her cousin back from school. The clock reminded her that it was just a little past eleven.After a li
Mrs. Turner's hooded eyes examined the class down her crooked nose and proceeded with her lecture. It didn't matter that continuous shuffling, clicking, sniffing, and murmuring filled the void of her high-pitched voice when she turned to write something on the board or nobody bothered interrupting her or answered her indirect questions.The only thing Adana could focus on was her growing discomfort as a lone drop of sweat traveled down her back and between her breasts. The little bulges right below her high-waisted skirt gathered moisture in between each other. A shower sounded like heaven to her at this point.A unified round of thankful sighs sounded through the class when the bell saved them from the torment that was History.She assembled the notebooks on her desk and stayed back letting the more eager students wrestle their way to the doors. No use risking grinding clammy bodies with others.Wal
Three days and her mother hadn't returned. She kept the house in a presentable state and ordered takeout food with what was left of her salary but that was also drying out. Money. She needed it.An extra job would help but how long would she continue eating out before her mother came home?
"Pomeranian dog, Chow chow, Labrador Retriever, Golden Retriever, Havanese, and French bulldog." The girl ticked off each breed with a finger and gave her friend a 'duh' look."What?" She petted the dark, furry dog beside her. "My mom is a vet after all.""But you didn't tell me she made you learn a gazillion breed names." Her friend retorted still in awe."If we stand here all day, what the hell are we paid for?" Pushing friend down the steps of the park, they shared the leeches among themselves, agreeing that Adana would take the three small or average dogs while Leilani, the bigger dogs."Do we have a routine or something?" Adana paused, yielding to the dull ache in the sole of her feet.Her friend hadn't been kidding when she told her they would walk six energetic dogs much less under the sun whose mission seemed to be to give her sunburn. Bad sunburn."Yeah, we'll walk around the park for a while and let them go then giv
Every morning differed for Adana and as she stirred in her half-asleep state, she hissed at the pain that shot up from her legs to her arms, hol ding her in a painful grip.Her legs felt heavier than lead from the late-night scrubbing Helen had dragged her to do, with the excuse that she had been expecting guests the next morning. Still cursing and mumbling, she padded across the hall and stood at the base of the stairs bracing her mind for the heated argument.A few more steps down, the view of Helen screaming her heart out at a half-naked man on the other side of the living room caused her to wrap the sheer material tighter around her."What did you do with it, damn it?" Helen screeched and threw the thick blanket beside her at the man. It made it halfway."I swear I didn't do nothing!" Wrong answer because Helen growled and bent to pick up a used ceramic bowl. The new one.
The question rang in her mind, creating a chilling echo.The bottle in her hand gained ten pounds and she stilled. What could she say that would satisfy his determination to get an answer? By the way, his jaw set, all traces of his attention wavering seemed impossible."Who are you supposed to be?!"The screech seemed like an answer from heaven and the worse kind of sound."Where is your ID?" She pushed on ignoring the stares nearby shoppers gave her. "I don't remember appointing you for this. Look at you." She used her eyes to sweep over Adana's worn-out beanie and jeans, her lips drawn down at the corners and nose scrunched up as if Adana stank.Storm cleared his throat and stood in front of her, cutting her hostile reviewing of Adana off much to her relief. "Of course you appointed her." He offered a disarming smile and Brittany visibly melted."No, I
"Do you have a date to the dance?" Riley shifted his weight from one foot to the other."Are you asking me to the dance?" Celia stuffed a textbook in her locker. She had to keep her cool. Can't have her slight crush on him show. "Uh Yes, but it's okay if you don't want to go with me, I mean why would you wanna be seen with Humpty Dumpty, I—""Riley." She turned to him staring at his sneakers. "Don't."He sighed. 'I understand. I'll see you around?"She gathered all her courage to make eye contact with him. "I don't have a date to the dance, Riley."The reddish tint of his ears and nose didn't go unnoticed to her while he fiddled with his bag strap. "Is that a yes?""Do you want it to be?""Yes.""Then yes." She smiled through the pain of suppressing a full-blown smile. "I'll go with you."Shock registered on his face for a while but he quickly recovered with a beam. "Awesome, I'll see you
Exams. Why did they exist in the first place? To torture students or to just rate their ability to master topics that wouldn't aid them in the real world? She could go on with being diplomatic about it but it didn't get rid of the fact that this test would crush her. A fat and proud 'D-' on her History paper when she got it back and was called into the principal's office due to the saddening decline in her grades. She could see it all happening."I'm going to flunk the paper, Lani." She groaned into her elbow. "So bad, nobody will see it coming."Her friend's hand come up in a 'hold on' position. "You're going to do fine and will get a C at best."With an eye roll, Adana gave her the stink eye. "Is that meant to make me feel better?"Leilani mirrored her earlier action, not breaking her gaze with her phone. "Sort of?""Wow, I feel so motivated.""That's my girl.""Who are you texting anyway?" Adana scrunched her brows. "No one special," Leilani muttered lowering her head. The slig
Wisps from the cigar end infused the air as she took a big inhale, releasing through her nostrils."How are you gonna pay up the credit?" The man beside her asked, lifting a bottle to his lips.The stars ahead beg for their attention as they conversed. "I don't know but I'll pay up okay? ""Boss is getting suspicious and it gets harder to keep things from him." He lifted his shoulders in what should be a shrug. "I got a few friends that owe me a favour tho, and I can easily pay off the debt myself.""But?" Nothing goes for nothing with the man, she had come to learn over the treacherous path which defined their 'friendship'. "I wanna taste a certain broad." He salivated on his thick lips. "See if bigger is always bett—""Don't."His now empty bottle clanged against the floor. "You don't have a roof over your head, your debt is causing trouble, and did I mention you're homeless?!"Her nose flared, eyes darkening. "You lay a hand on her and there's no telling what I'll do to you.""I do
Slivers of sunlight peeked through the blinds piercing the darkness in the room where she laid in her back staring at the ceiling. She had refused to go out since the interrogation perusing how little she had knowledge of.The smell of pizza filled the room giving it an Italian diner's aroma though the room looked like a birds' nest. Maybe a birds next was a bit more organized than this. The pizza boxes of the past week littered the floor and her bedside table, her phone laid on the bed on airplane mode to elude the numerous messages and phone calls she had been getting.A knock sounded from her door but she groaned and rolled over. Nobody but her had occupied this room since the interrogation last week. It wasn't as if she didn't want to go out but the possibility of Helen jump out from the shadows and attacking her were high. Staying indoors wasn't the safest way to go but the harmless and easiest."You've been in there
Small wisps of smoke emitted out of the cup of cocoa on the breakfast table, the gleam of the sun reflected off it and unto her face. Her fingers swiped and tapped endlessly on the phone in her hand. The clattering behind her seized and the sunlight got blocked out by a particularly curious shadow."You're on that picturegram thingy again." Sarah pointed out and."Instagram, mom." Celia rolled her eyes and narrowed it at a particular post. "It's called ÏÑSTĀGRÂM.""Whatever it's called, you can do it after breakfast and right before first period." Sarah turned away to switch off the cooker. When her daughter continued, she cleared her throat loudly. Celia sighed and dropped her phone on the table."Mom, do you think it's possible to skip P.E?"Sara carried her tray to the table, sitting across her daughter. "Why would you want to skip P.E?"Celia lowered her eyes, playing with a piece of toast. For the past week, she'
She looked so calm and helpless in this state but that illusion contrasted with the truth. Steady beeping being the only sound in the room, kept her company as Adana took in every curve of her soft face. "What have I done to deserve this?" She sighed. "I never went against your rules as a child. Everything changed so fast." In the blink of an eye, the eyelids which were previously closed lifted open and those eyes, a clone of hers stared back at her. The blank expression lasted only a second before morphing to one of anguish and anger. The woman on the bed, dressed in the light hospital gown sat up. "You deserve everything I'm doing to you." She started to rise, not taking mind of the connected drip to her hands. "Every single thing, you deserve!" "No." Adana placed a hand on her chest her eyes widening significantly. Mom couldn't be waking back up and comi
"What?" Lake bolted upright in his seat. "When? Where is sh—"He quietened down, listening to the explanation given over the phone and nodding every now and then. Storm and Celia exchanged looks over the table as their mom came in from the kitchen.Just as Lake ended the call, Storm voiced his question. "Dude what was that about who was it?"Lake took a second to soak in everyone's curious expressions before saying, "It was Adana.""And?""She was in an accident." Lake takes off his reading glasses to massage the bridge of his nose while reeling from the new information. "She only called to let us know that's why she won't be in school for this week or until everything is resolved."Celia clicked her tongue in her mouth and shook her head. "I saw the news this earlier this morning but didn't know you guys knew the girl involved. It wasn't a pretty sight. Can't imagine how she must feel."Sara stood from her chair and came
Her uneven breathing made too much noise in the new deadening silence. She had been recovering from the nightmares haunting her when she heard a scream from downstairs, followed by a crash.A slither of sweat traveled down the middle of her back, a remnant of the viscous dream. She flipped the switch and watched as the light glow bathed the room. The shabby couch where Helen slept on most nights, was turned over and the woman herself faced down flat on the floor."Mom?" Her voice came out tight with nerves. "Are you okay?"Dear God!As she got closer, the blood rushed away from her face and her heart ran for the hills. A crimson pool had formed around Helen's head, her eye which was visible from this side was wide open and
The voices floated around the café as more people came in for lunch break. There seemed to be even more people than usual today. Lucas served twice as fast, Mrs. Briggs used more materiels at once and Adana and Diego tried to take as many orders in as possible.Adana wiped her brow with her forearm and squared her shoulders just as another couple walked in. She made a beeline to the table. "Welcome to Big B's Café, what's your order.""Adana?"Her head which was concentrated on her poised pencil over her small notepad snapped to the wide eyes of the woman at the table and she choked on a gasp."You didn't tell me you worked here?" It came out as a shocked question to anyone listening but Adana could just here the implore