The old dilapidated truck inched its way across the intersection, taking its precious time, despite the fact of the trail of cars the tailed behind him, the occasional honk ringing throughout the air.
Christine bit her lower lip, her left arm resting on the car door. The window was rolled down, making way for summer air to blow through the car, not exactly helping with the heat. She sighed and switched the radio on, her dead phone in the cup holder, ear buds splayed out next to it.
Music burst through the old Hyundai's speaker, jolting her from her lazy summer relaxation. This major street would have had Christine on her toes on any other day, but this truck driver had to be going twenty miles an hour.
Passion Pit's "Carried Away" finished, silencing the air for a few moments before bursting into more song. The tell tale beginning notes of Ariana Grande's "The Way" sounded, drawing Christine's attention back to the truck. Finally! The light blue pickup turned into a neighborhood, the car behind Christine breaking out in cheers.
Christine gave up and finally rolled the windows up, cranking on the AC that barely even worked anymore. "You give me that kind of something. Want it all the time need it everyday", she sang along with Ariana, her voice breaking through the fuzzy song. Some would say she was better than the Nickelodeon actress herself.
The mall loomed ahead of her, signaling Christine to turn her blinker on. The eighteen-year old girl parked at the mall's parking lot, scanning for Meg's shiny, straight blond hair, Sierra's brown-red locks, or Emmy's light brown waves.
Not spotting them, Christine stepped out of the car, hit with yet another wave of summer heat. She sighed and smoothed down her light gray circle skirt perched above her hips. Her white converse gleamed in the bright sun, and her neon pink crop top fluttered in the slight breeze.
She shaded her eyes, searching for her best friends. Her messy bun tickled the back of her perfectly tanned neck.
"Christine!" someone jumped out from behind her, scaring the crap out her. "Ahhhh!" she screamed, jumping back.
"God, Christine! Chill!" Meg laughed, coming around her car to embrace her best friend. Emmy covered her mouth with her hand, trying to stop her laughter.
Christine waved to Sierra, who was also chuckling. From the other side, someone embraced her, wrapping strong arms around her waist.
Without having to look, Christine leaned into his touch. "Raoul", she whispered. She pulled him in for a kiss, her friends wolf-whistling around her.
"What are you doing here?" she asked him, smiling at him as she ran her fingers through her wind-blown curls.
"Haha, I guess we forgot to tell you. It's like, Clear Creek's reunion! Before we all part ways to college", Sierra said with a dramatic flourish.
Christine giggled. "Aww, that's a great idea!" She turned towards an old Volkswagen van that had just pulled up, and several more of Christine's friends and their boyfriends poured out.
"Alright, people, listen up. Panera and then beach, okay?" Meg yelled over the excited murmurs of everyone.
They all cheered, and soon couples held each other close, best friends forever linked arms, and a couple of the football guys punched each other playfully on the arm, laughing.
Meg and Sierra linked arms in front of Christine and Raoul, giggling and laughing at what they said to each other. Emmy quietly held hands with Ethan, her new boyfriend. He was super cute, but also really shy.
"I'll be right back", Christine murmured to Raoul. who nodded and went to join the other guys. She wrapped her arms around Sierra and Meg, interrupting their conversation.
"Guys! I wish you had told me we were going to the beach. I don't have a swimsuit", Christine told them.
Sierra giggled. "Don't worry, we got you covered". She held up a Target bag Christine hadn't noticed before.
"Thanks!" She glanced over her shoulder at Raoul, who was messing around with the rest of the guys, and continued walking next to Sierra and Meg until they reached Panera's outdoor patio.
Raoul inched beside her and grabbed her waist again as everyone poured into a messy line at the cashier. Around her , Christine saw old ladies talking over French onion soup, despite the ninety degree weather outside. Panera staff lazily talked together, perking up when they saw the big crowd walk in. A couple of sophomore girls rolled their eyes at the tittering college freshman, and continued to rapidly type on their phones, probably sending tweets.
Christine sighed and inched closer to Raoul, holding him tight. In a week she would be off to college. Meg, Raoul, and herself had managed to get into the same college; it had even already been planned that Christine and Meg would room together. But Sierra and Emmy had taken their interests elsewhere, contemplating Julliard at first, but then deciding against it and moving onto a state college.
Christine had lived in the small but prosperous town of Clear Creek ever since her family adopted her, when she two years old. She had fit in perfectly with the family, even gaining a younger sister, Courtney in the process. Her mother had been MIA since a few weeks after she was born, and her father had died of cancer when she was one and a half.
She had a wonderful adopted family, but adoption had never been kinder to anyone. She was a star tennis player, having just relieved her position of co-captain because of college. She had a bunch of friends, and her phone was constantly buzzing with offers or hellos, asking the popular girl to go for some coffee at Starbucks or go to the beach was some friends. But only a few of those kids stuck with her throughout the years.
Meg and her had become immediate friends in preschool, clicking and staying that way through current day. Raoul and Christine had met in kindergarten, even having a pretend wedding in the middle of first grade. Soon, it became serious and they began dating in freshman year, still close and firmly together.
"What do you want, Little Lotte?" Raoul quietly asked her, eyeing the menu.
"Raoul! I told you not to use that name for me!" she playfully punched his arm.
"But no one heard!" he fake-whined, leading Christine to punch him arm again.
"Fine", she mock-grumbled.
The line quickly progressed as all ten of the now-college-freshman ordered their food, much to the annoyance of the cashier and staff, who were mostly college students themselves.
Several heated glares and squeals of laughter later, they were filing out of Panera, brown paper bags with bread logos in hand.
A young woman and her two small children were tugging their way into the mall, pointing and laughing. The little boy fell lightly on the hot asphalt and soon broke out in tears. The mother let go of the little girl for a second to pick up the boy, his curly blond hair falling into tear-streaked face. It was enough time for the little girl to walk over to Christine and Raoul, her blond pigtails fluttering in the warm breeze.
"You're pretty", she said to Christine shyly, smiling.
Raoul nodded beside Christine. "Thank you! So are you", Christine told her.
"I agree. She's pretty sexy", Raoul said to the little girl. The mother overheard, snatching her little girl up again and frowned at Raoul.
"I'm sorry, Ma'am", Christine called to the retreating mother's back. She just turned and glared at both of them, just as the little girl asked her, "Mommy? What does sexy mean?"
"God Raoul, did you have to?" Christine chuckled. She tossed her purse into the back seat and Raoul ducked into the passenger seat.
"What? I just told her the truth!" he protested as Christine shut the car door of the driver's seat.
"Mhm", she said, not starting the car yet, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed in mock disappointment.
"Trust me, it's true", he said. He leaned over the middle console and drew her in for a kiss. She closed her eyes, feeling that wonderful feeling that reverberated from their kiss to her entire body.
"We're going to be the last ones there", she murmured, reluctantly pulling away.
"I wouldn't care", he grumbled.
"And I wouldn't either. But the fact that we're the only ones in the car, and that we're a couple at that, I think everyone's going to figure out what we were doing", she laughed.
"Well then let them see. It's a relationship, not a crime", he pecked her on the lips once more before she started the car, slowly backing out of the parking lot.
Christine turned the radio back on and began to hum in tune, the windows wide open as the wind blew threw her hair, messing up her bun even more.
Raoul looked at her. "Christine I had no idea I was dating a singer", he smiled at her, resting his hand on her lap.
"You aren't", she said simply.
"Hell yeah I am. I never got a chance to tell you how beautiful you sang at graduation. Even Mr. Walker was almost in tears", he said, referring to their no-nonsense principal. Christine blushed. He was talking about when she sang the Star-Spangled Banner during graduation.
"Thank you Raoul", she glanced over at him and smiled.
"Well, you deserved it. It was like you had an angel of music teaching you".
She laughed at his absurd thought. "No Raoul, no angel of music".
