I was the glad it was finally summer. Now I'd have two and a half months of wind whipping through my hair as I sped down the highway in my new convertible, endless hours on the beach trying to nail the perfect tan, and lots of time to spend with my totally awesome boyfriend of five months, Trent. This was going to be the summer to beat in all the upcoming summers of my life. Perfect would only pass as an understatement.
"Here's your change." I handed the middle aged woman a quarter and two dimes after I punched in the keys on the cash register. The only downfall was my job at Starbucks. I loved ordering and sipping iced coffee, not preparing it to hand out to other people! Of course, this wasn't my choice. My mother figured it'd be best for me to start prepping for the real world, even though senior year hasn't even begun. She probably thinks I'm still her little girl and that I never stopped spilling juice on the carpet and wearing pigtails. Well, she's going to have to wake up soon because in the next year and a half, Trent and I will be getting married and planning to start a family.
"Have a nice day," I reminded the woman as she turned and headed for the exit. Saying that over and over got pretty tiring after awhile.
A girl that looked about my age walked up to the register and began scanning the menu. After observing her for a minute, I realized it was Lana, my sworn enemy from freshman year. She was the one who caused my expulsion. I still had yet to get my revenge. "I'll have a mocha latte and a chocolate scone. Ooh yeah, and a black coffee with a large cinnamon roll. And extra frosting."
"Whoa, that's a lot of calories there, girl. Sure you wanna break your South Bitch - I mean Beach - diet so soon?" Meeting my eyes, her jaw dropped.
"Look who's back. Pyscho loser Rebecca Browning. Haven't seen you in awhile. I thought your parents had finally kicked your ass out once and for all."
"Be happy I'm on the job. Otherwise your head would be receiving a nice greeting with that countertop in a few seconds."
"Ooh, is that a threat? I'm sure your boss would like to hear all this."
"You know what, Lana? Just fork over the cash and get the hell out."
"Wow, aren't I a valued customer?" She chuckled, pushing her sunglasses up onto her forehead. "Well, I have to wait for my boyfriend. He's paying and he's in the bathroom."
"Nice, real nice. Next!" I called, wanting her to get out of my face and leave the restaurant. Just laying eyes on her made me want to go mad. How could any guy deal with a two-faced bitch like her?
After taking a couple of orders, I realized that Lana had apparently left. Breathing a sigh of relief, I turned to go and wash down some tables when I heard the bell ring. "Hello, I'm ready to order over here."
"I'm coming, I'm com-" I stopped short because there stood Chase, looking exactly how I'd left him. Dark brown bushy hair, light green eyes, surfer t-shirt. Everything I'd ever wanted in a boyfriend. "Hi. Um... what do you want?"
"I think my girlfriend already ordered for me," he mumbled awkwardly. "Was it a black coffee with a cinnamon roll, extra frosting?" My face fell. Chase was dating Lana? What a step down.
"Yeah, that's what Lana ordered. If that's who you're talking about." My voice was a little snappy, but I didn't care. Chase had been an asshole ever since he dumped me, so what was I expecting? An apology, a reconciliation, an engagement ring?
"Look Becca-" He paused for a moment and then corrected himself. "Rebecca. I wanted to apologize for everything that happened at PCA."
"That's cool, Chase. I'm totally over you. Didn't you hear about me and Trent?"
"Well, no, but that's beside the point. Our moms set us up because they thought we were compatible. Obviously we weren't exactly a match made in heaven like they thought, but that doesn't mean we can't be friends, does it?"
"Not really, but you can't expect me to be friends with you if you're dating Lana." I was glad there was no line forming behind Chase. Otherwise I'd probably have lost my job by now, and then I would go home and be mangled by my mother. "How about we take this outside?"
"Sure," he said, not wanting to look at me.
"I'm on break, guys!" I yelled to the other employees. Gina immediately took my place at the register.
We stepped outside. Chase had even held the door for me. He was a great ass kisser, if nothing else. "It's not going to be easy if we're at PCA and you hate me. What if we have classes together? What if-?"
"Just shut up and cool it, okay Chase? If we're going to make this work, I'll just try to be nice to you for starters. So... what's been going on in your life? Besides sex with Lana I mean."
"I'm not sleeping with Lana, okay? And if I was, you wouldn't need to know. We've only been going out for a week, and she's nothing compared to you."
Just as I was about to cut off his nonsensical rambling once more, his confession rang in my ears. Was Chase asking for forgiveness? "That's nice of you, Chase. Really, it is. But Trent and I love each other. We're getting matching piercings next week. It's gonna be awesome!"
"Well, that's nice to hear. Trent is that freakish looking goth guy that we used to make fun of, right?"
"Trent is not freakish looking, he's hot. Goth is the new prep. I never used to make fun of him because I always thought he was cute. He just never talked. He's just misunderstood, that's all."
"I hope you two are doing well." Chase looked up and smiled at me, and I couldn't help but to smile back. He was trying extremely hard at this, and at least we both had new companions to justify that we'd completely moved on.
Tilting his head back, he examined the clouds. "Do not bring up the weather," I scolded. "That will kill this effort."
"I wasn't going to," he insisted, turning back to me. "I was going to ask you about your plans for college."
"Who says I want to go? Trent and I are getting married as soon as I turn eighteen."
"Really? You'll be ready for marriage at eighteen, Rebecca?" Pulling out my pack of Malboros, I fished around in my smock for my lighter.
"I sure will. I'm confident Trent's the one."
"You smoke now?"
"Chase, I'm almost seventeen. I'm not that same fifteen year old brat whose heart you broke a little over a year ago. I've made some drastic changes in my life, and they're all for the better."
"Well, obviously not that change. Do you know how much you're destructing your body?" I took a drag and leaned up against the brick wall.
"Trent turned me onto it. He says it's a painkiller. A little boy like you wouldn't understand."
"No, I guess I wouldn't. Because I would never let my girlfriend pressure me into doing anything that I either wasn't ready for, or didn't need in my life."
"Whatever Chase. You know Zoey was the one who told you to break up with me, you'll just never admit it."
"You know it all, Rebecca. You know it all. Zoey had nothing to do with that situation. I made that decision for myself."
"Keep telling yourself that, Lana lover."
"I think I'm done trying, Rebecca. You obviously don't want me around you anymore, and I can accept that. I hope you'll realize that smoking won't solve any of your problems, and neither will acting like a tough chick. Trust me, my old friend Dana tried it, and it just didn't work."
His cell phone buzzed. "It's a text from Lana. She's waiting for me inside. Goodbye, Rebecca."
When the door slammed, I slunk down to the cold pavement below. Who was Chase to try and give me advice? He'd hurt me without care or caution. Why should I listen to him? I took another drag, pondering this.
No matter what my mother thinks, I'm not a little kid anymore. Maybe I could learn from Chase, though. He was the first guy that I thought I loved, and maybe he did have some wisdom to share. Even though he was dating Lana now, he was a part of my past. I could always look back on him and wonder what the hell I'd been thinking - in more ways than one.
Checking my watch, I sighed and stubbed out my cigarette. In a way, I wished I could just drop it there and have the whole building catch fire with Lana crumbling to her knees and melting inside. But I needed to get over myself and realize that holding grudges wouldn't get me anywhere. Only burning bridges would.