Chapter 2: Strong Bucks and Water Holes

Seasons come and go

Such as the tree's sway in the wind and the elephants head to the water hole

As rain drops and forms a puddle, water makes its way down underground

But friendship is strong if it is pure

And purity means loyalty

Only pure friends can lead you down a path of happiness

-Shannon

"So Shannon what do you think of these shower hangings? Aren't they just adorable?" Sherry smiles at me uncertainly.

"Umm they are frog's grandma. For like three year olds." I use my smize to show I don't really mean any harm.

"Well I think they are cute!" Sherry humphs and we make our way down the isles of Bath and Body Works looking for some amazingly interesting object to catch my grandmothers eye so she can buy it.

Suddenly I stop and stare in my tracks. On a shelf in the bath section I see a really pretty leave shower curtain. I know what your thinking "this chick is psycho." But ever since I was young I've had an odd obsession with leaves. They just make me feel so calm and a part of a secret world which it seems that no one else is. My own personal world. Nature period inspires me the way trees are and how a spider weaves a web its fascinating. I turn to look at Sherry and realize shes gone. Crap! I'm probably going to get in trouble! I turn to go the other way and run into someone and start to stumble. "Oh sorry!" a masculine voice says and reaches out hands to keep me from falling. Looking up I see a pair of the friendliest blue eyes that I've seen and a wide smile. "I'm sooo sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going!" I cried out.

"It was nothing." he smiled and then turned on his way to go making his way toward the bedroom linens.

Turning to continue down the way I had came from Sherry popped out from nowhere. If I had known what the conversation was going to turn to then I would have ran in the opposite direction!

"So who was that strong buck? Nice catch Shannon!" Sherry winked at me, having no idea what she was referring too I plunged into the conversation.

"Sherry you know drugs are bad for you! Maybe you should stop cuz they are making you crazy!" I laughed and she just winked and laughed at me.

"I saw that guy who you ran into. I know all the tricks in the rulebook to catch a guy! Trust me back in the day the girls and I were super popular because we knew how to play the game." She grinned wolfishly.

"Gross I don't need to know about your dating in the dinosaur ages! And are you kidding? That guy was like 40!" I blushed totally embarrassed by my grandma's antics.

"Well you know what they say 'Age is just a number.' So it doesn't really matter." She laughed jokingly.

"Wasn't grandpa a lot older then you when you guys started dating?" I asked questioningly remembering a time when she talked about when she and 'Paul' had first met.

"Yeah I was 24 and he was 32. My friends always laughed and talked about how I always had flings with old men." She smiled with fondly remembrance on her face looking serene and calm: younger like she did not have a care in the world.

"So what were your friends like?" I asked curiously as we started down the aisles with all the fancy blue china and ugly cups collection.

"Well there were mainly three that I hung out with Anna, Christine and Margaret. Margaret was constantly made fun of for her name which people came up with a whole bunch of unflattering nicknames. So she was pretty much the crazy one out for revenge."

"Sounds like my friend Brina, except she doesn't get made fun of she just likes causing drama." Brina was defiantly that person who you didn't want to get on their bad side. Sherry smiled politely and continued her story.

"Anna was the smart and studious one. I swear if it wasn't for her I would have failed science." The smile lines on her face got even bigger, "And I'm sure Christine was the only normal one out of all of us except she was always constantly out and about, you know what they say a social butterfly."

"So we always stayed after school chattering until out parents came and scolded us to go home and do our chores or help watch our siblings."

"We also always came up with weird code names for things. Like a secret language that no one knew but us. Like for example we called water fountains water holes and shoelaces worms and sometimes they would be so ridiculous that we would laugh for hours." I was glad that my grandma seemed to have so much fun when she was younger. Nowadays she seemed to always be by herself except when I was with her.

"Oh look at these curtains! Aren't they beautiful?" She exclaimed and for some reason had a knowing look in her eyes.

I couldn't see what she liked about the ugly curtains. They were a dreadful puke green and had an ugly swirl pattern in purple as the design. I of course being the great granddaughter that I am decided to be nice. I mean if that was her taste then why not? So I decided to lie.

"Yeah they are great! Are you going to buy them?" Seriously hoping that she wouldn't I crossed my fingers and prayed for a miracle that I wouldn't have to stay at these curtains every time I went to the bathroom.

"I can't believe that you actually think that I have such bad taste! And even worse is that you would have let me buy them!" She spoke accusingly. Ah that's what the knowing look was for. She was testing me. Well she always did have weird eccentric tastes so it didn't seem too farfetched that she would want to buy something like ugly curtains.

"Well Sherry I never know when it comes to your tastes." Looking at each other we smiled the smile of family of oneness. She finally decided to buy the leave shower curtain that I had found earlier and we left. As much as I didn't want to go home she had to bring me back. Because everyone knows that happiness can only last so long.