Tamira
Sean moped around all day. It made me sad to see him that way because I was used to the come-what-may Sean.
I briefly wondered if he'd been this sad when he and I broke up. But that was selfish and cruel of me, and I wished I could take back that thought as soon as it crossed my mind.
Sean was one of the best friends I had ever had. One time, he had single-handedly raised almost $1600 for me, so I could stay on the boat when money got tight. He cared about me and he always tried his hardest to see to it that I had the best…and I tried to do the same for him. I no longer liked him, but I still loved him.
"Can I get a chocolate milk, Tams?" Jimmy asked, coming up to the counter. I quickly took my eyes away from the sight of Sean sitting alone and reading a James Dean biography.
"Uh, sure," I told him, got him a carton and said, "Seventy-five cents, please. Thanks. Hey, Jimmy? What's the name of the restaurant that supposedly made you sick?"
"Sarah's, why? Are you gonna sue? That would be cool, making Canada go bankrupt and stuff!"
"Well…no…" I looked at the floor, trying to think of an excuse. But I'd never been good at lying before, so I didn't see how I would start being good at lying now. "Actually yes, I want to cause Canada's bankruptcy."
"Awesome." He held up his milk as if to say cheers before he left to sit down with Sean. Sean jumped, apparently not expecting company. Then his grin changed his entire face, making him look like the genuine, happy guy I knew.
That made my mind up. I hated not being able to see that smile every time I looked at him. I looked around and spotted Ashley bragging about something to Alex. I ran over and handed her my apron. "Ashley, can you please, please fill in for me? I won't be long, I swear!"
"You mean--you want me to work?" she asked, completely baffled.
"Not for long! You just have to smile and do what the customer wants."
Alex grinned at her. "Hey, you're used to that, Ashley."
Pursing her perfectly painted lips, she glared at him in silent anger.
"Please? I owe you big time, Ash," I begged.
"Got that right, Sugar," she said, giving in.
"Thank you so much, Ashley," I said quickly and then ran out of the café.
Sean
"Wanna play Ninja Destroyer?" Jimmy asked.
"No, not really, Jimbo. I think I'm gonna start racking my brain and try to come up with something for our assignment," I told him, looking up from my book.
"Are you feeling more Sean-like now that you've had a chance to open up to Floom-Floom?"
"Okay, shut up, I did not open up to Floom-Floom," I snapped.
"You had a heart to heart!"
"I did not, you're delusional."
"But have you forgotten all about…you know." He winked and elbowed me. "Z-O-W-E-E."
"Zow-wee?"
"Good, you're catching on."
I rolled my eyes.
"Arg, you're still sad."
"Meh."
He got an evilly happy look on his face. "You can't RUN! You can't HIDE!"
"Don't do it, Jimmy," I warned, trying hard not to smile.
"You can't even leave your phone off the hook! WHY?!"
I threw my hands up in the air in theatrical horror. "Brain sucking creatures from the planet Kilgore?!?! AGHGHGHGHHH!!!"
"I missed you little buddy!" Jimmy cried.
I buried my face in my hands and hit my head repeatedly against his shoulder. "I miss Zoey!"
Tamira
When I go to the mall, I hardly ever have to use the "You are HERE" directories because I have a good sense of direction, so I only had to stop and ask for help once trying to find Sarah's.
Stepping inside, I was greeted by the smell of fries and cinnamon, which I thought was an odd combination. There were paintings of harbors and sailboats and other ocean scenes hanging on the walls. I walked across the polished hardwood floor to the front till.
"Can I help you?" a girl asked, with the almost Scottish sounding accent that I had been hearing everywhere in Halifax. She was effortlessly polite and charming.
"Yes," I replied. "Is a girl named Zoey coming in here to work today?"
"Zoey?" After checking the clock, she said, "She should be checking in here in about…five minutes, at four-thirty."
I briefly wondered if she had said "aboot" or if that was just my imagination.
"Okay, thank you," I said, wondering where I should wait for the five minutes.
"Can I get you a place to sit, Miss?" When I smiled and nodded, she led me to a table for two. "What can I get you to drink?"
"Oh, I don't have any money on me--"
"It's on me. You look worried. It's the least I can do for you."
I briefly wondered if Canadians in general were this nice or if she was just a freak of nature. I meant that in a nice way.
"That's really nice of you. An orange pop, please."
I sipped at my drink, skimming over the newspaper the waitress had brought to me.
"Wooh, I ran here from my house and I'm going to collapse, I'm sorry!"
I looked up from an article about cod depletion to see Zoey running through the front door, pulling her hair into a ponytail. She disappeared through the door marked Employees Only.
It was too early for much business at the restaurant. Besides me, the only patrons were a mother and daughter.
Zoey noticed me on her way to give the cook the mother and daughter's order. She slowed down considerably, looking panicked, then smiled uncertainly and walked past. I sighed in defeat. She was just going to ignore me, I realized.
A few moments later, she came back and sat down across from me. "Tamira, how are you?
"I'm okay." I smiled. Actually it was kind of a half-smile/half-wince. "Are you too busy to talk?"
"Not yet. In about fifteen minutes this place will be crammed." She looked at me expectantly, her eyes wide. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Oh, come on, Zoey, you know why I'm here."
She glanced down at her hands. "Sean."
"Yep."
"What about him?"
"You can't let him leave without giving him a chance to say goodbye, Zoey," I told her strongly but gently.
She shrugged. "He said goodbye to me last night when he pushed me away."
I wasn't very good at talking people, and I didn't know how to convince her. I just sighed. "He's been miserable ever since last night. You should see him. He doesn't really talk to anyone…except Jimmy claims he's been confiding in a teddy bear, but Jimmy is somewhat strange…but anyway, you really made him fall for you."
She searched my face for sincerity. After a long silence, she asked, "So what do I do?"
Ashley
I was glad I was rich. Working was hard.
Sean
I pulled my shirt up over my head and pretended to bludgeon Jimmy brutally, crying in my alien voice, "EEE EEE EEE EEE!!!!"
"Nooooo!!!" Jimmy screamed. Just another victim of the brain sucking creatures from the planet Kilgore.
Max, Cassidy and Denise walked by us, about to jump in the pool by the looks of their bathing suits.
Denise muttered, "So guys' brains just stop developing at the age of eight, huh?"
Staring at me in disappointed disbelief, Cassidy said, "I liked you better when you were heartbroken, Sean."
Max volunteered, "I never liked you, Sean."
"Didn't take you long to get over her, did it?" Cassidy said, looking at me like I was some insensitive cretin.
"Whatever, Cassidy," I replied, my improving mood retreating back to the farthest corners in my mind.
Jimmy threw his arm around me. "Sean doesn't let girls make him act like a zombie for any longer than half a day, isn't that right, Sean?"
I groaned.
"Oh no!" he cried.
"What?" Cassidy demanded.
"He has the glazed look in his eyes again!" Jimmy stopped to lick his lips. "Mmm…doughnuts…Hey, why do they call them doughNUTS?"
"My bed is calling me," I told them and began to saunter my way back to my room.
"Sean," Cassidy called. "Stay with us! We'll cheer you up!"
"Cassidy, let him go. He needs to talk to Floom-Floom," Jimmy told her, trying to be sympathetic for me.
"I do not!" I cried, and decided I might escape some ridicule if I just stayed out of my room where Floom-Floom lurked. Jimmy claimed he had heard me talking through the door and was spreading the rumour around the boat. He hadn't believed me when I tried to tell him it was Floom-Floom that had been talking, not me.
Jimmy's voice held a wistful note. "Just think Sean, less than twenty-four hours ago, you and Zoey were cuddling in THAT VERY CHAIR and all was right in the world. And now you're all alone. Time does fly, doesn't it?"
"Arrrrrrrrg," I grumbled and flopped onto a different chair. I decided it would be best if no one spoke to me for awhile, so I figured maybe if I didn't move they would all think I was dead and they wouldn't bother me.
