Later that day, Elie was in her room unpacking a few of her things. She had just got off the phone with her parents and got into one of the worst arguments with them in her entire life. She had just stopped crying and didn't know what else to do. She sat on her bed and covered her face with her hands. She could feel her dry tears on her face. Crying is what she has done every day since she was really young.

She walked into her bathroom and turned the light on followed by the water and let the water run until it was warm. She went to her hall closet and grabbed a towel. She walked back into the bathroom. She placed her hand under the water and felt that the water was warm enough to splash on her face. And,that is exactly what she did. She cupped her hands under the running water and then splashed it on her face. She did that several more times before taking a deep breath and looking at herself in the mirror.

She hated everything about her.She hated her attitude, her way of living, her family, her lonliness, her looks, and mostly her personality. Her personality is what she wanted to change more than anything else in her life. She shut the water off, unfolded the towel, and dried her face off. She shut the light off and walked into her room where she turned her radio on. It was on commercial and she groaned. She hated that about radio stations. They played too many commercials. She lied down on her bed and waited for a song to play.

Five-thirty came around and Bradin was walking up to Elie's apartment. He knocked on the door and the door opened seconds later revealing Elie. "Hey," he said.

"Hi," she said walking out and shutting the door behind her.

"How are you?"

"I'm good. How about you?"

"I'm all right. I was thinking that we could go out to eat and then just walk along the beach for a while."

"Sounds good. Can I pick where to go?"

"Please tell me it's not Mona's Bar," he begged.

"No. I found this place on my morning jog yesterday. It's a place called...Pete's Grill?" she asked trying to think of the correct name.

"I know what place you mean."

"Was I close at all?"

"Yeah. Very close," he said smiling and they started walking to the restaurant. "How do you like Playa Linda so far?" he asked.

"It's...different than New York. Hotter guys that are more stuck up and concided than the ones in New York. There are more activites to do."

"Do you like it?"

She shrugged. "I've only ran by everything but Mona's Bar and a store where I buy my food and stuff. So, I don't know if I like it or not."

"What about the people?"

"Most of them are self-centered bitches," she told him, "I accidentally walked into a person that I didn't know was behind me and they flipped out."

He laughed. "What? she asked.

"You're funny," he said and received a strange look from her, "No one I know says 'flipped out'. I find it funny that you do."

"And that's another thing about people here," she continued, "They make fun of me because I don't look or act or sound like any of them. Shoot me now before I go shoot someone."

"I don't think so," he said.

"Why not?"

"I'd miss you," he said making her smile. He smiled back. "It will take a while to get used to this place. Hell, I've been here for almost two years and I'm still trying to get used to it."

"Really?"

"Yeah," he told her, "Playa Linda is great. However, I can't get used to the fact that this is where I'm going to live for the rest of my life."

"You don't have to live here for the rest of your life, you know," she told him.

"I know. But, I can't see myself living anywhere else for the rest of my life."

"What if you meet a girl and she wants to move away from Playa Linda?"

"Then, that depends on where she wants to live," he said, "And, it also depends on how much I want to be with her."

"And, why don't you have a girlfriend?" she asked.

"I don't really like anyone near my age here. Well, there is one. But, I don't think she likes me."

"Ask her about it. It won't hurt," she said.

"I know. But, we only hung out a couple times. I don't think she knows the real me yet."

"Well, let her get the chance to know the real you. I'm sure you're not that bad."

He smiled thanking God that Elie didn't figure out that she was the girl they were talking about. For the next ten minutes walking to the restaurant were amazing. Both of them were laughing and having a great time just like the night they met and talked for hours on the rock.