Once she had gotten enough minutes of extra sleep, Katie collected her skateboard and made her way over to Chaz and Tim's house next door, finally prepared for to show off her skills to them. She was planning on inviting Crystal along for the ride, but then she remembered that the rebel was going to be busy with delivering all of her applications off to every pharmacy in Simport this afternoon; so, it seems like she's going to be on her own on this one. She sent her best friend a text, wishing her 'good luck' on her 'application-delivery' task; then Katie proceeded to exit her house.
Upon arriving at the house to the left, Katie saw Chaz and Tim talking to each other about something while sitting on their own front-porch. She gave them a wave as she walked up to the two men. "Hey guys, I'm here!" The tomboy greeted. "I hope you guys haven't forgotten about what we've planned together last night."
"I know I haven't." Chaz said as he stood up from his lawn-chair, picking up his skateboard that was leaning against the nearby wall. "I'm glad to see that you haven't either."
"Eh, what can I say? It's sometimes hard for me to forget most things nowadays." The tomboy said in a slightly joking manner, before looking over to the biker's car that was parked in the driveway. "So, shall we be going now?"
"Sure thing." Chaz pulled his car-keys out of his pocket, then turned to look at his best friend. "Come on, dude; let's go."
"Alright." Tim stood up from his chair and went over to Katie in order to say something to her. "Before we go, I just want to give you a bit of a heads up about me, Kate: I don't actually know how to ride a skateboard, unlike you and Chaz; so, I'm case you see me sitting down on one of the benches, as opposed to riding around with you and everyone else, that's pretty much why."
"Honestly, you don't look like the kind of person who'd know how to anyway." Katie stated before shrugging her shoulders. "No offense, dude."
"None taken." Tim stated before his expression faltered soon afterwards, and then muttering something under his breath that the tomboy could hear quite clearly. "You wouldn't be the FIRST person to tell me that..."
It was around this time that the three were now entering the biker's car. Chaz was, of course, in the driver's seat; Katie sat in the front-seat next to him; and Tim was sitting in the back, which was thankfully cleared out. Once they were all buckled-up, the biker started up his car and then began to back out of the driveway; and then once he was out on the road, the biker proceeded to drive off to the direction of where the park was.
As they sat there in complete silence, Katie couldn't help but listen to the music playing on the radio as she waited for their arrival; the song that was currently playing was 'Can't Stop' by the Red Hot Chili Peppers. It wasn't exactly one of the bands that she listens to, but she knew that this was one of Crystal's personal favorites; so, she didn't mind nodding her head to this song. Eventually, Chaz took notice of his new tomboyish friend enjoying the music to herself; this was also the moment when he decided to break the silence and start a conversation with her.
"So, you're a fan of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, I see." Chaz said as he stared at her for a second, before facing forward at the road ahead of them once again. "You know, Tim and I went to one of their concerts up in Augusta just the other day."
"Well, I do indeed have a liking for all things rock; but I mostly prefer pop-punk over all types of that specific genre." Katie stated as she picked up her skateboard off the floor in front of her, tapping on it as she showed it to him. "I believe the reason behind that is...pretty obvious."
"I don't think it was that hard to tell, dude." Chaz replied with a slight chuckle. "For me, it really doesn't matter which kind of rock it is, I'm down for whatever...unless it's from the sixties, or if it's surf-rock."
"Same here; but when it comes to me, I absolutely hate surf-rock music." Tim said, now chiming into the conversation. "We hang out at the Boardwalk a lot, and that's all they tend to play on their radio; it is so annoying to listen to, both day in and day out. Thankfully, Chaz and I don't have to deal with this sort of issue whenever we're at work together." The blue-haired boy then points at his best friend. "At least his uncle's nice enough to let change the station on the radio, unlike Tad..."
"You work for your uncle?" Katie asked the biker with a curious look on her face.
"Yeah, me and Tim both work at his auto-shop." Chaz replied as he slowly stopped at an upcoming red-light. "Originally, we were supposed to go and find ourselves a vacant building and use it to start our own business; but unfortunately, we didn't have any sort of luck trying to find one. Most of the buildings that were around town have already been taken, and the ones that we could find that actually are vacant don't have the layout required in order for us to set up shop there; so, for now, we're stuck working at my uncle's until further notice." The biker took a bit of a pause for a second so that he can turn and look at the tomboy. "Now, that's not to say that my uncle's an asshole or anything, because he's a totally nice guy; it's just that me and Tim had planned on doing this independently before we started working for him, that's all."
"Well, I personally believe that it's quite noble of you to work alongside one of your own relatives; because believe it or not, that's exactly what I'm doing too."
"You're working with your uncle too?" Chaz asked, suddenly intrigued.
"Actually, I'm gonna be working with my dad." Katie corrected the biker. "If I wanted to work with my uncle, then I'd have to get used to mowing lawns and trimming hedges for other people; and let's just say that yard-work is something I detest the most."
"Is your dad that guy in the white coat we see leave your house every morning?" Tim asked the tomboy curiously.
"I believe that question answers itself, does it not?" Katie then asked the blue-haired man, giving him a blank stare as she did.
"Now that I think about it...yes." Tim admitted awkwardly, before deciding to ask the tomboy another question. "Does your mom also happen to work as a dentist too?"
"She...doesn't."
"Oh..." Tim then proceeded to ask further about the tomboy's mother, unaware of what happened to her months ago. "Where does she work then?"
"I don't know..."
"You don't know?" The blue-haired man asked, now confused by the young dentist's statement. "How do you not know-"
"I don't want to talk about it, okay?!" Katie snapped, raising her voice in the process. "Now can you please refrain from talking about this?" She then asked a little more calmly this time.
"But-"
"Just listen to her, man." Chaz said, now stepping in to ease some of the tension. "If she says she doesn't want to talk about her mom, then she doesn't want to talk about it; so, please, just drop it, for her sake."
"Alright, I won't ask any further." Tim then turned to look at Katie. "I'm...sorry, dude."
"I-It's alright..." Katie forgave the blue-haired man in a rather sad tone of voice. "I'm...also sorry that I flew off the handle there; it's just...difficult having to be reminded of...nevermind."
"It's totally fine, dude." Chaz reassured the soon-to-be dentist. "Whenever you feel like talking about what your mom was like, then feel free to tell us; and if you rather not...ever, then that's totally understandable too."
"Thank you, Chaz." Katie told the biker with a smile.
"No problem, dude."
It was silent once again, with the only sound to be heard being the car's radio, as well as the sound of the wheels rolling down on the road below. Neither of the two men really knew what to really say after Tim almost unknowingly angered the tomboy, and Katie didn't really know what to say after her had nearly lost her cool about her late mother to her new friends; so, things were kinda awkward for the next few minutes from there. Hopefully, things between the three will get a little better once they get to the skatepark.
Meanwhile...
"Okay...I know you, like, told me that you're planning to work at the pharmacy and all, but is what you're wearing really, like, that necessary?" Sapphire asked as she slowly rollerbladed next to Crystal alongside the streets of DownTown.
"According to Katie, it is." Crystal answered. At the moment, the rebel was dressed in a black blazer with a white collared-shirt underneath, along with a dark gray skirt and black shoes; and she was also wearing rectangular glasses and had a black laptop-carrier wrapped around her shoulder. "In case you don't know, I'm crazy-prepared for anything. I'm only dressed this way because, despite I did say that this is just suppose to be a delivery-run, I want to be ready in case any of the pharmacies wants to start an interview with me immediately after I hand them these applications."
"I don't think that's how it works..." Sapphire then tilts her head to the side as she stared at the rebel's face. "Also, no offense, but those glasses totally make you look like a dork."
"It's supposed to help me look more sophisticated instead of rebellious; so, if I came in dressed how I usually do, then it's doubtful that they will actually think about hiring me."
"Well, I don't see how the glasses that you're wearing is, like, totally necessary...that's all I'm saying."
"Like I said, it helps me look a little more sophisticated." The rebel stated as she started straightening her glasses. "Anyway, from what I can remember, we should be approaching our first pharmacy right about now."
The two girls arrived at the pharmacy that, coincidentally enough, was the exact same one that they've previously encountered each other at yesterday; it was also around this time that Sapphire decided to reach for something in one of her back-pockets. "Oh, before I forget, I want to give you this." The party-girl said, before pulling out a piece of paper, handing it over to the rebel once it was out.
"What's this?"
"It's an application for Club Candy, just in case you change your mind and want to work there." Sapphire replied as the rebel was silently reading what was on the paper to herself. "I, like, wanted to give you to that yesterday before we parted, but I, like, totally forgot to."
"Well, thanks." Crystal unzips her laptop-carrier and gently slides the paper into one of the empty slots inside. "I'll let you know what my final decision is, but I can't make any promises that the answer's gonna be 'yes'."
"Eh, the decision's totally yours." Sapphire then pulls out her phone in order to check the time. "Well, I've got to go meet up with my girlfriend for lunch now. I'll be seeing you around, Crystal."
"Same to you too, Saph." After that was said, the two girls parted from each other; Crystal entered the pharmacy, while Sapphire silently skated away.
Upon entering the pharmacy, it seemed like this was going to be an easy stop, since there were only two customers here; but unfortunately, one of the two was someone that Crystal did not want to face: her ex-boyfriend, Derek. She didn't know what he was doing here and why, but that didn't matter to her one bit; because as far as she was concerned, she just wanted to drop off one of her applications here without that prick getting in the way. It was a stupid idea for her to do, but since he was next to one of the shelves that were closest to the front-entrance, she held her bag in front of her face and made a dash towards one of the counters in the back. Thankfully for her, this actually worked.
Crystal approached the counter she was running towards and quickly placed her bag onto it. "Hey, sorry if it seems like I'm in a bit of a rush right now; but I need you guys to have this." She says, hurrying to unzip her bag and handing forward one of the applications from inside.
"Uh...thanks." The pharmacist says in an awkward tone, taking the paper from the rebel without question. "You know, if you're just here to drop this off, there's really no need for you to treat this like it's a marathon or-"
"I don't want to face my ex-boyfriend, okay?!" The rebel accidentally interrupts, causing the pharmacist to be taken aback by her sudden outburst.
"Ex-boyfriend?"
"Yes, I just said that."
"Does your ex-boyfriend work here or-"
"He doesn't work here; if he was, then I wouldn't be dropping an application off to work here!" Crystal interrupts once again. "He's the douchebag in the baseball-cap who's over by the front, buying...who the fuck knows."
"You used to date him?"
"Yes, and it was the worst decision of my fucking life." Crystal then glanced behind herself, before returning her gaze back over to the pharmacist in front of her. "Are we done here now? The less I'm in here, the less likely he'll see me."
"I'll...make sure to hand this over to my manager when she gets here. I'm sure she'll give you a call if she thinks you're worthy enough to work with us."
"Thanks." Crystal backs away from the counter and headed straight to the exit, covering her face with her laptop-carrier, just like she did minutes ago.
"Well, that was the fastest I've ever seen anyone ran out of here." Derek stated as he approached the counter, completely unaware of who that girl actually was.
"Eh, she told me that she was late for something." The pharmacist lied, believing that he shouldn't throw the rebel under the bus on this one; because the last thing he really needs right now is to be involved in somebody's personal relationship.
"You know, without the nerdy get-up that she's wearing, that girl reminds me of my ex-girlfriend; Crystal." Derek points out, waving his index finger towards where the entrance was. "Let me tell ya, Crystal was probably one of the best girls I have ever dated. Yeah, she can be a bit of a bitch at times; but no matter what, she will always be-"
"What am I, everyone's marriage-counselor now?" The pharmacist interrupts in an annoyed tone, causing the bully to be taken aback by his sudden comment. "If you want to stand around and chat about romance, put it up with Debbie; I'm busy reading this comic-book here."
"I don't see any comic-books." The pharmacist then reaches underneath the counter and pulled out one, showing it to the bully. "What the?"
"Now I do." The pharmacist then leaned against the counter, opening the book to a random page, much to the bully's annoyance. "Now, if you'll excuse me..."
"Whatever..." The bully muttered before proceeding to walk away from the counter. "Fucking dick..."
Note: So, a chapter to kickstart two new subplots for both of the tomboys; Katie's going to hang out with Chaz and Tim, while Crystal's out and about delivering her applications to every pharmacy in town. Now, something that I'd like to mention regarding both of these is the for the former, it's going to be more than just them hanging out at the skatepark, since I kinda want the hangout to be longer than just that; and as the the latter, Crystal's going to be stumbling upon more people other than just Derek, but you'll just have to wait and see who she encounters during her little trip (if she'll encounter Derek ago...I don't know, but maybe she will).
Anyways, let's see what reviews we have for today...
lordgemini: I appreciate the feedback. Although, now that I'm thinking about it now, I kind of regret adding the second segment to the previous chapter; the only reason why I added it in the first place was just to extend Summer's part (or the first segment) by showing what Luke was doing once got to the pier. Also...yeah, the blue-haired girl's introduction there was very weak, but in one of the future chapters, I'm going to make sure she gets introduced better (we don't one-hundred percent know if it's actually Pinky, yet).
That should be it for now, my fellow readers. I'll see you all in the next chapter.