83Chapter 13- Plans
The weekend rolled by rather quickly despite how I thought it was going to drag itself out. I stayed in my room the whole time, away from my parents and sister, hoping to God that they didn't call me down to move furniture into one of the rooms or help them unpack. Luckily, they managed to get it all done themselves. Plus, I think they knew to back off. I was in a pissy mood, and they definitely knew it.
It took me the whole weekend to whip my new room into shape. It still didn't look terrific, but it was at least a lot better than it was when we first moved in. It took a lot of dusting, mopping, and wiping, but all in all it turned out okay. I moved my furniture in and put up some decorations, which made the room a little brighter and livelier. I decided to do the room a light shade of purple instead of the usual white walls that were in my old room. I guess I got a bit on the creative side and wanted to do something with my time. Being cooped up in your room all day leaves you no choice but to do something productive.
I was spending a lot of time at the diner with Tiffany throughout the past three days. I would go and eat there instead of eating breakfast, lunch, and dinner with my family. It was better that way because they were out of my hair, and I was out of theirs. One of those win-win situations I suppose. We would talk for hours about stupid girl topics. Nail polish, hair, make-up, and boys. Anything we could possibly think up, we would make a conversation out of. She quickly took the place of Steph, who had undoubtedly been my best friend since I was a baby. Some friend she was. I hadn't heard from her for days and wasn't planning to any time soon.
Tiffany was more of a friend than Steph would ever be. She didn't care what brand my clothes were or if I didn't match my hair tie with my nail polish. It didn't matter to her. All that DID matter was our friendship. And you'd think we'd been friends since forever because of the way I'd talk about her, but I felt like I'd known her forever. She was such a genuine person- definitely someone that I'd hold on to for as long as I possibly could. I felt so comfortable around her; she made me feel like I belonged in the quaint little town. I was so appreciative of that.
And yet once again, on a Sunday night, I was at the diner. It was pretty much my home away from home. It was about four thirty in the afternoon. . . the time when the normal dinner crowd would usually come around. I wasn't really hungry, but I decided to hang out and chat with Tiffany anyways. There was nothing better to do.
"So, have you decided if you wanna to work here or not?" She asked, wiping down the counter with a damp, light blue rag.
"I'm not sure yet. I didn't even fill out my application. I don't even HAVE an application."
Tiffany rolled her eyes. "Why didn't ya just ask?" I laughed as she pulled out an application from a nearby drawer. She slapped the paper on the table and I looked over it carefully.
"Pen, please?" I held my hand out.
She pulled a pencil out from her messy bun. "A pencil will have to do. I never carry pens with me. They get you all inky."
I laughed and started filling in the information that the application required. Name, Age, Grade, Prior job experience. . .hmmm, I'd never had a job before. But I guess I could lie and say that I babysat or something. After all, Claire was always too dumb to take care of herself. She'd probably burn the house down or something. And I would get paid after watching her. So hey, that would be considered a job! Babysitting it is!
After filling in the application, I handed it back to Tiffany and she glanced over it quickly. "You're hired." She stuck out her hand as to shake mine.
"What, no interview?" I asked, puzzled at the fact that they barely knew me but hired me in a heartbeat.
"Amber, we're desperate. We'll hire anybody who seems sane. So, you're hired. Welcome to the diner dynasty my dear!"
I laughed and shook her hand, which was outstretched once again. "Doesn't your boss want to meet me or something before you can say I'm definitely hired?"
She laughed and turned around to the back room. "Hey boss!" she screamed. "This is the new girl, alright?" He nodded and made a hand motion that seemed like he meant 'leave me alone'. She turned around and nodded her head. "Yup, all is good. You start tomorrow after school. Don't be late." I laughed as she pointed her finger in my face.
"Yes sir!" I saluted her and got off of my stool. "I'm gonna go. First day of school tomorrow and I don't know what I'm going to wear. Not all of my clothes are unpacked yet."
"Just don't get too dressed up or anything. Our school is real low key. Nobody really bothers to come all dolled up. Sweatshirts and stuff are mainly the big item of clothing."
Sweatshirts? I only owned one of those, and I only wore it for lounging around the house. No way was I wearing it to school. "Thanks for the tip. I'll see you tomorrow then?"
"Yeah, hopefully we'll have some of the same classes." She poured herself a cup of coffee and took a sip. "If I don't see you at school, I'll definitely see you here tomorrow afterwards."
"Yeah." I grabbed my purse from the counter top and slung it over my shoulder. "See you later, Tiff."
I left the diner and walked back home. My parents weren't in the house, so I assumed they went over to visit one of the neighbors. People were just too damn friendly around here. Claire was up in her room blaring some shitty rock music, and I figured I would stay in my room for the rest of the night. I got nervous just thinking about school. It's okay when you're a freshman starting out in the beginning because there are others in your same position. But when you're the new kid in your senior year of high school, it kind of makes you feel out of place. Everybody talks about you, criticizes you, and definitely not everyone likes you. It kind of sucks.
I was getting ready to take a shower when my phone rang. I groaned and picked it up, answering it with an irritated hello.
"Amber?"
"BRENDAN?" I shrieked his name loud enough that the whole block could probably hear me. "Oh my God, is it really you?"
"Yeah, it's me." He laughed and I smiled. I missed him so much. "I'm sorry I haven't called you sooner. I was upset."
"It's okay. I just really missed you. I kept trying to call you but your mom would always give me an excuse."
"Yeah I know. But hey, I have a surprise for you!" He sounded so giddy. I loved it.
"A surprise? What kind of surprise?" I was skeptical. How could he have a surprise for me when he was all the way in Boston and I was in Tennessee?
"Well, it involves travel. . ."
"You're coming down to see me?!" I jumped up from my bed, falling to the ground. "OW!" I held my ankle in my hands. "That really hurt!"
"You okay?" He laughed.
"Don't laugh, that was painful!"
"Sorry. Are you going to be home next weekend? Because that's when I'm coming down."
I smiled. "Yes, I'll be here. Where else would I go? There's nothing else to do around here."
"Okay then, good. I have to go. My mom wants me to help her with dinner. I'll see you next week! I love you."
I could barely contain my excitement. "I love you too. Bye" I put the phone down and fell back on my bed. This had just made my day.