New Beginnings

○Chapter 8○

Halina started the car and turned on the radio. It was playing Christian music. Halina started humming lowly to the music. Akilah was on her phone. Zev was looking out the window. I looked down at the lines on my palm. The car ride was silent, most of the time. 

It looked like we were going into the city. We parked in a very large parking lot with a  very big building. It was a mall. Halina gave us the option of either shopping together or split up. Akilah and Halina together and me and Zev. Of course, Zev wanted to split up because he said Akilah takes a long time picking out clothing. Halina insisted that I should go with her and Akilah once I was finished picking out new clothing with Zev. 

Me and Zev walked through the mall very close together. There were a lot of people here. Zev was asking me continuously what store I would like to shop in. I wasn't sure. So he recommended a store based on what he thought the girls at our school shopped at. But the clothing in the store was mostly similar to what I had in my closet at my house.

"Zev, these are the same clothes I didn't want to put in the box." I said.

"Oh yeah that's right," He mumbled. "I don't know maybe you'll find something you might like." He said. I looked around for a few minutes and found a section filled with plain t-shirts and jeans. I lost track of time and picked out a few outfits. One dress that I thought I would wear one day, maybe. A few t-shirts some with pictures on them, and a few jeans mostly baggy. I didn't want my clothes to feel tight. Zev followed behind me the whole time. He didn't say much. 

When we were done checking out, Zev called Halina and said that we would meet up with her at a store. When we got there. Akilah was busy looking at different clothing and Halina was giving her opinion on the clothing. We walked up and Halina told Zev to watch his sister while me and Halina went to a different store. Halina was telling me about when was the last time I had my period. She tried describing it to me to jog my memory. It probably wasn't too long ago since I'm not bleeding now. Halina informed me about all the things that I would need when dealing with my period. She bought both tampons and maxi pads since I wasn't too sure which one I would use, and some ibuprofen. She said the medicine will relieve the cramping I would feel when I'm on my period.

We headed back to the store Zev and Akilah were left in. Akilah was just now getting to the check-out line when we got there. The drive back was silent again. Zev still looking out of the window. I watched the buildings turn from businesses to houses as we drove back to the house. Zev helped me out of the car and carried all my bags into the house. As me and Zev were walking in, Zev turned  his head over to me,

"We still aren't finished," he rushed past me before I could ask him what he meant. Zev walked upstairs came back down a moment later and took his keys out of his pocket. "We are taking my car now, this time." 

I followed him out of the door and waited at the passenger's side. He unlocked the door and we both got in at the same time. I put on my seatbelt and he started the car. Zed pulled out of the parking spot, sat back, and relaxed as he pressed the gas just a little bit going down the street.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Somewhere, you'll see when we get there." The radio was off so I turned it on. Mainstream music was playing. I guess Zev didn't mind it. We arrived at a park. It wasn't too far from the school. Why are we at a park? I got out confused.

"I used to see you come to this park in year ten, I thought you might remember it in some way," Zev said. We walked down a trail. I wasn't familiar with the place, but it was a nice place. It was a very open grassy field with trees lining the outer sides of the park. Zev was walking with his hands in his pockets, we were walking slow. The wind was blowing. The fall weather felt nice.