Everything Changes

Chapter Thirty-Six: Life Moves On

"Have you heard from Brittany recently?" Juliana asked Cassie as she maneuvered the golf cart around a crowd of people. "I feel like she's kind of been M.I.A."

Juliana and Cassie were getting in one of their last golf days at the county club before heading back to school. This time, however, Brittany wasn't accompanying them as usual - which also meant there was no one to bark demands at the workers for water and free food because 'her father owned the club.' It was quiet without her, to say the least. Very very quiet - also because Cassie had barely spoken a word since arriving at the country club.

"I know," Cassie agreed as she fidgeted with the rings on her fingers. "There's just a lot going on for her right now. I've been checking in, of course... but she deserves some alone time."

"I guess," said Juliana as she stopped the golf cart. Cassie furrowed her eyebrows at her friend's comment... but remembered Juliana preferred being around a bunch of people to forget her worries... whereas others preferred being alone. "Let's see if I can actually hit the ball first try this time."

Cassie laughed as she exited the golf cart and grabbed her club. She watched as Juliana placed the ball at her feet, adjusting her stance before taking a hard swing. They watched as the ball flew a few feet ahead of them. Juliana clapped for her herself, finally getting better at the sport she thought she'd always suck at. Cassie then proceeded to follow after her, hitting her tie-dye golf ball all in one effortless motion. It soared well past Juliana's, which didn't come as a surprise to them, as Cassie had a lot of practice under her belt. (If she had to give credit to anyone for that, it would have to be Luke, who practically conditioned her every weekend to perfect her swing.)

"Nice," Juliana said proudly as they walked back to the golf cart. Cassie didn't seem to have much of a reaction to her perfect swing as she swiftly placed her club into her golf bag before sitting down in the passenger seat. She immediately went back to fidgeting with her rings, something she had been doing a lot that afternoon. Juliana was starting to grow a suspicion that something was bothering her. "Hey, are you okay? You're acting funny."

Cassie was quick to look up from her hands and into the eyes of Juliana, who sat down beside her. An auto-pilot response came out of her mouth. "I'm fine."

Juliana wasn't going to take the classic 'I'm fine' for an answer. It was quite obvious that Cassie wasn't fine - as she seemed distracted, worried, and tense - and not her free-spirited, fun self. "Really? Because it seems like something is bugging you."

Cassie sighed as she spoke again. "I said I'm fine—"

"Mendez!" Someone shouted from behind them, nearly giving them a heart attack. They both turned around to see Jake walking in their direction. "I should have known you were here when I saw traces of your little tie-dye golf balls around the course." Cassie laughed at his comment as his eyes traveled to Juliana. "Hey, Juliana. What's up?"

She had a smile on her face as she greeted Jake. "Not much. How about you?"

"Working on my swing. I bet you can say the same," he joked, recalling her quite awful swing the last time he saw her golf. Although he knew he wasn't one to talk, as he wasn't the best at golf either. Trevor had been trying to teach him as many tips as possible since high school, along with the occasional insulting comments from Brittany, of course. Juliana playfully rolled her eyes, knowing he had no clue how good her swing had gotten. "And what about you, Mendez? Still swinging deadly shots with your tie-dye balls, I see."

Juliana nodded. "For real. She'll never admit she has an impressive swing."

"Or the reasoning behind why she uses tie-dye balls out of all the designs she could have picked," Jake added, taking a seat in the back of the cart.