Lazy Daisy

Chapter 1

The sky is blue and the air is fresh. Nothing can stop me from enjoying my day to the fullest. The windows of my baby blue VW bug are rolled all the way down, and the music on the radio is relaxed and happy. I pull up outside Marina's house and honk the horn. Marina comes running with her bag in one hand and her big floppy sun hat in the other. She excitedly squeezes herself into the front seat and looks at me.

"Your car is ridiculous. Return this vintage Oldsmobile and buy a convertible." She raises an eyebrow.

"Never in my life." I respond. My car may be old and outdated, but it's my baby. My reward for that country club waitress job I had this past summer.

"Where's Talia? I thought she slept over your house last night." I shoot a glance at Marina as I pull away from the curb and get driving.

There's a moment of silence as Marina fiddles with the radio and puckers her mouth like she's sucking on a lemon.

"Talia ditched me for Kevin. Apparently that pious loser is more important than I am. God forbid that Talia ever keeps her plans." The bitterness in Marina's voice is obvious and for once I'm happy to not be the one rooted in drama.

"Sorry about that. If it makes you feel better, I heard that Kevin got crabs from Reagan." Marina still looked upset.

"Maybe Talia will finally learn her lesson. None of her boyfriends have ever been there for her when the going gets though. She always comes crying back to me. I mean I'm not her therapist. Friendship should really be two-sided." Marina bites her nail and then curses. "Damn, now I've ruined my manicure too. I just got it yesterday." I shift the car into park, take out the keys, and unbuckle.

"We're here."

"What? Oh." Marina looks around and seems to realize for the first time that we had even left her house. She glances at me and smiles. "Pick us a room? I'll be right there. I've just got to go to the bathroom." She jumps out of the car and gives me a small wave. "Thanks!"

It's suddenly quiet again and it's as if I forgot what that's like. After adjusting the mirror and removing my heart frame sunglasses, I take a good look at myself. The makeup for the day is minimal, but a bit of lipstick can never hurt. After reapplying my light pink lipstick and braiding my chest-length dirty blonde hair, I'm ready to face the world. As soon as I get out of the car and grab my bag from the trunk though, I see something that I never thought I would see again. Ben --- sitting on my grandmother's porch.

We make eye contact and I swear I'm red as a tomato. I never thought that I would have to see him again in my life.

"Hey Daisy, how are you?" He walks down the porch steps and stands in front of me with his hands in his pockets. I just stand there, clutching onto my bags with nothing to say.

"Fine. How about you?"

"Good."

A few seconds pass and they feel like hours. He obviously feels as awkward as I do. Luckily, the silence is broken by the sound of my grandmother's feet thudding down the stairs as she comes over to say hello.

"Oh Daisy! I'm so happy you're here!" Her hug crushes me and pushes all the air out of my lungs. My bags hit the ground with a thud.

"Hi Nona," I squeak out. My grandmother lets go of me and looks up at me. She's barely 5 feet tall.

"Oh baby, you've grown so much!" She pinches my cheeks, probably making them even more flushed. "You're almost 5'6" now, no? Did you see Ben? He's told me that he's almost 6 foot now! Isn't that spectacular!" Her grin is almost infectious.

"I guess it is Nona. Marina and I are here for the summer. Did Nonno tell you?" I cautiously wait for an answer.

"Yes yes. Your grandfather told me everything. I even set up a room for you girls. I gave you your favorite room. The one with the ocean view. It's my favorite too. Are you girls hungry?" Nona drags me into the house, leaving Ben and my bags by the car.