Booksmarts

chapter 007

"Are you just going to sit there and look dumb or are you going to get out of the car and help me?"

Swiftly, I hop out of the car and hold the binder for Amira. She locks my car and heads inside the cafe while I struggle to follow her. Holding the door open for me, Amira grabs the binder out of my hands and sits down at a table where Lukas is. Maybe I should trust my intuition more often. I look around the cafe to find Mason but I don't see him. I was instantly met with the familiar scent of pastries and sweets. The chatter of the filled restaurant made me feel cozy, the warm fireplace set the atmosphere. I follow Amira and pull out a chair next to Lukas and sit down, pulling out my phone to find 45 text messages with Paris spamming me about the Mason situation. I roll my eyes and reply to all of them with "No." hoping she'd take the hint. But knowing Paris, she's persistent. So maybe she won't take the hint.

"I went ahead and ordered for you." Lukas turns from Amira to me and apologizes. "Sorry I didn't know what you wanted to eat."

I shrug. "It's alright, just hand me the menu." He tosses the menu at me and I skim through the selection. Even though I only order the same few items, it was always a habit of mine to look through all of the options anyway. Just in case I ever wanted to change things up. I never do. Just as I place my menu down, the waitress brings back the drinks Lukas ordered. Two Sprites except one of the glasses had two lemon slices in it. The waitress notices me and pulls back out her notepad.

"Oh hi! I'm Mandy! Did you need anything to drink?" She asked. The waitress had shoulder-length locks of curly hair. Her bronze hair complimented her pale jade eyes. She squints her eyes, trying to get a closer look at me. She jumps up in excitement and says. "Hey wait! I know you! You're Alinna Windham right? I think Benny used to take your order here all the time when he worked here! You want your usual?"

I nod my head "Yeah..um my usual would be nice. Thank you!" She takes up my menu and walks away humming softly underneath her breath. I pull back out my phone and mindlessly scroll through social media. A familiar blue sweater passes the corner of my eye, I look around to see who's it was. It was just a stranger who had the same navy crewneck as Mason's. My shoulders slumped and I return to my phone until I hear a chair screech beside Amira.

"Sorry I'm a bit late I got caught up in traffic." Mason sits down and I glance from my phone to see him. He had a black sweater on with grey sweatpants. I didn't realize how long I was staring until the waitress came back to place my drink down.

"A pink lemonade for you and... Oh, Mason! It's been a while since you came back! Do you want anything to drink? She clicks her pen and waits for him to answer. He places his jacket down and he props his arms on the table, fidgeting with his thumbs. Looking up at her, he flashes a smile and says.

"Can I get a pink lemonade?" She writes that down and she then turns to me and asks.

"Do you want a straw with that?" I shyly nod. It's embarrassing to say you need a straw to drink something– but I always have one. Maybe it's because I have an urge to bite down on something whenever I have a drink. Mandy pulls out a straw and walks away to get Mason's drink. Lukas throws Mason an amused smile.

"So...pink lemonade?" He tries holding back a smile. Amira hits his elbow and he jerks it away. "Ow? What was that for!"

"You have no room to talk mister. Last year at a carnival you-" Lukas interrupts Amira by placing his hand over her mouth.

"We do not speak on that." Amira raises her hands defensively. As Lukas sits back down cautiously eyeing her. Mandy comes back with Masons' drink and slides it over to him.

"Thank you." He says. The waitress slides over another straw over to us and says.

"Just in case." She walks away to the table and serves the elderly couple behind us. I take my straw and slam it against the table to open the straw, causing a loud thump to resonate throughout the restaurant.