Skating Into The Night

Chapter 2

"What is happening? Where is this loud music coming from? Am I at a concert? Everything is dark around me. I can't see any people. There are no lights." I slowly opened my eyes realizing that I was in my bed. There was no concert; the loud music was coming from my neighbor who was washing his car outside. He always blasts music while washing his car. I mean, I can't blame him, this makes it a lot more enjoyable. "What time is it?" I thought while searching for my phone. It sometimes happens to me that I watch a video or something on my phone late at night and I fall asleep in the process. The next morning it is always a struggle for me to recover my phone. There have been times when I found it next to or under my bed or under my pillow. This time, I had been lying on top of it. 

When I finally picked it up, I saw a message from my friend Emma. I have known her since high school. On my first day there, she asked me if she could sit next to me and that moment was the beginning of a great friendship. I wished I could spend the summer with her, but like every summer she went on a six-week vacation with her family. This time their destination was South Africa; she's quite the adventurer. She had sent me a picture of her with an elephant in the background, it looked really cute; it seemed like Emma was having the time of her life. I replied immediately and she asked me how I was doing. Despite the time difference, she was online and we talked for a while. I told her about the new black top that I had bought and I sent her a selfie of me wearing it.

"Omg. That top is soooo cute. It looks really good on you 😊"

"Thanks. I'm glad you like it 😊 It made me miss my bus though 😅"

"Oh 😂 But it was definitely worth it"

"Yes, totally. There is something else that happened last night"

"Tell me all about it 😊"

"Well, I don't really know where to start... I met this guy.."

"Oh, now it's getting interesting 😁. Tell me more"

I told Emma about Remi and the other skaters and that I walked away because I felt like the third wheel with the other girl there. Emma tried to encourage me to go back to the skater park to talk to him again. On the one hand, I really wanted to do that, but on the other hand, I wasn't sure. I mean, I didn't really want to date anyone. Emma was completely understanding since she knew my history with boyfriends. She was the one who was there for me when Marcus broke up with me when felt as if I couldn't breathe anymore. She was the one who encouraged me to eat even though I had no appetite at all. And she was also the one who told me that I would never ever be his girlfriend again because I deserved way better. At that moment her words were very hurtful and I didn't want to hear nor believe them, but in the end, she was right. I'm glad that she was so honest with me back then and that I listened to her. So why not listen to her again? I mean, I don't need to date Remi. He's probably not interested in dating me anyway. We could just get to know each other and hang out as friends. I guess I could give it a try.

My parents were invited to their annual summer barbecue with some friends and I didn't have any plans that day. So, I decided to go downtown later to grab some food, buy some books, and stop by at the skater park. "I really hope that girl from last night won't be there" was all I could think about. After telling Emma about my plan for the rest of the day and promising her that I would keep her posted, I got out of bed and opened my closet trying to find something cool to wear. "What am I doing here? Who am I trying to impress? I don't even know if Remi will be there again this afternoon and I have no romantic interest in him whatsoever." I put on a white top with some black dots, my favorite hot pants, and some make-up. I didn't use too much make-up since I knew that I would sweat half of it off anyway with the heat still being very extreme. After having breakfast with my parents, I told them that I was going downtown to buy a new book and to get some ice cream. "That's a good plan, sweetie. It's too bad that you're going all by yourself. I wish Emma was here to go with you" my mom said smiling at me. "I know mom, but I'll be fine. Have fun at the barbecue later. Tell everybody I said hi."