I Believe

~The Coffee Shop~

I practically inhale my sandwich at dinner, eager to get to the coffee shop in time.

"What's got you in such a hurry? Who's this Sara?" My dad sat down next to me with a ham and cheese sandwich.

"She's this girl I met back at the boardwalk. She scared me. Did you not hear my scream?"

"That was you?" Dad raised an eyebrow.

So it was that loud.

"Yeah. Anyway, Sara came behind me and said hello and I screamed, and that's how we met. We're meeting at the coffee shop in just fifteen minutes!" I jumped up, looking at my watch.

"Could I meet her?" Dad asked.

"Sure, when she stays the night one time, if she wants to. But until then, no. I have to get to know her before you do, obviously." I smiled.

"Alright, well I want you back home by 7:00 tonight, okay? That gives you about an hour or so to have fun with Sara. Maybe you guys could go to the theme park one day this week? I'd be happy to lend you some money-"

"Dad, I have to go! I love you!" I yelled over him, running out.

I didn't hear him say it back, but I knew he did.

I rushed to the boardwalk, past the bench where me and Sara met, past the mall, and finally I got to the Coffee Shop.

I ran in and looked around. 

She wasn't here, yet. I sat down at a booth, and was about to pull my phone out to look at instagram, when she came from behind me.

"Hey there!" She greeted.

I gasped, but didn't say anything back.

"Hey, you didn't scream so loudly that my dad heard you!" Sara laughed.

"Your dad heard me?!" My mouth dropped in shock.

"Yeah, hard to believe, right?" She grinned.

"Of course it is! I didn't know that I could scream so loudly! Even my dad heard me, and we live on the beach!" I exclaimed.

"Yeah, well, we all do some shocking things we've never done or thought we could do before." Sara frowned.

"Something tells me that this doesn't just have to do with my scream." I cocked my head a little to the side.

Sara shook her head. "No. I got a bad grade on my Algebra test. I'm surprised my dad even let me come here. I'm grounded, of course. I'm still upset over it. I've never gotten an F before on any test or quiz. This isn't gonna look good on my reputation, Evie."

"I'm sorry, Sara."I frowned back, then straightened up. "But, I believe that you will get better, and that you will get ungrounded in no time."

"How do you have that much faith in me?" She asked. "We've only known each other for barely a day."

"Because I have faith in everyone. It's just one of my characteristics." I explained to her. And it was the truth. The friends that I did have back at my old home always thought I was crazy over it, and that was one of the reasons that some of us fought so much. 

I frowned, thinking of my old life. Sara immediately saw my expression and sighed. "What's wrong with us? We have the perfect life here, but neither of us are very happy about it."

I chuckled, "We must be from another universe."

"Isn't that true." She said, throwing her head back in laughter.

"It so is! I'd never even met any of my friends back home until I was in the sixth grade, and that's surprising, considering how outgoing I am."

"Yeah, I can see that you're definitely not shy."

I grinned, "Hey, aren't you going to order anything?"

Sara shook her head, "No, dad said that he didn't want me spending money until I could figure out how to 'ace a simple test'."

Ouch. My dad would've never said something like that to me. He had never spoiled me, of course, but he was never that strict.

"That's..." I hesitated, not knowing what to say back. What can anyone say to something like that?

"Mean? Stupid? Cruel?" Sara looked offended as she continued to guess what I might have said.

"That's just the way your father chooses to teach you." I finally replied.

She squinted her eyes, "How do you know so much on how people live?"

"It's not really looking at how they live... it's who they choose to be."

"Now, that should be a famous quote. You must be related to Einstein or something."

"Actually, someone told Einstein once in his life that he would never achieve what he dreamed. Did you know that?"

"No, I didn't!" Sara was surprised.

I snickered, and looked at my watch for the time. 

"Woah! It's five minutes 'til seven! I have to go!" I shrieked, hopping up from the booth.

Sara gasped. "That's the time?! I was supposed to be back home already!"

"I'll see you later! Here's my number!" I tossed a paper at her and rushed out of the coffee shop.

I got back home five minutes later than I should have, but Dad just smiled. 

"I'm glad you've got a friend, now, Ev." He sighed, gave me a hug, and went to the living room to watch a football game.

I didn't hear from Sara that night. I didn't hear from her for an entire week, to be exact. I went exploring the beach, and places that I hadn't been before. It wasn't surprising that there were a lot of places that I ended up going to.

Sara was never at any of those places. 

Where had she ended up after I left? Did she get back home? Did her father punish her for being so late? 

Was it all my fault?

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Authors Note: I know it's been forever since I last published, so please forgive me! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I will be posting the next one either today or tomorrow, just a heads up!  I would also really appreciate if you guys could comment on what you think needs to be improved in my writing! Or just comment in general! Have a wonderful day/night everyone!

-A