Just the Way You Are

Chapter 1 - Reader's Perspective

***Before you read, some information is needed before you read. First, she just turned 18. I think that's important. She lives in LA with her mom. She's a senior in high school. I think that's it for now. Enjoy!***

"I can't believe it! I'm actually going to a Silk concert... THE Silk Sonic! AHHHH!" I screamed. I've been such a big fan of their's since they released Leave the Door Open. "I swear, I'm going to scream all the lyrics until I can't muster any more words. Oh my God, I'm so excited!" My best friend, Carrisa, has been hearing me scream about these tickets since I told her my mom got them for me last week as a birthday present. "Y/N, while I'm so happy for you about these tickets, we need to finish this project," Carrisa started. "It's due tomorrow and you know I'm an overachiever. We need to get a good grade on this." To be fair, she was right.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that." I said. My grades aren't that good right now, but it's not like I'm failing every class. Maybe in Carrisa's eyes, but to me, they're not even that bad.

Just then, my mom walked into my room.

"Hey, hon!" she said. "Whatcha doin'?" I pointed towards the big poster like it was obvious what I was doing, working on this project. "Oh yeah, I remember you talking about that. Anyways, Carrisa, you can go home now. We have a dinner reservation tonight at O'Harrens."

Carrisa had a look on her face that was confused but happy at the same time - it was a bit suspicious. Something was going on. "Bye, Y/N. We'll work on this again next Monday." Carrisa walked out of the door but kept an eye on me until she was out of eyesight.

"Alright, Y/N, let's go. The reservation's in an hour and we don't wanna be late unless we want our table to be given away." My mom walked out of the door and said, "Pick out something nice to wear."

O'Harren's is a super nice restaurant downtown. They have stuff like mac and cheese with truffle. It's really good though; it's my favorite restaurant. I picked out a fitted orange dress and paired it with a white sweater and black Doc Martens. I thought the fit looked nice, and soon enough, we were on our way downtown.

When we walked into O'Harrens, my mom smiled a maybe-too-big smile.

"I like that outfit, honey. Where'd you get the dress?" she asked me. I knew she was only asking because she wanted to wear it too, but I lied and said "Old Navy had them in the clearance section one day."

In reality, I actually got the dress from Fashion Nova, but she didn't need to know that.

"What's your party's name, ma'am?" the bus lady asked.

"Melissa, party of 2." My mom always uses her first name when we go to sit-down restaurants. I've never heard her use her last name in these situations. "Follow me." The bus lady sounded like she was about to take her break. She made it very obvious she didn't want to be there.

The buslady, whose name was Ellie, led me and my mom to a booth in the far left corner of the restaurant, closest to the kitchen so we can smell all the food being prepared. My mom always reserves this booth, it's our favorite seat.

"Are you gonna order something new this time, or order the same thing you've been ordering since you were a kid?" my mom asks me. Whenever we go to O'Harrens, I always get the same thing; mac and cheese (minus the truffle), and fries with a Diet Coke and a chocolate lava cake for dessert (if I'm lucky). I stay loyal to my order, plus it's really good. "Yup!" I responded.

"Hello, ladies! I'm Rhonda, and I'll be your server for today! Can I get you guys some drinks or appetizers to start you off?" This waitress sounded a little too enthusiastic. I saw my mom give her a small smile and wink out of the corner of my eye. Now I knew, something was definitely going on.