Skimming the Surface

Chapter 9- Rides and Apologies

If you lovelies read this chapter (which, obviously you're here to do. Unless you're not, in which case... read it anyway), you'll see I used Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen in it. Ikr?!?! To all of you who've never heard it before, first of all, have you been living under a rock?! Sorry, just saying. ;) anyway, it's there to right if you wanna take a listen.

Also, my model for Josh (Mason's little brother) is young Haley Joel Osment, over there to the right. Gahh, he was so cute when he was little! 

Chapter 9

Olivia

    Olivia finished drying her tail off, and watched as it split into two, her peach skin appearing and toes popping up. She swiveled to look at the sun, which had only risen a tiny bit over the water. That meant she had a little time before she had to head to school. Ugh. Great.

     Not that she didn't like school itself. She liked learning, and she wasn't bragging about being a genius or even being smart; it just came easy to her. She had already taken the ACT  and SAT and received very good scores. But she wasn't going to fool herself into thinking she was going to college. Her aunt would make sure of that. 

     No, her real problem with school was the people there. She had no friends, and it was a tiny school, so everyone knew each other and everyone ran in the same circles they had been in since kindergarden. And she just didn't fit in anywhere. It's not that people treated her badly, it was just they didn't treat her like... anything. She was just another face in the crowd. 

     She forced herself to get back to reality. She could think all day about how people were cruel, and she was lonely, but that was depressing. 

     She picked up her towel and tousled her hair. It wouldn't dry- she had so much hair that she could only get the outside layers dry. The salt from the sea gave it beachy waves, and she had to admit, the red waves looked really pretty.

     After putting on her flip flops and slinging her backpack on her back, she headed across the dock and the beach. School was only a few miles away, and even if it wasn't a gorgeous day (which it was), she didn't have a car. She didn't mind. The sun was shining, warming her hair and skin, and there was a caressing breeze all around. As she walked alongside the road, she couldn't help but close her eyes and soak it in.

     BEEEEP! A car horn sounded extremely close by, and in her shock Olivia jumped, dropping her books on the shoulder of the road. She turned around to see a red truck idling beside her. The passenger window rolled down, and she saw Mason there, grinning like a hyena.

     God! It would be him, of course. She scowled at him and went to pick up her books. She continued walking. 

     "Hey, I saw you walking and I was wondering if you needed a ride?," he yelled out of the car window. He rolled along beside as she walked.

     She shook her head and huffed. "More like you thought 'Hey, who can I give a heart attack today?'", she retorted. She quickened her pace.

     He kept with her. "Haha, well that too, yeah. But really, do you need a ride?"

     She glanced at him, and he smiled at her. Shaking her head, she replied, "No thanks, I'm good."

     He gave her puppy dog eyes, and she felt her heart beat a little faster. With eyes like that, that look was extremely persuasive.  Still, her conscience wouldn't shut up. You really shouldn't. 

     Seeing the look on her face (maybe she was easier to read than she thought), he exclaimed, "Come on! You're walking on the side of the road and I'm offering you a ride, free of charge. Throw me a bone here."