Six Ways to One Day

Chapter 23

You:
Hey, I'm leaving.
I don't want to stay in there and take dirty looks from Jenna and company anymore.
I'll meet you guys at Judy's place.
Jude, your keys are still hidden under the deck railing. Right?

Judy:
Yes.
We'll be right behind you.
I'm starving and I don't want to stay here much longer either.

Amanda:
Holy shit... That exchange between you and Tae was kind of intense.

Skylar:
FYI, you're probably going to get stabbed at work sometime next week, and we'll all know who the culprit was.

You:
I'm blaming you bitches if I do get stabbed.
I cannot believe you freaking sold me out.

Lillian:
Oh C'mon.
My heart actually broke for Tae.
He is clearly struggling after you so unceremoniously dumped his ass.

You:
You traitorous whores!
We'll continue this conversation when everyone is back at Jude's and we are ordering food from WHERE I WANT!

Putting your phone in your purse, you make your way to your car. By the time you arrive at Judy's place, the clock on the dashboard reads 7:10 PM. You park your car in front of her house, grab your bags, and walk up to her back door that leads into her kitchen. You reach under the wooden deck railing near the backdoor, retrieve the hidden key from its hiding spot, and unlock the door. Before you walk into her kitchen, you tuck the spare key back in its hiding spot.

As soon as you enter the familiar kitchen, you let out a long sigh of relief. Feeling hungry, you walk over to your best friend's fridge and open it up to see if there's anything that you can snack on while waiting for the others to arrive. To your delight, unlike your own fridge at home, Judy's fridge is filled with food. In a glass container, you see some leftover pasta salad and think, "Jackpot!"

Taking the container out of the fridge, you grab a fork out of Judy's utensil drawer and sit at her kitchen table. You open up the lid and are greeted with a heavenly aroma of tangy goodness. You spear as many things as you can onto your fork; a piece of salami, black olive, all three shades of tri-color Rotini pasta, cherry tomato, onion, pepper, and a small mozzarella cheese ball. Feeling your mouth water, you open wide and shove the entire forkful into your awaiting maw. As soon as you bite into the smorgasbord of delectable flavors, you moan in ecstasy as you start to chew. You've always love Judy's pasta salad and, on many occasions, have insisted that she make you your own batch.

When your friends still haven't arrived by the time you finish the entire container of Judy's pasta salad, you start to worry and decide to send a text, checking in.

You:
Hey...
Are you guys alright?
I thought you said you'd be right behind me.
I've been sitting here alone for the past 20 minutes.
What gives?

Lillian:
We were talking to your man.

You:
My man?
I didn't realize Jason Momoa was there with you guys.
Why didn't you tell me?
I would have never left.

Amanda:
You're an idiot.
It's official.

You:
Then, I have no clue what you guys are talking about.

Skylar:
Okay, Tae is really, REALLY into you.
Why didn't any of you tell me?
He is literally making hearts with his eyes whenever you're mentioned.
I think you sort of fucked up here.