From Sunrise To Sunset

Resist 2

Cassandra

I sit on a bench in front of an antique shop with my ear-pods on listening to one of the songs from the band that Ally sent me earlier. There are street performers surrounded by a crowd of people clapping and cheering them on in front of the mall. I look at my phone's screen for the third time; it's 5:30 pm. I should have left the house a bit later. Ally is usually half an hour late for everything. A young couple walks past me, holding hands, and Nicholas' face pops into my head. I smile at the thought of him.

"Cassandra!"

I turn to my right and see Ally, Jason, and Mark walking in my direction. Ally has one arm wrapped around Jason's arm. She's wearing black jeans, shorts, and a pink T-shirt with the name of the band written on it in black. Jason wears a gray t-shirt and black jeans with a green bomber jacket while Mark wears a white t-shirt with a black leather jacket and black jeans.

"Took you guys long enough," I say, removing my ear-pods and standing on my feet.

"Hey, Cassandra." Mark greets me with a straight face.

Jason greets me with a slight nod of the head.

"Hey," I say, looking back and forth between the two of them. I give Mark a small smile but he doesn't return it.

"Where is this band playing anyway?" Jason asks.

"Right here," Ally says, pointing at the crowd that surrounds the street performers. "I think this is the opening act. They should be on at six."

"You girls wanna get some frozen yogurt while we wait?" Jason asks, putting his arm around Ally's waist and giving it a light squeeze. "There's an ice cream shop just down the street."

"Yes, please," Ally responds.

"Okay," I say, agreeing with her.

Ally and Jason lead the way holding hands, while Mark and I follow behind. For a moment, we walk in silence as I try to think of a way to apologize to him. He glances at me a few times from the corner of his eyes, probably hoping that I'll be the first to speak.

"Mark?" I say, breaking the silence between us.

"Yeah," he answers.

"About last night..." I glance at him from the corner of my eyes.

"What about it?" He asks, looking straight ahead.

"I shouldn't have left without an explanation... I'm sorry. I hope I didn't ruin your night too much."

He stops and looks at me. "I accept your apology," he says.

I stop almost as instantly as he does. "Thanks."

"Why did you run out anyway?" he asks, studying my face. "Is there something going on with you and that photographer?"

"That's complicated," I answer, looking at Ally and Jason as they stand in front of the ice cream shop looking at us.

"How complicated can it be? I thought you only met him yesterday?"

"It's hard to explain," I say, shifting my gaze to him.

"Okay, I guess you don't wanna talk about it," he shrugs.

"No."

"Alright then, I won't push."

"Thanks."

We continue walking towards the ice cream shop. "How did you get home anyway?" Mark asks. "I came out to look for you but you were completely gone."

"President Welsh and his wife gave me a ride," I explain.

We enter the ice cream shop, which is filled with noisy teenagers and parents with small children waiting in line.