The New Boy

chapter 25

Instead, I just told her about school and surfing and Mia. The three constants in my life. Her eyes appraised me the whole time, never once leaving mine. They had a suspicious glint buried deep inside, and I could tell she wasn't buying my story that the school year had been drama-free so far. I probably wouldn't believe it either, honestly. I always sucked at lying and Luanda's keen eyes never missed anything. She was more observant than even my parents.

By the time I finished, Lu had sighed about forty-eight times. No joke. "Now honey, do you really think I would believe that?" she chuckled to herself.

Great.

"What aren't you tellin' me?"

I let out a nervous chuckle and pretended to be fascinated by wiping the counter for the umpteenth time. "What are you talking about?"

"You know, Jared told me that Thomas came by here last weekend." She said in a sympathetic tone. Of course nosy-Jared the assistant manager was watching me the whole time I was talking to Thomas. He is simply the best.

Yeah, not really.

"I'm guessing he already told you everything."

"He told me enough for me to infer. Did you dump him?" She asked, coming to put a hand on my shoulder. Her watchful eyes were now filled with sadness. That was one thing I loved about Lu— she wasn't looking at me with pity, but with actual care for how I felt. She may be my boss, but we had grown so close over the years that we had formed a more special bond.

"He dumped me- No, well I guess technically I dumped him." I stumbled out. "He cheated on me."

"Oh no, baby." Lu immediately wrapped me in a hug, her frail arms holding me tightly. Her hand ran soothingly up and down my back, even though I was at least half a foot taller than her.

"Yeah... so he brought the girl to the shop last week and that's why we were arguing. I'm sorry I was distracted on the job."

Lu immediately gave me a disparaging look. "You know I care much more about you as a person than you as a worker. You should have gone straight home." She chastised me.

"Yeah, because Jared would totally have let me do that." I rolled my eyes. It was no secret that I hated Jared and his stupid rules.

"I'm the boss around here, not Jared." She retorted.

"Great, so can you fire him?" I smiled playfully.

"I can hear you!" I heard a nasally voice call from the back. Oops. I didn't know he was here today.

"Oh, hush." Lu told me, winking. We moved farther away to avoid his eavesdropping ears. "Now don't you change the subject."

I frowned at her. "Why are you always so observant?" I complained.

"Because I'm old and therefore wise. Now continue."

"Honestly, it isn't that big of a deal anymore. I mean, it sucks. Sometimes I still get really sad about it, like when I saw him with that girl. But at other times, I'm ready to move on. I just don't know how to when he keeps bothering me. When I'm with my friends, though, it's like I don't think about him at all."

"Uh-huh, I see." Lu nodded to herself, her keen eyes piercing through mine again. "Who are these friends?"

"Mia and some new boys from school."

Lu shook her head with a smile. "Any of these boys more than a friend?"

"No, of course not." I responded. She didn't look very convinced.

"You keep telling yourself that then, sweetie." Lu whisked away to her office, but I came with her.

"What do you mean?" I asked, catching the door before it could close. She smiled to herself, knowing that I would follow her.

"I know you, Olivia Astor. And I know love. If you are heartbroken over a guy, it's all you can think about. But say there's another guy in the mix, and he might take your mind off it." She explained, a small smirk sitting on her bright red lips.

"Wait, you think that I like someone else?" I immediately asked.

She ignored my question. "Who are these guys you've been hanging out with?"

"Shawn Anderson, Jacob King, and Asher Williams." I listed them off. I was confused about her reasoning, but one thing I learned was to always listen to Lu. She was usually right.

"Okay, tell me about them." She commanded me. Her arms were crossed over her flowery dress in a pose that was surprisingly authoritative for someone so tiny.

"Shawn and Jacob have gone to my school for years, and Asher is new. Shawn is really popular, but he's actually really sweet. He has four siblings that I like to babysit with him. He plays soccer but I think he's secretly more of a nerd than a jock." Lu nodded in approval, so I continued one. "I'm pretty sure Mia has already told you about Jacob?" I asked her, knowing that Lu was close with Mia too. Mia came here all the time to visit me when I'm working, and Lu gave advice to Mia, too.

"Remind me."

I was slightly confused. "Come on, Lu, you never forget anyone."

"I just want to hear you describe him."

"Okay? Jacob is also super popular, probably because he is captain of the lacrosse team. His family is wealthy but he never shows off, which I like. He's the worst driver I've ever seen, and he loves surprises. Jacob is kind of goofy at times, and I think he plays guitar too. Mia loves him, of course, and he has a crush on her too." Lu couldn't contain a smile at that.

"And the last boy?"

"That's Asher. He's- um, he's... uh" I trailed off, unsure of where to begin. The other boys were easy to describe, but I found my mid turning up blank at Asher. He was an enigma, constantly shifting and confusing me. One second he was the laughing, beautiful boy that I joked around with, and the next he was cold and secretive. What did I really know about him? He was gone all the time, his hands covered in tiny tattoos with mysterious meanings, and his moods shifted faster than a seesaw. I had absolutely know idea how to describe him.

Lu raised an expectant eyebrow.

"Asher is confusing." I answered honestly. "He's really funny, and really smart, but he has me tutor him anyway. He is always late and loves to skip school and made me get a week of detention. I bumped into him on the first day of school and he was extremely rude, but his personality seemed to shift overnight. Oh, and I knew him back in New York. I guess we actually met for the first time in third grade, not this year."

Lu's face remained stoic, and she didn't say anything. Finally, she nodded and hummed to herself. "So you like this Asher boy."

"What? No." My face flushed as I tried to roll my eyes convincingly. "I don't like Asher."

"I can tell by the way you described him." Lu clicked her tongue.

"Lu, I definitely don't like Asher. We are just friends." I tried to convince her, my heartbeat increasing unexplainably.

"Whatever you say, sweet girl. I'm just making a prediction." Lu looked at me full on. "If you don't like him, that's fine. But don't let this boy hurt you like the last one did."

"You don't have to worry about that, trust me. It's not like that." I tried to reassure her.

The bell chimed in the front of the restaurant and I sighed as Lu motioned for me to go take their order. I gave her one last glare and headed back out the door of her office, wiping my palms on my apron.

When I opened the door, I was shocked by the tall, green-eyed boy standing in front of me. Speak of the devil.

"Asher?"

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The picture above is who I picture as Lu (Luanda). If you don't remember, she is Olivia's boss at the ice cream shop. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'm glad I am back to updating regularly.