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CHAPTER THREE !
❝ vanessa + jonathan + amber ❞
i stared at the slice of bread on the plate in front of me. it was toasted and golden. there was butter on top that was spread unevenly and tiny salt crystals along with little black specks of pepper that vanessa sprinkled for more taste. outside the kitchen window was pitch black, as it was late and this was our late-night snack. there were two slices of bread on my plate before, but my wet hair from a shower dripped onto my food and made it soggy.
"tomorrow can you help me find a job?" i asked vanessa who sat across from me. she wore mismatching pyjamas and her own slice of toast hung from out of her mouth, as she was too lazy to hold it with her hands that were preoccupied flipping through a magazine with ralph macchio on the cover.
she looked up at me and hastily put the magazine down as well as the bread all the while nodding her head as she forced herself to chew and swallow the food faster. i waited patiently for her to finish.
"before or after the pool?" she smirked and a soft chuckle escaped from my lips. i picked up my food and took a big bite of the crunchy toast then placed it back down on the plate that was covered in crumbs.
"what if they need more lifeguards?" i asked as a joke.
vanessa's eyes widened at the thought and she squealed but silenced herself before she made any more noise as her parents were asleep in the room above us, but she kept a happy smile on her face as her thoughts drifted.
my thoughts drifted too. i thought of the female lifeguard from that day and imagined myself in her place. it was always a dream of mine to become a lifeguard and wear such a bathing suit, though i wasn't always confident in my body i knew i could make it work. i thought about sitting up in the high chair, not really doing anything as most people knew how to swim. it was only a dream though and nothing more.
then i thought about the moment when my shift would end. where i would climb down from the chair and walk past the other employee, which was a shirtless billy, who was ready for his shift. then we'd lock eyes as we see each other and not break eye contact until we were too far away. a grin made it's way to my mouth as i thought about it.
"we should check tomorrow, then we can go to the mall and check which stores are hiring, then ice cream but this time no cherries," vanessa suggested and patted her stomach. i laughed out loud and she shot me a look to quiet down and so i did instantly. "i'll try to get a job too, i want to move out of here so i can be as loud as i want."
"move out with me?" i sent her a boxy smile and she nodded her head enthusiastically, as if the only answer was yes. "this is gonna be great, i should tell my parents when-" i stopped and fell back in my seat as worry filled my body, "my parents haven't called yet and they should have a long time ago."
