Anderson Means A

Chapter 2 - The Stranger, continued

This is a first draft, if you see any mistakes (English is not my native language), please let me know! 

After grabbing her coat inside, which she should have done the moment she decided to go sit on the cold steps outside, they walked along the sidewalk of the silent streets.

"Where are we going?", Charlotte asked after they entered another empty street. "I don't think there's anything open anymore."

"The gas station." The boy looked at her with an expression of amusement. "Or do you want to go back to your fancy party?"

"No", she said with an annoyed voice. What did he think? Just because she wore an expensive dress, did not mean she wouldn't want to go inside a gas station shop.

"Why do you sound so defensive?", he asked. He didn't sound attacking in any way, just curious.

Charlotte sighed. "I don't know. There was something about the way you said it." She looked up at the sky. "Everyone talks to me like they already know everything about me. How I will react, what I will say. It's exhausting."

"I don't know who you are at all. I don't even know your name", he answered. His words calmed her. He only knew she wore a fancy dress and went to a fancy party. He was right: he didn't know her at all.

They entered a large road, with a small gas station on the opposite side of the street. There was a light in the shop and Charlotte could see a woman sitting behind the cash desk. They crossed the road and entered the shop. The woman looked up from her magazine, her face filled with boredom. She put her magazine down when Charlotte's companion stopped in front of her.

"Which type of coffee do you want?", he asked.

"Black. Just black."

He looked surprised by her answer, but he asked two black coffees, medium size. The woman nodded and started the espresso machine behind her. Charlotte looked at the shelves filled with candy bars and chips. She hadn't eaten candy since she was twelve years old and her mom had taught her sugar was her new enemy. Drinking was alright, because it maintained social contacts, but sugar – ironically - would destroy her body. When she turned around, the boy was standing in front of her with two cups of coffee.

"I will pay you back", Charlotte said immediately.

He smiled: "I can miss two dollars. Let's go outside."

There were some wooden picnic tables next to the shop. He placed the coffee cups on the table and sat down. Charlotte took place in front of him and warmed her hands with the hot coffee cup.

Suddenly, the boy asked: "Why can't you go home drunk?"

"My parents don't want me to be drunk. It's not good for our image", Charlotte said, while she took a sip of the hot liquid.

"Your image?" He looked interested and disbelieving at the same time.

"It's complicated", Charlotte snapped, hoping he would stop asking about her family.

"You need to be perfect?"

"I do", she smiled, but there was no joy in her expression. "Everything needs to be so damn perfect, all the time. I go to the perfect private school, I have the perfect sister, the perfect parents, the perfect boyfriend..."

"You have a boyfriend?", he interrupted her.

Oops. She stared at her coffee for a moment. "I do", she admitted. She should have told him, before agreeing to go with him. Maybe he expected something from her?

"Why isn't your boyfriend drinking coffee with you at the gas station at 2 a.m.?" The boy tilted his head to one side, like he did earlier. It made him look interested, like he was analyzing her behavior, trying to read whatever she was thinking.