"Hey, up." I pull the pillow out from beneath Joey's head.
My best friend, Joey Adler, is currently sleeping in my bed, and it's gonna be a task getting her up.
"Ugh, but I'm so tired," she groans, pulling the pillow over her face.
"Yeah, I know, I know. But remember we're meeting the boys down at Donna's, so we got to go."
She groans again but eventually sits up. The dim light shining through my window hits against Joey's dark skin, making her absolutely radiant. I wish my skin looked like hers. I wish my everything looked like hers.
I walk into my bathroom and start changing into skinny blue jeans, a brown lacy corset tank top, and a brown flannel to wear over it. It's drizzling outside, and this fit is perfect for a drizzly day. While I'm brushing my teeth, Joey finally walks into the bathroom.
"Please don't wear your contacts today," she pleads, her doe eyes big and her big lips pouted. I spit agitatedly. "I'm going to."
"No, Allie, please just one more day. Look, today is the last day of Christmas break. Just give me one more day then you can wear them all you want at school." I search her pleading eyes for a minute before giving in.
I always give in to her, she has a way of making people do that. "Ugh, fine," I groan. She enthusiastically claps her hands and does a little dance.
So, basically, I've got heterochromia. My left eye blue and my right one brown. And I know what you're gonna say, oh Allie heterochromia is so pretty why would you cover it up? I cover it up because I don't need any more reason to stick out than I already have. So, most days I wear contacts to make both my eyes look brown. But not today I guess.
I think I'm gonna braid my hair today. I don't feel like fixing it, it looks like a huge ball of fuzz right on top of my head. It's naturally curly, so that doesn't help.
After a little while, we're both ready. We're meeting the rest of our group at our favorite diner, Donna's. We all agreed to meet at 10:30, and currently, it's 10:20, so we have 10 minutes to get there. But, if I'm being honest, they'll probably be late too.
"Alright, 10 minutes, let's go, we can do this," Joey jumps energetically, grabbing her bag.
"Yep, let's go," I smile, grabbing mine too.
We start making our way down the stairs, the rest of the house eerily quiet. "Is your dad home?" She whispers. "What do you think," I reply as we skip down the stairs.
As we walk out the door, the bitter air immediately hits my face. "Fuck, it's cold," I exclaim.
"Yep, we should probably just stay here," she says hopefully.
"Nope, I'm hungry, we're going."
She groans as we walk down the steps and onto the sidewalk. "Can we at least take your car?" She asks hopefully.
"No, I want to walk."
She groans dramatically in response. "But it's cold and it's raining," she whines.
I laugh. "Then lucky for you, I brought my umbrella. And plus, it's just barely sprinkling drama queen." I pull out my yellow see-through umbrella with cartoon frogs on it. Super cute, right? She groans but reluctantly walks under it.
Each house we walk past looks exactly the same, like an endless loop. This whole town is like an endless loop.
Finally, the curly red letters of Donna's come into view and I smile. I push open the door and immediately the delicious smell of the diner fills my nose.
The red, black, and white theme spreads through the whole place and the checkered floor is chipped and worn. But, I still love it.
I wave at Becca, one of the waitresses here. She smiles her usual bright smile and waves back, her red hair in a ponytail and her glasses right on the tip of her nose.
I scan the diner with my eyes, looking for the group of idiots that are my friends, and immediately I see them, in the very corner booth.
Brady West sits on top of the booth's headrest wearing his varsity jacket. His messy, dirty blond hair falls in his eyes and his rosy cheeks make him look like he's been bitten by snow. He's scowling at the other two boys and has a pouty look.
Next to his legs, Wyatt Moore sits with his arms crossed shaking his head at them. The brown corduroy jacket he has on compliments his short wavy brown hair nicely and his glasses make his hooded blue eyes sparkle.
And across from them is Austin Ashbrook. All I can see is his jet-black hair and an oversized leather jacket, but I can basically sense his jackass smirk.
Brady catches my eyes and smiles, jutting his chin our way. Wyatt looks up at him confused and annoyed but Austin turns around, sees us, and smiles. Joey and I glance at each other and then make our way to the booth.
"Gooood morning, Alley Cat," Austin's deep voice reaches my ears as he smiles and lets me into the booth.
"Hello Joseph," Wyatt taunts Joey. She sighs and rolls her eyes. "Hello Whitney," she counters. They argue like an old married couple.
Brady ignores them and scoots up. "Allie, do I smell?" I come closer and sniff. "A little," I laugh. "I do not smell!" He exclaims.
"You see, that disgusting smell is due to the fact that Brady insisted on going to the gym before this," Wyatt smiles.
"Did you guys work out with him?" Joey asks.
"Hell no," Austin chuckles. "We went to the movies."
"Yeah, and they saw Black Door without me," Brady mumbles with his head down.
"Dude, you would have screamed, don't even act like you wouldn't have," Wyatt rolls his eyes as Austin shows his signature smirk. As Brady and Wyatt bicker, Becca comes up to our table.
"Hey guys, how are my favorite customers doing?" She smiles.
We all reply with "goods" and smile at her. "How bout you, how are you today, Becca?" I smile.
"Can't complain," she smiles back. "Anything I can get you guys?"
"Yeah, actually, could I get a French vanilla latte with the blueberry creamer?" I ask. She smiles as she begins walking back behind the counter. "Course, bookstore today, huh?"
I smile because she has my order memorized. "Yep," I laugh.
"Sure thing, Allie," she smiles, walking into the kitchen.
"Speaking of which," I say, turning to my friends. "Anybody wanna come with me today?"
"Nah, sorry, I've got to get home and make dinner, mom's finally got an off night." Wyatt beams.
"Yeah, I'm booked too. Dylan just texted. She's going back today. I gotta help her pack and say goodbye," Joey says. Dylan is Joey's sister. She goes to college out of state, but she comes home for the holidays.
I look up at Austin hopefully. He looks down at me and chuckles, poking my arm playfully. "Sorry, Allie. I've got to take Lizzy to practice."
I sigh. "It's fine I can just go by myself, no biggie."
Austin shakes his head and looks at everyone else. "No, she shouldn't go alone. I nominate Brady to go with her."
"No, no, no. I really have to practice for tryouts," Brady complains.
"All in favor say I," Austin completely ignores his previous comment. Everyone says "I" and Brady groans. "Fine, I'll go, whatever."
I smile wildly, grab his hand, and squeeze it tightly. "Thanks, I love you, Brady." He smiles sweetly and looks down.
After Becca came and gave me my coffee, we all stayed and talked for a while. But, eventually, we leave and part our separate ways. Brady and I make our way down to the bookstore.