Ivy-Leigh Collins
Ok, so you know that state right when you wake up. And you don't know your name or really anything at all. Your brain is completely clear and there are no immediate problems in your life.
That is my favorite time of day. I don't have to deal with the weight of what happened with my dad, or my mom hating for it. Everything is just peaceful. I like it that way.
But after a few seconds, it wears off and you realize where you are and all of your problems seem a whole lot heavier. That is the worst part of my day. I find it interesting that in a matter of seconds your whole view or attitude changes.
"Ugh", Alia groans, snapping me out of my thoughts.
There's a knock on the door
The door opens and Mason steps in, "Get up ladies we are going to the bookstore"
"Oh my gosh, Mason. Get out", Alia says annoyed
"Well dearest cousin, while I would love to do just that and hang out with much cooler people, I actually have to talk to you guys", he replies
Alia opened her mouth. I can tell she's about to decline the offer and like throw a pillow at him or something so I intervene, "Backtrack. Did you say bookstore?"
Mason smirks, he already knows he won, "Indeed I did. You sound quite interested, are you ready to take up my offer?"
Alia scowls at him, "Whatever Mason, get out so we can change"
Mason looks pleased, "Of course, quick question, has Bloody Mary come to visit? You seem a little on edge."
Alia is fuming now, "MASON GET OUT"
"Oh, Mason one more thing before you leave. You woke us up early and last time we did that to you, you were rewarded with television privileges", I smile sweetly
His mouth hangs wide open, "I don't believe I recall this"
Alia looks at me like a proud mom, "Oh well let me enlighten you, On January 2nd of this year we awoke you from your royal slumber and you threw a big fit and made us sign a contract saying that you got 1 week of TV privileges."
"Excellent point Alia, I loved the use of exact dates, It was very compelling," I smile wide, "I think I have just the best idea for what show everyone will be watching for the next week".
I lock eyes with Alia and we use our best friend telepathy that we discovered in 7th grade when Tommy James asked if Alia and I wanted to both date him at the same time. I have to admit, little man knew exactly what he wanted and just straight up asked us.
"BROOKLYN 99", Alia and I shout at the same time.
Mason covers his ears and starts walking out of the door, "That show does not deserve as much credit as what you two give it."
Alia and I gasp
"Don't make me extend it to 2 weeks!", Alia shouts to Mason.
He rolls his eyes and starts closing the door, "Be ready in 15, I'll be down in the car"
Once the door shuts Alia and I burst into laughter.
Once we stop laughing Alia turns to me, "He's lying. He always hates on Brooklyn 99 but once I caught him watching it in his room"
I look up,"I am going to hold that against him forever"
Alia and I chat for a few minutes until we decide it's time to get ready.
I put on some gray sweatpants, a random hoodie I found on Alia's floor, fuzzy socks, and my tasmans. They are actually the Amazon dupe tasmans, but nobody has to know that.
Alia puts on cute flowy pants, a hoodie, and tennis shoes. We grab our phones off the chargers and head downstairs.
Halfway down the stairs, Alia turns to me, "Do you have any clue what he desperately needs to talk to us about."
I shrug, "I'm just glad I got an excuse to go to the bookstore for the second time this week"
She laughs, "Touche"
We hop in the car and I plug my phone into Mason's car.
I open Spotify and look up at them, "Is it a Taylor day, a Frank day, or a TV Girl day?"
"I vote Taylor, we listened to Frank yesterday and It's super bright outside which is more Taylor than TV Girl", Alia says
"Very good point", I go to my folklore and evermore playlist and turn it on.
"Can we know what's so important you have to wake us up early and bribe us with books to talk about", Alia asks
"You pose a valid point, cousin. However, I'm trying to listen to Taylor right now, so please hold your questions until we arrive", Mason says
Alia groans and leans back in her seat, "We are living in a sassy man apocalypse.
The rest of the drive is silent, but not long because the bookstore is only about 7 minutes away. We pull up and park.
Alia gets out of the car and turns to Mason, "Are we going to buy books first and then hear what you have to tell us or the opposite?"
Mason holds the door for us as we walk in," You guys can buy first, I'll get us a table and order coffee"
He steps inside, takes one look at two guys in there, grabs our hands, and drags us back outside, "Ok scratch that, I'll tell you what I had to tell you"
Alia looks confused, "Spit it out"
"Ok, 2 things. One, did you see those guys in there? Never talk to them. I mean ever. Two, Do you guys want to move in with us", Mason asks
"What?", I laugh, "I'm going to need more detail"
"Ok so basically those guys were our roommates and they said some really bad things so we kicked them out and now we are in need of some new roommates to pay the rent," he explains, "And I really don't want to have to go through another bunch of roommates like them.
I look at Alia, " I don't see why not. My mom kinda kicked me out yesterday so I did need a place to stay"
She shrugs, "Sounds fine to me. I could use the change"
"Mason, what exactly did those guys say?", I ask
"Something bad enough that Grayson broke Theo's nose", Mason replied
I look over at Alia because Mason was talking about Grayson. Her cheeks are bright red and she's pretending to be kicking a rock, but there isn't a rock so she looks kinda dumb.
Suddenly the door opens and the 2 guys from inside walk out.
They smirk at us, "I had a feeling we would find you 2 here"
I look at them confused, "What do you me-"
Mason steps in front of us, "You two, please, go to the car".
We look at him bewildered but reluctantly nod and head to the car.
Alia and I are looking out of the window. It looks like Mason is yelling at the two guys.
He walks up to the car and hops in.
"Mason what was that about", Alia asks
Mason doesn't take his eyes off of the road, "Just promise you won't talk to those guys"
We nod at him. Everything Mason did was always light-hearted and joking. But he was serious, and when he got like this you listen to him.
The car ride is uncomfortably quiet. When we pull up to Alia's driveway Mason speaks, "You guys can pack your things. I'll be back to pick you guys up in a few hours, ok?"
We nod and go inside.
---
"Should we talk about what just happened?", Alia asks
I let out a breath, "Oh my gosh yes I thought you would never ask"
"So I'm assuming those two guys said something about someone close with Mason and Grayson", She says
"Yeah, that would make sense considering Grayson broke one of their noses," I say, "But I wonder who"
"Yeah but my brother never gets serious so when he does you kinda have to listen", she replies
"Your right, I haven't seen him like that in years", I say
Alia picks her stuff off of the counter and starts heading towards her room, "We should probably pack. We only have like an hour"
I nod at her.
It does seem strange that we are moving in with Mason and his 2 friends without ever meeting them. Maybe I should've thought about this longer. But other than Alia's house, I have no other option. She's been dying to get out of her house so I guess it works out for the both of us.
I keep thinking as I pack everything into my 3 suitcases.
I hope Mason's roommates are nice. Because I don't think I could live with 2 douche-bags for the rest of the year. Hopefully, the rooms are a decent size. I wonder if Alia and I will have to share a room, or if the apartment is big enough for 2 extra rooms. What about my books? I have to go pick them up from Mom's tomorrow. Ok, that was weird. I just called MY house Moms. I guess she did kick me out, but I grew up in that house and it just feels off. But that's beside the point, the point is that I need to pick up my books tomorrow.
I read off of my Kindle sometimes because it's convenient. But there is just something about holding a book in your hand. Especially, if the book is the perfect size and height, and the words are the perfect size. Anyway, I need to pick up my books because they are like my children.
Sometimes I get lost in my own brain. Is that a normal thing? I just have a lot of thoughts and I don't know which ones to ponder first, which makes me think even more. Thinking about thinking makes my brain hurt.
"Uh Ivy, are you ok", Alia looks at me concerned
I look down and realize I have just been standing here for the past minute doing nothing.
"Oh yeah I'm fine I just spaced out," I tell her, "Do you know if the apartment is big? Like will there be enough room for us to have separate rooms?"
"From what Mason has mentioned, One of the guy's parents are like rich and bought him the apartment and told him to rent it to his friends", she explains
"Makes sense," I tell her, "I'm done packing, are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
She locks eyes with me and we start sprinting to the couch.
I grab the remote and turn on Brooklyn 99. We've watched this show like a bagillion times and we are rewatching it right now.
We are currently at the part where Jake takes Amy out on the "worst" date. But really he starts liking her.
"I need the Jake to my Amy", I sigh
"Me too girl, me too", Alia says
Then the door opens and Mason walks in. He doesn't look as mad anymore, which is a good sign.
"Ready?", he asks
"Yes", we say while saluting him
He rolls his eyes at us and grabs a few suitcases.
We get in the car and turn on Dress by Taylor Swift. That song is so good. It reminds me so much of Bree and Nathan from The Cheat Sheet.
The apartment is surprisingly close-by so the song ended right as we parked.
We grabbed our bags and headed into the elevator. Mason clicked level 5 and the elevator started going up.
"Will's parents bought the whole 5th floor so that's why the apartment is like the size of a large house", Mason explains as we walk up to the door.
Mason unlocks the door and we walk in. Wow. This place was nice. My suitcase got stuck on the side of the rug so I turned backwards to fix it. Once it was fixed I took a step back without turning back around and hit something.
I look up and it's those green eyes.
"Again?", he asks looking down at me.
This is going to be a long school year.