The diner wasn't usually busy during Sunday morning hours, so we sometimes lazed around talking about all sorts of things. Mrs. Mariah would often join in giving stories of when she was younger. One story, in particular, she never got tired of telling, was how her father had chased her now-husband out of his house the first time he made his intentions known for not bringing the required liquor for the occasion.
Honestly, it had been her fault she hadn't mentioned it, but she said the scene was well worth it. Her father riled up in anger, stormed out with a machete in hand, threatening to have his head, and the frightened sheriff barely managed to escape, tripping severely as he apologized. Still, he was left perplexed when his soon-to-be father-in-law burst into laughter, urging him to come back in, but the Sheriff stood at a distance, skeptical that it was a trap. It was only when she went to pull him back to the house, explaining it was only a prank, that he slowly went back
That day, he had learnt that his father-in-law had a wild sense of humor, though he did learn that it was indeed tradition to bring the liquor
The day passed on slowly a few customers trailing in, I counted the seconds waiting for the afternoon to arrive since we were free then and Brea and I together with a couple of friends had decided to spend it at the waterfall, we had made it a point to have as much fun as possible before we were swept in our studies while preparing for our very final exam in high school and honestly I was both nervous and excited for that
I didn't know what to do after, what career I'd dive into, but I had at least narrowed down my options, so that was something, right? Anyway I had already decided to take a gap year craving adventure and fun before once again being swept with more studying and planning for the future, my mum was actually more chill about it than I had expected but I wasn't that surprised, she had always been open to letting us make our own decisions so when I made the proposition her only condition was that I at least get 3.3 overall GPA
Brea placed her hand on my shoulders as we exited the diner, her purple nails shining brightly under the sun, she sipped on her coffee and once again complained about the impending stress of the exams I only smiled reassuring her that we'll keep studying together which managed to put a stop to her grumbling, this was our last free weekend so it was understandable that she was so stressed. Before us stood my Jeep, its San Marino blue color shining radiantly as the sun's rays touched it, and I couldn't help but smile at how beautiful it looked. Brea seemed to think the same since she already had her camera out, making sure to get every angle of the car, and I'd be lying if I said that that didn't make me feel proud
The first time my mother surprised me with it my mouth was on the floor my eyes as big as saucers, I had thought it was a prank at first since there was no way a parent could gift a 17-year-old such an expensive car but she proudly handed me the keys encouraging me to take it for a spin, that was one of the happiest days of my life she had not only gotten me my dream car but had it in the exact shade I wanted. I immediately drove to Brea's house, and the surprise and excitement on her face matched mine. We had spent the rest of the day just driving around
"Make sure you send me those photos."
"Of course, they look so good, Lyl, and when I'm done with editing, they'll be spectacular."
"I know."
"Mind if I use them for my portfolio?"
"No, go right ahead, which reminds me, you still going to the city for that job?"
"Yap, I'll be going a month after we're done with the exams."
"Shit that's so soon, I'll fucking miss you"
"I know, but it's only a three-hour flight, you can come whenever."
"Hmmm, so you'll be staying with your Aunt, right?"
"Yap, pretty convenient since she's friends with the photographer I'll be interning with."
I reversed out of the parking lot while Brea went over the photos she had taken, deleting those she thought didn't capture what she wanted. We soon entered the road that led to the forest, and once again, I was filled with awe at the magnificent Aspen trees that lined the road. The trees trembled slightly in the breeze, the sun piercing between the leaves, making their yellow color more radiant, beckoning for the visitors passing through to journey into a world of wonder and mystery, like a gateway to another realm.
Though our town is said to be small it is more so for the population not the land in itself for our town is large but because of its natural heritage and unique beauty it's considered a national treasure so only a certain amount of people are allowed to live here, even the tourist population is regulated to make sure that its uniqueness is preserved.
"Wait, isn't that the guy from yesterday?" Brea said, pointing in a certain direction
"Mmmhm, yap that's him"
"What is he doing walking here alone?"
"Enjoying nature"
Brea only rolled her eyes at me and proceeded to shout, "Hey, new guy," making the person in question turn to us, and I reluctantly slowed down the car
"Hi, so what are you doing here all alone?" Brea asked, smiling, that mischievous smile she had whenever she was planning something
"Just exploring"
"All alone, where's your brother?" she asked, looking around
"Busy" is all he said then looked towards me and I only gave him a small smile just to be nice and he, in turn, smirked, that stupid cocky smirk that irritated me so much
"We're headed to the waterfall, wanna join?" Brea asked much to my disapproval
"Brea, the guy probably has other plans…"
"No, I'll join you," he said cutting me short, that fucking smirk turning more arrogant if that was possible
"Good hop in."
I didn't wait for him to sit properly before I drove off, making him bump his head on Brea's seat
"Lyl!"
"Sorry" is all I said, faking an apologetic smile through the rearview mirror
As I parked the car at the provided lot for anyone entering the forest, I spotted our friends already there, and they smiled and cheered as we approached them. Honestly, most of them were Brea's friends who considered me their friend because of that link, she had always been the social butterfly easily making friends and connecting with people while I was the Introvert whose social tolerance could only go so far, not that I didn't socialize or make any friends but it wasn't my area of expertise and I preferred spending the night watching a movie rather than going to a party but even so Brea had successfully managed to drag me to a few
After greetings were made, the group turned to our guest, and Brea made to introduce him
"Guys, this is …" It was only now that I realized we didn't even know the name of the stranger we carried along, making me regret further why we brought him
"Anson, my name is Anson."
"Yeah, he and his brother are new in town, so we invited him to join in, hope ya'll don't mind"
After a series of no's, especially from the females, we took our things and made our way into the familiar path