Page 130 of Give My Everything
“Ha! That’s clever,” she replies, both of us climbing out of the car and walking to the front.
“Woah, why is it so busy?” she asks as we come around the corner and find a horde of people outside Mary’s. “Aren’t weekdays supposed to be slow at the beach?”
I roll my eyes. “Not during the last holiday of the summer.”
Her face scrunches up. “What kind of holiday is on a Monda… Oooooh.” She points at me, realization dawning. “It’s Labor Day.”
Nodding, I maneuver through the crowd, leading Josslyn toward the hostess stand. Back in high school, we used to have a reserved table every week, holiday or not. That would be great today.
When I reach the front, I smile at the hostess.
“Wallace. There are two of us. And can we sit outside?”
She nods and writes down our information. “Should be about an hour.”
My nose scrunches, but I nod, turning to face Josslyn.
“Remmy!”
At the sound of my name being called, I look over to the patio, my eyes widening when I see it was Lucas.
He’s at a table with Lennon. And Paige. And Wyatt and Hannah. Rebecka. Aaron. Ji-Eun. Otto.
I swallow awkwardly, wondering why he would call out to me like that, drawing all the attention my way.
“Is that them?” she asks, her voice quiet.
I nod, not feeling like I have the ability to speak.
My eyes scan the table, noting some eyes looking at me and some not.
“You should at least go say hi, even if it’s awkward,” she says, and I feel her hand give me a small nudge.
In my mind, I picture a parent trying to scooch her child forward toward potential friends, and it makes this weird noise bubble up in my throat.
“Was that a laugh?” Josslyn asks.
“Kinda.”
I take a deep breath and decide to suck it up.
I don’t have to spend time with people who don’t like me, but I also can’t assume people don’t like me before they’re given a chance to eventalkto me. If I remember my last night with this group correctly—my first night back in town when I returned to Hermosa in early July—everything was fine.
Everyone was friendly and kind and asking questions about my life in Santa Barbara.
Except for Paige.
Paige who is looking right at me from her end of the table, her expression unreadable.
I shake out my wrists and then walk over, smiling through my nerves.
“Monday Mournings are still a thing, huh?” I say as I reach the table. “After all these years.”
“Brunch and booze?” Aaron says, a shit-eating grin on his face. “You couldn’t pay me to give it up.”
I laugh, feeling the knot in my chest loosen just slightly at Aaron’s ridiculous response.
“Everyone, this is my friend Josslyn. She was my roommate freshman year of college and my closest friend in Santa Barbara.”
