Chapter 2

Maybe it’s because I’m one of the only people in this school who’s from America.

I shrugged to myself, knowing that I won’t know the answer unless she tells me. Pushing those thoughts out of my mind, I went back to listening and snacking. 

“Doesn’t this mean Norah is his mate?”

“No! This means anyone here is his mate! Not just Norah! Anyone has a shot now!”

“I’ll pay so much money to see Norah not be his mate!”

“You and me both! In fact, I think it’ll be me!”

“Aw! You two would make such a cute couple!”

“I know!”       

They soon changed the topic to a shopping trip they were going on after school which made me tune them out. 

I wasn’t a fan of going to the mall to shop. I prefer to stay cooped up in my room and order stuff online. Less people to worry about, and I didn’t have to worry about the judgy looks I would receive when I struggled to find pants that would fit over my thicker lower half. Trying to find a pair of jeans that was short enough for my legs, yet big enough for my wide hips had me lean more towards the finer things of life.

Leggings.

The rest of my day went by quickly. The whole school was buzzing about this Axel guy coming back. Even Norah was in a good, giggly mood about him. A guy that I haven’t heard of until today. He must be a special guy if everyone seems to be talking about him.

I guess I’ll know who he is when he shows up tomorrow.

Deciding it was best if I forget about him for now, I focused my attention on the menu I was holding. I didn’t feel like going home right after school like I sometimes do. I was craving some food for this cute little cafe that I found. The food was delicious, plus rarely any people came here.

A place besides my home where I enjoy good food, read a good book, and be alone is a place where I want to be all the time. This is where I usually would be if I didn’t trap myself in my own house. 

“Good afternoon Aurora!” I shyly peered up at the familiar southern twang of the waitress that always serves me. I find it weird and comforting that there was someone obviously from America that works here. 

I find her story of how she got here adorable. She met her husband in America as he was a foreign exchange student at her high school. He charmed her with his foreign accent and gentlemanly ways and she charmed him with her southern sweetness. They soon fall in love, graduate high school, and move here to continue his family business of ruining this cafe. She works here as a waitress to help him out with the stress of the business. 

“G-Good afternoon Cherie.” I mumbled back, giving her warm grin a shy smile.

“What do you want today, doll? Jeneise and Peire made their homemade lemon pound cake today if you want a slice? I’m tellin’ you that thing is to die for! They even put tiny little lemon slices on top of the icin’! Doesn’t that sound like the cutest little thing?!” Cherie rattled on as she whipped out a notepad and pencil to write down my order. 

“I-It does,” Pound cake does sound good right now. Maybe I’ll order that instead of dessert I was going to order. Or maybe I can order both, eat one now and eat the other at home. “I-I’ll have your bacon c-cheeseburger. Extra pickles and b-bacon, with the bacon extra c-crunchy please. I’ll a-also have two of your cheesy curly f-fries with bacon b-bits on it. A l-large p-pink lemonade to d-drink. T-The lemon pound cake that you mentioned, can I have it with extra i-icing? I-I would like your d-dozen f-fudge chocolate chip c-cookies to go. Grandpa has been asking f-for your cookies.”

Another good thing about having a friend is having someone order for you. As much as I love Cherie, I did not like making decisions like these. It didn’t make sense to people, but it feels like so much pressure to me. I didn’t like having that type of pressure on me. It made me feel uncomfortable.

“You gotta tell me how you stay so tiny darlin’! I eat a cheeseburger and I gain ten pounds!” Say that to my big thighs, “I’ll have your food out in a minute sweetie! Now where is-oh there he is! Jeneise! Bring Aurora a glass of pink lemonade! Just the way she likes it!”

“Yes mam.”