Of course, she knew that this moment, this absolutely gorgeous moment could exist only in place.
Her mind.
It was bittersweet and like always, she did her best to appreciate the beauty of the situation. Nevertheless, Aria couldn’t help but overanalyze certain aspects of her dreams and the illusions until it broke. It wasn’t like she wanted to overthink the situation, but the logic and the outcomes of the events simply didn’t add up.
A stream of sunlight seeped through the blinds and like always, she would fight against it. This morning was no different, except for the numerous notifications on her phone that never seemed to stop.
Eventually, she relented and opened her eyes before she cursed the blinds for not doing their job properly.
Summer was ending and so were her days of loafing around. Aria continued to lie on her bed as she silently wondered who the hell had the audacity to text her so early in the morning.
She grabbed her phone and opened her messages.
‘Hey’–7:00 AM
‘Hello?’–7:15 AM
‘Yooooo’–7:45 AM
‘Are you still asleep?’–8:43 AM
Aria groaned; they were all from the same person.
Mira.
She texted back.
‘Why are you up?’–9:50 AM
The replies came in quicker than she imagined.
‘Just woke up?’–9:51 AM
‘Let’s go somewhere’–9:51 AM
‘I finally quit my summer job’–9:51 AM
‘I’m FREE’–9:51 AM
The message bubbles kept coming in rapid succession. Aria didn’t even had the chance to send in her own message as it continued.
‘Shopping?’–9:52 AM
‘Now?’–9:52 AM
Aria finally pressed send to her one message.
‘I’m broke AF’–9:52 AM
The messages continued to dance on the screen before it disappeared, only to reappear a moment later.
‘I have to buy a dress’–9:55 AM
Instead of actually typing in words, Aria sent a saucy-looking emoji along with the laughing face.
‘Jerk’–9:56 AM
‘I’m on my way’–9:57 AM
‘20 min’–9:57 AM
Wait a minute.
Aria typed quickly.
‘I didn’t ask yet!’–9:58 AM
No response. She quickly rushed to the bathroom in the hopes of making herself presentable for the day, and blasted through her morning routine.
Face? Washed.
Teeth? Brushed.
Hair? Bun.
She returned from the bathroom before she rummaged through her closet. Knowing the heat would be the killer of the day, she had to choose wisely.
August was arguably the worst month in Nevada. The heat, sweat, and butt burns from sitting on the hot leather seats in the car . . . it wasn’t her favorite month to say the least.
She hopped down the stairs and was immediately greeted by a familiar sight.
“Hey Dad.”
“Hey,” her father greeted back. “Where are you going?”
“To the mall with Mira. Is that okay?”
He hummed in approval. “Is she picking you up?”
“Yeah.” Aria went to the kitchen and grabbed a few frozen waffles from the fridge before she popped them into the toaster.
“That’s fine. Just don’t get arrested,” her father said.
“Tell that to Mira.”
He snickered into his coffee cup.
“So, what are we doing for dinner?” she asked while she waited for her waffles.
“That’s up to you. I’ll be working late today.”
“Okay,” she said and used a paper towel to grab the hot waffles. A honk from the outside signalled Aria that Mira was outside, and she immediately made her way to the door.
“I’ll see you later then,”
“Stay safe.”
“Okay, bye Dad!” she called out before she left the house.
A familiar old yellow jeep was parked on the road in front of her house. Aria quickened her pace while she made sure not to drop the waffles.
After she opened the door to the passenger’s seat, she hopped in, and buckled up before Mira could say a word.
“Hey,” she greeted before she took a bite of her breakfast.
“Hey hey.” Mira smiled then looked at her waffles. “Don’t make a mess.”
Aria took another large bite and chewed thoughtfully. “Hmmm, that would be a shame if all the crumbs suddenly went in-between the seats.”
“I’m serious, I just cleaned the car yesterday,” Mira said as she started to drive but not before she turned on the radio.
Aria hummed in acknowledgment. The drive was a peaceful one where it allowed her to finish her two-waffle brunch. After taking the last bite, she made sure to wrap the paper towel neatly into a square before she stuffed it into a cup holder.
No crumbs, no problem.
“So how was Canada?” she asked.
“It was okay,” Mira replied. “We didn’t really do much because we were way up north.”
“Kinda like in the boonies or something?”
“Yeah, like that. It was really woodsy and forest-y.”
“Well, did you have a strong internet connection?” Aria asked.
Mira shook her head before she turned left. “The connection kept dropping so much. That’s why I didn’t video call at all.”
“It was only a week.”
“Yeah, but still. It was a really boring week.”
“So much for summer vacation, right?” Aria joked.
“You’re telling me. Anyways, I have this get-together with family friends. That’s why we’re . . .” She entered into the parking lot and immediately whizzed them straight through into a parking spot. “Here,” she finished.
“Jesus Christ, I hate it when you do that.” Aria held on to the car for dear life.
“But it’s so swift.”
“Yeah, yeah. Swift like the bringer of death.” She exited the car. “So why do you need to buy something?”
“It’s kind of important.”
She slammed the door before Mira locked the car.
“Again, why do you need to buy something?” Aria asked as they walked into the first shop.
“It’s a really big party with like family friends.”
“It’s just family, isn’t it?” She took a dress off the rack and gestured
