The Goodbye Note

Chapter 15

For this chapter I recommend the song The Wave by Colouring.

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Dan was released from the hospital on Monday, he didn't come to school today but I think he'll be here tomorrow. Homecoming is next weekend and I have not found a dress yet, since Mack and I are okay now, she said she would help me after school. I thought it would be fun if we invite the boys, so the four of us are going dress shopping once we get out of school. We agreed that Xander and Mack would meet me and Dan there, since he's not allowed to drive or be by himself for a few months.

On the way to science Mack decides to take a detour. "It was rude of me to walk away at the hospital while you were talking to me. You know, I'm sorry, right? I know I didn't say it in the hospital, but I really am, Emily."

"I know," I say as we turn around because the security guard is at the end of the hall yelling at students to get to class. "I'm just happy that we were able to get through that messy week."

"Yeah, I agree." Once we get to science we have to separate because Ms.Carmona is that one annoying teacher who still gives high schoolers assigned seating. She believes that our education is better if we are separated from our friends. I think that she's bored and has nothing to do in her life except make her students miserable. The middle-aged woman stands behind her desk and greets every student as they walk in.

I was never very good at science, I'm not sure why, but it just was never interesting to me. All this talk about gravity and cells. It really just makes me tired. Ms.Carmona starts by handing out a study guide and then tells us that our homework for today is 'simple' which is annoying, because it's simple for her, but what about me.

Once science is over, school is over. I walk to the student parking lot and I am about to get in my car when I hear someone yelling my name. I turn to see Xander and Mack. "My car isn't starting and Mack is riding with me, could you wait with us until the tow truck gets here?" He could just wait with Mack.

"Um, sure. We can wait in my car, because it's way too hot out here to be waiting for the guy," I say. They both mumble a thank you. I have to text Dan to let him know that I won't be on time to pick him up, but hopefully he doesn't mind. They both hop in the back seat. I know this shouldn't bother me but it does. Before they dated Mack would've sat next to me and Xander in the back.

By the time the tow truck actually arrives we are very late. School got out at three and it's now five. We still have time to get my dress though, because the mall doesn't close until nine. As soon as they get the car taken to Xander's house, I pick them up and we go to get Dan, he was a little mad that we took so long but he didn't really complain. We head straight to the mall and go to the dress stores right away, we don't have time to waste. We kind of wasted all the extra time that we had in the parking lot of the school. We look at about six stores until we went into Lily's Dress Shop, at first the store looked like every other dress shop, pink and sparkly, but I am wrong. The back wall of the store had the most beautiful dresses. Mack and I immediately run over to the wall and grab at least ten dresses for me.

I first try on this one dress that was lavender and very short, Mack said it looked like I didn't have a body in it and I agreed. The next dress was this poofy dress that made me look like a princess, I hated it, I didn't even show this one to Mack. The third one, though, is the most beautiful dress that I have ever tried on. It is tight at the top and poofy at the bottom, it is above my knees but not too above that I look like a stripper, the color was black which looks great against my pale skin. I walk out of the dressing room and Mack gasps.

"If you don't buy that dress then I will!" Mack cries out. "You look beautiful in that dress, Em. I love it!"

"You, think it's the one?" The worker asks. I nod and quickly change back into my tee shirt and jeans. I bring all the dresses out, I don't even care to try on the other seven. This is the dress. I hand the employee the other nine dresses and take the one that I want and wait behind the counter.

"Hey where did Dan and Xander go?" I ask, because I realize that I haven't seen them since two stores ago.

"They said something about being hungry and wanting to eat. I told them to do what they want and we would find them once we found the dress," she explains to me.

The employee walks behind the counter and rings up the dress and tells me the amount, I hand her my debit card and walk out of the store once I am finished paying. Mack and I head straight for the food court and see the boys eating a bucket of wings. "What are they doing?" I ask as if Mack had been with them the whole time. She shrugs. We continue walking over to them and I realize that it is a competition. There is a large clock behind them which reads 7:34 and the time keeps going down. They both have BBQ sauce all over their faces. It was just the two of them competing, they looked like idiots. "Um, what are you guys doing?"

"What does it look like we are doing? We're in a very serious competition, if I win I get a free salad bar ticket." Xander says to me and Mack. Really? Free salad bar, that's why they're shoving chicken wings down their throats. I roll my eyes, these to have as much maturity as seven year old boys who think that girls have cooties. I would love to tell them how ridiculous they are but they are kind of busy shoving wings down their throats. When the clock says 0:10 the crowd starts a countdown.

"Nine, Eight, Seven, Six, Five, Four!" Both boys are barely chewing the wings. "Three, Two!" Xander quickly wipes his mouth on a nearby napkin. "One!" They both lift their hands as a guy in a suit walks up to them and counts how many wings they each have left in the bucket. Dan won. Xander ate fourteen in ten minutes and Dan ate seventeen in ten minutes. Dan looks happy, so I was happy, no matter how stupid this was I was happy that he had a smile on his face.

Mack elbows me, "Looks like we are making a trip to the salad bar sometime." I laugh, she wasn't wrong. Dan wouldn't want his mom to drive him which left him one option, the three of us. I turn around to quickly look for any place that sells pretzels, because I really want a pretzel, I don't find a place but I do find an old woman watching me, I smile at her and turn towards my friends who are making their way over to me and Mack.

"So, who wants to go surfing?" Xander asks. We all agree and head to my car.

We made a stop at everyone's house, except mine, so they could get their surfboards and bathing suits. I have a bathing suit and board in my car for times like these. Once they all have their boards and suits, we make our way to the beach, since I am driving there are no detours and we make it there relatively quickly. The waves are depressing. They are so tiny that I will be lucky if I catch one ride today. We still go out because now it is a real competition. One or more than one of us will get lucky if there is a wave worth riding. "Em! Look at that one!" Mack screams because she is a good fifty feet away from me. I turn my head, it isn't huge, but it definitely is the biggest of the day. I decide that I am going to be the one who rides it the whole way. I start paddling, faster and faster. The wave catches me and I stand up and do some tricks that I didn't think I was going to be able to do today. We all tried to catch the wave but I got the best spot so I make it to shore while they are all just a little behind me.

"I think we can all agree that I won today! Now you must all bow down to your newest surf queen," I tell them as I laugh. They all huff and puff, Mack even rolls her eyes. "Aw, are the babies sad that they lost?"

"I don't get sad," Xander says as he makes his way to the car. I have a jeep so we are all able to toss the boards on the roof racks. We dry off a bit and hop in. Today was fun, today reminded me of the real reason why I have these guys as our best friends. I look before I pull out of the parking lot and that's when I see the same old woman from the mall, the one I smiled at when I was looking for a pretzel. Why would she be at the beach? How long has she been here? Has she been watching us?

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SOOOOOOOO.... Why do you think the old lady was following them? I was actually happy to make this chapter because the gang is back together, it was sad when Emily felt like she had no one to talk to. Well I can't wait for you guys to check out the next few chapters, once I put them up.

Lots of love, emma<3