Hello, Good Friend

Two hours later, only a few tables had customers seated in them. I had just finished cleaning the counter with a wet rag and wiping off the register's screen. Tony and I had been talking intermittently between my cleaning and his eating. Once he had finished, I cleared his plate and we continued to talk. About boyfriends, girlfriends, school life, skateboarding, snowboarding, etc. It was easy to catch up with him because he was so laid-back and didn't make it awkward at all.

"So what about this TV show I've been hearing so much about?"

"Oh, don't remind me, it's terrible! They call it a reality show, but they tell you who's going to hook up with who, who gets mad at who, what we should feel like, it's ridiculous! And we had to give them complete creative license, so whatever we say on camera, they're allowed to use. And we had to sign a contract that lets them film anywhere in our houses, but only full time cast members. Some public places agreed to it too, like the surf shop and skate park, so the crews can follow us in there. Thank God Meredith said no," Tony rambled on, before I set a smoothie glass in front of him. "What's this?"

"It's the... Ramblin' Raspberry Smoothie," I said, having to pause to look down at the menu. "It's new to me so I made it to try it. And there's extra and I don't want to waste it, so I'm giving it to you."

I pushed a straw across the counter to Tony and unwrapped my own. I took a sip of the drink and squeezed my eyes shut as the sourness of the beverage reached my brain. Tony took a sip of his too and laughed.

"Yeah, I think you forgot the sugar or milk or something."

"Anyway, what's the show supposed to be about?"

"It's basically Ryan's life in an overly-dramatic nutshell. His life is kinda crazy right now, though. So it's sort of truth."

I nodded in comprehension and took another sip of the smoothie, trying to get used to the tangy taste. I thought I added the milk and sugar...

"You should hang out with us sometime, I'm sure the boys would love to see you again," Tony said, taking another gulp of his smoothie.

I smiled. "I have to finish unpacking, and I'd rather save the reuniting for a time when his life isn't too hectic, you know?"

"Good luck with that, he's a professional skater now. His life is always going to be hectic. You should just go in there and be his friend. God knows how much he needs his good friend again," Tony said, trying to reassure me.

I laughed. "Aw shucks, Tony. Isn't that what you're there for, to be his good friend? Hey, are Casey and Taylor still hooking up and pretending no one knows?"

"No, they've actually been going out for a while now."

I nodded, "Good for them."

I succeeded in getting Tony off the topic of me being Ryan's good friend. If only Tony knew how much I missed them all when I was in Colorado, not just my best friend Ryan. It was so hard for me to start high school in a completely isolated town where everybody grew up with each other and already had established friend groups. I was lucky to have been accepted into a decent group of friends the first week, and that was only because the head honcho had seen my snowboarding skills and was afraid of me.

I took another sip of the sour smoothie and glanced at Tony's glass. I gasped.

Laughing, I said, "How'd you drink that so fast?"

"It's supposed to be sour. Meredith calls it her 'explosion of flavor' masterpiece. Focus on the banana flavor and it's not so bad."

I tilted my head and took another, more contemplative sip. I scrunched my eyebrows and let the drink sit on my tongue before the liquid turned warm and I had to swallow it. Immediately after that, I just drank the smoothie normally and did as Tony said, focusing on the banana flavor. To my surprise, he was right... it wasn't so bad.

"That is so weird," I said, resting my forehead on the metal of the counter, trying to figure out how that was possible.

"I know, Meredith did a really cool job with it. Wait until you try the new Blueberry recipe. Just don't do it without my guidance," Tony joked.

"No, that's not what's weird, I've never doubted Meredith's taste," I paused for dramatic effect. "It's weird that you were actually right," I teased back, sticking my tongue out at the end of my sentence.

Tony just smirked and said, "I missed you Chlo-Ho. Taylor just doesn't have the spunk you have sometimes."

"Well that's good to know," I said, watching the clock turn to three o' clock. "That I haven't been completely replaced by Taylor. Hold on for a sec," I told him as I walked around the counter and over to Meredith.

"Hey Meredith, it's three. Is my shift over?"

She nodded and took my apron from me and instructed me to take Tony along. Apparently, today wasn't the only day he had sought refuge from the camera crews.

"Pay up," I said walking back over to Tony and entering in his order to the register. After I had taken care of his check, I closed the register and placed the dishes in the sink in the kitchen. "By the way, you're giving me a ride home."

Tony just laughed and held the door open for me on the way out, not forgetting to shout a 'Thank you!' and 'See you later!' to Meredith. He pointed me out to his truck and I hopped into the passenger seat.

"I called Shotgun by the way," I told him as I buckled in my seatbelt.

"Well, that's unfortunate. I have to sit next to you? But you have cooties," Tony said to me mockingly. I punched him in the arm.

"Hey! What was that for?" He asked rubbing his arm.

"'Cause you're taking too long and I want to go hoooooome!"

"Alright, alright," Tony said, turning the car on and going into reverse. "No more punches though, or else I'll accidentally swerve."

I smiled. He remembered that I was always nervous to get in the car with an older sibling because they 'had fun' driving. The rest of the drive was pretty uneventful. He still remembered where I lived so he got there in no time.

While I was getting out of the car, he turned the volume of the radio down and put the car into park. When I slammed the door shut, he rolled down the window to the passenger side door and yelled "Chloe!" By this time, I was already halfway up the walkway.

"Yeah?" I yelled back.

"What's your number, I'll call you tonight to hang out," he asked.

I smiled sadly.

"It never changed," I shouted before turning to walk into the house. I waited four years for a call from one of you guys, Tony. I never changed my number.