Nothing Personal

The familiar old building of the restaurant came into view a few moments later and Penny pulled the car into a parking spot and they pulled opened the heavy old wooden door and were welcomed with the smell of Mexican food. The hostess smiled to them as she greeted them with a heavy Spanish accent and then they followed her one of the booths that outlined the warm yellow cracked walls.

The bar was set in the very middle of the room with chairs and tables set around it and hidden behind the bar was doors leading to the kitchen and bathrooms. It was homey with a Spanish theme, obviously, and most of the furniture was a dark wood and there were movie posters and signs in Spanish scattering the walls.

“Oh look! They have a few new things!” Penny exclaimed excitedly as she began to chatter about what to get and which one sounded better. Zooey just gave short answers here and there when needed but Penny didn’t seem to notice. The blonde could always come up with something to say, and even if no one else said anything else it didn’t bother her.

While Penny was talkative and bubbly, Zooey was quiet and shy. They were complete opposites, but that’s what made them such good friends. There were some things they had in common, like music, but that was all really. While Penny was sporty and fashionable and spent her nights out, Zooey was stayed in to read and watch old movies. She wasn’t good at sports or had a top notch style; she preferred jeans and her favorite pair of chucks over heels and skirts, and only wore dresses and skirts when she absolutely had to; which, thankfully, wasn’t that often.

*Ooh, that enchilada sounds good.* Alex piped in again as Zooey continued to scan the menu. She was leaning more toward her usual but felt like she should at least look to see if anything else sounded good.

*Would you stop thinking of your own stomach and think about mine? You just ate; I haven’t had anything since breakfast.* She replied as their waiter came over to take their drink orders and then left again to let them continue deciding.

*And whose fault is that? Yours. I’m not the one who spent her entire lunch period in the library because she found a new book. I’m telling you, I’m signing you up for an intervention. It’s gotten so bad that you don’t think about your own well being and forget to feed yourself.*

*Has anyone ever told you you’re a drama queen?*

He paused a moment as if it was a serious question, *yes.*

*Well someone’s telling you again. Seriously, books to me are like music to you. So stop complaining and let me decided on something to eat.*

He just snorted in response but she ignored him as he started to sing some stupid made up song as she continued to look at the menu. By the time their waiter came back, she had given up on trying to find something new and ordered her usual, which happened to be the yummy authentic chicken quesadillas with a homemade salsa. While Penny ended up going with the enchilada she had commented on before.

“So since you’re so hyped up on who I’m going to the dance with, who is the unlucky guy that you have chosen?” Zooey asked. Penny was notorious for going out with basically everyone in their class. She was the pretty and popular one and everyone loved her. Not just for her looks, but because she got along with everyone and was easily likeable.

“Oh I don’t know yet. A few people asked me it’s just a matter of deciding who.”

“And who are the candidates?”

“Tom Banks, Derek Miller, and, your personal favorite, Jack Grey.”

Zooey scrunched her nose in disgust when she heard the last name. “Oh God, not Mr. I’m-better-than-everyone-else. Please tell me you’re not considering going with him.” Jack Grey was one of the most conceded person in their school. He was Mr. Perfect. Everyone seemed to bow at his feet.

Oh, and he also happened to have this gigantic crush on Zooey and wasn’t afraid to tell the whole school about it.

“Well he knew the best shot of going with you was asking me since he knew you would never go with him. It’s more of a way to use me than anything,” she grumbled as Zooey sighed and gave her a sympathetic look.

“I’m sorry Pen, I’ve tried to tell him to give up on me but he seems like he can’t and now he drags you into it.”

*I think you should give him a shot.* Alex piped in again as Zooey rolled her eyes and Penny gave her a quizzical look not understanding where it came from.

*Not helping matters Alex,* she snapped back as she frowned into her Coke.

“I heard that Milo Barnes wants to ask you to go. What do you think? He’s nice, you two would be cute together.”

Zooey just rolled her eyes and shook her head, not bothering to start the same conversation they had had in the car. Just because it was a dance, didn’t mean you had to go with a boy. Why was everyone so hell bent on hooking her up with someone.

“You know Zo, just because your dad left doesn’t mean that any boy you let into your life is going to leave too.”

Zooey dropped the spoon she had been playing with to stare wide eyed at her friend. That had nothing to do with it. That had been nearly ten years ago already and she was over it. How in the world did Penny think that that was the reason that she didn’t want to go to the dance with a date?

She didn’t even know if she was going to the dance. But Penny acted as if it wasn’t even a question. Like it wasn’t even a question whether or not she was going. She hadn’t bothered to even tell Penny she didn’t know if she was going because she hadn’t thought it had been that big of a deal. But apparently it was.

“Pen, that’s not the problem here. I don’t even know if I’m going to the dance, that’s why I’m not deciding on whom to go with. And besides, like I said before, why do you have to even go with a guy? It’s a stupid rule that people came up with because they had nothing better to do.” Zooey replied trying to keep a hold of herself. She suddenly realized she was getting upset and she really didn’t understand why.

Penny was about to say something when Zooey stopped her and told her to just drop it. Penny did as told, knowing after so many years that certain look Zooey got when she was a annoyed or upset. And that was the look her best friend happened to have at that moment. So Penny changed the subject, bringing up something random to talk about while they waited for their food.

*You ok kiddo?* Alex asked halfway through the meal when the conversation had died down a little.

*Just peachy,* Zooey replied sarcastically as Alex snorted.

*She has a point you know.* Zooey was about to snap something back but he continued before she could. *Hey, don’t freak out on me about saying that. I’m just saying. But I’m not going to say anything more. I just wanted to make sure you’re ok.*

*Thanks but seriously, I’m fine.* She replied as she continued eating trying to snap herself out of her mood and started to talk about random things again with Penny to try and make up for before.

Once they were done, they paid for their food and then went back to Penny’s house so that she could continue on her paper that was due the next day. Zooey went back to reading and listening to music through one ear bud so she could help Penny when needed, and it seemed to help bring her out of her mood.

By the time Penny was finished and handing the laptop over so Zooey could proofread, she was in a even better mood. It was amazing what a little music and a book could do. She started to scan through the paper and started to make corrections here and there. While she was reading, Penny decided to be as distracting as she could by humming loudly to herself and spinning in her chair while her feet knocked into the desk as she twirled past it.

“Ok, done.” She said as she saw that Penny was now painting her nails a blood red color. She told her to wait a moment for her nails to dry and she just rolled her eyes in response as she clicked the button for the internet to check her Facebook.

After all the corrections where made and Penny stopped going overboard with the thank you’s, Zooey packed up her things and left. As she drove home, she realized that she hadn’t heard anything from Alex since the restaurant but didn’t think it was a big deal since he was probably off doing something with Jack and the rest of his friends.

When she got home, her little brother Dorian nearly tackled her as she walked in the door and started to babble really fast. From what Zooey could understand, he was telling her about the ‘super awesome fun time’ he had had in school that day and how his teacher had brought in a bunny for them to play with.

Do continued to talk as she started to walk to the stairs and caught a glimpse of her older brother, Colter, sitting on the couch watching the sports channel. She mumbled a quick hi to him before climbing the steps and heading to her room with Do tagging along behind her.

As she dumped her bags on the floor, she checked the clock to see that it was almost five and knew that her mom wouldn’t be home until late. And since Colter always burned everything he attempted to cook and Do was too little, it was her job to do the cooking in their mom’s absence. So she grabbed her iPod and made her way back down to the kitchen to figure out what she could make that night….