Chance Of Rain

by Laurel Veil

  I didn’t try to eavesdrop today. I had an inside spy who’d fill me in on everything. It was a good thing too, because Angel was hard to ignore. He had dark eyes and hard muscles covered in tan skin. His smile was pearly and perfect, and he had the most adorable dimples. His nose had never been in a fight either.

  “You still working at the Star-Lite?” he asked me.

  “Yeah. Me and Bri both.”

  “I heard a lot of people quit now that school started. Do you know if they’re still hiring?”

  “Mack, my boss, said there were some openings.”

  Angel leaned closer to me. “You’ll have to put in a good word for me. I’m looking for a job.” He grinned. I had a strong desire to reach out and pinch his cheeks, so I did.

  I felt someone nudge my arm hard. “Can I borrow a pen?” It was Trent.

  “For what?” I asked suspiciously.

  He looked at me very intensely and said, “I want…to…take…notes.”

  I rifled through my purse.

  “You need some help there?” Angel asked.

  I smiled. “I think I got it.”

  Angel acted like he was going to stick his hands in my bag. “Quit,” I said playfully. He laughed and did it even more. “Stop it.” I giggled then finally found a pen. Angel wrestled it from my hand then chucked it at Trent.

  “Here, man. Now go away.”

  The muscles in Trent’s jaw clenched. Was this jealousy I detected? In my…friend?

  At the end of class, as I gathered my things, Angel stood and held out a hand to pull me up. I felt shy, but I accepted his offer. He held on to my hand a little longer than necessary. Then he looked down at me and said, “So what time did you say you were working tonight?”

  “My shift starts at seven.”

  “I’ll see you at seven.”

  I turned to see Bri and Trent looking at me. Awkward!

  “Hey….you two have fun?” I asked.

  Bri and Trent looked at each other for a half second. Then Bri looked at me and smiled suggestively. “Apparently not as much as you two.”

  I rolled my eyes and pretended to be annoyed.

  “I’ve gotta run to class. See ya,” said Bri. She arched her brows at me as she passed.

  A silly grin found its way to Trent’s face. “What?” I asked him.

  He looked down, still grinning, and shook his head, like he knew something I didn’t.

  “Whatever,” I said. “We need to get to class.”

  I walked out of the room first and headed to my next class. Trent walked fast and closed the distance between us. He leaned down and whispered in my ear as we walked, “Quit, Angel. Stop. Don’t. Stop. Don’t Stop! Don’t stop!”

  I elbowed him in the ribs. “Aw, come on now,” he said. “You know it’s funny.” He laughed and playfully pulled me to his side.

  Spanish was boring. No talking today. Nada. We had to copy vocabulary words and conversational questions, like “¿Como este?” By the time I was finished, the tiny callous on my finger was red and tender.

  Art, on the other hand, was much more interesting. We actually got to draw something. Mrs. Frost arranged some roses in a vase, and we took out our pads and pencils.

  I was eager to get started; I loved to doodle. The lead in my pencil was dark and very sharp, and my tablet was full of snow-white paper that was begging to be covered in self-expression.

  Trent kept trying to look at my work. I turned my pad and tried to block it with my arm. “Would you quit?” I fussed.

  He and I were having a lot of fun. I’d have to remind myself—when I replayed this moment over and over in my head in bed that night—that he was just teasing and not flirting.

  I sneaked a peek at his sketchpad. I was stunned when I finally caught a glimpse. It was really good; it was…beautiful.

  When the bell rang, Trent walked me to the parking lot. Before things had a chance to get weird, I simply said, “See ya” and kept walking.

  Without saying a word, he smiled and headed to his car.

  I felt a little uncomfortable as I approached Bri’s car because Cole was leaning against it, and Bri was leaning into him. They had their arms around each other.

  “Hey, Ash.” Bri smiled at me. “Looks like we’re going to have a third wheel today.”

  “Looks like I’m the third wheel,” I replied. I’m definitely getting a car! I thought.

  “You can ride with me, Ash,” Angel called out. He was parked next to Bri’s Chevelle.

  I shrugged and cheerfully said, “OK.”

  Angel was a great guy. He was charming, and we always had a blast when we were around each other. He took my backpack from my shoulder and walked me to the passenger side. He tossed my bag to the center of the seat then offered me his hand to help me get into the cab of his truck.

  I smiled. “Thanks.”

  I noticed Trent was behind us as we exited the lot, and then I forgot about him when Angel teased me about taking Spanish.

  “If you ever need help, I’m your man.” He laughed. “Consider it payback for all those times you helped me get through math, chica.”

  IX

  55 %

  My house was empty when Angel dropped me off. It was lunchtime, and my mom wouldn’t be home until after I left for work.

  I took advantage of the time to do a little homework and catch up on some housework. It didn’t take long to do either. I dumped a load of bath towels into the washing machine then sat down at the kitchen table. I only had a few questions to answer for Spanish. The house wasn’t very dusty from the last time I’d wiped things down. I unloaded the dishwasher and filled it with the dirty dishes from the sink.

  I flipped on the Weather Channel. A new episode of Storm Chasers was coming on tonight. I quickly programmed the DVR before I forgot.

  When the buzzer went off on the washer, I threw the towels into the dryer then curled up on my bed and read until I dozed off. I must have been tired, because when I woke up, I had to rush to get ready for work.

  Fifteen short minutes later, I was ready. Just in time too—I heard a horn. I wondered why Bri hadn’t given me her usual warning text.

  I grabbed my phone, took one last look in the mirror, and headed for the door. It had clouded up and was unusually dark. The headlights were blinding me as I approached.

  When I got a little closer, I realized it wasn’t a Chevelle but a Challenger. The door swung open.

  “What are you waiting for?” Trent asked.

  “I’m just a little surprised. I was expecting Bri.”

  “She didn’t tell you?”

  “No, we haven’t spoken since school let out.” A tiny smile touched the corner of my mouth when I thought about Angel.

  “I guess you were busy,” he said with an insinuating tone and a playful grin.

  “So why exactly are you here?”

  “It’s not obvious?”

  I gave him a puzzled look.

  “I’m taking you to work. Get in.”

  “You’re so cute when you’re assertive.”

  Trent smiled. I got in and shut the door, and we headed to the theater. It felt so good to be sitting next to him in his car once again. I wanted this to be my seat. It felt so natural, so right—like I belonged here.

  Butterflies tickled my stomach when I became aware that he was spending more time watching me than the road.

  “You look nice,” he said.

  I tried to think of a funny way to put myself down but said, “Thanks” instead.

  The ride was far too short. “What time should I pick you up…ten?”

  “Who says I don’t already have a ride?” I asked him.

  “Man, you’re feisty. It makes you—what’s the word I’m looking for?”

  “Irresistible?”

  “Irritating.”

  “You know, Angel is applying to work at the theater this evening. My boss, Mack, most likely will start him tonight.”

  “Your point?”

&nbs
p; “I may catch a ride home with him. He’s my friend too, ya know.”

  “I’ll be here at ten.”

  I smiled and shut the door. Trent watched to make sure I made it inside. Just before I got to the door, Angel walked up.

  “Hey. Ash. Wait up!” he called. “I’ll walk in with you.”

  He held the door open for me and put his hand on my back as he guided me through the door. Before it closed, I thought I heard a Challenger rev its engine in the distance.

  I stopped Mack as he was walking by with a clipboard filled with a thick, messy stack of paper. “Mack, I’d like you to meet Angel Martinez.”

  Mack was almost completely bald. The few remaining hairs on top of his round head stood on end and always made him look exasperated. He had a pencil behind one ear and a pen behind the other. He wore glasses and had a big belly that hung over his belt.

  He turned in our direction and looked Angel up and down. “You’re hired. Have Ashley introduce you to Conner. He’ll show you the ropes for ticket sales and the concession counter. You can fill out your paperwork later with the others.” He looked down at the stack of applications on the clipboard. “This is going to take weeks to get through.”

  Angel and I looked at each other and smiled.

  “I’ve got two new girls I need you to train for the café,” Mack told me, almost out of breath. “Lindsey and…um…Erica, I think. They’re waiting on you now.” Then he was gone.

  I found Bri talking to the new girls. She made eyes at me when she saw I was with Angel.

  I introduced Angel and myself to Erica and Lindsey. They seemed friendly and were about my age. Erica’s hair was long and straight and matched her dark eyes. Lindsey’s hair was strawberry blond, her eyes pale blue.

  Angel went with off Conner, and Bri and I quickly filled Erica and Lindsey in on what they needed to know as customers began to stream in. The theater was so crowded that it felt like a Friday.

  It finally slowed down around nine forty-five. I was heading toward the kitchen when I heard, “Could I trouble you for a refill, ma’am?”

  “How long have you been sitting there?” I asked Trent.

  “Long enough to see you’ve earned your paycheck tonight.”

  “I know that’s right.” I looked down at my achy feet.

  “You’d better go finish up before you get fired,” Trent said as Mack walked by.

  Fifteen minutes later I was snug inside my favorite Challenger, heading home. Warm air blew through the vents. It was very soothing.

  Trent reached up and turned on the overhead light. “Here ya go,” he said, handing me a sheet of paper.

  “What’s this?”

  “Your freedom,” he said, grinning.

  It was a list of cars for sale. “How’d you know?”

  “Bri told me in class today.”

  “These are all in my price range, and they’re the models I like too.”

  “Bri again,” he repeated.

  I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “So…what else did you two talk about today?”

  He arched his brows. “Stuff.”

  “Uh-huh. I see. What kind of stuff?”

  He shrugged. “Poe. Poetry. You know.”

  He eased the Challenger into my driveway and put the car in park. “I’ll take you tomorrow to look at them, if you want.” I don’t know how he made that sound seductive, but he did.

  “I’d like that,” I almost whispered.

  I was quiet then.

  “Something wrong?” he asked.

  “No. It’s just that I always thought my dad would help me look for my first car. But please don’t get me wrong. I really appreciate everything you’ve done. And I don’t know a thing about cars. I could really use your help.”

  “You’d better get inside. Someone’s waiting on you.” I looked up to see my mom at the window, peeking from behind the curtain. Mommm!

  “See ya tomorrow,” I said then jetted for the front door.

  X

  60 %

  The next morning Bri was right on time as usual. I said bye to my mom and jumped into the Chevelle. I got Bri up to speed on the latest with Trent, and then she filled me in on the details with Cole.

  “I think he’s the one, Ash. Seriously, I could see myself marrying him.”

  “That’s OK with me, as long as you don’t mind the three of us rooming next year at college,” I said with a laugh.

  “Not a prob. So are we hitting the gym tonight since we don’t have to work?”

  “I would, except Trent offered take me right after school to look at cars.”

  “You’re welcome,” she said matter-of-factly. “OK, well, you leave me no choice but to begin my new weight-loss regimen,” she said very seriously.

  “And what might that be?” I asked.

  “It will involve Cole.”

  “Oh?”

  “It’s called sexercise. Kidding. Don’t have a stroke.”

  She turned up the radio and moved her body to the music. I thought we were going to wreck a couple of times, but I was laughing too hard to care.

  Before we got out of the car, I asked her, “What else did you and Trent talk about yesterday?”

  “Not a whole lot.” She shrugged. “He broke the ice by cracking a joke about how it was very convenient for you to have a chauffeur for a best friend.” She grinned. “We laughed, and then I mentioned you wanted a car and gave him the deets.” She reached for her backpack. “You know, we barely got any studying done, because he was too busy listening in on you and your Latin lover.”

  “Really?” My smile covered my entire face.

  “He may have told you y’all were just friends, but I don’t know. It seems like he likes you.”

  When we walked into first period, Angel and Trent were already there. They each had an empty beanbag next to them, and they looked at me and smiled.

  Bri immediately pretended to show me something on her phone. We turned so they couldn’t see our faces. Then Bri typed:

  Who ya gonna choose? LOL.

  Then she typed:

  Gonna make this e-z 4 u.

  She turned and flopped down next to Angel. Now I wouldn’t hurt his feelings, and I could sit next to Trent! I made a mental note to be sure to thank her for suffering through an entire class period sitting next to one of the hottest guys in our senior class. It was unbelievable what my dear friend endured for my sake. I bit my lip so I wouldn’t smile.

  Just then Lacey walked in. Without being too obvious, I scrambled to the beanbag next to Trent before she even saw that it was available.

  “Ashley,” he said.

  “Trent,” I responded just as coolly.

  It was a great day to be teamed up with him. Our assignment was to take turns reading to each other. He pulled my beanbag close to his. “There. That’s better.” He smiled. Don’t overanalyze. Don’t overanalyze. “I couldn’t hear you from way over there.”

  I read from The Tell-Tale Heart until Ms. Elliott told us to switch.

  Trent took the book from me. When his hand brushed mine, I had to remind myself to breathe. I leaned my head back to listen, and he leaned toward me, only inches from my ear, and read in a voice that was barely above a whisper. I watched his lips form every word. I’d never experienced Poe like this before.

  “‘I saw it with perfect distinctness—all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my bones,’” Trent read.

  How could anyone make that sound sexy? He had a gift.

  “‘Villains!’” Trent continued reading. “‘Dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!’”

  I was in such a trance that I was startled when the bell sounded. Trent laughed.

  In Spanish we watched a movie about the culture of Latin America. The room was dark, and I felt so relaxed that I almost fell asleep. It must have been because of my bedtime story in first period.

  By the ti
me art rolled around, I was wide-awake again.

  We got to experiment with clay, and I felt like I was back in kindergarten. Mrs. Frost told us we’d have the opportunity to make something a little later in the semester, so we should go ahead and start thinking about what we’d like to do. I decided I’d make my mom a coffee mug. I hadn’t made her anything since I was in elementary school, and she’d love it.

  As Trent and I walked to his car, he asked me, “What do you want for lunch?”

  “I feel like—”

  Before I could finish answering, Angel walked by, “See ya later, Ash.”

  “Mexican.” I grinned, biting my bottom lip.

  “Get in the car.”

  At the Blue Iguana, Trent and I ordered beef fajitas for two. We shared a booth near a window and ate lots of chips and dip while we waited. Their salsa was homemade, and I wasn’t sure what was in the green sauce, but it was creamy and delicious. Their chips were the best around—so thin you could read the menu through them. And they were always salted just right.

  I heard our fajitas before I saw them. They were sizzling in sautéed onions, and they smelled wonderful. I placed a hot, handmade tortilla on my plate and added some beef and a lot of onions. Then I smothered it in shredded cheese and sour cream.

  I was halfway through devouring my first fajita before I realized I was in my own little world. I looked up and saw Trent staring at me in disbelief.

  “Binge much?”

  My mouth was stuffed, and my plate was almost clean. He hadn’t even begun to eat.

  I swallowed then gave him a toothless smile.

  A grin touched his lips as he reached toward me with his napkin. “Sour cream,” he said, as he gently wiped it away.

  I thought about going limp and just letting my body slide off the bench and under the table. Instead I took a sip of iced tea. “So here are my top three choices.” I handed him the list he had given me.

  We devised a plan of attack. We decided we’d start with the car that was the farthest away and work our way back home.

  After lunch we took the 106 to Jasper; it was a beautiful drive. Hilly, green pastures lay on both sides of us. Going to Jasper was like stepping back in time. The little buildings that lined its streets were historic. My favorite was the tiny bank that was no bigger than a doughnut shop.