Total pages in book: 39
Estimated words: 36564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 36564 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 183(@200wpm)___ 146(@250wpm)___ 122(@300wpm)
“I’m good. Honest.” I gave him a bright smile. I stuck my shoes back into my bag and pulled out some flip-flops. Not the best for riding, but my hero was right. I couldn’t very well make it to Tito’s riding a bike in heels. “Thanks for your help. And for trying to let me win.” I waved and smiled, then took off, doing my best not to let the familiar panic overtake me. “It was nice meeting you!” I called to him over my shoulder. Yeah. Not the best response. Sighing, I focused on my route ahead so I didn’t get hurt because I didn’t pay attention.
I wasn’t very good at riding a bike. Until two weeks ago, I’d never done it. Leaving the camp had been more of a shock than I’d been prepared for. I supposed that’s why all us kids had been kept isolated. So we’d be off balance and come running home if any of us ever decided to try to leave.
Keeping to the bike trail was hard. At least, for me it was. I was more than a little wobbly, but I kept on. If there was one thing I knew about myself, it was that I was stubborn. Too stubborn for my own good. My stubbornness was quite possibly the only positive thing I had going for me to keep me out of the camp and help me make a life for myself outside the hell I’d been living in.
Chapter Three
Annie
By the time I got to the diner, I knew I was in so much trouble. Not only was I not appropriately dressed, but I was sweating and still covered in the suntan oil the other candidates had slathered on them. Yeah. I was a hot mess.
I parked my bike next to the light pole in the back of the small parking lot out of the way of customers. Marge had told me to park next to the building on the corner, but there was a parking space there and I didn’t want my bike to be in the way of anyone needing to walk on the sidewalk where I’d have to park.
There was a back entrance and that’s where I went. That way, I could use the bathroom and freshen up quickly. I had a clean shirt and shorts in my locker as well as some underwear. Might seem a little odd, but I’d learned to always be prepared. If that meant I had to keep a backpack ready to go everywhere I had a hidey hole, that’s what I’d do.
I hurried in, panic and worry squeezing my chest. Yeah. I knew I was in trouble. Thankfully, there was only one vehicle in the parking lot. A motorcycle. Which reminded me of my hero. Was that why he’d been confused about my bike? Because he rode one? Only a real one.
“Annie! There you are!” Elena met me at the bathroom door when I exited. I’d put my long brown hair into a bun at the back of my head. I hadn’t been able to do much about all the suntan oil, but I’d washed as much as I could in the bathroom sink.
“I’m so sorry, Elena. I’ll stay late and help with closing. I can even come in early tomorrow. Whatever you need.” I was trembling, my stomach churning. Elena was the sweetest woman I’d ever met. She and Marge had taken a chance on me and given me a job. Marge had given me a room at the motel across the road at a discount. The very last thing I wanted to do was let either of them down.
“Relax, preciosa. It’s fine. We were worried, is all.” She gave me a reassuring smile. “You’re still learning and that’s fine. Marge and I promised to help you and we will. Now take a deep breath. Have you eaten today?”
“Yes.” The answer was automatic. It was a lie, but I’d learned that people who asked that question were usually fulfilling a requirement. They didn’t actually care. They just wanted it to seem like they did. I was really growing to love Elena and Marge. If I said that, no, I hadn’t eaten, and she made light of it or told me to make sure I ate before I came to work, I’d probably shatter. It felt like I was holding myself together with spit and glue as it was.
Elena pursed her lips. “Everyone tells little white lies from time to time, pequeña, but you’re no good at lying.” She reached out and cupped my cheeks between her hands. “You will eat, preciosa. And not give me grief over feeding you, sí?”
“Sí, Elena.” I took several deep breaths, trying to keep the tears back a little while longer. If I could get through eating in the back, where I was sure Elena would stay with me, I could get to work and not think about any of this. “Prometo.” Elena and Tito were trying to teach me Spanish. I wasn’t good yet, but I was picking up a few things. I practiced every chance I got because, if they were good enough to try to teach me, I wanted to make sure I gave it my all.