Chapter 1 - Sunshine and Cigarettes
She was pretty in an unconventional-doesn't-take-shit-from-anyone kind of way. Her skin was as tan as it could possibly get, which was about as tan as an avid coffee drinkers teeth after using whitening strips(keep in mind those don't totally work). A slouchy mess of golden- Yes. G
olden.
Not blonde- hair was trying to slide out of the rubber band holding it in a bun on the top of her head. Strands of the sunshine locks that had successfully escaped were pushed into her slightly pudgy face by the summer breeze. Her gray-blue eyes shone fiercely out of the dark circles around them despite all they had seen.
She stopped suddenly mid step, almost causing the person behind her to collide into her back, as she pulled out a cigarette and focused on lighting it. She took a deep breath letting the smoke roll out her nostrils and mouth and squinted into the sun for a second before continuing towards the restaurant. Where did I leave my sunglasses...? She mumbled to herself. The classic crossed palm trees reflected in the "lost" sunglasses that rested on her head as she pulled open one of the double doors. Here she stopped again. She looked down at her smoke and then into the restaurant...and once again at what she held in her hand as she realized her mistake. She took one last puff and the cigarette was left, crushed on the side walk. Her attention returned to whatever thought had caused her distractedness as she stepped inside.
She sat down, after ordering, on the bench next to the counter to wait. Her thighs spread out demanding room on that bench. Her mind deep in thought. Heavy thoughts that hung about her the way her bikini straps hung around her neck. Like the way her faded salmon-pink sundress hung around her body. She let her feet swing while she waited, her Converse scuffing the floor, and looked down at the big blotchy red stain on her dress. It looked like she had been painting.
As I started ordering her number was called. I stole a glance in her direction. She had taken her food to a table in the corner next to a window. She gazed outside for a minute or so, checked her phone and then started to dip her fries in her shake. She sat there for a while after she was finished, just staring out the window like a mannequin, squinting into the light that spilled in through the glass and over her body casting shadows on the walls and floor.
After eating it took me a while to approach her. So consumed by her thoughts I startled her a little when I tapped her shoulder. Her head snapped around and she looked at me as if I had six heads when I spoke.
"Hi. I'm Levi. I thought you looked like you could use this." I said handing her a white flower that had fallen from one of the bushes outside. She stared at me for a second, maybe determining whether or not to stab me for talking to her without permission. I wouldn't put it past her. But when she looked at the flower I was holding out towards her her mood shifted. The thoughts that had pressed on her shoulders so much before seamed lift and she straitened her posture a little. Her expression softened and I'm pretty sure she almost smiled as she gently took the gift.
"...Thank you...my name in Sunny..."
