Closer Than You Think [Part 28]
Its kind of a filler chapter.
"It's been a month and a half, almost two," Stella says with reproach as Sylvia pulls her mom's silver BMW up next to a curb. "What are you waiting for? 'Tell your parents you're dating the random guy you stayed with after you ran away from home' day?"
"I don't think that holiday exists, Stell," she replies evasively. Stella just rolls her oceanic eyes and pulls her hair up into a sloppy ponytail. She was hastily dressed in a white pleated skirt and light blue Cartel tee. Her makeup was slim to none, but she still looked gorgeous. The girl rolled out of bed looking gorgeous.
"That's kind of my point, darling, and I also want to yell at you one more time for getting me up at six thirty in the morning to come do this by the way. When you asked me to come, I thought you meant later, I look like a train wreck." If that's what train wrecks looked like the world would be a much happier place, Sylvia thought mildly.
"You look fine, Stell," she laughs. Stella grimaces at the use of the word 'fine'. "Stellar even. I swear."
"Ugh I still don't see why you do this," She grunts. Her slender arms, used only to carry school books and shopping bags, struggle with the awkward weight of a cardboard box full of clothes.
"I know, Stell, but the amount of money my parents set aside for my wardrobe is obscene. There are so many families who need clothes more than I do." Sylvia shifts her own box to her other arm so she can open the door to the Shelter. She didn't add the fact that she hadn't asked Stella to go second-hand store hopping with her to find all of these clothes. Honestly, people got rid of some of the nicest stuff. Some of the clothes even still have tags on them.
"Sylvia!" Pamela greets her as soon as she's through the door. "How are you, my dear? It's always a pleasure to see you."
"I'm doing great. I brought a lot of women's mediums. I know we were running low last time I was in."
"Oh bless your heart. And who is this you brought along with you?"
"This is my best friend Stella," Sylvia proudly announces. Stella sets her box down next to Sylvia's and tries not to cringe as she looks around her.
"Hi," Stella shyly greets as she shakes Pamela's hand. Stella continues to look around her. It's not filthy, it's actually immaculately clean, but there's just something about the plain, beige walls that exudes a kind of depressed air, no matter how bubbly and cheery Pamela is.
"There are a couple of more boxes in the car."
"Don't worry about it dear. I'll have the boys do it. Matt! Chris!" Pamela shouts into the other room. "We have a delivery!"
A little raucous laughter and a crash precede the two young men before they come out of the back room. Chris's familiar face and floppy blonde hair bounds through first. "Hey, Sylvia! Long time no see! No time for poor public school kids anymore?" He winks.
Sylvia rolls her eyes and gives him a playful punch on the arm. "You graduated three years ago, you big loser."
"Same difference," he shrugs. He ruffles her hair so it sticks up in at least fifty directions. "And who's your looker of a friend here?" He gives Stella a good once over, showing no shame as his gaze lingers on her long, exposed legs.
Sylvia just shakes her head. Chris would hit on any girl with a pulse, until he found out they were under age of course. He's not a creeper, and Sylvia had to admit, Stella looks dangerously older than she is.
"Her name's Stella, and she's in my class. That means too young for you, hun," Sylvia winks back at him.
"Ow! Jail bait. How you wound me, Sylvia. Make some older friends, won't you?" Pamela hits him over the head with a rolled up edition of Cosmo. "Eh! What was that for?" He whines.
"For harassing our poor Sylvia and her friend. Look! You've gone and mortified the poor girl."
Sylvia looks over at Stella and sees her best friend's crystal blue eyes are wide. She's not unused to being hit on, but in this instance she wasn't exactly being hit on. It was more like hit around. "Just go get the boxes from the car. And where is Matt?"
"He's coming. He had some things to pick up," Chris snickers.
Pamela sighs at Chris's evil grin. She wasn't going to ask.
"Matt!" Pamela shouts again. Her authoritative voice carries throughout the building Sylvia is sure. It's just that commanding. But not unkind, she acknowledges. It's never unkind.
"I'm right here." A familiar voice announces before making himself visible. Sylvia knows that voice! It's- "Sylvia? Stella?"
"Matt?" They both ask at the same time.
"I didn't know you volunteered here," Sylvia laughs. The Matt Pamela was referring to was their Matt.
"Yeah. Chris is my cousin. My mom's brother's son, though I still say he was switched at birth with a primate, and my aunt and uncle shave him while he sleeps."
"That's kind of disturbing," Sylvia says with a smile in her voice.
"Eh. Anyway, my community service is a little lacking, and he convinced me to lend my time here. Do you know Chris?"
"Know me?" Chris exclaims as he bursts in balancing two overfilled boxes. "That girl's been making donations at least once a month since she was barely old enough to ride a bike."
"Barely old enough to ride a bike? I was ten," Sylvia laughed.
"Eh, same difference," he shrugs. "I remember when you bounded in here just after Christmas with a laundry basket full of clothes still in the boxes as skittish as I'll get out. It was just about the most amusing thing I'd ever seen. Is your friend mute?"
Stella was certainly out of her element, but she was not one to be left out of a conversation, especially if the conversation was about her. "I'm not mute," she pipes up indignantly.
"Just too good to talk to the likes of us, private school girl?" He was only making a guess about the private school thing because both Stella and Sylvia were in street clothes, but his guess was correct. It was a once in a lifetime miracle. Someone should call the press.
"I- uh- wha- um," Stella stutters, flustered and not quite sure how to take this.
"He's just messing with you, Stella. He means no harm. He was just never house broken." Matt places a hand on her shoulder soothingly.
"Mm. Does young Mathew have a soft spot for the girl?" Chris pesters as they carry the boxes back into the back room for sorting. The door swings shut before Sylvia and Stella can hear an answer to that question.
****************************************************************
Author's Note:
I'm terribly sorry for such a long wait and the brevity of this chapter, because I didn't want to post it until I was happy with it, but I simply do not have time. I'm having some family health issues at the moment on top of being a senior and having a full course load. Now I know that this is none of your concern and you all should not have to suffer for my lack of foresight, but it simply cannot be helped. From the bottom of my heart I sincerely apologize.
If you're still reading this, I would like to thank Annie, Gracie, B, Mona Adh, bobby, tamzi, Lina Parker, Anita, and Gabby. I wish I had time to personally tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of your comments. I still dearly love you all my lovelies.
"I don't think that holiday exists, Stell," she replies evasively. Stella just rolls her oceanic eyes and pulls her hair up into a sloppy ponytail. She was hastily dressed in a white pleated skirt and light blue Cartel tee. Her makeup was slim to none, but she still looked gorgeous. The girl rolled out of bed looking gorgeous.
"That's kind of my point, darling, and I also want to yell at you one more time for getting me up at six thirty in the morning to come do this by the way. When you asked me to come, I thought you meant later, I look like a train wreck." If that's what train wrecks looked like the world would be a much happier place, Sylvia thought mildly.
"You look fine, Stell," she laughs. Stella grimaces at the use of the word 'fine'. "Stellar even. I swear."
"Ugh I still don't see why you do this," She grunts. Her slender arms, used only to carry school books and shopping bags, struggle with the awkward weight of a cardboard box full of clothes.
"I know, Stell, but the amount of money my parents set aside for my wardrobe is obscene. There are so many families who need clothes more than I do." Sylvia shifts her own box to her other arm so she can open the door to the Shelter. She didn't add the fact that she hadn't asked Stella to go second-hand store hopping with her to find all of these clothes. Honestly, people got rid of some of the nicest stuff. Some of the clothes even still have tags on them.
"Sylvia!" Pamela greets her as soon as she's through the door. "How are you, my dear? It's always a pleasure to see you."
"I'm doing great. I brought a lot of women's mediums. I know we were running low last time I was in."
"Oh bless your heart. And who is this you brought along with you?"
"This is my best friend Stella," Sylvia proudly announces. Stella sets her box down next to Sylvia's and tries not to cringe as she looks around her.
"Hi," Stella shyly greets as she shakes Pamela's hand. Stella continues to look around her. It's not filthy, it's actually immaculately clean, but there's just something about the plain, beige walls that exudes a kind of depressed air, no matter how bubbly and cheery Pamela is.
"There are a couple of more boxes in the car."
"Don't worry about it dear. I'll have the boys do it. Matt! Chris!" Pamela shouts into the other room. "We have a delivery!"
A little raucous laughter and a crash precede the two young men before they come out of the back room. Chris's familiar face and floppy blonde hair bounds through first. "Hey, Sylvia! Long time no see! No time for poor public school kids anymore?" He winks.
Sylvia rolls her eyes and gives him a playful punch on the arm. "You graduated three years ago, you big loser."
"Same difference," he shrugs. He ruffles her hair so it sticks up in at least fifty directions. "And who's your looker of a friend here?" He gives Stella a good once over, showing no shame as his gaze lingers on her long, exposed legs.
Sylvia just shakes her head. Chris would hit on any girl with a pulse, until he found out they were under age of course. He's not a creeper, and Sylvia had to admit, Stella looks dangerously older than she is.
"Her name's Stella, and she's in my class. That means too young for you, hun," Sylvia winks back at him.
"Ow! Jail bait. How you wound me, Sylvia. Make some older friends, won't you?" Pamela hits him over the head with a rolled up edition of Cosmo. "Eh! What was that for?" He whines.
"For harassing our poor Sylvia and her friend. Look! You've gone and mortified the poor girl."
Sylvia looks over at Stella and sees her best friend's crystal blue eyes are wide. She's not unused to being hit on, but in this instance she wasn't exactly being hit on. It was more like hit around. "Just go get the boxes from the car. And where is Matt?"
"He's coming. He had some things to pick up," Chris snickers.
Pamela sighs at Chris's evil grin. She wasn't going to ask.
"Matt!" Pamela shouts again. Her authoritative voice carries throughout the building Sylvia is sure. It's just that commanding. But not unkind, she acknowledges. It's never unkind.
"I'm right here." A familiar voice announces before making himself visible. Sylvia knows that voice! It's- "Sylvia? Stella?"
"Matt?" They both ask at the same time.
"I didn't know you volunteered here," Sylvia laughs. The Matt Pamela was referring to was their Matt.
"Yeah. Chris is my cousin. My mom's brother's son, though I still say he was switched at birth with a primate, and my aunt and uncle shave him while he sleeps."
"That's kind of disturbing," Sylvia says with a smile in her voice.
"Eh. Anyway, my community service is a little lacking, and he convinced me to lend my time here. Do you know Chris?"
"Know me?" Chris exclaims as he bursts in balancing two overfilled boxes. "That girl's been making donations at least once a month since she was barely old enough to ride a bike."
"Barely old enough to ride a bike? I was ten," Sylvia laughed.
"Eh, same difference," he shrugs. "I remember when you bounded in here just after Christmas with a laundry basket full of clothes still in the boxes as skittish as I'll get out. It was just about the most amusing thing I'd ever seen. Is your friend mute?"
Stella was certainly out of her element, but she was not one to be left out of a conversation, especially if the conversation was about her. "I'm not mute," she pipes up indignantly.
"Just too good to talk to the likes of us, private school girl?" He was only making a guess about the private school thing because both Stella and Sylvia were in street clothes, but his guess was correct. It was a once in a lifetime miracle. Someone should call the press.
"I- uh- wha- um," Stella stutters, flustered and not quite sure how to take this.
"He's just messing with you, Stella. He means no harm. He was just never house broken." Matt places a hand on her shoulder soothingly.
"Mm. Does young Mathew have a soft spot for the girl?" Chris pesters as they carry the boxes back into the back room for sorting. The door swings shut before Sylvia and Stella can hear an answer to that question.
****************************************************************
Author's Note:
I'm terribly sorry for such a long wait and the brevity of this chapter, because I didn't want to post it until I was happy with it, but I simply do not have time. I'm having some family health issues at the moment on top of being a senior and having a full course load. Now I know that this is none of your concern and you all should not have to suffer for my lack of foresight, but it simply cannot be helped. From the bottom of my heart I sincerely apologize.
If you're still reading this, I would like to thank Annie, Gracie, B, Mona Adh, bobby, tamzi, Lina Parker, Anita, and Gabby. I wish I had time to personally tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of your comments. I still dearly love you all my lovelies.
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