The day progressed way faster than I thought it would.

In what seemed like a few seconds (I admitted that I was making a minor exaggeration), the day flew by filled with me taking notes and doing work that Ms Apple provided. It was so quick that it seemed that in a matter of seconds, I was already walking Ms Apple to the door and thanking her for helping me learn for another day yet again.

She smiled at me and said "see you tomorrow," before she drove off in her car. In that moment, my thoughts began to surround around the hangout that was about to happen. It was exactly four in the afternoon when I checked the time, and just as I was about to call one of my friends, my phone vibrated with a few text messages.

Olivia:
charlie is picking u up btw
he said he'll be there in 5 mins get ready

So, I did. Like usual, I padded upstairs to my room, passing Brown who barked at me, making me pause, reach down and scratch the spot behind her ear. I continued my journey to my bedroom and arranged my papers, notebooks and stationary on my table neatly but as quick as I could because judging by the insanely vigorous way Charlie drove, he was going to be here way before five minutes were going to pass.

I picked up my phone, tucking my keys into my pocket, and headed out the room, making a beeline towards my parent's bedroom. I found my mum sitting on the bed, her hair twisted into a bun on her head and a laptop fittingly sitting on her lap as she typed several words on it before halting in her movements and looking up at me.

"Yes?" She asked, already knowing that I was either going to ask for something or tell her something. I was doing the latter.

"I'm going out with Olivia, Charlie and Sophia, mum." I told her and she nodded immediately.

"Alright, call or text me if you need anything." She said, giving me a smile. "Have fun, but not too much fun. I don't want to see you on the news channel tonight."

I laughed and nodded. "Yes, mum."

I dipped out of her room and made my way down the staircase where I met Brown for the second time. I knew today that she was going to be walked by my mum, who actually surprisingly offered it up on her own, further setting my plan with my friends with a more flexible time limit.

I bent down to press a kiss on her furry head which she replied by licking my hand when I tried to ruffle her fur. Then, just like I'd predicted, Charlie's car was in my driveway already. The indication of his arrival was the sound of his honk being pressed several times.

"I'll see you later, Brown." I said and stood up, putting on my shoes and heading out the door.

Charlie's car sat rumbling on the driveway, like it was as impatient as its owner was for me to come out. I didn't even think that I took that long but when I climbed into the backseat next to Olivia, it was all that seemed to be the fuss.

"I waited for ten seconds, Heather!" He exclaimed, but with the way he spoke, I knew it was a joke.

"I'm sorry!" I played along, "I just needed to do a few things."

Charlie laughed, and proceeded to speed out of the driveway. "Well, I'm glad we're talking again. For what it's worth."

"Me too."

Thanks to Charlie's impeccably fast way of driving, we were able to reach Janarius Mall in the matter of less than ten minutes. The building stood above us, invitingly towering over us with signs with the names of stores plastered on them as well as some which showcased some pictures or illustrations to leave impressions for incoming shoppers when they arrived.

The sliding glass doors separated for us as we made our entrance into the mall, the cold air-conditioning breeze keeping us cool as we strolled in. Olivia made a mention of the restaurant she wanted to show us and just like that we were at the interactive mall directory device that allowed us to try and search for the destination of this place with just a few taps on the screen.

Olivia made a move to type in the keywords of the place, "western food restaurant" and as the screen loaded, we watched in fascination as countless of rows of places appeared below each other. There seemed to be so many that I was a little doubtful that we would find the exact shop and it also terrified me how large this mall could be, considering the amount of western food restaurants that came up in the options.

The indication that Olivia had spotted the restaurant was the fact that she looped an arm over Sophie and me, saying that she would bring us there because she was the only one who knew the directions. Charlie rolled his eyes, pointing his finger straight at the shop ahead of us, the neon sign spelling out "Joey's", inviting us in with the already appetising looking pictures that seemed minuscule from afar.

"It's right there," he remarked, causing Olivia to roll her eyes at him and walk faster, dragging Sophia and me along with her.

The restaurant itself was in the rustic theme. Barks of wood were stationed at the walls strategically with with green synthetic vines connected to white flowers that showed a large contrast to the dark wood that it was wrapped around.

Plant pots were littered around almost every corner of the shop, and even on the each of the tables, there would be a small potted plants, their leaves overspilling from their pots. The lights came in the form of birdcages, emitting a warm yet bright light that was favourable to match the rustic theme.

At the sight of a brand new group of customers, a worker dressed in a white long sleeved button up shirt and a pair of long black pants with a red apron tied on his front appeared. "Hey, welcome to Joey's, do you guys need a table?" He flashed a polite smile.

"Yes, please." Olivia said to him.

We were shown a table right by the center of the shop, giving us an overall view of the customers eating as well as the workers working at their stations. Menus were slid to us as quick as that, and in the matter of a few minutes of being here, we were already able to order our food.

The worker went away after telling us that our food would be with us in a few minutes. Our table was a contrast to the rest, due to the fact that my friends were still dressed smartly in their uniforms, their hair still neat and presentable.

"So, I know I've asked this," Charlie started, lacing his fingers in front of him. "But what have you been up to?"

"A lot of things." I paraphrased my answer from this morning but now that we had all the time till tonight, I felt the need to elaborate. "I made a new friend and we talked a bit." I told them about what I'd been up to, hanging out with Cameron and playing with Brown occupied my time.

They listened intently and once I was done, I asked them how they'd been doing and what they'd been up to. They told me it was as normal as it could be, they were studying at school and preparing for their exams. They were talking about their school work and the parties they've been going to when our food was brought to us, bringing a pleasant and alluring smell.

"It looks so good," Sophia commented, reaching to pick up one of her fries.

"I bet it is." Charlie grinned and dug into his burger.

Olivia smiled proudly at herself picking up a piece of the pizza positioned at the middle of the table when she paused, her eyes trained behind me. "Hey, I think that student's from our school. He has a good sense of taste too." She added the last bit with a grin.

Curious, I turned my head and found Cameron sitting at a lone table, scanning a menu. I was yet again surprised by the world with another impromptu meeting with Cameron.

:O

Oh man, they meet again! Hehe, what do you think's gonna happen next? ;)