"So, what's the plan?" Dream asked, excitement clear in her voice.
"Let's hit the photo booth!" Wave suggested, "There's one down the street."
"Yeah! I've always wanted to take one of those goofy photos with my friends!" Dream said her eye sparkling.
Taya raised an eyebrow but couldn't help but smile, "Are you sure? You know those photo booths are pretty small."
"It'll be fun! We'll just squeeze in and make it work." Wave laughed, nodding in agreement.
The trio made their way to the photo booth. Dream practically bounced over to it, already inserting coins into the machine.
"Come on, Let's make these photos epic!"
They squeezed into the booth and as the camera flashed, Dream pulled a silly face, sticking her tongue out, Taya playfully winked at the camera, Wave made a funny peace sign, a huge smile on her face.
The photos printed out. The result? A strip of four hilarious photos that perfectly captured the fun and silliness of their moment.
Once they got the photos, Dream held them up proudly, "These are going straight framed and in my bedroom aye!" She declared, grinning.
Wave laughed, taking the strip from her, "we look ridiculous, but that's what makes it perfect."
Taya shrugged with a smile, "Yeah, we'll probably laugh about these for years to come."
With their new souvenir in hand, the girls continued their adventure, heading toward a few stores across the street. They wandered into a trendy clothing boutique with bright neon light and funky decor.
Dream immediately pulled them toward a section full of oversized hats and colorful accessories.
"I'm trying this on!" Dream exclaimed as she grabbed a large, floppy hat and placed it on her head.
"You're gonna look ridiculous on that."
Dream didn't listen. She slipped on a pair of oversized sunglasses next, striking a dramatic pose, "How do I look? Like a rockstar or what?"
Taya snorted, "More like a tourist in a big city."
Wave laughed and grabbed a pair of aviators, putting them on and mimicking Dream's dramatic expression. "Well, in that case, I'm with the band!"
They all tried on hats, sunglasses and scarves, taking selfies with each item and laughing at how over-the-top they looked. Taya surprisingly was into it, snapping pictures with the best 'model' pose for the camera.
After they finished raiding the store, the girls headed to the next stop, a small bookstore tucked away on the street. The air inside was filled with the comforting smell of paper and ink. It was comforting to the book worms but not the lazy bum, Dream.
"Let's just brows for a bit," Wave suggested, walking down the aisles filled with novels, coffee table books, "To think I never saw this bookstore!"
Dream headed straight for the adult section, pulling books off the shelves and reading the blurbs.
"How about this one?" Dream said. holding up a brightly colored book with a dramatic title, "It looks like it could be my next obsession."
Taya skimmed the non-fiction section, her fingers tracing the spines of the books, "I'm more into self-help these days," she muttered, pulling out a book about mindfulness.
Wave, glancing at the other section, felt drawn to the fiction aisle. She picked up a novel about adventure and mystery, intrigued by the cover.
"This one looks interesting," she said holding it up to the others.
The girls spent a quiet few moments flipping through books, chatting about their favorite genres and exchanging recommendations.
Eventually, they moved on to their next stop, a cozy little café that served the most delicious, iced drinks. They each ordered a different flavor, Dream went for something fruity, Wave chose a caramel latte and Taya picked a cold brew.
As they sat outside at a small table with their drinks, the conversation turned to planning another adventure. They went back to Wave's cozy rooftop as it was already 9 pm. When they arrived, Mrs. Pierce asked them to dine together with her since she had cooked so much for all of them.
After eating, they went upstairs and continued with the snacks they had and also taking small sips from the wine Dream had stolen from her dad.
"To think I had liked Chad Fletcher?" Dream started after she became a little bit tipsy, "You know he asked me to taste the vodka," she laughed, "I took a sip and I immediately felt dizzy!"
"It had drugs." Taya told her.
"You know there was a part of me that knew that, guess I wanted to know what big thing could've happened to me," she laughed.
"And how was the experience?" Wave asked.
"Awful. I kept feeling like I'm in and out of conscious. I couldn't think straight. But afterwards after I sobered a little, I felt good." She said with a silly grin on her face, "You know I'm glad to have you guys as my friends."
"I am too." Wave said moving to light one of Taya's scented lavender candles.
"Wave, you're too good. Don't tell me you didn't have friends back at your former high school." Dream said.
"You don't have to talk about it. Dream's drunk, don't answer her." Taya told Wave after she saw reluctance and sadness on Wave.
"I am not drunk. Not yet but I will be soon." she tried defending herself.
"No. It's not much," Wave began, "I had a best friend, Lizzie, she... Uhm, we used to be really close. You know we used to compete in everything. She's a genius. I mean, after I got the scholarship, she just got mad. She loves Hartley, like LOVE, anything that can raise her status, by any means she's ready to try it out, if that actually makes sense," she chuckled, "I even thought to refuse the scholarship so it could be given to her, but you know... she hadn't performed really well so it was just a waste."
"Oh Wavy, sorry for asking," Dream said with pity.
"No seriously, your friend, she's a bitch," Taya said, "She should be happy for you."
"She was just jealous and she felt bad," Wave tried defending Lizzie, "She's not a bad person actually, she's nice."
"Wave you are TOO naïve," Taya told her as she sat up properly, "Dream is nice, her, she's the opposite definition of nice. She's a fake friend. But then again you know her better than I know her."
Dream who was getting drunk heard Taya saying she was nice and, "Oh Taya, you're nice too. You too Wavy."
"Dream go to sleep, you're already drunk.'' Taya told Dream, "You said the wine was non-alcoholic. Then again me and Wave are not even drunk. Your alcohol tolerance is crap!"
Taya forced Dream to sleep. Wave sat there seemingly in very deep thoughts.
"Are you thinking about what I said?" Taya asked Wave after Dream fell asleep.
Breaking from her trance, "Oh, you know after I left the orphanage I never actually thought about Lizzie." She said turning to face Taya, "I never thought I'd come to Hartley. I just planned to finish high school then go to Med school and be a doctor. She was the one always talking about Hartley. We even fought after I accepted my scholarship."
"Why did you fight?" Taya sked her since letting her talk about her problems without her responding was too depressing.
"She just said somethings that hurt me," Wave said, clearly not ready to talk about why she fought with Lizzie, "She was the kindest person I'd ever met. Then she just turned to a mean person."
"Maybe she wasn't kind to begin with," Taya continued, "Some people just hide their personality under their skin. In Hartley there are a lot of girls like that. But once the facade ends, they turn to be another person. In reality that was the real them. Your friend Lizzie isn't so different. You said going to Hartley was her dream, clearly, she shed her skin after she saw you were better than her. Her jealousy turned to hatred."
"I didn't think that much. I just thought she was disappointed and she'll come around."
"I'd like to meet her. You're going back to the orphanage during the holiday, right?" Taya suggested, "I'd like to accompany you and stay for only two days."
Wave agreed.
The girls slept and, in the morning, they ate breakfast at Mrs. Pierce before staying with Wave at the convenience store till they were picked at 7 pm.