May 31, 2018

That Thursday, when the bus arrived at my stop, I asked Eden if she wanted to come over to my house after school. I needed something to distract me from Véro Arkoun. Even after the Girl Scout meeting the previous day, I couldn't stop thinking about her. Maybe some quality time with my best friend would finally push her out of my mind. After all, I couldn't go on like this. Véro was, quite frankly, not the nicest person in the world, and to make matters worse, she despised sailing and Clearwater Lake, the two things that were dearest to my heart. She was the sort of person that I should have hated, but I couldn't bring myself to hate her.

"I'm sorry, Sylvie," Eden said. "I have work after school. Maybe we can hang out after my shift."

"When does your shift end?" I asked.

"Eight o'clock," Eden said.

"That's kind of late," I said. "Don't you have homework?"

"You sound like my mother," Eden said. "Of course I have homework, but I'll do it tomorrow in study hall."

"Maybe we'll just hang out tomorrow," I suggested as I took my phone out of my pocket to double check that I didn't already have plans.

"Kelsey's having some of her friends over tomorrow," Eden said. "If we're doing something, it can't be at my house."

"Wait a second, I can't do anything tomorrow either," I said as I looked at my calendar. "My grandparents are coming over for dinner."

"How about Saturday?" Eden suggested.

"Perfect," I said. "I'll see you on Saturday, Eden."

The two of us headed in separate directions, and I returned home. As soon as I went inside, I saw that Mom and Dad weren't home yet, but Everett was playing video games in the living room. I ignored him as I walked towards my bedroom. His video game addiction wasn't my problem, and Mom would be home soon enough to chastise him.

Once I was in my room, I started my math homework, but I couldn't focus. The weather was too nice for me to be cooped up inside, but at the same time, if I went outside to do my homework, there was always the risk of seeing Véro again. I hadn't exactly made the best first impression the last time that I saw her, so perhaps never seeing her again would be the best option. I compromised with myself by opening up a window, but even that wasn't enough. I wanted fresh air, and I couldn't get that without going outside and possibly seeing Véro.

My problem was solved when Mom came home. She knocked on my bedroom door, and I opened it. "Hi Sylvie," Mom said with a smile. "How's your homework coming along?"

"I'm almost done with my math homework, but I still have some reading for history," I said. "That shouldn't take very long though."

"Could you actually take a break from your homework for me?" Audrey asked.

"Why?" I asked.

"Your dad just texted me to let me know that he got a promotion," Audrey said.

"That's pretty cool," I said.

"I was thinking that we could celebrate by getting dinner from Culver's," Audrey said. "Could you pick it up for me?"

"Of course," I said, grateful for the opportunity to get out of the house. I put my math homework aside and got out of bed to ask everyone what they wanted. Once I had everyone's orders, Mom handed me some cash to pay for all of it, and I set up my sailboat. Thankfully, the hammock outside of the Arkouns' house was empty. I still struggled not to think of that house as belonging to the Ogdens, but I didn't have much time to think about our neighbors as I raised the sail and steered towards Culver's.

Sailing was exactly the sort of break that I was looking for. Regular season races would start the following weekend, but until then, it was always nice to sail on my own. I enjoyed feeling the wind in my face as I sailed back and forth across the lake until I finally reached the dock in front of Culver's.

I tied the boat to the dock and then climbed out of the boat and onto the shore. I took a moment to appreciate how beautiful the lake looked in the late afternoon sun before heading inside. Culver's was crowded that evening, but I found a spot in line. After a few minutes of waiting, it was finally my turn to order.

"Hello and welcome to Culver's," Eden said as she adjusted her dark blue Culver's hat. "How may I help you today...wait a second, Sylvie, I can probably guess your order. Are you getting a Crispy Chicken Sandwich, cheese curds, and a scoop of the Flavor of the Day?"

"I was going to get chocolate ice cream, but I think I'll get the Flavor of the Day, now that you mention it," I said. "Eden, why are you wearing Quentin's name tag?"

"Quentin and I thought it would be funny to switch name tags for the day," Eden said.

"It's not that funny," I said.

"That's just because you know both of us," Eden said. "There was a little girl who came by an hour ago who actually thought that my name was Quentin."

"Seriously?" I said.

"Yes!" Eden exclaimed. "Anyways, has anything interesting happened in the last two hours?"

"Not really," I said. "I just did some homework, sailed here, and tried not to think about Véro the whole time."

"Who's Véro?" Eden asked.

"Véronique Arkoun," I clarified. "She likes to be called Véro."

"So you must have met her," Eden said.

"I met her last Tuesday after the cleanup," I said.

Eden was practically bouncing up and down once she heard the news. "That's so exciting!" she exclaimed. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

"It's not that exciting," I said.

"What's she like?" Eden said, ignoring my earlier comment.

"She's this short Arab girl with purple hair," I said. "I didn't get to talk to her for very long, but she kept complaining about Clearwater Lake. I think she's just homesick."

"I think she's in my science class," Eden said. "I haven't talked to her much either, but she seemed nice to me."

"Eden, I hate to break it to you, but you're not the world's best judge of character," I said. "We both need to get to know her better before we make any judgments."

"EDEN!" someone shouted from the back of the restaurant. "You're holding up the line. I've told you twice this week not to talk to your friends on the job. Get back to work!"

"That's my boss, and he's probably right. I should go back to work if I want to keep my job," Eden said. "Would you like anything else with your Crispy Chicken Sandwich, cheese curds, and single scoop of the Flavor of the Day?"

"Yes, actually," I said. I gave Eden the rest of my order, and she told me that it would be ready soon. I waited around for another few minutes until another employee handed me a large bag with all of our food in it. I then left the restaurant, placed the bag inside a waterproof compartment, and sailed home.

When I returned home, I tied my boat to the pier, climbed out of it, and let the sail down. After I was done disassembling the boat, I took out the bag from Culver's and carried it back into the house. However, as I walked towards the house, I found Véro lying on her hammock again. I stared down at the ground, trying to avoid getting her attention, but my efforts were in vain. "Sylvie!" she exclaimed. "It's you again."

"Hey Véro," I said. "How are you doing?"

"I'm well," she said.

"Are you liking Clearwater Lake any better?" I asked.

"No," Véro said. "This is still the worst mistake that my father ever made."

All of a sudden, I remembered the Eiffel Tower statue still waiting in my bedroom. "I have something that might cheer you up," I said. "Just wait here for a minute, and I'll go get it." I ran into the house, grabbed the miniature Eiffel Tower from my bedroom, and took it back outside with me. Then, I gave it to Véro and said, "I thought you might like this."

Véro held it in her palm for a few moments and stared at it. "These are everywhere in Paris," she said. "I never thought that I would see another one." She paused for a moment and then said, "Thank you, Sylvie."

"You're welcome," I said as I picked up the bag from Culver's again.

"What is in the bag?" Véro asked.

"Nothing important," I said. "I went to Culver's and bought some food for my family."

"What kind of food did you buy?" Véro asked.

"Who's being nosy now?" I said with a smile. "I got cheeseburgers for my parents, a chicken sandwich for myself, some cheese curds..."

"What are those?" Véro interrupted.

"Cheese curds?" I said. "Have you seriously never had cheese curds before?"

"No," Véro said.

"Isn't France supposed to be known for its cheese?" I said.

"I'm from Paris, not Provence," Véro said.

"I guess you have a point," I said. I dug through the Culver's bag and pulled out a box of cheese curds. I then opened the box and offered a cheese curd to Véro. "Do you want one?"

"I'd love to try a cheese curd, but I can't," Véro said.

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's Ramadan," Véro said. "I can't eat until the sun goes down."

I looked towards the sky. Dusk was approaching, but it would be at least another hour before the sun set completely. I was hungry already, and I had eaten at lunch. I couldn't imagine fasting for the entire day like Véro was doing. "Maybe you could try one after sunset," I suggested. "I'll leave a few for you if you'd like."

"I have dinner with my family after maghrib," Véro said.

"Maghrib?" I said, confused.

"Sunset," Véro clarified. "Don't worry about me, Sylvie. I'm stuck here for two years - I will eat your cheese curds eventually."

"Okay," I said as I stuffed the box of cheese curds back into the bag.

All of a sudden, Véro's phone buzzed. She took it out of her pocket, quickly texted someone, and then put it back. "That was just Emilie," Véro said. "She doesn't understand that I broke up with her before I left. I tried to tell her that a long distance relationship would not work, but she will not listen..."

"You're gay too?" I mumbled, not expecting Véro to overhear me.

"I'm bisexual, actually," Véro corrected. "Why? Are you gay?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that one. I didn't know if I wanted to come out to Véro yet - the only other person who knew that I was gay was Eden, and I wasn't sure if I could trust Véro to keep one of my deepest secrets.

Mom was the one who saved me from having to answer Véro's question. "Sylvie!" she exclaimed. "What are you doing out there?"

"I should go inside," I told Véro. "I'll see you later."

"I should take a nap," Véro said as she lay down on the hammock again and closed her eyes. "Goodbye Sylvie."

I took my bag from Culver's and ran inside, still a little bit shaken from my conversation with Véro. How had I let my deepest secret slip so easily? I had to be more careful in the future. As I carried the food inside, I looked back at Véro one more time. She was fast asleep already, with her whole body curled up in a ball as she snored. Hopefully, she would forget about the whole incident.

Mom and Everett helped me unbox all of the food that I had brought home, and just as soon as we were done, Dad walked into the kitchen. "Did you really get dinner from Culver's for me?" he said as he smiled and hugged all of us. "You guys are the best. Thank you!"

"You're welcome, Dad," I said. I ate dinner with my family and then returned to my room to finish my homework. I still couldn't focus, but this time, I had much more to think about than just Véro's admittedly pretty face. We were quickly becoming friends, but Véro knew too much now. I had to make sure that she didn't learn my secret before it was too late.