Chapter One
Emma flew from under the covers as she drowsily, searched for the shouting alarm clock. She slapped the off button and sighed when the room was bathed in silence once more. The girl turned on her side under the covers, eager to continue sleeping but this time, she was interrupted by the beeping of her phone. She shut her eyes tighter and covered her head with her pillow but the beeping only seemed to get louder.
“Oh for goodness sake!” she groaned as she sat up. She ran her hand through her blonde hair and yawned. Emma blinked as she looked around her room. She was still very sleepy. She grabbed the phone on her dresser and checked the time and the caller’s name. “It’s six am, Carrie. What do you want?”
“Whoa, is that any way to treat your best friend?” a voice came from the other end.
Emma rolled a pair of green eyes as she found her slippers beside her bed. She slipped her feet into them and headed to the bathroom. She turned on the phone’s speaker mode and set it on the medicine cabinet shelf. As she rinsed her toothbrush, she said, “I had a long day yesterday and I was so looking forward to sleeping in today. You calling me so early has defeated it all.”
“What? You can still get some rest after we talk.”
Emma scoffed. “Oh please, Carrie, you only call this early when you have an errand that you need help with and your errands always take the entire day.”
“Well you are wrong this time,” Carrie countered stubbornly.
Emma’s hand paused on the faucet handle and she chuckled, “Fine then, my friend, why don’t you tell me why you are calling so early?”
“Uh...” Carrie stammered and then, she groaned, “Fine, you are right. I need some help, yes. Pretty please.”
Emma spat and rinsed her mouth, “Shoot.” She resumed brushing.
“Can you not talk to me while you are brushing?”
“Do you need my help or not?” Emma retorted.
“Fine. I need your help with my parents’ anniversary party. Please don’t say no.”
“What happened to your planner?” Emma asked as she rinsed out her brush and returned it to its position. She rinsed her mouth as she waited for her friend’s reply.
She heard Carrie sigh and then, “It’s a long story. I'll tell you when we see each other. Can you help? Most of it has already been done. All that’s left is the cake and the caterers.”
“And that does not seem like much work,” Emma said sarcastically. She picked up her phone and changed the setting to hands-on mode. “Fine, I'll meet you at the cafe at ten.”
“Can we make it earlier? You see the party is tomorrow night and...” Carrie trailed off.
“Fine, Carrie. It’s not like I have tests coming up immediately after the break.”
“Thanks, you are the absolute best.”
“I do have tests coming up,” Emma said to the dead signal. She sighed and set the phone down. It was time to begin an early day; it was not the weekend she had been looking forward to all week.
A quick shower later, she was running a brush through her armpit-length hair. She looked closely at her head of hair. Her hair was one of the things she loved about herself and she took utmost care of it. It was a medium blonde color that started out darker at the roots and then faded out to a lighter pale blonde at the tips. She ran the brush through the damp hair one last time and headed out.
Settling with dark jeans and a blue knitted crop top, she crossed the polished floor of her studio apartment to the kitchen.
“Cereal will have to do,” Emma muttered.
Later that day, the friends were seated at their favorite booth in their favorite cafe. They had spent the entire day running around trying to get caterers and a baker that were available on a weekend. It had not been easy and that was why they were rewarding themselves with extra-large milkshakes.
Emma stared out at the darkening day. She had been right after all. The errands had taken up all day, like always. But she found herself smiling. Carrie was her best friend in the whole world and even though it was inconveniencing, happy to help; it had even been fun with all the cake tasting. Carrie’s parents Mr. and Mrs. Potts were lovely people. There was no way she would not have helped with the party.
“Where is your mind at?” Carrie asked her friend.
Emma looked up with puzzled green eyes, “What do you mean?”
“You know what I mean so don’t act like you don’t know.”
Emma smiled ruefully, “I just think that it is beautiful that your parents can celebrate their thirtieth anniversary. I mean, they are living proof that love exists.”
