Chapter Twenty Five

"Rise and shine, girl! Get ready and come on down for breakfast." I jumped up and off of the little window bench and landed my rear end on the hardwood floor. "That's what you get for not sleeping in the bed like a normal person." With that she walks out, shutting the bedroom door behind her. I look out of the window and see that it is still dark. What on earth is the matter with this woman?

I grab some boot cut jeans and a white tee shirt from my bag and head to the adjoining bathroom. Thankfully it has all of the necessary commodities. I hop in the shower and just brush my fingers through my wet hair when I finish.

I make it to the breakfast table just as Nanny was setting out a plate of homemade waffles. My mouth began to water. I was going put on some weight living here.

I look up at the clock on the wall as I sat down and nearly screamed. "Nanny, what in tarnation? It's barely 4:15!" She chuckles as she hands me the syrup and places two fried eggs on my plate. Insert more mouth watering.

"The diner has to be ready to open by five, girl and I'm not going to send you to school on an empty stomach. And now you don't have to be in a rush to get ready." I stop chewing and look down at myself and back up at her. "Riley Brinks you are not going to school looking like that. Why, what would the town say if I sent you out like that?" Okay, slightly offended.

I swallow a piece of my waffle. "Nanny, that was rude." Egg time. I hear her chuckle but don't look up. She places a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice beside me and I forgive her a little.

"You're a beautiful girl, Riley. It's time to stop hiding from the world. It's your time to shine, baby. Would you like me to French braid your hair while you eat?" I nearly choke. I do look up this time. I try not to tear up.

"You don't mind? I don't want to hold you up." She smiles and heads for the hallway. When she returns I see she has a brush and rubber band in her hand.

"I would love to, honey." I continue stuffing my face as she brushes and braids my long hair. No one had ever braided my hair before and I was feeling a bit sappy so I just stayed quiet.

When she finishes she gives my shoulders a gentle squeeze. "We're about the same skin tone so feel free to help yourself to my makeup in my vanity. It's none of that old lady stuff, I think you'll be impressed. I have to head to the diner. Please be careful and come on to the diner when you get out of school so you can tell me all about your first day back."

I get up from the table. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Janson. This all means an awful lot to me." She waves her hand in the air as if it's nothing.

"I watched you grow, girl. You're practically my own. And no more of that Mrs. Janson stuff. Now have a great day!"

I watch her leave and slowly make my way to her bedroom. I sit down at the vanity and look into the mirror. I gasped. I loved the braid, she did great.

I curiously open the drawers and look at all of the makeup. Her vanity set up was practically a mini Sephora. I grabbed some primer, foundation, powder, and highlighter and tried to remember what Claudette had taught me.

I finished the look off with some mascara and eyeliner and took a final look. Not too bad, I was actually quite proud of myself. I headed back to my room and dug out my boots. I pulled my laptop out and checked the time. Six a.m. I still had about an hour before I needed to head towards the school.

I decide to walk outside to watch the river. It was so peaceful. I find an old log to sit on and just relax. I wonder what my old friends would think when they saw me. It wasn't like I had actually been gone long enough to miss. They probably really hadn't even realized I was gone. I mean, I got along with everyone but wasn't really close to anyone. I was always so busy with my dad that I really didn't have time for anyone else. What would it be like this time around?

I watch the fish jump in and out of the water for a bit and then shift my focus to the rising sun. I feel bad for people who have never witnessed a Georgia sunrise. It was something you could never forget.

I'm not sure how long I've been out here so I slowly make my way to Black Beauty. When I hop in I switch the radio station to my favorite country one. I had definitely missed it.

I get to the school a little early so I could run by the office and grab a parking permit and schedule. The secretary smiled warmly when she saw me walk in.

"Welcome back, Riley. California just wasn't it, huh?" I shake my head and smile.

"It definitely was not. I'm so happy to be back. It feels like I've been gone forever." She laughs and hands me my schedule.

"Well, you're home now and that's all that matters. Is there anything else I can help you with?" I nod and tell her about the parking permit. When I go to hand her the cash for it she waves me off. "Don't worry about it. Consider it your welcome home gift." I smile and wave as I walk out of the office.

"Riley! What are you doing here, chick?" I look up into a familiar set of green eyes and smile. Tracy was that girl you wanted to hate but couldn't because she was such a genuine person. Someone that flawlessly gorgeous should at least be a little snobby. Tracy had legs for days and the prettiest colored long auburn hair.

"Hey, Trace." I scratch my head. "Yeah, L.A just really wasn't for me." She smiles and looks me up and down.

"Well are you sure about that? Because you look great. I don't think I've ever seen you wear makeup before. What were the boys like? Who's your home room? We can talk on the way." Her warm excitement made me smile as we headed down the hallway.

It turns out we didn't even have home room together. I'm fact, the only class we did have together was P.E but I promised to sit with her at lunch and to tell her all about it.

I had Coach Grayson for home room and first period. Fun fact about the south? All of the male teachers were usually some type of coach as well. Grayson was hands down my favorite teacher here. He was probably in his late fifties and had a knack for making yesterday's history relevant to our lives today. His passion was unparalleled.

I took a seat in the back left corner after he gave me my text book and locker number and combination. "Riley? What are you doing back here? And in my seat?" I smile at the familiar voice before looking up at Dawson.

Dawson was a total sweetheart. He was a true southern boy. He was never rude, never raised his voice, always held the door open for literally anyone, and if you needed help with something? He would be there. He had dark, chocolate colored locks and was pretty close to six feet tall. His eyes were a seriously dark forest green.

I shrugged. "Just felt like coming home. And last I checked, this was my seat. Has been since freshman year?" I smirked up at him as he raised his hands in surrender.

"Fair enough. You look better in it anyway." My jaw dropped as he winked my way before directing his attention to the traffic of oncoming students. I knew I was blushing. I just knew I was. I think Dawson McGreery had just flirted with me for the first time ever.

Second period was Mrs. Johns for Senior Literature. Mrs. Johns was really sweet but totally clueless when it came to teenage boys. She always wore tight pants or skirts and tended to bend down a lot.

The rest of the classes seemed to blur together until it was finally time for lunch. I grabbed my plate of fried chicken tenders and macaroni and cheese and headed for the first empty table I saw. That is until I heard Tracy call my name. Crap. I had forgotten she wanted me to eat with her. What was that about anyway? We had always been friendly in a "Hey, how's your mama and them?" type of way but never an 'eat lunch together' type of way.

When I got to the table I noticed her usual crew was there. Dawson, Amber, Tamara, Jackson, and Alex. Go figure.

Amber was head cheerleader and loved the football team. Like really loved them. Like all of them. Which was whatever to me, it's just the ego and attitude that came along with it that got on my nerves.

Tamara was also a cheerleader. Effortlessly gorgeous. Down to Earth, just not as much as Trace. Tamara preferred dating college guys and turned her nose up at the thought of a simple teenage boy.

Alex was captain of the football team. Your typical all American jock just with a side of southern. He was also frighteningly cocky and in my opinion did not pull it off well.

Dawson made a spot for me beside him and I gratefully took it. He smelled good. Not as good as Trevor but still good nonetheless.

"So, California boys? Spill the beans, girl!" I laughed at Tracy's impatience and shook my head.

"What do you want me to say? They're just like other teenage boys. Except most drive sports cars. And they're also really bold." I smile thinking about Trevor.

"Oh, that smile? Who is he? Tell me about him! Let me see a picture!" Before I can respond Amber pipes in.

"How big are they, typically?" I slightly frown at her odd question.

" I guess they are average sized. Some are big, some are small." I watch her eyes light up with excitement. "The jocks are muscled up and the non jocks are typically slender." Now her eyes just look mad.

"You are such a virgin. That isn't the size I was asking about." I blush at the fact that my virginal status is so obvious and then I blush even harder at the fact that she was asking about the penises.

"Not everyone is such an expert on the male anatomy, Am. That honor belongs to you." I look at Dawson and smile gratefully. Amber just giggles and nods her head.

"Not so fast, Miss Riley. The boy that made you smile a minute ago. Who is he? He's got to be hot if he caught your attention." I smile and consider lying but decide not to.

"There was someone but it's over now." I can feel Dawson's eyes on my face. I sigh. Getting over Trev was going to be a lot harder than I thought. "He was on my Facebook. You guys didn't see him?" Tracy looked like she was thinking really hard.

"Are we even on your Facebook, Riley? You always just kind of stuck to yourself before. I do like how Cali has seemed to bring you out of your shell some. I'm betting this mystery guy has something to with it too, huh?"

She was right. I had kept everyone at a distance but I had my reasons. "Yeah, I guess he does." I smile. "It was great while it lasted but it's in the past now."

"Are you sure?" He said it so low I wasn't even sure I had heard him right. I look at Dawson and nod. He nods back and winks at me. Again.

"Add me on your Facebook. I want to see this guy. And more of your rather short lived life in L.A." I look back at Tracy.

"Actually, I'm probably going to stay off of social media for a while. Or at the very least make a new page. I left things in kind of a mess. I don't really care to revisit all of that."

Tamara snorts. "Girl, you can run all you want but deleting a Facebook page doesn't delete your past. Trust me, I would know."

"Tamara is right. Now add me." I laugh at Tracy's impatience. "Add me too." Dawson. "Hell, just add all of us." Amber.

"I will when I get home. I have to get a new phone." Trevor looked up.

"Speaking of home, where is that exactly now? You guys sold your old house didn't you?" I nod my head.

"Yeah, Nicholas, I mean my dad, stayed back in L.A. I came back on my own. I'm staying with Nanny for now. At least until I turn eighteen anyway." Trevor looks at me questioningly.

"Your dad didn't come back with you? You guys always seemed so close. I'm shocked he let you come back all on your own."

I'm contemplating a response when the bell rings signaling the end of lunch hour and I sigh in relief. "Well, we better get to class. I'll see you guys later."