Just A Friend: One

It was one summer morning, when Mrs. Theresa Ashton received a call from her friend abroad. Today she seemed all excited, unlike her usual mood swings that scared everyone off.

Theresa was a woman of class and great novelty. With her fair complexion, married to the dark short-styled hair, she was surrounded by nothing but beauty and elegance.

Smiling brightly, she followed her children in the garden to give them the good news.

"Christian, Carolyn, may I have a moment?" Theresa marched towards the two siblings, who were in the middle of a conversation.

Carolyn, the younger, grunted. She knew that whatever her mother had to say was never going to be pleasant to her ears.

"There comes the queen," Caro mumbled. "I think I'm calling a rain check soon."

Smiling, Chris uttered, "We're here, mom. What is it?"

"Okay, my children. Guess what," Theresa paused. "Do you remember Abigail? Abbie, my friend, Julia's daughter? We met them on your tenth birthday, Christian."

"Well, I was only ten, right?" he queried. "Okay, let's say I remember her." 

Caro got up abruptly. "Okay, everyone, since I don't know any Ebbie or whatever, I-- "

Theresa cut her short, "Abbie! It's Abbie, sweetheart. And where do you think you're going, Carolyn?"

"Fine. Abbie," said Caro "Since I don't know her, I don't think you need me here, so I'll go make myself useful somewhere else." She got up and left.

"Oh, this girl." Theresa sighed. "I think there must've been a mistake at the hospital. They could've switched or swapped her with another child, because I can't believe she's actually my daughter and--"

"Alright, mom. You were saying?" Chris interrupted, laughing.

"Oh, Abbie." Theresa resumed the subject. "Well, she'll be here tomorrow. She's admitted to your college and I was thinking of letting her stay here with us. Would you be kind enough to pick her from the airport, dear?"

"Okay, I will. Is that all?" Chris asked, and that was all.

Meanwhile, Sarah, the cook at the Ashton residence was on the phone with her daughter who was supposed to arrive on the next day, ready to start her studies in the very same college.

"God help me with this child of mine," Sarah muttered. "I don't know how she's managed to finish high school with all the troubles she keeps causing."

"What's wrong, Sarah? Trouble with the soup?" Herman, the driver, asked with a smile while getting himself some drinking water.

"I wish the recipe was my only trouble in this world," Sarah replied while busying herself with stirring the soup. "It's my daughter; she'll be here tomorrow instead of today as we've agreed. To think that I only had an afternoon off today, to be able to pick her--"

"Is that all? Relax, woman. I can give you a hand on that. I'll go pick her up if you're that worried," Herman said.

"Really? Oh, Herman, I'll be very grateful. Hanna is such a troublemaker that's why I'm afraid to let her wander this city alone."

"No worries, woman. Keep doing what you do best. Smells pretty delicious already," Herman said, and both smiled.

The following day, Christian arrived at the airport five minutes earlier the flight's arrival-time. He rushed towards the arrivals' curb, just to realize that he'd lost Abbie's phone number. He quickly made a call to his mother but she wasn't picking. Decidedly he tried the home number, yet no one answered.

There was only one way given the running time, he had to use a name-board. Evidently he couldn't write Abigail on it, since it was a common name, hence wrote Ashton instead, hoping that she'd understand.

Minutes passed, a lot of passengers passed by, some met their escorts, relatives and whomever possible and others left straight to the exit. Chris's eyes stuck to any young lady that would pass, but none of them seemed to be her.

He tried again to call at the mansion but it was the same. When he almost gave up, some girl, dressed up in loose denims with leather jacket and Snickers, tapped him on the shoulder.

"Hey, mister? Who still does that old-fashioned gestures nowadays? Don't you have a cellphone?" she snapped at Christian who looked almost startled.

"Excuse me, are you talking to me?" He asked while gazing around.

The girl smirked before putting her cap off, releasing her blonde hair to fall down her shoulders. She shook her head a little and lifted her eyes to face him at last.

"Ashton," she referred pointedly, to the piece of sign he was holding. "Aren't you here to pick me up? I thought changing my flight would save me from this charade. Damn, she's really caught on this time! Maybe I should change my strategy next time," she muttered to herself.

Chris looked flustered for a while, but then realized the situation. "Oh, you must be Abb--" before he could finish his sentence, that girl's phone buzzed.

"Oh no, it's my mother," she gasped. "I don't want her to find out I've arrived." She shushed him with an index.

"What do you think you're doing?" Chris snapped, brushing her hand away.

"You have a car, right?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"Great, let's go." She frenzily pulled him towards they reached the parking lot.

"Hey, wait," Chris snapped. "What the heck do you think you're doing? No body drags me around like this, okay?"

"What's your name?" she asked out of the blue.

Frowning, he answered, "Christian."

"Christian?" She remained thoughtful for a while as though the name didn't ring the bell at all. "Okay, whatever. Do you know any restaurant nearby? I'm famished."

"Pardon?"

"Eating, dude, I'm hungry," the girl complained. "Where's your car, anyway?" She wandered her gaze around, and he gasped audibly.

For the first time in his life, Chris Ashton found himself in the hands of a total weirdo of a girl. He couldn't say anything more, other than fulfilling her silly request.

Once at the restaurant, he quietly stayed aside, watching her as though she wasn't the girl he'd pictured in his mind no matter how imperfect his imagination was.

"You know," Chris broke the silence, "I thought you would be different. Maybe kind of-- " he paused as her tray of chicken-salad with fries arrived.

"Different how? Sort of a pretty enchanting girl?" She smirked. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, spending hours in front of a mirror is horrible." She added, almost disdainfully.

He huffed a laugh. "Maybe you're just not pretty," he muttered, and she scowled at him. "Sorry, just saying."

"Sure, do you think I care?" She twisted her face, and he giggled. "Are you sure you want to pass the food?" She immediately changed the subject.

She never ceased to amaze him, Chris thought.

"No, thanks." He got up. "And please hurry up. I'll go clear the cheque, and wait for you in the car."

"What? Hold on," she urged him. "First, I'm not letting you pay, and second, I'm not done yet. And how can we go in such a broad daylight, huh?"

"Listen, girl, I'm not here to satisfy your little whims. If you wanna stroll the city, do it some other time, and with some other person." Chris said, and she stared blankly.

"Isn't there something you like and haven't done in a long time?" She asked, completely ignoring his last remark.

"What?"

"What do you like, Chris? Swimming? Movie? Museums? Come on, tell me."

"What's wrong with this girl?" Chris mumbled, then sighed heavily. "Fine, I like horseracing. I'm sure that's the least of your interest. So, shall we go now? Because I have other things to do."

"I love horseracing," she told him, smiling. "Is there a place for that?"

To Christian's disgrace, the girl became enthusiastic once again; even though she'd lied about loving horseracing.

"You do?" Chris asked, and she nodded her head. His eyes showed a small sparkle, as though ready to give in, but suddenly darkened again. "No, we're going home and that's final." He walked away.

"So lame," she mumbled to herself while gobbling her fries.

She found Chris outside, a moment later. He was leaning against his white SUV, a sullen look on his face. He was good-looking, she thought, and it was a fact. He had nice dark hair, and a very fit body which had him termed as a handsome brunette quite easily.

He hadn't that tower-like height, but it didn't excuse him from being utterly attractive.

Hanna contemplated his features for a while, and found herself smiling. Well, he wasn't so bad, she smiled again at the thought. As their eyes met, Chris opened the door ready to hop in, and it's when she suddenly grabbed his shirt.

"Now what?" he snapped.

"Please, I promise this'll be the last one," she pleaded. "Horseracing, I mean. Please?"

Chris sighed heavily, tired of her games. He pondered for a while and replied, "You promise?"

"I promise."

"Okay, there's one at Old Derby. Get in."

"Yes!" she exclaimed loudly and ran like a child.

"What a pain," Chris muttered.