Ellie & Quinn ❄️ || WLW (Eng)

CHAPTER 4

You're too mean, I don't like you
Fuck you, anyway
You make me wanna scream at the top of my lungs
- Afraid, The Neighbourhood

The opportunity to talk to Quinn again presented itself to Ellie earlier than she had anticipated.

The next day, heavy snowfall made Ellie stay at home for the day. The snow fell so thickly that it was difficult to see the mountains protruding against the white sky. Nobody had bothered to shovel away the snow in the driveway this day, as all the work would be null and void in a matter of minutes. Of course, Quinn was not as squeamish as Ellie was and the cold did not bother her. She had left in the morning, skis in one hand and phone in the other to meet up with her friends. Most of the adults had left as well, the dads' to take some pictures and Quinn's mom to teach at school. Ellie's mom had stayed home to categorize some of yesterday's finds and Ellie had spent her day helping her, reading, listening to music — basically being bored out of her mind.

In the evening, the adults had collectively decided to eat at the small restaurant in town since no one was too keen on cooking and the fridge was almost empty. The snowfall had stopped about an hour ago but now a foot of new snow was making it difficult to even walk across the driveway, let alone walk down the whole street just to buy some groceries.

After making a quick phonemail to confirm that there were still tables available, everyone quickly threw on their jackets and they hurried across the street.

The restaurant was reasonably full, a few tables occupied by families or couples and the buzz of different conversations filled the air. The interior was very cozy, with furniture made of dark wood with red upholstery and golden details. Golden light made the big room feel cozy and comfortable and the heating was on such a high level that everyone immediately ripped off their jackets only seconds after entering.

It was Fiona who welcomed them, this time not in skiing clothes but in black jeans and an apron with the dinner's name embroidered on her chest. The back of sweatshirt had some Chinese calligraphy on it, probably the same name in Chinese. She led them to a table at the back of the restaurant and handed them the menu when everyone had sat down. The table was round and had a rotatable plate in the middle, with two tangled dragons drawn on the wood. Ellie sat down between her parents', which was — coincidentally — right opposite of Quinn. The blonde girl did not even look at Ellie once, she immediately hid behind her menu and then either looked slightly to the right or to the left.

Fiona, who probably had a very busy evening, considering that there was no other waiter present, brought a small bowl with some prawn crackers.

"Can I get you something to drink already?" She asked, pulling her phone from the back pocket of her jeans to write down the orders.

"I'll take a white wine," began Ellie's mom, "the Pino Grigio, please."

"Oh, me too," said Janet, looking at the rest of the table with a slightly tilted head, "should we just order a bottle for all of us? Unless you lot want something else."

"I'll just take a glass of water," Ellie said. She did not really like the taste of wine and also did not want to get tipsy or (in the worst case) drunk.

"I'll have a coke," Quinn said, closing the card with a soft slap.

"Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks then," Fiona smiled at the group, "by the way, Quinn, are you scheduled for work tomorrow?"

"Yes, and for the weekend as well."

While they waited for their orders, the conversation turned to Ellie's hometown and their lives in Jacksonville. While the adults' and Ellie were talking and chatting along, Quinn just sipped her drink quietly, her face resembling an expression of sour boredom. Whenever Ellie tried to make eye contact with her, the other girl would look away, completely ignoring Ellie and everything she said during the conversation. Her weird behavior probably did not go unnoticed by the others' but nobody reacted or said anything.