Summer lark

Chapter twenty six Royal

What's your favorite flavor of Blow Pops? Because personally I live and breathe for the watermelon ones. But when we were given them in school, no one ever willingly took the watermelon ones. They usually took green apple or cherry which, barf if you ask me.

—

"What do you guys do for a living to be able to take two weeks off?"

"I work at a very hippy dippy shop, rings and rocks and crystals and such. I'm taking an online college course for a two year business degree." Ocean says.

"I'm a vet, I run my own clinic." Rena says.

"I own a bookstore."

"I forgot readings a thing." Milo says.

"I own a coffee shop that is attached to the bookstore." E says.

"Do you guys think I should tell them?" Clara asks.

"Nah, let them guess."

"What do y'all think Clara does?"

"Hmm, I could see you as a fashion designer or a makeup artist."

"You guys are so far off." Rena says as she starts laughing.

"Hint?"

"She goes really fast?"

"What?"

"Speeds a lot while driving."

"Nope."

"Crashes are really bad sometimes."

"You have me at a loss." Cole says. No way, she's- no.

"I ain't got nothing." Milo seconds.

"No she's not." I say looking at Carmel, she knows what I'm thinking and telling me I'm right.

"She's a goddamn racer." I say shocked.

"Ding ding ding." Carmella says, making a bell sound.

"Clara Bentley, it's a pleasure to meet you. Look me up, I'm pretty famous." Clara says, stretching her arm and shaking each one of our hands.

"Where do you race, Clara Bentley?"

"NASCAR." She says with a laugh.

"I'll be damned. I remember when we would make sure to watch every NASCAR race. I don't watch it much anymore, but I'll definitely try to catch a few here and there." Cole says.

"Well, I deeply appreciate it."

"What about you guys? I haven't seen you work."

"Rich."

"Retired, but what I did is classified."

"Cool fuckers, I'm boring compared to them, I own the pottery shop in town."

"This man did not say classified did he?"

"He definitely did."

"Is it odd, I am terrified of him now."

"Nah, I get that too."

"I say we stay together, I don't feel like getting killed."

"I agree."

"What do you think he did?"

"The way he dresses and acts, definitely wasn't an office job. Seeming as though it was classified, it could have been the FBI. Maybe special agent, might have been some Army thing, but I've seen him shirtless and he does have tats but none that indicate Army. But ding ding ding, He did have one that would indicate a gang or a group of such. So I say he was a part of a gang or maybe even some Mafia type shit." Carmel says coming to a final, very correct conclusion.

"Did you just profile me?"

"In a way yes, but I like to call it being observative."

"Nah, that was some hardcore profiler shit."

"What, let me guess, I got it correct?"

"Can't say."

"You should have become a profiler." I say.

"I thought about it."

"Why didn't you?"

"I guess it seemed like something that would suck the soul out of me. Working a nine to five office job profiling criminals just isn't really my cup of tea."

"Ah."

"Have you ever worked in your life?" She asks me

"Yes, I have, I worked at the diner down the road for ten years, got done a year ago."

"Wow, stealing time from other people who actually could have needed the money."

"No, I took odd times, sometimes three am to four am, others nine am to five pm. All just depended on the day. And I never once took the money Debby offered countless times." I hate it when people think I'm just some stuck up, twenty four year old who's never worked. Just because I happened to be blessed with a rich parent does not mean I didn't work.