Page 56 of Side By Side
“It’s also not very good.” Belle shook her head and smiled at her. “Hey, have you had breakfast yet?”
“No, I came out here. Why?”
“Do you remember that doughnut place they never let us go to, just like the pizza place they never let us go to, so we always had to lie about going?”
“I remember. I never had a doughnut there, but I remember the place. Why?”
“You never ate a doughnut, but you went there?”
“Yes, I went to hang out with everyone.”
“But not eat a delicious doughnut?”
“Belle, I’ve been on a diet since birth. I only played pinball at the pizza place. Why are you so surprised?”
“Have you still never had a doughnut there?”
“No, I haven’t. I repeat: why are we talking about doughnuts?”
“We should go.”
“Go where?”
Belle laughed and said, “To the doughnut place. It’ll be open by now, and they’ll be fresh.”
“Now? You want to get doughnuts now?”
“No offense, but the food here stinks. You have a chef, and they make it taste better than it did at the program, but still. I need some sugar, Chandler. Come on. Come with me. Well, drive me, please, because I don’t have a car, and I don’t think I can get a shared ride to come all the way up your long-ass driveway at, like, four-thirty in the morning.”
“We can’t, Belle. We’re on diets for a reason.”
“It’s one doughnut. Okay… Maybe two doughnuts. I’ll work out twice as long if you want me to.”
“Cat will kill me if I take you to a doughnut place even if I don’t eat one myself.”
“Well, if we’re going, I’m not going to eat one if you don’t, so make up your mind… Fresh, delicious, sugary doughnut, and we leave now so that your sister doesn’t even have to know, or another morning of plain toast and a poached egg?”
“I like poached eggs.”
“Every morning?” Belle asked with a quirked eyebrow. “Come on. One doughnut.” She held up her finger and gave Chandler a puppy dog face. “Please.”
Chandler smiled at her, rolled her eyes, and skated off the ice.
CHAPTER 16
Belle was in the passenger seat of Chandler’s car… There was something very strange about that. Belle Elrod was sitting in her car, staring out the window as they drove through town. Chandler turned on the radio, trying to drown out her own confused thoughts on the matter, but of course, it didn’t work, and she kept looking over at Belle, trying not to think about how pretty she was with that short red hair that was starting to fade back to its natural more strawberry blonde color, and her blue eyes, with just a few freckles on her nose and cheeks. Chandler wondered if she got more freckles on her face during the summertime when there was more sun, and she realized she couldn’t remember if Belle did during their brief time as friends back in the program.
“Do you ever go back?”
“What?” she asked, surprised by the sound of another voice in the car.
“To the building.”
“What building?”
“High-Performance Skate, Chandler. We just passed it. Do you ever go back?”
“Yeah, of course. I teach there sometimes. I’m not exactly a big success story, but I’m close, so they like to show me off. Plus, I’m local, so it’s easier. Why?”