Seasons of the year 01 - Springs

“I can't believe it finally happened! I've been accepted to the best university in Los Angeles!” exclaimed Amanda, raising her glass of frappuccino.

“And we will still share the same apartment!” said Camille, putting her latte cup against Amanda's glass.

“I'm going to miss my mom” Katie said, a little wistfully. “I'm sorry, Lana.”

Each had a different story with her family, but there is no disagreeing that the saddest and most troubled was Amanda's

An only child, Amanda was taken by surprise by her parents' divorce when she was only 10 years old. Seeing her father carrying several suitcases as he opened the front door was the most painful thing, and she was not sure if he would remain the same.

The worst was yet to come: Amanda's father had moved to Greece. Initially it was just a business trip, but the company eventually decided to move him permanently.

“I think you're glad you don't have to meet Miss Suzanne every day” Katie said, running her hand over Amanda's shoulder. “I know what that's like.”

We cannot forget Suzanne Grint, Amanda's mother, or as they called her when they were children, 'Bad Auntie'.

Amanda wishes she could forget all the times she had to listen to her mother complain about how things were going on in a way she didn't want them to, or about the pressure she was under to lose weight.

Would you like to say that Amanda has overcome this? Yes, I would, but unfortunately her weight was still a big issue for her

“But there is someone who, unfortunately as it turns out, I will have to see every day.”

Eric Dandelion, her ex-boyfriend, was the kind of man who demanded a girlfriend's attitude, but would not make a commitment. After seven months, Amanda got tired of him and put an end to the relationship.

“The bad thing about dating an ugly man is that afterwards they act as if we are the ugly ones” Camille says as soon as Eric passes near them. “Besides being ugly, he's an *ssh*l*.”

“At least the s*x was good?” Katie asks, debauched.

“I think it was the worst of my life” Amanda says, giggling.

“F*ck, when you met, you were a virgin and, if I'm not mistaken, you had s*x only three times.”

“Guys, let's focus on other things” Amanda says, taking a sip of her frappuccino. “Will Ralph come along?”

“No, he is going to be alone for a while. He says it will be good to clear his head.”

“After all this time?” Katie asks. Lana shrugs.

Amanda suspected that Camille was interested in Koddah and that Katie had an old crush on Ralph from childhood, but she suspected that Katie's lack of courage was because Ralph was her best friend's older brother.

Amanda noticed that Lana was very dedicated to her studies and didn't seem to have much interest in romantic relationships. She wondered if Lana had ever been interested in anyone or would ever be interested. Because of her lack of experience in this area, Amanda suspected that Lana was still a virgin.

“I made a list of our expenses” said Lana, taking out her tablet from her brown bag, “The rent is $300, the internet costs $100, and as for water and electricity, each month we will have a different amount.”

“At least Koddah and Ralph won't be complaining about our “coolness”, as they like to call it” Katie comments.

Amanda suggests that they get the check, so they can go see the apartment they have just rented.

Lana raises her index finger to call the waiter, and each one pays for what she has consumed.

Starbucks was one of the favorite places for the quartet to get together, and they were overjoyed to discover that they lived only four streets away from their favorite coffee shop. Now they could visit more often and enjoy their delicious coffees together.

As much as she was born and raised in Los Angeles, it was different for Amanda. It was a new neighborhood, a new lifestyle. She felt like the protagonist of one of those movies where someone from the countryside goes to the big city.

Passing by the entrance, you could see how quiet that building was going to be.

Her apartment was on the third floor, so Amanda decided to take advantage of the elevator to get around faster.

Lana takes the keys from her jeans pocket and inserts them into the lock, turning them to open the door afterwards.

The apartment was fully furnished, which was a great help for four girls fresh out of high school. Although it was simple, the apartment had a differential: four bedrooms.

“Let's divide up the chores, too. Amanda, you're in charge of the dishes. Camille, you can take care of the food…” Lana starts talking until she is interrupted.

“Lana, let's take it easy. It's our first day here, let's enjoy it lightly.” Katie says, holding Lana's hands.

“You are right. How about ordering Japanese food to be delivered here?” Lana takes her cell phone from her pocket and starts searching for delivery options near the building.

“Great, in the meantime I'm going to take a shower” says Amanda as she heads for the first room next to the kitchen.

The room was simple, with a double bed, closet with sliding doors and mirror, and a workbench, where her things were already arranged. As she looked at the bed, she noticed a bouquet of flowers with a box of Ferrero Rocher. Amanda took the small red envelope and opened it gently. Inside, she found a white card with red letters.

I miss you

*ss: Eric

It is better to leave it until they meet in person.

She could consider that cold shower as the second-best thing of the day, the first being her frappuccino at Starbucks.

Once she finished her shower, Amanda just combed her hair and decided to let it dry naturally. Then she put on her pajamas, which consisted of a white tank top with a panda print and black shorts.

Amanda took the box of candy and left the room, determined to share it with her friends. When she got to the kitchen, she found everyone gathered around the dinner table.

“We will have dessert” Amanda says, placing the box of bonbons on the table

“Who did?” Katie asks curiously.

“A no secret admirer”

“Eric?”

“I'll take care of it tomorrow. One hour or another, we will meet here.”

“I'll have to thank you for the chocolates, I love Ferrero Rocher” Camille said, picking up the box and taking it to the refrigerator.

Lana turned on the television and put on whatever streaming app was available on the TV.

“The advantage of this place is that all streaming comes on the house” Lana said.

“Then I'll have to thank you twice as much for getting this apartment” Katie said, giving Lana a kiss on the cheek.

Having that conversation with her friends made her day lighter, but there was just one gray cloud that could spoil everything.

Suzanne

As soon as he saw his name on the notification tab of his cell phone, it seemed as if things started to blur. Your vision blurred, your hands sweated, it was as if your mother transformed all of this.

I can't believe I have to wait more than three days to hear from my daughter

This is what was written in the message Suzanne had sent.

The last words Amanda heard from her mother before she closed the door were, “If you abandon me to go with your friends, you can forget that you ever had a mother.

Amanda preferred to close the door.

Before they went to the apartment, Amanda stayed at Camille's house, since she was pretty sure that her mother might not take her back, or maybe it was just madam Suzanne's drama.

“Amanda? Amanda?” Katie shook her shoulders.

“Yes?” Amanda asked, a little confused, coming out of her trance.

“We've been eating and talking and laughing for about 25 minutes, and you haven't said a word. In fact, you've barely touched your food” Lana said worriedly.

“I seem to be lost inside my head”

“Is it about Eric? Do you want to get it off your chest?” Katie puts her hand on her friend's thigh.

One part was about Eric, and the other part she couldn't tell her friends. Since childhood, they did not get along well with her mother.

“I promise I'll be fine” were the only words that came out of his mouth.

Amanda watched at the TV, and it was connected to Disney+. The movie they were watching was The Princess Diaries. Sure enough, it was Camille who chose it, since it was her favorite movie.

He took a temaki, three pieces of niguiri, and five pieces of hot roll and put them on his plate. He didn't like wasabi and used only shoyo to season his food.

“We will buy from this restaurant more often.”

“Absolutely” Camille confirmed.

“I don't know if you remember, but it was thanks to my mother that we fell in love with Japanese food” said Lana, putting some wasabi on her slice of salmon.

“They are missed” Camille commented.

“Much more than you can imagine.”

Amanda didn't eat much, not that she did it on purpose, but she was glad that her friends hadn't noticed much. She ate three bonbons for dessert and decided it was time to go to bed, or at least try to sleep.

She rolled from one side to the other, she needed to distract herself. Not only that, but she turned on her notebook, opened YouTube, and decided to put on a playlist she had put together. There were singers like Ed Sheeran, Halsey, Bon Iver, but deep down she knew that it wouldn't make any difference to her sleep.

He opened the bedside table drawer, took a pill, and swallowed. He went into the bathroom, turned on the sink faucet, and drank some water.

“Tomorrow is a new day” She said, looking at my reflection in the mirror.

He went back to bed, picked up his cell phone. It was 1:30 A.M, but his alarm clock would ring at 7:00 A.M on the dot.

"I better go to sleep in case I want to be punctual tomorrow"

Amanda opens her eyes slightly and realizes that she forgot to close the curtain before going to sleep, now the sunlight burns her eyes.

“I should have closed the curtain” She talks to herself, while stretching and greeting the new day.

She gets out of bed and goes straight to the kitchen. She is surprised by the silence that dominates the room and notices the dirty dishes in the sink. When she opens the refrigerator, she finds a bottle of coffee and shakes it to feel the weight. There was a little left. He checks the microwave and finds three pancakes.

Looking at the clock on the wall, he realizes that it is already 8:30 A.M and becomes desperate.

“Shit, why didn't I wake up earlier?” says, “I have to be in college now.”

Amanda calls Camille, quickly typing her number into her cell phone and activating the speakerphone, while desperately looking for an outfit to wear.

“Have you just woken up, Sleeping Beauty?” teases Camille, as soon as she