and I havenât talked to him at all since school got out, and I was just curious if I should worry that heâs going to follow me around the party tonight.â
âWhy donât you read the message if you want to know if heâs coming?â Brandon asked her. âI havenât heard from the dude since last week at school.â
âAnd he wasnât coming?â Emily asked.
âNot that I know of.â Brandon shrugged. âI mean, Em, either ignore him or donât, but if youâre not going to read his messages, you have to be prepared that he might show up to the party.â
Emily didnât want to talk about this anymore. She knew Brandon was right, and she felt like an idiot for bringing it up to begin with. So, when she saw the waitress headed back to the kitchen with an empty plate, Emily waved her down.
Surveying the table, the waitress sighed. âIt looks like a great battle was fought at this booth.â
âThe onion rings won,â groaned Ana. âIâm so full, I think Iâm going to pop.â
âTo-go boxes for any of this?â the waitress asked.
âNo, thank you,â said Brandon politely. âWeâre actually headed to a party after this.â
âAlrighty then. Iâll be right back with your check.â
âActually,â said Emily, âI was wondering . . .â
âYes?â The waitress raised her eyebrows, obviously shocked that this thin girl with the blond hair might be ordering something more.
âTell me about dessert,â Emily said.
The waitress grinned and nodded, as if this were her goal from the beginning. âNow youâre talking,â she said. âLet me grab the dessert menu, and Iâll be right back to tell you about your options.â
chapter 6
When she returned, the waitress was carrying a menu that was larger than the one theyâd seen with the appetizers and entrees, and seemed to feature a single dessert on each page, displayed in high-definition vibrant color on glossy paper. As the waitress flipped through the pages, Emilyâs eyes focused on only one thing: a giant parfait glass filled with what appeared to be a pink milkshake of epic proportions. She glanced at Brandon and saw from the look in his eyes that heâd noticed the page too. It was as if he were a caveman seeing a spark of fire for the very first time.
The waitress had stopped flipping to give her spiel about the Atomic Chocolate Brownie Bowl and the Apple Pie à la Explode on the opposite page, when Emily held up her hand, silently letting her know to stop.
âWeâre interested in the Strawberry Tsunami,â she said.
The waitressâs smile widened as she turned back a page to the pink dessert, which seemed to glow with some sort of inner light on the page.
âIs that the Strawberry Tsunami?â Emily queried.
Brandonâs eyes were glazed over. âThe one from the sign on the highway?â
âThatâs the one,â the waitress said. âThree scoops of homemade strawberry ice cream and a piece of fresh strawberry pieâcrust and allâblended to perfection, then layered into our biggest parfait glass with strawberry compote and more whipped cream than federal law should allow. Whatcha think?â
âBring us one of those and three straws, please,â Ana chirped. Brandon and Emily both turned to look at her, then slowly turned back to the waitress.
âOh no,â Emily said. âBring us three of those with one straw apiece.â
âWhat?!â Ana shrieked. âI am not drinking a whole one of those things. Thatâs more calories than Iâm supposed to eat in an entire day. Itâs more calories than anyone is supposed to eat in an entire day! Iâll just have a sip of yours.â
âIâm not sharing it,â Emily said, shaking her head. âI havenât had a strawberry milkshake for at