4. Vivi Cheerio Mobile
vivi: cheerio mobile
THE PARKING LOT OF PEACHTREE High was full of cars but didn’t have one single kid in it when I got there.
Which was good because Aunt Sloane’s minivan wasn’t, like, my ideal car for making a good impression.
Because of Tyler, I had made some fun Peachtree Bluff friends, and I really hoped none of them asked for a ride.
There were Cheetos ground into the floorboards, toys strewn everywhere, something sticky in the cupholders, and the whole thing just had this smell.
I didn’t know how Sloane did it. If this was motherhood, I might have to think long and hard about it.
Then again, Mom had Preston and, while she didn’t have a car she drove in New York, her life was all-around tidy. As much as I didn’t want to be like her, maybe I should hope I was in that way.
I shifted the car into park at the edge of the parking lot and opened the door, looking around for Tyler’s truck.
As I got out, I reapplied my shiny pink lip gloss in the mirror and readjusted my skirt a little lower.
Mom would only let me get this outfit because the crop top and skirt actually touched.
But when she wasn’t around, all I had to do was readjust it just a little bit to show the perfect amount of skin.
It wasn’t like I was the only one. Plus, I had a mom, two aunts, and a grandmother.
I knew the time you could wear a crop top wasn’t forever.
Although, Aunt Emerson could still wear one.
But she was an actress, so looking good was basically her job, right?
And… as much as I hated to admit it, Mom could totally rock it, even at almost forty. She wouldn’t, but she could.
I located the old blue Ford truck that Kimmy—Tyler’s sister and Peachtree’s resident produce farmer—let Tyler drive.
I looked around to make sure no one could see before I hiked my leg up on the front bumper, turned around, smoothed my outfit, crossed my legs, and perched perfectly.
I could already hear Tyler calling me his “hood ornament.” It made me smile. Southern phrases were weird and cute.
I looked up at the school again. No one was coming down the steps to the parking lot yet. This was not the ideal time to realize I had forgotten my phone. What was I actually supposed to do while I waited? Just sit here alone with my thoughts? That sounded awful.
I went to a beautiful stone private school in Manhattan with gargoyles on the outside and old wood-paneled classrooms where presidents and billionaire CEOs had learned.
But it occurred to me now that that wasn’t better necessarily.
I loved the whole Friday Night Lights vibe of this big brick school where all kinds of kids came together to learn from one another.
Where football games and basketball were a huge deal and the town gathered to be so proud of its future stars in case they could look back one day and be like, Yeah, I used to watch that kid in high school. Practically coached him.
The hood of the car was kind of warm and distracting me from my thoughts. Not warm enough that it felt like it was burning me, but warm enough that I knew I couldn’t sit here too much longer without sweating. And I did not want to surprise Tyler as a sweaty mess.
I looked up at the sky, thinking maybe I could play that game I played with Preston where we try to figure out what the clouds look like.
But there wasn’t a single cloud in the sky.
Just a bunch of blue. Some birds chirped really loudly as they flew overhead, and I prayed that one of them didn’t poop on me.
I’ve had experience in that department, and it wasn’t pleasant. Fortunately, I made it.
I was starting to get uncomfortable and rethink the whole surprising Tyler with this pose thing when I saw the double doors at the end of the main hallway open, and kids started flooding out. I strained my eyes but couldn’t see Tyler.
But I did see Dana, one of his friends. She was wearing her backpack, and a jean skirt, and a plain pink T-shirt with some sort of leopard bootie situation.
It wasn’t the greatest outfit I’d ever seen.
Dana was cute, but I could really have styled her.
Even just a flat iron to that mound of black wavy hair would improve things.
But she was still supercute in her own way.
I waved at her and she waved back, reaching me in just a few seconds.
“This is an excellent greeting pose,” she said without even saying hello. “Hot but nonchalant. Ten out of ten.”
We both laughed. “I would get down to hug you, but, um…”
“But you’d flash the whole school? Yeah. I’d save that for Tyler.”
My face reddened. I mean, Tyler and I had technically been together for a long time in teenage years. There was a reason people would make assumptions about our relationship. “How’s everything? How’s school?”
She adjusted her backpack and shrugged. “I have four AP classes this semester, so I’m basically chained to my desk at all times, and I’m pretty sure the weight of my book bag is giving me back problems.”
I could totally relate to that. School was going to be really hard for me this year too.
I envied Tyler and his regular, non-AP classes.
He was smart, sure, but he just didn’t feel the need to overachieve.
He could easily make As in his regular classes—and a couple honors classes, too—and he thought that was fine.
And it was. I mean, we weren’t going to get into the same college, and that made me sad, but I had an entire year before I had to think about that.
I was poised to be the captain of the tennis team next spring.
I was the managing editor of the school newspaper so that I could be editor in chief next year.
I had started a club to provide Wi-Fi boxes to kids who didn’t have access in the city.
And I was a member of like four other clubs, not to mention the National Honor Society.
I also ran track, which I wasn’t that good at, but it looked good on my record and helped me stay in shape for tennis season.
That plus friends equaled a really busy schedule.
It was a lot, but I had big goals. Plus, I mean, I could handle it. I was excellent at time management.
“I totally get it,” I said. “School is rough. Especially when you combine it with all the extracurriculars we have to do just to get into college.”
She nodded. “Which reminds me. I need to put this in my car so I can get back up there for my FBLA meeting.”
“FBLA?”
“Future Business Leaders of America.”
“Oh. Cool. What business are you trying to lead?”
She smiled. “I’m not. But they give an awesome scholarship each year, and I’m going to need all of those I can get.”
I nodded knowingly, but I felt instantly guilty. Here I was feeling sorry for myself because I had so much to do. But I knew my college was covered. That was a huge relief and privilege.
“Well, good luck,” I said, just as I saw Tyler striding through the grass, typing on his phone. I wondered if he was texting me. When his eyes drifted up, he stopped dead in his tracks and grinned at me.
I smiled. God, I had forgotten how hot he was. His hair was sandy and tousled, and he was so effortlessly adorable in his jeans and T-shirt. As he got closer, I noticed he was wearing a Peachtree Provisions T-shirt. That he was repping the store owned by my uncle and granddad made me love him more.
I was exactly eye level with him as he reached the truck and said, “Are you really mine?”
“All yours,” I said as I wrapped my arms around his neck and kissed him. Some kid made a whistling noise and Tyler seamlessly flipped him off as he kept kissing me.
He pulled away. “Man, I missed you. And you make a damn fine hood ornament.”
I laughed.
“What?”
“I knew you were going to say that.”
He scooped me up in a fireman’s carry as I hissed “Tyler! My skirt!” and tried to shift it so everyone at Peachtree High didn’t see a little more of me than I wanted them to.
“How are you here?” he asked, ignoring me. “I wasn’t expecting to see you until tomorrow.”
“And then for Emerson’s wedding!” I trilled, relaxed in his arms now.
He kissed me again and put me down. There were kids everywhere in the parking lot now. One of his friends came over and fist-bumped him. “Ready for tonight, T-man?”
“You know it,” he said. “West Georgia won’t know what hit them.”
I clapped. “I get to see your game tonight! I’m so excited!”
“Forget the game. I get to see you.” He kissed me again, not caring who was looking, which was kind of amazing.
He opened the passenger-side door, which is when I remembered. “I have Aunt Sloane’s minivan. I’ve got to get that back to her.”
“The Cheerio Mobile?”
“That is the perfect description! I’m calling it that from now on.”
“Can we come get it later? Maybe tonight after the game or something?”
I shook my head. “I feel like I need to get it back to her. Meet me at the house? I know Mom and Gransley will want to see you.”
He nodded. “Okay. That’s fine, but I only have two hours until I have to be back, and I want you all to myself.”
I raised my eyebrows and smiled. Then he said, “Hey, Viv. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about…”
I looked up into his adorable face, the face I trusted, the face I loved.
Almost two years of Tyler. Of long drives and boat trips, walks on the beach and nights under the stars.
Two years was a long time. I thought I knew what he wanted to talk about.
I’d been waiting for it, in fact. Still, I felt a little shaky inside as I said, “I’m all ears. ”
And I suddenly wished Carson, my best friend from New York, were here. Because she always knew what to do in these situations. I was grateful that she was only a phone call away.
When and if I actually found my phone, that is.