The next day, after school, Lizzie walked down to the Cool Beans diner to see Hank. She was nervous yet she wanted to make things right between him and her. Once she faced the door, she exhaled then opened it. Hank immediately saw her enter.
"Hi," greeted Lizzie.
"Hi, Lizzie," Hank responded.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm just cleaning the counter."
"Cool."
"There's nothing cool about it."
"There can be. I mean I don't clean my kitchen counter. Probably because it's always clean. I think. Anyway, how are you doing?"
"I'm well. You?"
"Sort of well." She walked closer to the counter. "Hank, we need to talk."
"About what?"
"I don't want anything to be weird between us."
"There's nothing weird between us."
Lizzie paused. "Wait, what day is it?"
"I'm sorry. There is something weird."
"Oh, good. I mean not good. I want us to be friends. Just because we used to be a thing doesn't mean we can't still talk to each other and hang out. So how do you feel about that?"
"I agree. We should stop being awkward right now."
Lizzie exhaled. "All of the awkwardness is out. So tell me: why did you move back to Laguna Beach?"
"Well, my family and I first left because my dad got a job out of Laguna. He got fired from that job but luckily scored another job here. So we moved back to Laguna and I am soon to be enrolled at Laguna Beach High."
"Hey, I go to Laguna Beach High."
"Awesome. We'll see each other every day."
"Yeah! And you'll like it there. The water is so clean, it's drinkable. But we're not allowed to drink it from anywhere but the fountains. Doesn't mean it's not clean."
"Well, I'm looking forward to it."
Lizzie grinned. Afterwards, a blonde girl entered the diner and sat in one of the seats by the counter.
"Hey, Hank," she said.
"Hey, Amber," Hank paid his attention to the girl.
"Amber?" Lizzie inquired.
"Amber, this is my friend, Lizzie."
"Hi, Lizzie," said Amber. "I'm Hank's friend as well. But more like a friend than a friend, if you know what I mean."
"No," responded Lizzie.
"Well, Hank knows what I mean, right?"
"Yeah, I know exactly what you mean," said Hank.
"I still don't know what you mean!" Lizzie freaked out.
"Lizzie, calm down."
"Oh, I'm calm. I'm river calm. I'm Laguna Beach High water calm."
"Good. So Amber, when I'm on my break, you want to get a soda?"
"I'd love to," replied Amber.
Lizzie chuckled nervously. "Why get soda when you have soda here? It is a diner."
"You're right," agreed Hank. "I'm going to get us a soda right now with two straws."
He walked away into the kitchen.
"Soda's actually bad for your teeth," Lizzie said to Amber. "Ginger Ale-vitis and whatnot."
"It's 'gingivitis'," Amber corrected. "And don't tell me about tooth decay, like, what is your excuse, Gunk Mouth?"
"Gunk-- Did you just-- You said have a gunk mouth?"
"Well, yes, I did. Your teeth look like they have jaundice."
"Oh, no, you didn't."
Soon, Hank came back with a glass of dark soda holding two straws.
"Hank, I really like your friend," Amber said, changing her mood.
"Oh, good," Hank smiled. "She's nice, isn't she?"
"Yes, she is."
Lizzie created a face of confusion. But quickly, she changed it to a happier face. "I really like Amber, too. She is... She... Yeah."
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