Mila got up early for work, she showered and dressed in her soiled clothes from yesterday. She didn’t quite know what to do. She knew she needed clean clothes, but she was unsure how to clean them. Maybe Marqi would know, but Mila did not want to wait for her this morning. Today she was eager to see ShayAnne again. When she left, Marqi was sleepily getting into the shower.

Mila walked purposefully up the hill toward ShayAnne’s house. The world seemed like such a different place today, so different than it had been a week ago from her mother’s front yard. Mila felt like smiling all the time. She felt happy and light and capable of almost anything. The world that so terrified her mother was embracing Mila so far, as if welcoming her out to play after such a long confinement.

Mila walked along quickly, taking in all the sights and sounds as she trailed through town. There were houses in different colors, shrubs in different sizes, people whom she’d never seen before walking dogs... It was all so wonderful that Mila wanted to sing.

She didn’t know any songs, though, and her family wasn’t all that musical. Oh, well, she thought with a smile and shrug. She could listen to the birds sing and be more than satisfied with her life.

She was the first of the hired workers to arrive that morning. She took her box and got right to work, climbing high up into a tree to pick the ripened fruit. Climbing trees was something her mother had strictly disapproved of, just like wearing blue jeans. But Mila found that blue jeans and cherry picking went together quite well, and both were enjoyable to experience. She couldn’t understand at all why her mother was so against these things. She wished she knew. She wished she were smart enough to figure it out.

“Good morning!” someone called up the tree. Mila looked down at her redheaded friend below.

“Good morning!” Mila shouted down to ShayAnne, beaming at her.

“How’s it going up there?”

Mila looked around at the wide view of the estate from her perch in the tree. “Very well, I think. Thank you for asking. How is your morning progressing?”

ShayAnne laughed. “My morning is progressing just fine. I’m still looking for more help. Plus, I have some charity things to deliver to the thrift shop. I was hoping you’d be interested in helping me lug all the boxes down there.”

“I’d love to help you!” Mila agreed at once.

“Great!” ShayAnne replied. “I’ll come find you at lunch, okay?”

“Okay,” Mila agreed giddily, her face still grinning broadly.

“I’ll see you later, Em,” ShayAnne said.

“Goodbye, ShayAnne!” Mila called, watching the redhead wave as she walked away. It was so lovely to have such a beautiful friend, Mila thought. She was so lucky to have met ShayAnne. Even her name was beautiful. Mila sat up in the tree, pulling down cherries and thinking about how great everything was.

She never wanted to go back to her mother’s house for anything, not ever again.

At lunchtime, ShayAnne came to the orchard to collect Mila as promised.

“Here,” she said as they walked up to the main house together, “why don’t you come inside and have a sandwich with me before we load everything up?”

“Okay,” Mila said amiably.

ShayAnne smiled at her. “You’re so agreeable.”

“Thank you,” Mila said seriously, causing ShayAnne to laugh.

“So, what kind of sandwich do you want?”

Mila shook her head. “Anything will be fine, thank you.”

“Well, all right. Picky much?” ShayAnne joked. Mila just gave her a quizzical look. ShayAnne walked into the kitchen and Mila followed her. She pulled open the refrigerator door and rummaged through the contents of the deli drawer. “Ham, chicken, turkey, roast beef... pretty much whatever. You like ham?”

“Yes,” Mila answered.

“And cheese?”

“Yes.”

“Know how to make sandwiches?”

“Um...”

“Here,” ShayAnne said, thrusting a head of lettuce and a jar of mustard into Mila’s arms.

“Oh... uh...” Mila stammered.

“Just set it over there,” ShayAnne said, waving at the kitchen island while her face remained buried in the fridge.

Mila took an uncertain step toward the central counter and set the items upon its blue-gray granite surface. ShayAnne continued to hand her items from the refrigerator until she was satisfied they had everything necessary to build ham and cheese sandwiches.

When they had made the sandwiches and eaten every crumb, ShayAnne said, “Oh, now I just feel like laying around instead of working.”

Mila chuckled.

ShayAnne sighed. “Of course, my mom’s going to have a hissy fit if I don’t get those boxes out of the hall, so I guess we better.”

“Okay.”

“Do you always agree to everything?” ShayAnne questioned her new friend as she led the way to the entry hall.

“What do you mean?” Mila asked politely.

“Nothing. Never mind. Here, grab that box,” ShayAnne directed. Each girl took up a box and began their journey toward ShayAnne’s jeep. They both went back and forth between the car and house until all six boxes were loaded into ShayAnne’s jeep. They drove to the shelter and ShayAnne parked crookedly on the curb outside the shop’s front entrance.

Together they dragged the boxes inside and stacked them up along the front counter.

“What is this place?” Mila asked, looking around at the dusty shop full of forgotten items.

“This is the Jasmine Falls Thrift Shop,” ShayAnne informed her while she waited for the sales clerk to fill out the receipt slip. “It’s where you can come to buy secondhand items, and the proceeds benefit the women and children’s shelter on Second Avenue.”

Mila had never heard of either of those things. She wandered through the store slowly, taking in all the used furniture, and the racks and racks of clothes that time stood still for. Most of the items had tags on them, and Mila thought this must be a good way to exchange her clothes. She decided she would come back after work and find some things.

“You ready?” ShayAnne asked when she had the receipt in hand.

“Yes,” Mila smiled; she followed her friend from the thrift store and got back into the car without another word. They drove down the quiet lane and turned the corner, the radio playing softly in the background.

“Thanks for helping me today,” ShayAnne said sincerely. “Want to get a milkshake?”

“Okay,” Mila said with a grin.

ShayAnne shook her head. “I swear, Em, you are the most agreeable person I ever met. How on earth do you do it?”

Mila just shrugged. “It’s easy to agree when it’s something you want to do anyway.”

ShayAnne laughed as she pulled up to the Home Fries diner. “Truer words were never spoken. Come on, goon. Let’s go!”

Mila followed the redhead through the jingling door and up to the counter where they each plopped down on a stool and smiled at the proprietress.

“Hello, Miss Hawke,” Jenna greeted her. “What can I get you?”

“Two milkshakes and a huge order of chili fries,” ShayAnne said with a grin.

“What flavor?” Jenna asked.

“Mm, vanilla for me,” ShayAnne said. “What kind do you want, Em?”

“I’ll have the same,” Mila said, slightly alarmed at being asked her preference.

Jenna gave them a brief nod before heading off to the kitchen.

ShayAnne turned to smile at Mila and said, “You won’t tell my secret, will you?”

“What secret?” Mila asked, confused.

“I love chili fries. They are my most favorite thing in the whole wide world.”

“Oh,” Mila said seriously, “I thought cherries were your favorite thing in the whole wide world.”

ShayAnne burst out laughing. “You’re so funny, Em!”

Mila smiled, unaware that she’d made a joke. The kitchen door banged open again and Jenna appeared carrying two vanilla milkshakes with whipped cream and cherries on top. She set them on the counter before the girls and doled out the straws, saying, “The fries’ll be up in a minute.”

“Thanks,” ShayAnne said, tearing off the wrapper and jamming the straw into her shake. She tasted it lovingly and spent a blissful moment slurping. Mila followed the procedure and got a mouthful of vanilla ice cream.

“Mm,” Mila said appreciatively, “that’s good!”

“I know,” ShayAnne concurred. “Jenna, you make the best milkshakes ever!”

Jenna waved her hand dismissively at the redhead as she strode off toward the kitchen again.

“Look at the time,” ShayAnne said. “The afternoon’s half gone already. And it’s so hot today!”

Mila kept still, unsure what comment should follow such a statement.

“You don’t really feel like going back to work today, do you?” ShayAnne said.

Mila considered her thoughtfully. “I don’t understand.”

“Well, I was just wondering if you wanted to play hooky with me. We could go to the mall or something,” ShayAnne suggested.

Jenna returned with a heaping plate of french fries liberally coated with large helpings of chili and cheese. She offered the girls forks, saucers, and napkins before shuffling away again.

“The...mall?” Mila said uneasily.

“Yeah. We could go shopping!” ShayAnne said. “That would be more fun than working, wouldn’t it?”

“I guess so,” Mila said, “but... I said that I would work, and then... how will I...”

Mila broke off, unsure of what her answer should be.

“Oh, come on,” ShayAnne pestered. She reached into her handbag and pulled out her cell phone, saying, “I’ll even call my dad and tell him you’re still with me. That way you’ll still get paid for today!”

“Oh, no!” Mila said at once. “That would be dishonest!”

She was quite taken aback, and the redhead felt a little ashamed. She promptly squashed it and said, “Look, it’s really not that big a deal. Besides, I really need a new pair of running shoes.”

She dialed her home number, listening as the phone rang. She ate a fry while she waited for someone to pick up.

“Hey, Beth, is Dad there?” she asked when her sister answered the phone. She waited again while her sister fetched their father. When she heard his gruff greeting, ShayAnne said, “Hey, Daddy, it’s me. Listen, I’ve got Em here with me, and we’ve just got done with that thrift stuff for mom’s charity league... Anyway, I want to run up to the store for a bit and it would be a pain for me to take her all the way back home first, especially with gas prices the way they are... Okay, thanks, Daddy! I’ll see you later!”

She snapped her flip phone shut and threw it in the bag, saying, “Yay for us! He said okay. See, you’re in the clear, okay?”

She picked up her fork and stabbed several large fries. In one motion, she crammed them all in her mouth and chewed with the same gleeful expression she had worn on her first sip of milkshake.

“These are so good,” she half-moaned. “Em, come on, you gotta try these!”

Mila picked up her fork and hesitantly gathered a bite of chili fries. She held her breath and put it in her mouth as quickly as possible.

“Oh, my God,” Mila exclaimed with her mouth full. “That is either the most wonderful or the most disgusting thing I have ever eaten!”

“I know," ShayAnne agreed. “Isn’t it fantastic?”

Mila grinned and took another bite. “It’s absolutely brilliant.”

ShayAnne smiled blissfully as the two of them stuffed chili fries in their mouths. In a matter of minutes the plate was cleaned and their beverage glasses emptied. ShayAnne paid the bill and the two girls left for the mall.

Once they arrived, ShayAnne squealed at nearly every clothing shop they passed. She would see a cute top or a pair of shoes and eagerly grab Mila’s hand, dragging her into whatever store had caught her eye. She made a few purchases here and there, including forcing a nightclub dress on Mila in the form of her generosity. From there she kept Mila in tow while she scoured the nearest shoe shop for heels to match.

“God, you have big feet!” ShayAnne laughed, causing Mila to blush bright red. “Doesn’t bother me. My mom has huge feet, too, for a girl. I mean, I wear a nine anyway, and I’ve got the daintiest dogs in the family!”

As usual, about half of ShayAnne’s comment was lost in translation as far as Mila was concerned. She didn’t mind, though. Instead she simply smiled at her redheaded friend and tried to be as inconspicuous as a butterfly on printed wallpaper.

“What next?” ShayAnne said, tapping her finger against her cheek. “Oh, yeah, my running shoes!”

She found several styles, merrily forced the put upon clerk to fetch them, and began trying on one pair after another while Mila looked on.

“Hey,” ShayAnne said as she bounced in place, trying out the current pair on her feet, “You ever been to The Platform? It’s that dance club down on Ninth?”

Mila shook her head as ShayAnne seated herself and began unlacing the pair of running shoes she’d just tried on. She continued talking as she pulled the lace free, “I was thinking of going there this weekend. You want to? It might be fun. And you could wear your new dress! If you can find shoes to wear with, I guess. What do you think?”

“Ah...okay,” Mila agreed.

“Great!” ShayAnne declared, kicking the sneakers into the box. She slid it across the floor to the salesman on bended knee and said, “I’ll take ‘em.”

He took the box and went to the register while ShayAnne returned her own shoes to her feet. She stood up and went to pay for her purchase.

“All right, then,” she said when her transaction was complete. “It’s late, so I guess I’ll take you home... Oh...er... where is it you’re staying exactly?”

“At the Lantern Motel,” Mila replied.

“Oh,” ShayAnne said. “Okay. Come on, let’s get home before tomorrow sneaks up on us.”

Mila suppressed a yawn and said, “I think it may be too late.”