This Lifetime. | Edward Heffron

V.

The two women sat, one on the ground and one on a rocking chair, shaking with laughter. "You're telling me you sold him two dozen eggs nearly every single day and not once questioned where they were putting them?" Amelia giggled, tears forming in her eyes. Her stomach definitely hurt.

"I was 17!" her grandmother objected, watching as her granddaughter's shaking figure loosened the braid she had worked hard on, "All I knew was Hank Williams and washing the dishes." She put two arms on her granddaughter's shoulders, turning her once more so she can work on her hair again. "Imagine my dear friend Dolores' face when I told her about this," she smiled, "We laughed just as hard as you and I did just now."

Dolores walked backwards, facing her. Her arms waved wildly and animatedly as she told her how she spent her summer in New York. She was Eleanor's closest friend, and someone she shared every secret with. Except for Babe. She wanted to keep him and what they did all summer to herself.

"I saw Down Argentine Way in cinema," Dolores boasted, "Don Ameche is so handsome."

Eleanor scrunched her nose. "Don Ameche?" she laughed, "He's like 90 years old! You have the weirdest taste in men."

"What can I say?" her friend shrugged, turning back around to walk by Eleanor's side, "Oh right, have you heard? We have five new people in school."

Eleanor bit her lip and nodded, and Dolores continued, "I heard they're all brothers, and they all have red hair. How crazy is that?" Her friend laughed in response, it was so Dolores to be excited about new boys. "I hope at least one is cute and in our grade," Dolores said to herself, rubbing her hands together, "I've grown to accept that Don and I simply can't be together."

Letting out a laugh, the two girls linked arms and walked up to the entrance of their highschool. Navigating the hallways was a nightmare, as everyone had just come back from the summer. The hallways were filled with ruckus, with girls excitedly running to each other, and boys bumping shoulders and high-fiving. It felt like everyone had an amazing summer and couldn't wait to tell their friends about it. Eleanor still thought her summer was the best.

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard a familiar voice call out to her, "Eggs!" She paused, slowly turning as she saw bright red hair making his way through the crowded hallways. "Wait up."

He stopped in front of them, and Dolores stared at his hair with wide eyes, before staring back at her friend. Babe put an arm around her shoulder and grinned, "Hey, Eggs. Nice seeing you here."

"Eggs?" Dolores asked, crossing her arms with a smile, "Who's eggs?" She knew full well who eggs was. Who else had to sell eggs to nearly all the families in town?

Eleanor's mouth agape, she brushed his arm off her shoulder and tried to explain. "Dolores, meet Babe. He," she paused, looking for the right words to say, "He bought eggs from me all summer."

The young man extended his hands for a shake, "And Dolores, meet Eggs. I bought eggs from her all summer." Dolores gave his hand a firm shake, but her eyes were still on Eleanor, "It's a real pleasure to meet you. Eleanor says wonderful things about you."

Eleanor pouted at him and nudged his leg with her knee. She was about to interrupt him when the bell rang. "It seems like Dolores and I definitely need to go. See you later, Babe!" She grabbed her best friends arm and dragged her down the hallway.

Babe simply watched them walk off before going to find where his class was.

"So, Eggs," Dolores smiled, teasingly, "Why didn't you tell me the redheads were your friends?"

"They aren't. Only Babe is," she replied, looking around to make sure no one was in earshot, "I haven't even seen his brothers. They're my neighbours."

"Your neighbours?" Dolores exclaimed in response, "Even better! How romantic." Eleanor knew she was teasing, but a blush crept on her cheeks. "I just don't know why you didn't tell me. If anyone were to know what the new kids were like, it should most definitely be me."

Dolores was the extroverted one, the other side to Eleanor's quiet coin. The two girls were inseparable, and went through everything together. She understood why her friend expected her to tell her. " You were in New York with your aunt."

"Yes, and you could've wrote."

"I forgot," Eleanor paused, trying to find an excuse, "They were new?"

Dolores laughed, pinching her best friends' cheeks, "Yes, El, because there are a thousand of us here with hair like that." Eleanor was quiet, unable to put into words why she never spoke.

She knew deep down there was no good reason to hide things from her best friend. Dolores suddenly wrapped her arms around her shoulders in a tight hug, "That's fine, but you need to tell me everything at lunch."

Eleanor nodded and the two walked into their class. Settling on their seats, Dolores suddenly leaned over and whispered, "So, selling eggs, huh? That code for something?" The girl winked, making Eleanor shake her head fervently.

"It wasn't like that." she explained, leaning in as well, "I guess they just eat a lot of eggs."