Page 2 of Snapdragon

That shocks her, “What? What’s that got to do with Frank? Wait...” She wiggles her brows, “is Frank a Monster, like in disguise?”

I blink at her slowly. Rosie is absolutely crazy, but that’s why she’s my best friend.

“You know,” she continues, “I always thought he was keeping something secret. Ooh! This is hot, I suddenly find I’m feeling some attraction to Frank! Something about an older business exec does it for me, you know?”

“Eww, no. Absolutely not. Take that back,” I pretend to throw up on my food.

Her bright blue eyes meet my golden brown, and we both burst into a fit of giggles.

“Stop,” I squeal, wiping away my tears, “never, ever, ever talk about Frank again. You’re officially cut off from this conversation. Go back to work.”

I shoo her away with my hands and start to eat my food. At least avocado toast won’t exactly go cold.

“Wait,” she sniffles, earnestly trying to appear serious. “Tell me what it was.”

I sigh, setting down the bite I was almost about to eat.

“There’s been an offer for me to do a photo shoot with Noma tomorrow. Wait, no. No cheering yet. I’d have to be paired up with a Monster for it.”

Rosie’s almost glee sobers instantly.

“Like, a real Monster?” The light has dimmed in her voice a bit. “In person?”

“Yep.” I say, popping the ‘p’ sound. “Plus, it’s tomorrow. So I probably only have until I’ve finished my breakfast to make a decision on this.”

“Well, obviously you have to do it.” Rosie exclaims, throwing her arms up.

“What do you mean, obviously?”

“This kind of opportunity has even less chance than once in a lifetime. You will literally never be offered something like this again.” She reaches across the table, gripping my hand in hers. “Come on! Where is my adventure loving, energy filled bestie hiding? You have been getting far too serious, lately. Let loose, my love, go meet a Monster!”

I anchor myself in her grasp and take a deep breath. She’s right, of course. Rosie might be crazy, but she’s usually right about these things. She hasn’t led me wrong this far.

“You’re right,” I start.

“Always am!”

“Of course, you’re always right, my magnanimous supreme reigner of all things correct.” She takes a mock bow as she stands up. “I’ll do it.”

“That’s my girl.”

She heads back to work, helping out one of the new barista’s with the cash register.

Rosie’s café is stunning. She has created such a safe and inviting space here. It’s truly one of my favorite places to be.

I finish my food, listening to the sounds of the café and watching the people on the street through the window.

Rosie’s avocado toast is simply the best. I used to always have her make it for me in college.

We’ve been friends since freshman year, when we got stuck in a triple dorm with the worst person to ever exist, Marilee.

Luckily, we made it through that tough time together. I would do it again to have Rosie in my life. After that year, we decided to move off campus, and we spent the next three years sharing the most run down little one bedroom apartment.

At least things had significantly improved for us since then. I now had a whole two bedroom apartment to myself, right down the street from Rosie’s café.

Normally, I would spend the rest of my morning writing away in my notebook. I look at it on the table, the most obnoxious orange and pink glitter ombré. I loved it.

But the vibes were not here this morning. A walk might make me feel a bit better.