Ice Cream with Ela:
Ash had always thought herself fairly capable when it came to handling money, but she had exchanged her pounds for dollars upon her arrival in the States, and she could make neither heads nor tails of the pesky American money. She was sitting on the large, comfortable couch in the mansion’s huge living room counting her money when Ela burst in.
“I am on my period, and I need ice cream NOW!” Everyone in the room, including Ash, cowered in fear of her hormonal anger.
“H-have you checked the freezer?” Kateri bravely stuttered. Ela turned her death glare onto the poor girl.
“We don’t have any. And what’s more,” she hissed. “And what’s more, I don’t have any money, so I can’t buy any.” As Ela started a furious rant on how it was impossible to pickpocket anybody when you live in the middle of nowhere, Ash tuned her out and returned to trying to figure out her money.
“YOU!” Ash looked up to see Ela pointing a menacing finger at her. The next thing she knew, Ela had taken a running leap and crashed into Ash. She screamed, and Ela, putting her into a chokehold said, “You’ll buy me ice cream, right? RIGHT?!?” “Right,” Ash squeaked out.
As Ela led her out, Ash looked around the room, sending a silent save meeee! to the other members, but all shook their heads helplessly and averted their gazes.
..
At the ice cream store, Ela and Ash waited in line for what felt like an eternity, but at long last, they made it to the front. Ela ordered the brownie batter sundae, and Ash ordered a scoop of cookies’n’cream in a cone, paid, and carefully counted the change, consulting Ela when she wasn’t sure of the value of a coin. Ela, content now that she had her ice cream in her hands, cheerfully tutored Ash on the value of American money.
They made their way to an outdoor table shaded by a brightly colored umbrella and dug in. Ela took huge scoops of her frozen chocolate concoction and shoveled it in, while Ash daintily demolished hers. “You know what?” Ela said in between hulking bites. “You eat ice cream like a girl.” Ash inhaled sharply, and then choked on a chunk of cookie in her ice cream. Ela laughed and pounded her on the back until Ash stopped coughing. “You ARE a girl!”
“You can’t tell anyone!” Ash said desperately.
“I won’t,” Ela said, “It’s not like it matters to me.”
Ash exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she had been holding. Maybe Ela wasn’t so bad, even if she was PMSing.
(It’s the start of a beautiful friendship!)
