The bookstore

On one sunny day you and your little sister Dawn were out and about, having gone shopping together. Dawn needed some books for the first semester of her sociology study and you wanted some more stuff to read, so figuring you might as well tag along, you took your car and went into town. You found a spot a bit of walking away from the main shopping street so you had a bit to go. Still, with the sun out and the pleasant company of Dawn, it wasn't that bad.

When you got to the book store, you decided to come with your baby sister first. When you got there you found someone else already studying the books in the sociology section. It was an older woman with what you assumed was her daughter.

"Oh, sorry, did you need to be here too?" the older woman said. She had an accent you couldn't quite place.

"My sister does" you said. The woman nodded and said something to her daughter, who moved aside.

MeetingRachel

"Hi" Dawn said with a big smile. She studied the books the other young woman was taking and her eyes widened. "Are you taking sociology too?" she asked.

"Hi and yeah" the other girl said, nodding. "Where are you going to study?"

"Hobbes" Dawn said.

"Me too!" the girl said. "My name's Rachel."

"Dawn" your sister replied, "and this is my big brother John."

"Hi" Rachel said with a sweet smile. "This is my mom, Gilal."

"How do you do?" you asked, smiling and offering a hand. You exchanged greetings then looked at Dawn. "Hey, I'm going to look for my own books. I'll come find you when I'm done, alright?" you told her.

"Alright, take your time" Dawn replied before turning back to chat with Rachel.

You returned to Dawn who was still talking to Rachel, while the latter's mother was nowhere to be seen.

"Dawn, you about ready? You've got at least one year to talk to her" you told your baby sister.

"Oh, I guess you're right" Dawn said. They exchanged numbers before Dawn dumped a dozen books in your arms that she'd put on the floor until then. Rachel gave you a smile as you looked down at the books you were now carrying.

"Is that why you came along?" she asked.

"As a mule? Yeah, seems like" you replied. You studied the girl. She was a blonde with tons of freckles, though you thought she might have been a natural brunette.

"What is it?" Rachel asked.

"Nothing" you said, smiling in what you hoped was a disarming way. Dawn said nothing but you recognised the glint in her eyes. You were in for it now, probably already on the way back home.

"So, what was that all about?" Dawn asked, predictably enough. You played dumb, though.

"What was what all about?" you asked.

"You know what I mean" Dawn said.

"I really don't" you replied.

"Urgh, fine. I'll spell it out for you. You were checking out Rachel" Dawn said.

"Not really. I was gauging her for best friend potential" you told her.

"Simone's my best friend" your baby sister pointed out.

"Sure, but for how long? She's going to go away on a sports scholarship, just watch" you said.

"Don't try to spin this away from Rachel" Dawn said. "I know you were checking her out and that's final."

"Why would I? She's a little young" you answered.

"Oh, please. 7 years isn't that much, assuming she's 18. Well, almost 8 years. Besides, I'm pretty sure Rachel's older than I am. On top of that, if things had gone different, you might have started dating Simone" your sister said.

"Ah, shut up" you said, though she was mostly right. You had checked out Rachel. She was quite attractive, after all. Not that you'd ever admit it to Dawn, as you were quite sure she would try hooking you up with her as soon as she got the entire story from her future classmate. You went home and helped Dawn with her books before taking yours from the pile and bringing them to your room. After that, you took another book that you were reading and took it outside where you sat down on the recliner by the pool, relaxing in the sun for a while.