Ashley Ch. 04

"Wouldn't it be weird for me to have a picture of my sister in my wallet?"

"No way. If it's weird to carry pictures of your family, then I must be extremely weird 'cause I have pictures of everyone with me. You two should take one together. It's adorable how alike you guys look."

"You really think so? I always thought my brother's way more handsome than I am."

Rene was about to laugh again but stifled her glee when she looked at my face. "Wow, I can see why Brian is so in love with you. I wish my younger brothers would say stuff like that about me. They can be real brats sometimes, ya know? Some days I just wanna-"

A shrill ring-tone interrupted her rant. Rene opened her purse and pulled out one of those expensive multimedia phones.

"Gosh darn it, I wish I could stay longer but that ring means I have class in ten minutes. I hate being the first to leave a party." Rene pushed her chair back and got up. "It's nice meeting you, Ashley. Nice seeing you again, Brian. I hope we'll bump into each other some more next quarter."

"Yeah, I hope so too." I stood up with my hand out. "Have fun in class."

Rene stepped forward and brushed my hand aside, putting her arms around me. It was a brief, friendly hug, with no squeezing at all. I shouldn't have given it much thought, but with my sister three feet away, my brain went haywire.

Ashley went around the table and Rene hugged her, too. Unlike with me, Ashley hugged back. They embraced for a lot longer, as if they had been best friends for years. "Bye, Rene. Thank you so much for taking care of my Big Bro while he's here at school."

"No problem. If he and I end up with any classes together, I'll do my best to keep him in line." The girls separated, and with all three of us waving goodbye, Rene made her way out to her next class.

Once we were back in our seats, Ashley passed out the food and cups from her tray. "You've never mentioned a Rene to me."

I took a sip of my drink, which I gladly discovered was a cold Pepsi. "I must've forgotten. I didn't know I had to tell you about every person I meet in college."

"Not everyone. Just the cute girls. She seems really nice."

"She is nice. Very smart, too. We were assigned as partners during a computer science class last winter. If it weren't for Rene, I probably would've failed. Our professor was a pain in the ass, but she memorized every PowerPoint slide to the letter. It was nice being paired with a programming genius for once." I eyed the huge square sandwich in front of me. "Hey, you remembered my favorite."

"Yep, of course. A BLT with turkey and cheese."

"You didn't have to buy lunch. I could've gotten it for us."

"That's okay. I wanted to surprise you. I saw the sandwich place on the way to the bathroom and I figured I'd get us something to eat since it's almost noon." Ashley took a drink from her cup. It had a much different look and color than mine.

"Is that... coffee? Since when did you drink coffee?"

"It's a cappuccino. I'm going to be a college student in a couple of months so I figured I should start drinking like one. It's pretty good. You should try it sometime."

"No thanks. The lines in here can go on for miles during the regular quarters. I usually just grab a Pepsi from the vending machine."

"Figures you'll only drink soda. You've been drinking it since you were a baby."

"Mom always knew I preferred soda over milk."

Ashley took another sip from her cup. "So?"

I eyed my sister with my mouth full. "So..."

"Have you ever asked Rene out?"

How did I know that question was coming? It took a little longer than I had expected, but the bluntness was spot on. "No, I haven't. I'm not really interested her in that way. Even if I was, I don't think it'd work out between us."

"Why not?"

"For one, I have you. It's not like I need another girl in my life."

"Oh please. You can't possibly be telling me you knew we were going to be a couple way back then."

"No, I guess not. You got me there. Rene and I had a good thing going as partners and I guess I didn't want to risk ruining it. Why are you so gung-ho about me seeing someone else?"

"I don't want you to see anyone else. I'm just curious, that's all."

"About my love life? You don't have to worry about any other girl now that I'm yours."

"No, that's not it. I don't care about your ex-dates or crushes or whatever. I'm just trying to figure you out."

"Figure me out? Like what makes me tick?"

"Yeah. I want to know what motivates you to do the things you do. Why you think the way you think, say the stuff you say. There's no way you can be such a gentleman without some experience around the ladies."

"Hey, I wasn't born completely clueless about the opposite sex. Give me some more credit than that."

"Okay, Casanova, whatever you say." She chomped down on her sandwich.

With the end of my interrogation, I was able to enjoy the rest of my lunch admiring the girl I loved so dearly. To have her with me in such a familiar setting made me wish school really were in session. That way, my sister wouldn't only be with me at home. She'd also be with me on campus for a very large chunk of my day. As I imagined the possibilities of such an arrangement, I couldn't stop grinning for the rest of my lunch.

Ashley, not the kind of girl to let a full stomach slow her down, had me continue to tour almost immediately after we finished. We were nearing the end of the student center when she told me to stop.

"Where's that dance music coming from? Is there a special event going on? It sounds like a lot of people are cheering.""

"Nope, just the arcade." I pointed at the entrance across from us. "It's a pretty popular hangout spot. It's always packed whenever I go in there."

"Can we check it out?"

Refusing me a chance to respond, she grabbed my hand and dragged me behind her as she made her way to the game room. We turned around the corner of a dark hallway and were soon bombarded by flashing lights.

Despite it being summertime, the arcade was packed with students playing billiards, table tennis, and the latest and biggest game machines. People who came by for a quick way to unwind after class tend to drift toward the recreational games; people who sought something more challenging and fast-paced flocked to the arcade cabinets. But no matter which type of activity someone might have preferred, there was one game that always drew big crowds: Dance Dance Revolution.

I didn't have to wait for Ashley to speak to know what she wanted to do next. The moment she saw the metal dance pad, massive stereo speakers, and colorful screen of animated characters spinning on their heads, she just had to get in the middle of the crowd and show off her moves.

"No way. I can't believe this place has a D.D.R. machine. You have to come dance with me."

"Oh no I don't. I'm a mouse and keyboard kind of guy. I can't do this. I'm gonna be the laughingstock of the entire campus."

"Come on, you know that's not true. No one will care if you make a fool out of yourself. Just worry about having fun."

"I don't know.... How about you dance by yourself? I'll cheer for you from back here."

"It's not worth playing without a partner. Dance with me, please? Please, please, please with a cherry on top?"

"All right, all right," I caved, fishing a few dollar bills from my wallet. "Let me get some change."

"Yay, I love you so much. I'll save us a spot."

As I returned with a handful of quarters, Ashley, in the midst of the crowd, jumped up and down while waving her hands at me. A few people looked my way to see what she was so excited about.

"Can you get any more enthusiastic?" I asked, stepping beside her.

"We're the next ones up."

I watched the current players dancing along to a ridiculously fast house song. They were obviously regulars to the game and the main reason why there were so many people gathered around the machine. The song ended with much applause, and I worried Ashley and I wouldn't be able to match their performance.

Some of the spectators dispersed the instant we stepped onto the metal pad. That didn't seem to bother my sister and she went ahead with inserting the coins. As she scrolled through the track listing, she stomped on an arrow on her dance pad to increase the difficulty. I followed suit and increased mine.

She peeked at my side of the screen. "Tiger, do you know what you're doing?"

"Yep, I know what I'm doing."

"Shouldn't you play on an easier setting?"

"Nope. Just go ahead and start the song."

"All right, if you say so." Ashley pushed a bright yellow button on the game cabinet to start it.

For the next minute and a half, our feet moved in near-perfect sync to the arrows on the screen. Since it was the first of three songs, it took a few minutes for our legs to wake up from lunch, but by the time the music faded out we were each working on an impressive combo. The score displayed with my partner beating me by a tiny margin.

Ashley leaned back on the handrail behind her to take a breather. "Wow, you did really good for someone who was worried about being a laughed at."

"I like to keep a few tricks up my sleeves. Is it my turn to choose the song?"

She rolled up her jacket sleeves and nodded.

"Okay, this one should be pretty good." I pushed the button and started the next bass-pounding track.

Unbeknownst to Ashley, one of my friends was a huge fan of the game and had a home version of it. With no one beside him to laugh at my flailing, I decided to give it a serious try. A few days and blisters later, I was no longer the proud owner of two left feet. This was the perfect opportunity for me to show off what I had learned.

Much to Ashley's surprise, I beat her by a pretty hefty amount when the music ended. "You've been practicing that one a lot, haven't you?" she asked.

"Yeah, you can say that. Go ahead and pick the last song. Make sure it's a hard one. I'm barely breaking a sweat."

"Hmm, I think I can find a challenging one for you." Ashley scrolled through the track listing to one of the harder songs. She took off her jacket and slung it over the handrail, then stomped on her pad to kick up the difficulty one final notch.

"You got to be kidding me. Since when can you handle Maniac setting?"

"You're not the only one hiding a few tricks. Are you ready?"

Not wanting to be outdone, I reluctantly increased my difficulty. "Ready as I'll ever be."

"Good luck," she said, pressing the starting button.

The first set of beats flew up the screen, giving me no time to wish her good luck. I frantically moved my feet to the instructions, but the tempo sped up and I was quickly overwhelmed with flashing arrows and warning messages telling me I was on the verge of failing. I looked over at Ashley's side and was stunned to see her working on a combo going one hundred strong. I fell back onto my handrail and watched her feet blazing across the dance pad. Ashley fed off the cheering and shouting of the crowd behind us, using their energy to dance with even more precision. No one cared about my failure; my sister was putting on one heck of a show and everyone was loving it.

The song ended with thunderous applause. Though it wasn't the most difficult one, the style and finesse Ashley showcased was first-rate, and the crowd had grown larger than when we first entered.

"Looks like I win that round," she hollered over the commotion.

"Yeah, looks like it." With a smile, I draped my arm around her shoulder and escorted her off the pad.

"Hey, girl, wait a sec," someone called out. A burly guy in baggy clothes was standing where Ashley had danced. "My buddy is still jabbering on his phone so he won't be taking his turn this round. Want to take his spot? I'll pay for your game."

Ashley looked up at me.

"Go ahead," I told her. "I'll be sitting back here trying to catch my breath. Kick his butt for me."

"Sure thing." She kissed me on the cheek and headed back to the machine.

I folded her jacket and sat on a stool by the juice bar. The seat was high enough for me to see over the heads of the crowd. My sister turned and waved at me, but before I could wave back she spun around to the game.

Ashley's performance for our last song together was only a warm-up. The next three songs she played were faster and more intense. Her dancing peaked during the second song, but when the final one ended, I could tell fatigue had been affecting her rhythm. Ashley cut through the crowd toward me while receiving a last round of hurrahs.

There was a limp in her walk. "Ash, are you okay?" I hurried to her and offered my arm and shoulder.

She winced as I helped her climb up the stool. "If I knew I was going to play that game today, I would've have worn socks and shoes."

I kneeled down so I could un-strap her sandals and remove them. "Oh wow, your feet are bright pink. And it looks like you might even have a blister. Sit and chill for a bit. I'll order a drink for you."

Waving a bartender over, I asked for a fruit smoothie and a bag of ice.

"Bry, what time is it?"

"It's past twelve-thirty. What's up?"

"We should be heading home now. Nikky's going to be wondering what's taking us so long."

"I'm sure she can wait a little longer. I'm more worried about you."

"You don't mind letting her stay home alone now?"

"No, I still don't like the idea. But if she's at home and we're here, then let's take care of what we can before worrying about things one hour away."

Ashley frowned at my answer.

"Okay, okay, how about this. I'll call home and check up on her. If she answers and says everything is all right, we'll rest here until your feet are looking better. If she doesn't pick up the phone because our house blew up or something, then we'll head home."

As I dialed my phone, the bartender arrived with the smoothie and ice. I let the phone ring a few times but received no answer.

Ashley held the cold bag to her feet. "So, is Nikky answering?"

I hung up. "Nope. No answer."

"Oh no, I should've listened to you and stayed home. We have to hurry." Without waiting for me to put her sandals back on, she hopped down from her stool. Her feet landed hard on the ground and she immediately bounced up onto her seat again. "Ow, ow, I shouldn't have done that."

I bent my knees slightly with my back to her. "C'mon, I'll carry you."

"What? Are you sure? We're on the opposite side of the campus from where we parked. It's going to be a long walk."

"Let me worry about that. Come on, I can handle it. We have to hurry, right?"

"Brian... no, you can't. I'll walk it off. Just put my sandals back on. It won't be so bad."

We bickered for a bit before I folded to her demand. The conversation didn't end in terrible terms, but I didn't like the idea of my sister pointlessly enduring any pain. She made me help her into her sandals, and with each aching step she took I felt an even sharper pain. She tried her best to pretend it didn't bother her, but her steps were shorter than her spirited strides from earlier.

I led Ashley to a shaded bench along a two-lane street near the edge of the school.

"What are we doing here?" she asked, sitting down and stretching her feet out.

"Let's wait here for a minute. We'll be at our car before you know it."

I was off by only a few seconds when a bus in school colors pulled up to the bench. The bus served as a trolley, transporting people around the campus. Our parking lot section was one of its destinations.

"Hop on," I said, kneeling for my sister. "Please?" My sis gave me a small smile and leaned onto back, wrapping her arms around my neck. I was surrounded by the scent of vanilla from her hair and strawberries from her smoothie. Her sweat did little to spoil the fragrance. I mustered my strength and carried her onto the bus.

Boy, were we surprised when we heard our names being called out.

"Brian, Ashley, come sit with me," Rene shouted from the back.

"Hey Rene, talk about a coincidence," I said as I approached her row.

Ashley hopped down and slid into the seat behind her. "Are you heading home, too?"

Rene turned around and replied, "Yeah, class ended a little early. I'm hoping to beat the traffic." She watched me scoot next to Ashley. "That's nice of you to carry your sister."

Before I could brush it off as nothing, Ashley circled her arms around me and pressed her cheek against mine. "Brian is such an awesome brother. He's always watching out for me and doing stuff like that. I love him sooo much for it." She peppered the side of my face with smooches.

The way Ashley said it was buoyant and exaggerated, and even though it was probably all true to Rene, she found it very comical and started laughing with my sister. The light-hearted banter continued until the bus pulled up to our stop a couple of minutes later.

"Well, this is where we get off," I told Rene.

"No way, I get off here, too," she exclaimed.

The three of us chatted some more as we left the bus and headed to our cars, with most of it done by the girls as they exchanged embarrassing stories about me. I never realized how much attention Rene paid to me since she recalled a ton of humorous events I didn't think were such a big deal at the time. Ashley had even more stories to tell, mostly from my elementary school years.

I noticed my sister's strides were back to normal, so either her feet were feeling better or she was so amused with Rene's stories that she had forgotten about the pain. It took a load off my mind, even if I did want to shrivel up and hide far, far away.

"Bye again, Rene. I'm so happy knowing my brother has a good friend like you to hang out with."

For once, someone other than me blushed. "Toodles, Ashley, toodles, Brian. And Bry, that's a really good look for you. You should wear stuff like that more often." Rene waved us off, leaving my sister and I by my car.

I sat down in the passenger seat. "Are you sure you want to drive? Maybe I should take over."

My sister started up the engine and began the ride home. "No offense, but I've seen you drive when you're distracted and it is not pretty."

"There's a very good reason why that happens," I said, remembering yesterday afternoon and the evening from Saturday when I had multiple close-call accidents from her teasing. "What makes you say I'm distracted right now anyway?"

"You have Rene and me on your mind."

"I do not," I retorted.

"You do now."

Both of their pretty faces appeared in my mind. "Hey, that's not fair. You just mentioned it so of course I'm thinking about you two now."

Ashley laughed at her little victory. "Well, it's too late to switch drivers now. We're already on the freeway."

Grumbling to myself, I lowered my backrest and closed my eyes to shield against the bright sunlight. I fell asleep to my sister singing along with the stereo.

* * *

"Bry... Brian. Wake up, sleepyhead." Ashley was leaning over me when I peeled my eyes open.

I sprung up from my seat. "Oh shit, I didn't mean to sleep while you were driving. Are we lost or something?" I gazed out the windows.

"We're home," she announced.

The recognizable setting of our neighborhood was all around us. The car was safely parked by the sidewalk in front of our house. "I can't believe you managed to drive home without my help."

Ashley tapped her noggin. "It's not empty in here. I can handle simple instructions. Now c'mon, we need to see if Nicole is all right." She unbuckled her belt and bolted out the car.

She rushed ahead of me to the front door. Poking her head in, she shouted, "Nikky, we're home. Is everything okay?" She leaned in further, balancing herself on one foot. "Oh no. Look at this."

"What happened? Kitchen on fire?"

"No, nothing like that. Just come here and look at her."

I peeked over Ashley's shoulder into the living room. "Wow. At least she's okay. That kid knows how to have a good time."