Taylor getting his learner's permit was probably the worst thing to ever happen to Tulsa. If I would have had the job of marking those tests, I would have failed Taylor just to keep the the citizens of Tulsa from harm. But, I wasn't allowed that job, and Tay has the card in his pocket that gives "Hanson, Jordan Taylor" the right to risk so many lives.
"Taylor, slow down!" I protested, as we took a corner on two wheels, and ignored a stop sign.
He laughed, "Live a little, Micky!"
I watched in horror as he took his hands from the wheel, and waved 'em around.
"Idiot!" I gasped, "Are you trying to kill us here?"
He laughed again and turned up the radio. I gripped the dash, and breathed a sigh of relief when the mall's parking lot came into view. Tay raced into it, and slammed on the brakes. I was propelled against the seat belt (God bless them.)
"I'm driving home," I stated, getting out of the car.
"Oh, come on, Micky," he pleaded, slamming his door, "I need practise. Even you said so."
"True," I agreed. Practise and then some. Couldn't really deny that, "But I am the one with the liscence. You have the permit."
He shot me a dirty look and pocketed my keys. I just turned 16. I'm two months older than him, and it absolutely kills him.
"Come on," he whined, motioning at the mall, "The arcade awaits!"
After roughly an hour of battling zombies, shooting guns, and racing cars, Taylor and I were done in the arcades, and were sitting in the food court, on those really high stools, armed with milkshakes.
"So, I won," Taylor announced, pulling his baseball hat down lower on his brow, "You know what that means, Micky." He shook his empty milkshake and grinned evilly.
"No!!! I really-" Before I could finish my protest, he'd grabbed my milkshake and was guzzling it down. All I could squeak out was a tiny, "Eww."
Smiling, Taylor smacked his lips and went back for more. I watched as my shake disappeared. After a good three minutes of nonstop slurping, he ended. I raised an eyebrow.
"Lose interest in my milkshake? 'Cause, ya know, I'd like it back."
"Whoa," he muttered, giving his full undivided attention to something over my left shoulder. Slowly, I turned around, and wrinkled my nose.
"Sadie Carter," Taylor breated.
"Sadie Carter" was the object of Taylor's lusting. Blonde hair, blue eyes, the whole bit. She sat in front of me for my English class, and spent most of her time popping gum bubbles and writing notes to her friends. Her friends were the "in" crowd. I was not in that crowd. Not that it mattered. All they talked about was shopping, shopping, and oh yeah, shopping. Well, they talked about guys too. Not that there was anything wrong with that. I mean, I talk guys and shopping with my friend, Deb, too. Just not 24/7. Anyway, from what I knew, she had the personality of a wet rag.
"She looks like Cameron Diaz," I concluded, putting the habit Taylor hated the most about me (picking which famous person somebody looks like) to work.
"Nuh uh," Tay disagreed, "Look at her!! She's so damn hot!"
I snapped my fingers in front of Taylor's nose to break his trance, "Uh, in case it's slipped your mind, I'm a girl. I prefer something male."
"Huh?"
I shook my head and sighed. Standing up, I said, "Come on. We need to go. I've gotta babysit Ray Anne and Ben at 5:00."
"Your mom has a meeting?" Taylor asked, not really paying too much attention.
"Yeah," I muttered.
You see, my dad left when I was 10 (Ben was 5 and Mom was pregnant with Ray Anne), so she works a lot. Not enough so that I can classify her as not around, but enough. Mom is a good mom. She tries hard. Anyway, since that is our case, I am sort of the built-in babysitter.
"Come on," I repeated, feeling a little bit frustrated.
"But-"
"Not buts, Tay," I laughed this time, "I've gotta get home. And you wanna drive dontcha?" I flashed him my best smile, and dangled my keys in front of his nose.
He shot a long head-to-toe look at Miss Long Legs (aka Sadie) and sighed.
"Fine," he paused, "But you owe me!"
I smiled. The car won over the girl.
Looking over his shoulder at Miss Priss, Tay, who was grumbling, followed me down the mall towards the exit. I felt kind of bad for making Tay leave his view of Sadie, so I tried to console him.
"Aw, Tay," I began, patting his arm, "She's not much more than legs."
"She's got a lot more than legs!" he exclaimed. Funny, I didn't think he was talking about anything intellectual.
"Pervert!" I gasped, trying not to giggle.
He laughed loudly, "You are so jealous of her, Micky! You just turn green when she's around, or you look evil. You're so friggin' jealous!" This struck Taylor has incredibly funny.
I opened my mouth to say how I could be jealous of something with a personality of a wet rag, when I was interrupted.
"Michelle!" a high-pitched squeal called, "Hi!!"
I didn't know what was worse: Being called Michelle, or the highly recognizable Sadie Carter.
"To think, you were leaving, and I just about missed ya!!!" she giggled, and flashed Taylor a view of her perfect teeth. My friend melted. You'd think after meeting all the girls he's met, he could handle Sadie Carter.
"We shoulda walked faster," I muttered.
"What was that, Michelle? You really do need to speak up," she patted my shoulder, and gave me an innocent look.
"I said that it's good we didn't walk faster."
"Oh!" she giggled again, "Listen, Michelle, this was peachy! See ya at school tomorrow, okay?" she turned to go, blew Taylor a kiss, walked about two feet, and turned back, "By the way, lose the pants. They're awful. You really should buy new ones. Take lessons from Blondie here!" With that, she was strutting back to her table in the food court.
I looked down at my cargo pants and frowned. Who did she think she was, anyway? These were my favorite pants! I look at Taylor.
"She said I dress well," he gushed, "And she blew me a kiss! Dammit, Micky, did you see that?!"
I gasped. Nice to know where your best friend's loyalties lie.
"Well!"
Tay, who was stuck in La La Land, just sighed. I grabbed his arm, "Let's GO!"
I chucked my keys at the counter and yelled, "Mo-om!"
"In the living room, Mich!" she shouted, but before I could go in, she was in the kitchen, "Hi."
She stopped trying to put her earring in, and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek, "How was the mall?"
She dropped her earring, muttered in frustration, and stooped to get it. She was running late for an important meeting, which was why I was babysitting.
"Good," I said, "Taylor beat me in the arcades."
She smiled, and patted my arm, before turning for the hall, "Gotta keep practising!" she called back over her shoulder.
I followed after her, and watched her get in the car.
"See ya," I called, just before she slammed the door. She waved through the window.
Smiling at the red Sunfire driving down the road, I headed back in, to find my brother and sister.
It wasn't too hard to find Ben. He was laying on the couch, flipping through the stations. His brownish hair was a mess, and I could see the line of freckles arching across his nose from across the room.
"Hey," I greeted.
"What do you want?" he grumbled.
"Ohh, aren't we grumpy," I told him, moving to the love seat, where Ray Anne was coloring, "Got girl problems?"
I was only half-mocking when I said that. Ben, of all 10 year olds I know, had almost no problems in that department.
"No," he mumbled, "Why are you so happy? Did Taylor ask you out?"
I chucked a pillow at him for that crack, and it bounced off his head. He has been bugging me about Taylor for so long, that I don't even bother being annoyed by it anymore. Taylor's my best friend.
I tickled Ray Anne's feet, and made a move for the control. Ray Anne giggled, and fell off the couch. Her bright red ringlets bounced everytime she laughed. She had gotten red hair from somewhere, and I am guessing it was Dad's side. She inheritated the freckles from my mom though. I am the only one the freckles missed.
"Come back up here, you," I ordered, laughing at Ray Anne, before pulling her back onto the love seat. Reaching over, I grabbed the control from Ben, and wasted no time in turning the station.
"Hey! I was watching that!" he exclaimed.
"I know," I replied, turning my head to look at him. On the way around, I caught a look in the full length mirror on the wall and frowned. My brown hair framed my face, and stopped around my mid back. My eyes were grey. I sighed. Normal. Totally, boringly normal. I sighed again. Taking a closer look, I decided on one thing: my khakis weren't that bad.
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