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Anyway.
My mother peeled out of our driveway, pulling me away from those thoughts as we headed to Sydney’s. We were picking her up and going shopping. Or,“Shopping!”as it more accurately sounded when Linda said it.
“You look like hell,” she commented now.
“Gee, thanks.”
“Oh, come on.” She waved it off. “It’s nothing a good facial won’t fix. Or Botox. You ready to try Botox yet?” she said with a ridiculous smile.
I rolled my eyes. “Um, yeah. Not today, but thanks,” I said in my best sarcastic tone.
She snickered. “You know I’m only kidding.”
I rolled my eyes again, and then shut them altogether, passing out until we got to Sydney’s. Her door thudding shut behind me is what woke me. I stretched my arms up above me with another yawn before turning in my seat.
“Hey, girl.” I smirked.
“Hey.” She smirked back.
Three words, two smirks, and it told me all I needed to know. Things went good with Skater Boy last night. More than good.
“What are you two smiling about?” Linda asked.
“Boys,” Sydney and I answered at the same time.
“Oooh, tell me more,” she purred in response, making me laugh, and Sydney was more than happy to oblige.
Syd threw her head back in laughter at something my mom had just said, and it made me snort out a laugh, too, even though I hadn’t actually heard a word of their conversation.
I’d been dazed out, thinking of something else entirely.
Or someoneelse.Maybe.I wasn’t telling.
But back to the laughter that was in front of me—Sydney loved my mom.Like,lovedher. (I did, too—honest. You know, when she wasn’t being all…Linda.Like today, for example. All these shopping bags crowding the space next to her? They were for Jason. A care-slash-birthday package we were sending him this weekend. It was a whole bunch of his favorite things—some of which I hadn’t even remembered he liked until she’d mentioned them. So, she was good people, too. When she wanted to be.) And my mom liked Sydney just as much. Full honesty, I suspected that either one of them would’ve totally traded me out for the other if given the chance. Again, I wasn’t mad about it. They were made for each other, these two. The kind of people you wanted to love and strangle all at the same time. (I sure knew how to pick ‘em.)
“So, what’s next?” Linda said, settling back into the booth across from me and Sydney with a long and contented sigh, about eight empty plates lying abandoned on the table between us.
It was clear we could put back some food, but who was judging? Not I.
“What about a movie?” I suggested since it was the first thing that popped into my head—like, always.
“That sounds fun,” she replied, and I immediately narrowed my eyes at her, throwing her a suspicious glance. ‘That soundsfun?’Who was she today? “I mean, you go on and on and on andonabout these movies,” she added. “So let’s go see one.” She shrugged.
Okay, yeah, that was more like the Linda I knew and loved. (And sometimes, almost always, wanted to strangle, of course.)
With pen to notebook, I fought with what to write for, like, way too long before just giving up and deciding to go ahead and word-vomit onto the paper.
Jason,
Dude. I know you’re busy and all, doing real-life, adult things now, but… CALL YOUR BABY SISTER ONCE IN A WHILE!
I miss you.
There, I said it.
Anyway. You said you wanted to know what was going on with me in these things, so…
I started writing a few screenplays. I’ve always wanted to write screenplays, and I don’t know why I’ve never told you that before now. But… I do. You know I love movies, obviously. (Who doesn’t know?) So, I want to write one, start to finish, and… I don’t know. It’s just fun.