Potentially You and Me (Two Truths and a Lie)

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THERE'S A DIFFERENCE

CHAPTER ELEVEN: THERE'S A DIFFERENCE

"And there stands a lone pea."

     I don't bother shaking my head or rolling my eyes. I just stare back at Zack as he continues to trot away from me on the sidewalk. Correction: as he continues to grin and happily slap his feet against the pavement.

     "I would ask what your favorite thing to eat for thanksgiving is, but . . ." He throws his hands up in a shrug, and that's when Trent finally reaches up and whacks the back of his head. Or at least he attempts to, but Zack only gets a scrape to the neck because of both his extra few inches in height and his intuition to cower away. "My favorite is mashed potatoes in case anyone is wondering," Zack continues once he makes it to the passenger side of a small black car.

     I can only bring myself to wrinkle my nose as the wind whips my ponytail around, and my fingers continue to curl around my small duffel bag.

     "You don't like mashed potatoes?" Zack's yell makes me laugh as I shake my head. I hear Trent's gasp just before his head pops back up from behind the trunk.

     "And I was even going to offer you a ride." Trent shakes his head.

     Zack mimics his actions as he chews on a red licorice.

     "Seriously, though," Trent continues after slamming his trunk closed and walking over to the driver's side of the car. "Are you sure you don't need a ride? I mean, we go to the same grocery store so you must live pretty close."

     I tilt my head to the side, and my lips quiver before I can help it. I can't decide whether to take him seriously or make a joke about stalking. I guess Trent begins conjuring up the latter as he reaches up to scratch the back of his neck.

     "You know what I mean," he offers, but now Zack's shaking his head at him as he continues to pull candy out of his navy-blue puffy vest pocket.

     People continue to zip into and out of their cars and into and out of the parking lot. I'm sure my nose is red, and my fingers are almost numb, but it's all worth it when a chorus of car doors slam, and the blonde strands of my sister's hair go flying into the wind.

     "Lacie!" she squeals before I'm sandwiched and squished by my family's warmth.

****

As soon as I got home, I threw on my favorite pajamas, plopped down on the couch with my fluffiest blanket, and haven't moved since. Except when it came to chowing down one of my favorite dinners: penne alla vodka. No restaurant compares to the way my parents make it, even though my parents constantly ask who makes it better between the two of them.

     My sister's feet are stretched out beside my stomach as she lays opposite of me on the couch with her own blanket and pajamas. My dad is stretched out across the two-person couch beside me while my mom is curled up on the one-person couch beside my sister. All of us have our faces in our own technological devices, all chatted out, but we still have the television on because we still can't decide what movie to watch.

     I hope this isn't weird, but I didn't know you had a little sister

     I wait a minute before typing back a reply.

     Yeah sorry I never said goodbye

     Don't be sorry. Trent's reply floats in on top of my aimless scrolling. I wish my family was that excited to see me. I flick the messages away to finish the video I'm watching, and another text floats in as soon as I finish. Actually, my dog is, and he actually enjoys cuddling with me.