Genesis

Chapter 2

I skid into the clearing, just behind my brother. 

"Oh yeah! Who's the best? I'm the best!" he chants, flexing his arms and waving them above his head like an ecstatic air dancer.  

I take off my helmet and laugh while shaking my head good-naturedly and survey our group to see who's arrived already. Avry is chatting with Aekira, my best friend Harvel is standing next to Treye, and Camryn is sitting on her bike by herself at the moment. I feel slightly bad for Camryn because she has no one to talk to, but before I can act upon anything, a certain girl zooms up to Drayk on her purple buzzbike. 

My cheeks immediately flush as nervous butterflies begin to flutter in my stomach. I should've kept my helmet on to hide my obvious nervousness. I swallow repeatedly to remedy my rapidly drying mouth while trying not to look like an idiot. Camryn seems to notice my predicament and raises a single eyebrow at me, mocking my distress. I glare in her direction for an instant before glancing around in what I hope looks like a casual manner. 

"Sorry I'm late," Natlee says to Drayk with an apologetic shrug.

If I was as close to Natlee as Drayk is, I might combust. Of course, Drayk with all his arrogance isn't fazed. 

"It doesn't matter; we haven't done anything yet anyway," Drayk says. "But, now that you're here, you can help us decide what to do." 

Natlee breaks into a breath-taking, excited smile that I desperately wish was directed towards me. The butterflies inside me begin doing zealous jumping jacks. 

"I say we race around the dunes," says my friend Harvel, thankfully drawing everyone's attention to himself. 

"Or we can do flips again!" Aekira pipes up. 

"No, we should see who can bury themselves in the sand the fastest," says Treye, a humorous glint to his eyes. 

Everyone looks around at each other and starts to voice their opinion, each person trying to shout their idea louder than everyone else. 

"Flips!" shouts Aekira. 

"Race!" yells Harvel, on the verge of laughing. 

My friends begin to take sides and argue. I sit back and decide to watch everything play out. I'm not surprised by the massive argument that is unfurling; this happens almost every time we go biking. 

Through the chaos, Drayk catches my eye and gives me a quick mischievous smile before turning away again. I raise my eyebrows and adjust my position on my buzzbike seat. This should be good. Drayk's either got an idea or he's about to do something stupid. Drayk shouts and everyone stops talking. 

"We should play buzzbike truth or dare!" he says, grinning from ear to ear. 

There is an uproar of laughter at the childish prospect. I myself haven't played the game in years and I doubt anyone else has played it lately. What are we, twelve years old? I laugh along with everyone else before realizing the consequences this game could hold. My laughter abruptly dies in my throat.

What happens if I get picked? I'd have to choose between truth or dare and then I'd be at the mercy of whoever asked me. I could be forced to tell my secret crush on Natlee to my whole group of friends. Then, anything could happen. Natlee could like me back or maybe she wouldn't. How could I ever talk to her again if the latter was true? It would be too horrible. I can't play this game. 

I clear my throat, about to object and suggest something else, when the girl I hopelessly like speaks up. She says only two words, but she may as well have sentenced me to the grave. 

"Why not?" says Natlee. 

My friends glance around, seriously considering playing the game for the first time. I cross my fingers, not daring to breathe. 

"Yeah, sure," says Harvel playfully. 

That settles it. My fate is sealed. 

Aekira goes first. 

"Truth or dare, Avry!" she says.

"Dare! Bring it on!" says Avry without hesitation. Aekira smiles. 

"I dare you to sit in front of the handlebars on my buzzbike while I drive you around. By the way, I'm blindfolding you!" Aekira says, smiling with an impish glee. 

Avry grins and plops down on the front of Aekira's bike. She puts her helmet on backwards and salutes to us before grabbing the handlebars behind her. Aekira revs the engine and speeds off, kicking up a cloud of dust. My friends and I practically die with laughter and cheers as they fly around the dunes, spraying sand everywhere. Aekira keeps jerking back and forth, trying to throw Avry off the bike, but she doesn't manage it. 

When they get back, everyone's voice has begun to go hoarse, Aekira's bike is covered in a coat of sand, and Avry is chortling so hard I'm surprised she hasn't fallen off the bike of her own accord. 

Without taking the helmet off, she yells, "Treye, truth or dare!" 

"Truth!" Treye says. 

"Okay, do you have an obsession with me or something? Because I swear I've caught you staring at me at least a dozen times just today," Avry says, pulling the helmet off her head. Treye's eyes go wide and he makes an audible gulp. 

"I... I have been staring at you," says Treye sheepishly. "It's not an obsession; I just like you a lot." 

There is a split second of silence where no one speaks and Treye just stands there, blushing the color of a beet. 

Avry smiles, stands up, and walks over to him, throwing her helmet over her shoulder and into the sand. She stops about a foot away from Treye. We all hold our breaths wondering if Avry is going to slap him across the face or give him a kiss. 

"Oh, c'mere, lover boy. I'm sad to admit I like you too," she says, and gives him a big hug. 

Although I didn't know it was possible, Treye blushes even deeper so his cheeks are a startling vermillion. He clumsily wraps his arms around Avry and begins to grin uncontrollably. Not caring about the waning health of our voices, we yell and whoop in celebration. When everyone has calmed down, Treye picks someone. 

"Kaze, truth or dare?" he says.