A dog is one of the remaining reasons why some people can be persuaded to go for a walk. -O.A. Battista
"Luke, get off," I mumbled, trying to shove the hundred-fifty pound dog off of me. Sunlight leaked through my bedroom window, and I looked at my clock. Eight a.m.? Why did I have to get up so early?
"Seriously get off of me right now," I grumbled getting annoyed. The dumb dog thought he was a lap dog and could lay on me with no problem. If you think that it's so adorable that he loves me so much, just imagine a hundred-fifty pounds covered in dog hair that drools laying on you. It's like getting the wind knocked out of you for a long time with a pile of drool forming on your lap.
Luke jumped off of me, and pushed his cold, wet nose into my face, trying to get me out of bed. This was a daily occurrence for me. Luke was a morning dog, and I was not a morning person, but this didn't stop him from waking me up.
"Fine, I'm up," I yelled, sitting up, and swinging my feet over the side of my bed. Luke barked and sat on his hind legs, giving me his puppy-dog face.
"I don't want to go for a walk," I moaned, but at the sound of the word walk, he ran out of my room and was back moments later holding his leash and nosing it into my hands. "Fine, we'll go."
Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed, my auburn hair pulled into a messy pony tail, and Luke was dragging me down the sidewalk. He loved his walks. He had to sniff every tree, pee on every fire hydrant and say hello to every person and dog that walked by.
"Can you slow down," I moaned at Luke. My back was hurting from his pulling and I was convinced that my arm would be pulled out of its socket soon. He didn't even acknowledge me. Typical man.
"Well look who it is," came an all too familiar voice.
"Crispin," I said, cordially, turning to look at him where he stood across the street.
"Good morning, Aislinn!" he waved. Dylan stood next to him holding the leash to his Golden Retriever.
"What are you doing out this early?" I called across the street.
"Taking Chewbacca for a walk, obviously," Dylan yelled.
"You named your dog Chewbacca?" I looked at them confused.
"Yeah! You know... like the Star Wars character?" Dylan looked at me like I was an idiot.
"Yeah, I know that. I don't live that far in the cave away from you nerds."
They crossed the street over to where I stood with Luke. Luke was now pulling on his leash harder than before wanting to run over and see Chewbacca.
"Stop it, Luke!" I yelled at him to no avail, "Goddammit! Would you just settle down?!"
"That's not going to work, dude," Dylan said shaking his head, his long shaggy hair falling into his eyes, "gotta coax them into it."
"I think I know my own dog better than you do," I retorted and tried to pull Luke back, but ended up being pulled forward.
"Luke, come here boy," Dylan said in a coaxing voice. Luke slowly made his way over to Dylan, and was now calm, "sit boy." Luke sat. I was seething. Why wouldn't my own dog listen to me? He had no problem listening to Dylan. Dylan was probably a dog whisperer. He was weird enough to be one.
"Thanks," I grumbled.
"It's all in the way you say it," Dylan beamed.
"Now that Luke is all calm, want to join us on our walk?" Crispin asked.
"Oh, you know I think Luke might be a little tired."
"Yeah, right," Dylan laughed, rolling his eyes.
"Well, now that we know that Luke isn't tired, let's go," Crispin took the leash out of my hands and gave a little tug. Luke got up from his sitting position and trotted next to Chewbacca calmly as we walked.
"So did the coffee come out?" Crispin asked, looking up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky.
"Yep, thanks."
"That's good. What are you plans for the day?" he looked down at me. He was taller than I remembered. Not many guys were actually able to look down at me, since I was about 5'7 and that was pretty tall for a girl, in my opinion.
"Probably just sit at home and watch TV, you?"
"Going on an adventure with Dylan," he grinned, "want to join us?"
"Where is your adventure going to be?"
"We haven't decided yet. We're thinking about checking out the town library."
"The library? What's there that could possibly be an adventure?"
"Everywhere there's an adventure, Aislinn," Dylan pitched in.
"You just have to keep an open mind for it," Crispin finished.
"I guess, since I have time to..."
"Yeah!" Crispin and Dylan high-fived.
I was really starting to question their sanity. Why were they so... comfortable when they obviously weren't normal? Didn't they feel insecure about not being like everyone else? Normal people wouldn't find an adventure at the library. They wouldn't even think the library held any type of fun.
***
After we had dropped Luke off at home and Chewbacca back at Dylan's. We headed to the library. To my surprise Dylan only lived two streets over from me. I wondered why I had never seen him before, but then again, he wasn't that attractive, so I probably wouldn't notice him.
"So what are we going to be doing at the library?" I asked for the fifth time.
"Just keeping an open mind for an adventure," Crispin and Dylan said at the same time, for the fifth time.
"That's not an answer," I gritted my teeth.
"No, that's not the answer you're looking for," Crispin replied, "it is an acceptable answer though."
"Just don't over think things, just go with the flow," Dylan did a weird swaying thing with his arms, that was supposed to represent the "flow".
I just sighed in response, and looked around town. I hadn't been to this part of town in a long time. Probably not since I was a freshman. There was really no need to come here. All there was were old Mom and Pop stores that had been passed down from generation to generation. Why go to those when there was a shopping mall ten miles out of town?
A lot of the stores had changed, some had a new paint job, others were sporting a newer looking sign instead of the wooden ones with painted on titles of their stores. My favorite store from when I was little, Pete's Candy, was now completely modernized. It had speakers on the outside playing music, blinking lighted signs, and metal siding. Nothing how I remembered it.
When we arrived at the library, Dylan waved to the librarians at the front desk, the continued his way farther into the library. Crispin followed his hands in his pockets and looking around with a curious expression on his face. I brought up the tail end of our little gang, and I was not very happy to be here. I was afraid I'd see someone from school here, and that's all I needed. Being caught at the library would be bad, but being caught at the library with Dylan and Crispin would just be death.
We walked up the stairs to the third floor of the library, Dylan leading the way, Crispin walking next to me, making a comment about the library every now and again. I would just nod in response, too busy keeping my eyes-peeled for anyone I might know.
"Mommy!" came the scream of a little kid, "Mommy!"
"Why are kids yelling in a library?" I groaned.
"They're just kids," Crispin smiled, "not that big a deal."
"Whatever. We better not be going over to them."
"Why? Are you afraid of children?" Crispin teased.
"No, I just despise them. They're such brats," I huffed.
"You were once one of those brats," Crispin egged.
"I never once screamed in a public place," I steamed.
"You probably did something else that made you a brat," he smiled, and walked on ahead to catch up with Dylan. I was really getting sick of him and his blunt remarks.
Dylan whispered something in Crispin's ear, and his face lit up. They both ran over to the puppet area of the Children’s Room and started looking through the puppets. I followed but took a seat in a nearby, under-sized couch; it was obviously made for children. They were arguing over some lizard puppet.
"I want to use this one!" Crispin whined.
"Dude, I saw it first, deal with it," Dylan, growled, yanking on the lizard.
"But you'll be able to come back at use it as much as you want! I have to leave in a few months," he protested.
"Too bad for you," Dylan yanked again.
"Gimme!" Crispin yelled, and pulled.
The argument over the lizard went on for about ten minutes, when Crispin's eye caught something he liked more. A fly puppet.
They both sat behind the puppet booth whispering to each other, their hands positioned in the puppets. When they both nodded, they ducked out of sight behind the booth, and then came the booming voice of Crispin.
"Young ladies and young gentlemen! It is time for the amazing, wondrous Cris and Dyl puppet show! Gather round!"
Parents looked up from the books they were reading to their children and stared at the puppet booth. Their children had already run over and were positioning themselves into sitting positions in front of the booth.
"Today's story is the story of Lizard and Fly!" Dylan boomed.
"Remember kids, please be quiet, and don't interrupt our show. Parents we're expecting you to be our personal bodyguards," Crispin sang.
"Our story begins in the forest of Green Things..."
When the puppet show ended, Crispin and Dylan stood, and bowed. The children laughed and clapped, the parents just smiled. They were probably a little leery of two teenage boys in the children's area. What parent wouldn't be? We made our leave, after Crispin jokingly asked if anyone wanted his autograph, which just received blank stares from the kids.
"That was so much fun," Dylan laughed as we walked through town.
"Yeah, a great adventure for the day," Crispin laughed.
"How was that an adventure?" I asked, completely confused.
"Keep an open mind," they both said at the same time.
"Yeah, whatever," I grumbled, and looked away.
"Aislinn!" came a call from behind me. I turned and saw Xana waving at me; Nick Reeds was holding her hand as she dragged him along.
"Hey Xana," I said, plastering a smile on my face, "what are you doing here?"
"Nicky and I wanted to go for a nice walk, and what better place than here?" she looked up at Nick with googly eyes. All part of her charm to lure them into her bed.
"Ah, right," I nodded.
"So who are you with?" Xana peered over my shoulder at Dylan and Crispin who were standing behind me awkwardly.
"Just some... people I know." I didn't really classify them as friends, and even if I did I would admit it to Xana, because I knew exactly how she'd react.
"Oh," she said shortly, looking each of them up and down.
"Yeah, that's Crispin," I pointed to Crispin, and then motioned to Dylan, "and this is Dylan."
"Oh, hi!" her face brightened at Crispin, she gave the once over to Dylan and nodded, her lips pursed in distaste.
"Hello," Crispin, said, not seeming that interested in her. That was a big mistake. Xana wanted every guy to pay her their undivided attention. If they didn't give it, she'd get it.
"I hear you're from England," she smiled at him, batting her eyelashes.
"Oh really? Did my accent give it away?" he arched an eyebrow at her, giving her the once over, the same way she had to Dylan.
"Isn't he adorable?" she laughed, touching his arm lightly.
Crispin pulled his arm away in disgust, "He does not agree. Please don't touch me-- I don't want to catch whatever you have."
Xana stared at him, her mouth hanging open, and whirled to look at me, "What the hell is the matter with him? Why are you even hanging out with him? Aren't you afraid of being accused of being a freak just like him-- and that friend of his? Gosh, doesn't his friend know that fat is not attractive? No wonder he probably doesn't have a girlfriend."
I just stared at the ground and shrugged, "He isn't that bad once you get to know him..."
"Well, how do you know him so well after one day? If I were you, I'd stop talking to him, like right away. It's embarrassing, ya know?"
"You do know that we can hear you?" Crispin growled.
"You shouldn't listen to conversations that don't involve you," she sniffed.
"But it does. I do assume that you are talking about Dylan and me," Crispin crossed his arms.
"You know what they say about assuming."
"I don't suppose you know anything about when you have nothing nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Crispin challenged.
"Whatever, see you later Ais," Xana glared at Crispin then dragged Nick along with her into a shop.
"So that's your friend?" Dylan asked a critical stare in his eyes.
"Yep." I couldn't even look him in the eye. How embarrassed I was. Why did I even associate with Xana? Because you were either her friend or her enemy. There was no common ground with her. I'd seen what she did with the enemies and I didn't want to be on the receiving end.
"Why in the world would you want to be friends with her?" Crispin asked, his voice rose a bit.
"Well, I've known her awhile..."
"People don't stay friends forever," Dylan said, calmly.
"But you don't understand how she is."
"I think we have a pretty good idea," Crispin, shot.
"Yeah, but you're not the one who has to go to school with her. If you aren't friends with her, then you're her enemy and she'll make your life miserable."
"And I'm guessing you support her with this?" Dylan asked coldly.
"I kind of have to..."
"Everyone has a choice, Aislinn," he said, looking me straight in the eye.
"I don't have one here."
***
Xana had called me three times, and texted me about ten, but I wasn’t responding or picking up. I knew what she’d be talking about, and I wasn’t in the mood to listen to her ranting on and on about how I shouldn’t be hanging with people like “them”.
“Why is she so bitchy?” I mumbled into Luke’s fur, “it’s not like it’s going to ruin her reputation, and they aren’t any competition to her.”
Over the years Xana had thrown a lot of fits about girls who were “prettier” than she. She would never be friends with any of the girls that were just as pretty or whom she thought were prettier. I guess I wasn’t any type of competition to her, so that’s why I’m still her friend.
One time I remember that she cut some girls hair on the bus in middle-school because she was jealous of its length and gleam. Xana wasn’t blessed with naturally silky, healthy looking hair. She had to use about ten different conditioners to get it to the shine just as little as it did.
I could go on and on about all the horrible things that Xana had done to girls over the years I’d known her, but the list is just too long. I not being one to stand up to Xana just stood on the sidelines encouraging to her to continue tormenting these girls. I’d heard them sobbing in the bathroom, seen them humiliated in front of their crush, and so many other horrible things. It always left a bitter taste in my mouth when we left them to wallow in self-pity. I never wanted to be a bully like Xana, but what could I do? I’d end up just like the girls that were being picked on if I stood up to Xana. I didn’t want to be like them.
After the fifth time the phone rang, I decided to pick it up. I couldn’t avoid her forever.
“Hello?”
“Why the hell weren’t you picking up your phone?! Do you have any idea how many times I called?” she yelled into the phone.
Pulling the phone away from my ear, I replied, “About four?”
“Damn right. Don’t you know you’re supposed to pick up when someone calls you?!”
“No, sorry. I didn’t learn that rule. I thought you were only supposed to pick up when you wanted to talk with someone,” I said, bitterly.
“What’s the matter with you, Aislinn? You’ve never been mean to me! What have I done to you? It’s all that English bastard’s fault that you’re like this, isn’t it?” she accused.
I’d only known Crispin for a day, not even. Why did she suddenly think that it was his doing I was sticking up for myself? People can only take so much of her shit. Every time she’s yelled at me, I’ve never said anything rude back to her, and she’s said some pretty rude things to me.
“I’m just a little sick of your shit right now, Xana. You’re always yelling at me like it’s my fault that there are so many imperfections in the world. Grow up and deal with it. Don’t yell at me about it,” I yelled.
Silence. That’s what was at the other end of the line.
“I’m sorry, Ais,” Xana said, sounding like she was about to cry, “I’m just having a bad day, that’s all. I thought since we were friends you would be able to understand and let me vent out some of my anger. But I see I was wrong.”
I didn’t know how to reply. She said she was sorry—right? I should forgive her. I mean we were friends.
“It’s okay, Xana,” I replied, “I’m sorry for yelling at you. I’m just in a bad mood right now. Can I talk to you tomorrow?”
“Sure,” she replied happily, “maybe we can get together or something?”
“Sounds good, good night,” I hung up.
____
So what do you guys think of it so far? Still worth posting? I love hearing your thoughts on everything(: Characters, the plot, events that you want to see happen. Tell me! I won't be posting too much after the first week of December, so I'd like as much feedback as possible(: Bye now!