16 chapter sixteen

Since we were raised in a small town, there aren’t lots of places to hangout. Despite that we all were still looking forward to having the time of our lives. I am especially happy due to the fact that Daniel let me drive. Yes, I know how to drive. Mom ensured I learn, her excuse being “you may never know when it will be needed”. Mom was right, the day that Ronnie got into that accident I was the one that drove her to the hospital. Imagine how it would have been if I didn’t?

Music blasted through the speakers as we drove to town. As if that was not enough, Ronnie and Daniel’s terrible voices accompanied the music. Daniel was in the passenger seat whilst Ronnie settled right in the middle. If she could seat on the armrest console she would. They were so close and the terrible singing only seemed to get worse. Luckily, I carried some sound blockers because any moment now my ears will bleed. I plugged them in and felt relieved. Of course, that

didn’t last long.

“Andy, sing with us!” Ronnie screamed at me as she pulled out the plugs.

“I’d rather not. You guys seem to be doing fine on your own.” I stated.

“Pretty please Andy, it’s not as fun without you.” She complained, “Danny tell him.”.

“C’mon Andy, don’t be a kill joy. I really missed our goofing around.” Daniel pleaded.

“Fine, but change the song.” I gave in. Ronnie crouched down and changed the song. A huge grin found its way on her face as she anxiously waited for the song to play. AJR’s ‘Let the Games Begin’ poured out the speakers and a smile forced its way on my lips. Now not only was the music loud but there were three terrible voices accompanying it. AJR are one of my favourite bands and I made sure everyone knew that. I played them so many times that even the rest of the

family were forced to learn the lyrics.

It took us a little over forty minutes to get to town due to my cautious driving. We weren’t sure which places we would go to so we decided to go with the flow. So obviously the first thing we did was get ice cream. Ice cream is the only way to start a chill, it just feels right. We drove to the ice cream parlour first. We made small talk whilst finishing up with the

chill starter. Once we were done I drove us to the mall. We sat there for a while before Daniel asked,

“Where should we go first Vee?”

“Uhm… Adamo’s? I’m not really feeling like moving around.” Ro confessed. Usually I’d complain but Ro was right. I wasn’t feeling like bumping into people either. Plus, Adamo was a great and private place to talk and relax. We quickly drove to Adamo and were greeted by green pastures that led to the entrance. Parking space wasn’t a problem since very few people actually came to this place. We walked in and were immediately hit with a spicy and sweet smell. A lady dressed in formal wear walked over to us with a welcoming smile. She greeted us sweetly and led to one of their booths. We quickly settled down and placed our orders. Not long after lemon water was offered to us as we waited for our food.

“So, what have you two been up to?” Daniel asked.

“Nothing much. Andy has a few months till his final exam whilst I have to redo my current year.” Ronnie replied.

“Don’t you think that’s too much? A whole year Vee, that delays your entry into university. Can’t you try to work something out with the school?”

“First of all, duhhhhhh… of course I’m going to delay my entry into university. That means I’ll have to apply again. I am not happy about it but there’s nothing else I can do. Dad spoke to the school and they agreed to reduce my repeat year to six months. I tried to go back to school before but the doctor refused. In addition, I really like college and I wouldn’t mind spending another six months there.” Ronnie explained.

“If you’re okay with it then there is no problem. So, you still want to major in computer science?” Daniel turned to me and asked.

“Yup. Computers are my life remember?” I answered.

“Foxy said something about you also wanting to major in software engineering.” Danny added.

“Oh that, uhm… yes. I actually want to double major or specialize in both. Just to put it out there, no they are not the same.”

“Okay, enough of the boring talk.” Ronnie cut in, “I want spicy details on what happened between you and Summer. Danny and Foxy told me you guys kissed but I want to hear it from you.” Ronnie babbled with a huge grin plastered on her face. A slight blush settled on my cheeks as embarrassment washed over my body. Daniel also looked at me expectantly. Before I could start to explain the food arrived. The waiter apologised for the delay and left the table. Ronnie and Daniel were too engrossed in the food to continue the conversation.

The food was very much enjoyable despite the delay. Once we were don eating, Ro suggested we go to the relaxation room. It was a room filled with plush couches, bean bags, assorted variety of drinks and massagers. The massagers were the best part. I couldn’t wait to get me a back massager. I dived onto one of the couches. Ronnie picked the one beside me whilst Daniel settled on a bean bag. With massagers in hand we continued to catch up.

“I can’t believe you kept repeating the same things over and over again” Ronnie laughed.

“You really are terrible with the ladies.” Danny taunted.

“And you’re supposed to be the specialist? You haven’t even had a stable girlfriend since birth. You also tend to talk about your so called “crush” that you’ve had since we were five, why haven’t you landed her yet Mr I am so good with the ladies.” I shot back causing them to laugh.

“You got one thing right.” Danny started and turned to Ronnie. “Yes, I still haven’t landed my ‘crush’ but it’s complicated. Though I promise you that I will get her once she realises that I’ll always be right here.” I felt a tinge of jealousy when Ronnie replied to Daniel’s words with a smile. Was he talking about her? Does Daniel like Ronnie? Even if he did like her why am I getting worked up? I have Summer, right? Do I like-

“Why don’t you invite Summer over for dinner?” Ronnie asked cutting my thoughts short.

“Good idea. I’d like to see Andy in action” laughed Daniel.

“Ha! Ha! Ha! Very funny guys. Maybe you should invite Michal too. I’m sure Micah would love to follow too. So, lets invite them both.” I laughed without humour.

“The Matthew twins?” a shocked Daniel asked and looked hurt. Ronnie just turned and looked away.

“You didn’t tell him?” I laughed, “this girl played brothers. She’s not to be trusted.”

“Right.” Daniel muttered in a bored tone.

The room went silent after that. It was so weird. Usually we would be laughing and joking around till our voices cracked. Now we were sulking, hiding and thinking loudly. The secrets have become poison. We can’t even have a proper conversation without someone feeling left out or lied to. I guess Danny was right, we need to face our fears now or we’ll all fall apart. We are walking on thin ice now and it will only get thinner.