Every year, my family always got together with the family that
we had lived across the street before we moved. That didn't
bother me one bit. Mainly because their oldest daughter was
an absolute knock-out. Plus, Mr. Saunder could barbeque
anything you handed him. Except maybe Mackenzie's truck
or something, but who would want barbequed plastic anyway?
But anyway, so every year we'd all cram into the old car and
drive however many miles it was, with the younger kids all
singing along with whatever was on the radio, and head off to
the Saunders' house. And every year the same things were
bound to happen. In fact, I could bet money on what was
going to happen every time we headed over there for this
annual barbeque. And it goes a little something like this.
Ike will sit at the table with the adults the entire time, since
he now considers himself a 'grown up' and refuses to go along
with any pranks Zac and I try to play. Zac, of course, will go
and torment the second oldest daughter, who's smack dab in
between the two of us in age; making her 18. And, let me tell
you, she deserves everything Zac throws at her, which includes
all those water balloons filled with shaving cream. That girl is
the one reason I dread going over to the Saunders' house,
which is more like a mansion now. And, then there will be me.
Drooling over her older sister. Like every year. But, even I
can't blame myself.
But anyway, this year was no different with what went on. When
we got there, and all the kids were unloaded, everything that
normally goes on was set into play. Isaac headed right for the
picnic table closest to us like it was the most glorious thing on
earth, and Zac immediately went to look for the stash of water
balloons he kept hidden away in their garage. All of the other
kids swarmed the backyard, quickly starting a game of tag with
the other Saunder kids that had been waiting for them. And I
shoved my hands in my pockets and just stood there. If yet
another game of cat and mouse was going to happen, I was not
going to be the cat this year. It was her to turn to come to me,
even if I could hardly pull my eyes away from the girl.
Bethany Saunder was the type of girl that every guy wants to be
with and every girl wants to be. And, honestly, I never was an
exception. She had these sparkling green eyes that could just
make you want to stare into them forever and a day. Her hair
fell in loose curls of strawberry blonde, and it just looked so soft
that I wanted to reach out and run my fingers through it right then
and there. Plus, she had a killer body. I'm talking killer, a model
body. Made me wonder where he annoying little sister got her
looks from.
As I continued with my gazing fest from across the lawn, a loud
shriek flowed out from one of the upstair's bedrooms. Of course,
everyone turned to see what had happened while they weren't
paying attention. But, I already knew what happened. It was too
obvious. Zac had found his victim and drenched her in some
substance, I'd put my money on shaving cream. Honestly now,
the girl just should've seen it coming. It was as if she wanted him
to smother her in the sticky shaving cream. She was the one who
left her door wide open when she knew we were coming. And it
wasn't as if she didn't know how Zac's antics went, because he did
the same damn trick every year. And it worked every time. I'd
have to give Zac a nice pat on the back for keeping the tradition
running another year, and for getting that little witch a dose of her
own medicine.
The sliding glass door connecting from the kitchen was pushed
open, and Zac came sprinting out. He bounded right over to me,
and put one hand on my shoulder. "Holy shit, Taylor. Did you hear
that shriek?" he asked, a gigantic grin spread across his face. I
just laughed and nodded, slapping him a high five quickly. Zac
quickly made for the picnic table, where he knew he couldn't be
harmed by the angry little girl when she came stomping out from the
pits of hell. And, soon enough, she did just that.
It looked like she had tried to wipe some of the shaving cream
off of her clothes and out of her hair, but that stuff could stick like
glue. I really wished I had a camera to capture the moment, for
about the seventh time, because the look the girl had going for
her was absolutely priceless. Big clumps of shaving cream were
now embedded in her hair, smears of the white goo were stuck to
her face, and, of course, her clothes were covered in it. It took a
lot of force to not laugh at her right then and there. And it was a
force I didn't have. So I went all out, pointing, laughing, grabbing
at my stomach. It was priceless. And I got to live it out every
year of my life.
She was positively steaming, her face was as red as a tomato,
and her hands were balled into fists at her sides. But, instead of
marching right over to Zac to take him out like she did every year,
she turned and stared at me. And, surprisingly, I stopped laughing
and stood as still as I possibly could. It was like she was the big,
bad predator and I was the meek, shaking prey. Wasn't it supposed
to be the other way around? But, as she stared at me with, I noticed
something I don't think I'd ever seen pass over her face briefly.
She honestly looked hurt. But I was Taylor Hanson, I wasn't even
supposed to care what Brooke Saunder felt; hurt or otherwise. I was
just supposed to point, laugh, and then pretend like she didn't exist.
And, once she turned back around to face Zac, I did just that. It
was the way things were supposed to be. They always had been like
that, and they always will be. I hated Brooke and she hated me.
Easy as that.
As I watched the scene before me unfold, just like it did every year,
I glanced over my shoulder at Bethany. She had a smirk plastered
over her lucious red lips. She looked happy over the whole ordeal,
which really didn't surprise me. As beautiful as she was, Bethany
could be pretty damn cold hearted. Even if the girl who was chasing
my little brother around was her younger sister, she loved it when
anyone else got embarrassed in public. And, if she could, she
would probably make her little sister parade around the town in her
current new style. Honestly, as much as I hated the girl, I don't
think I'd ever do something like that to her. Sure she was a pain
in my ass, but I wasn't that horrible. Well, thinking on it, I might
have made an exception right then.
I watched silently as she chased Zac around the backyard, both of
them weaving between the scattering kids who were giggling and
cheering with excitement. It was like they were the on-lookers,
audience even, and those two were their entertainers for the day.
And, they were. Zac was a good foot or two in front of the his
attacker, but she'd be gaining momentum at any given moment.
She always did. And she always caught Zac. It was just how things
were. If she didn't catch him herself, I was positive Zac would
throw himself at her to punch at her will. Just to keep the tradition
alive. If I didn't know any better, I would've said that my little
brother had a crush on the girl, but that wasn't possible. He was
Zac, the kid who had been pulling this stunt every year since he
turned ten years old. Plus, he couldn't fall in love with the enemy.
There was a thud, and Zac was sprawled out on the ground with
Brooke sitting on his back. She was whispering threats in his ear,
ones that fell upon a deaf brain because he never did take her
seriously. If it had been a year earlier, her hands would have
been tugging at his long hair right about now, but Zac had
gotten smart and chopped off his locks. I'd put money on the
fact that this was the only reason he cut off all of his hair, it made
perfect sense. She couldn't pull on his hair anymore, and he
didn't have to spend an hour in the shower trying to wash it every
morning.
Everything was going just as it always had. I turned my attention
back to Bethany, smiling and shrugging my shoulders at her.
But, then she went and changed everything. Instead of just
giving me a smile in return, she bent a finger in my direction. Was
she calling me over? No, that wasn't supposed to happen. Things
just don't change like that. Besides, Bethany was way out of my
league, and she was Isaac's age. She was definitely not... oh who
gives a damn.
Quickly, I looked around me, just to make sure my parents weren't
following me with their eyes again, and shrugged again. I pulled
my hands out of my pockets and strode over to her with long steps.
A smile was spread across her face, and I was pretty sure I had a
really stupid grin pulled at my lips. If things went my way now, I'd
change these barbeques to go like this every time.
