"Red light! Red light!" My older brother, Darry, screamed in my ear as I was coming to a stop light. At the moment I wasn't paying attention, my mind too occupied with the thoughts of swimming pools and diving.
I stopped as quickly as I could, the car screeching to a halt. I looked in the rearview mirror and hoped someone didn't rear-end my brother's truck. "I don't know how you're going to get your license if you don't learn to pay attention!" Darry yelled.
"Sorry," I said quietly. "I was distracting myself."
"With what?" He asked as the light flashed back to green. I pushed on the gas pedal lightly and moved forward slower than usual.
"Nothing big. I was just thinking whether or not I want to join the swim team again this year." I had been on the swim team every year since I was eleven. It had been my mother's idea when I was young. I was skeptical at first, but with my family's encouragement I joined. Luckily, I turned out to be one of the best on the team. My favorite skill was diving and for the past three years I had been on top of my class.
"Well, school starts in three weeks so you'll need to decide quickly." Darry said pointing to my last turn. "I think it's good for you though, and you're good at it."
I smiled back at my brother and turned into our drive way. I took the keys out of the ignition and handed them to Darry and got out of the car. "When is the next lesson?"
"When do you need it?" He asked coming around the car to meet me. We walked up the sidewalk to the chain gate into our yard.
"Doesn't matter. I get my license this December unless I don't have all my hours in so I'll need them when I can get them."
"Alright." Darry said going into the house throwing the keys on the table. "Well you did good this time. Just try to run through red lights next time." He laughed a little and winked at me.
We bother walked into the kitchen to begin dinner for everyone. I glanced at the clock and noted that my two other brothers should be home soon. "What're we makin, Superman?" I asked. Driving with my brother always made me nervous and nervousness made me hungry.
"I'm not sure, we don't really have anything. We need to go get groceries." He said looking through the freezer.
"Well, that's fine. I can go, I'll just go clean up and run over to the store. Make a list!" I shouted as I left the kitchen.
I walked into my room, which consisted of books laying all over the counters and homework on my bed. I would swear you would think I was Pony's twin, not Sodapops. I walked over to my vanity and grabbed the brush to smooth out my open-window ratty hair. I threw my long, soft brown curls into a ponytail and grabbed the small purse hanging off of my vanity chair. It was also warmer than I had anticipated so I switched my baggy t-shirt for a fitted navy blue sleeveless.
I finished freshening and went out to the living room where Steve and Soda had returned home from work. Steve's face was covered in chocolate cake and icing pasted his teeth. I could hear Soda's teasing remarks to Steve as my brother himself stuffed his mouth too. Then he noticed me.
"Hey sis. How'd the driving lesson go?" Soda asked bouncing over to me and putting his arm over my shoulders.
"I went pretty well, but I almost ran straight through a stop light!"
"Good job, kid," Steve laughed mockingly. "Did Darry skin ya?" Steve asked sarcastically.
"No, chocolate face, he didn't…surprisingly!" I yelled teasingly to my older brother, who just glared at me.
"Well maybe I should next time, or better, have Soda teach you." My eldest brother said peeking around the corner.
"Oh dear lord, no. He drives like a maniac." I said smirking at Soda. He picked me up then and mock slammed me on the couch. I was light enough for almost anyone to pick me up with ease. I got those lucky genes from my mother. My twin then started to fake punch me repeatedly which caused me to laugh uncontrollably.
"Get off me, ya big galute!" I said between hysteric giggles.
"Nope, not until you admit I'm a good driver!" he said.
"But you're not! Now…stop it!" I said in between punches.
"I think abuse of the child is illegal in this fine state of Oklahoma." Two-Bit said bounding through the door with the normal partner of a beer in his hand.
"Awe shoot, I wasn't abusing her." Soda said getting off of me and helping me up. He went and grabbed another piece of cake only for it to be taken from hand by Two-Bit.
Gathering myself and wiping the hysteric tears from my eyes I grabbed the money off the kitchen table and put my shoes on. "I'm going to the store to get something for dinner. I'll be back!"
"Why don't you stay here and we'll go out to eat and then tomorrow we can go get food. We haven't been out lately as a group." Two-Bit suggested.
I looked to Darry. Usually he didn't go out when the rest of us did. He worked all morning and evening so once home, he didn't usually leave. He only wanted to relax, which I understood because I was like that too on the days I worked. I wanted him to go this time though. "Can we? That'd be fun."
He thought about it for a moment. "I guess we can. But we should wait for the others to get back."
"Where are the others?" Steve asked. "Movies again?"
I looked at Steve incredulously. I hated when he picked on my youngest brother like that. Sometime's Steve acted like Darry and that aggravated me. Just because he wasn't interested in the same things you were didn't make it wrong. "Pony and Johnny are at the movies and you know where Dallas is." I answered.
Mr. Dallas was in the cooler. For a bar fight. Again. But hey, what else was new?