"Casey face it you are a great person, nice, considerate, intelligent, and a wonderful friend but …"
"But what Emily?"
"Your way too cautious and well a chicken. Live a little!"
"I don't see the point rountins are stable consistent, something to trust."
"Boring. Look Casey it's not a bad thing, just it seems odd that your 17 and never walked off the straight line. Almost doesn't seem natural. Look I got to meet my parents for dinner with grandparents, I'll call you OK?"
"Sure Em have a nice time." Casey sets down her empty soda cup on the red table in the half empty food court, bits of disfragmented conversations from every direction. She knew Emily was right, other people too had made similar comments over the years - including her own mother. Casey wanted for just one moment to throw caution into the breeze and do something wild, untamed and dangerous. Within reason of course. But the good angel attacheed to her shoulder always stopped her, she had no devil on the other.
"Hey Case." Without asking first Derek appears with a shopping bag in hand and sits down in the chair Emily occupied a few minutes earlier.
"May I help you?" It wasn't like Derek to acknowledge the fact he knew her, let alone was civil towards her (on occasion) in public.
"It's almost six we're suppose to be home by 6:15. If you rather stay here and with your lovely company (he gestures at the cup) and by all means I'll leave you be." That was right they drove together in his car, his smelly trash dumpster of a car.
"Derek can I ask you a question?"
"Yes you are ugly and annoying." She leans forward and kicks him in the shin.
"I'm serious Derek. How do depart into a new world of behavior? How do you take risks even though often the ending result is distrourous and leads to trouble? How can one take that risk doing it'll end badly?"
"But it doesn't always end badly. Just think Casey almost every scientific discovery, theories, etc were at one point just a risk someone toyed with. One can't grow as a person if they never look for what can't be seen." Casey stares at her step brother confused that he was capable of saying something like that, something that made sense. She smiles widely and jumps from her chair, nearly knocking it over.
"Come on lets go!"
"It's just Nora's stew not worth getting that excited over."
"Were not going home Derek. Lets just pick a road and drive, for hours. I've always wanted to do that."
"But Casey if I'm late again I'll be grounded for three weeks." She rolls her eyes at him.
"Come on Derek! I am ready to take a risk. Please?"
"Fine! But you're paying for the gas."