Blessed Be: Boys are Dumb
It had been like falling asleep; a hazy veil covered her eyes as she tried to make out her surroundings. It was a slow awakening and echoes of her past were making their way to the surface of her memory. White lights were pooling through the spot in front of her and finally the being was able to comprehend things again. "Where am I," Prue asked.
A figure emerged from the light, shadowed by the brilliance of it. "Hello, Prue," a low, male voice replied. "You're here, in the afterlife."
"Andy? But what's going on?"
"You have come to the end of your time in the In Between. Your soul has been repaired of all the sorrow and tragedy that has occurred throughout your life and now you're moving on."
"Like a spirit? Will my sisters be able to summon me? I want to see them all so badly."
"You'll see them again, I promise. Just take my hand," he said, stretching out his arm. As their hands clasped together, the light enveloped them until all that could be seen was a surge of blinding light.
"Prudence Halliwell, you march your butt right over here," Phoebe yelled across the park to her six year old daughter. The young girl walked sullenly toward her mother, beautiful midnight locks flowing in the wind.
"What do you think you're doing, missy?" Phoebe place her arms on her hips, trying to be as authoritative as possible while sitting on a park bench with her one year old daughter, Penny, who was napping in her stroller. "What have I said about pushing other children?"
"But mommy," the little girl said pouting, "he said girls are dumb and pulled my hair!"
Phoebe's face lost some of the hardness she had been trying to portray. "Oh, honey. I'm sorry; I didn't see that. But it still isn't okay for you to push even if the other kid started it. You need to go over there and apologize, okay little sweet girl?"
A young woman approached with a little boy that appeared to be Prue's age. "Go on,Brody," she said sternly.
Brody looked down at his feet, shuffling them. "I'm sorry I called you dumb and pulled your hear," he huffed out."
"And," his mother prompted.
"And…would you like to go play on the swings?" Brody lifted his head to gauge her reaction.
"Okay," Prue said taking his hand and leading him to the swings.
Brody's mother sat down next to Phoebe. "Hi, I'm Karen Trudeau. I'm sorry about my son," she started glancing back at the children. "I think he has a small crush on your little girl."
"I'm sorry," Phoebe said. "You wouldn't be related to Andy Trudeau, right?"
"Yes, actually. I'm his cousin. How did you know him?"
"Um, well my sister used to date him. They were kind of childhood sweethearts."
"Are you Prue's sister? How is she? I met her a couple of times but I haven't been in San Francisco for almost fifteen years. I just recently moved back; oh, I'm sorry. I never caught your name."
"Phoebe Halliwell. Um, I don't know how to put this…Prue passed away thirteen years ago."
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"It's alright—"
"Mommy, mommy! Can Brody come over our house to play?"
"That depends on if his mommy and daddy will let him, okay ladybug?"
"Please," Brody pleaded, giving his mom the puppy dog eyes.
"Will work something out," Karen said.
"I never want to speak to you again!" Prue slammed the door and entered the living room where her mom, aunts and two younger sisters were.
"Geez, what's got you so mad," nine year old Penny asked.
"Brody ditched me to go hang out with Sally Richards. That little brat has been trying to get Brody to go out with her so she can be popular."
"As if," eleven year old Patty joined in. "Like anyone could be more popular than you."
At fourteen, Prue was slender and athletic. She had been the only freshman to make it onto the varsity cheerleading squad. Besides this, she was wildly popular with all her peers and involved in just about every club her school had to offer.
"Well, I don't care if he does date her," she said falling down into an armchair. "She can have him."
"But Prue, aren't you supposed to go to the dance with him," Patty asked.
"You should go with that Bryce kid that asked you out," Penny offered.
Prue turned to her. "How did you know Bryce asked me out?"
"I read your diary," she said in between chewing a chunk of candy.
Prue was ready to bolt when her mother intervened. "Couldn't you just tell Brody how you feel?"
Prue looked at her mom like she had horns. Turning back to her sister she said, "Your right, Penny. I'm going to go with Bryce. I'll go call him right now."
Prue walked up the steps to her house when she heard someone behind her.
"What do you think you're doing anyway," Brody said. "I can't believe you went with that tool."
"Oh, I'm sorry. You're absolutely right. I should have considered your feelings about my date after you ditched me," she responded.
"I didn't ditch you—"
"You went with Sally," she screamed. "We were supposed to go as friends and you ditched me so you could get a girlfriend!"
"She's not my girlfriend," he shouted. "And I was going to say no before you interrupted and made a big seen, you baby!
"I'm the baby, you—"Prue was interrupted by Brody's lips.
"Yeah, you are," he said after pulling away, satisfied that her eyes remained closed for about ten seconds after the kiss ended. "I was going to ask you to go as my girlfriend before you told me you never wanted to see me again."
"Oh, Brody!" Prue jumped into his arms and the two kissed until the patio light went on. "That's my dad. I have to go."
"Okay," he responded, watching her climb the steps. "Wait," he called out before she pushed open the door. "Do you want to be my girlfriend?"
She walked down the steps until she came face to face with him. "Boys are dumb," she said before tugging on his hair. Smiling, Prue leaned in for another kiss.