ANDIE
That day, 5:00 pm
I groaned and turned on the TV. "I don't want to go anywhere," I wined to my parents. "What's wrong with staying in the hotel?"
"Nothing's wrong with it if you're sure you're not hungry," mom replied.
"I think I'll starve," I muttered.
"You aren't still bitter at Andy, are you?" she asked.
My parents were on the verge of making me to totally insane. Bitter at Andy? I had never even been bitter at him in the first place. A little jealous, though. Maybe. Jealous that he'd made it to the X-Games and I hadn't. But bitter? Not at all. Or, maybe a little.
"Mom, I'm not bitter," I said. "I'm just not hungry, either. Is that a crime?"
She looked to my little brother. "Jason, are you going to stay with Andie?"
"Yeah, I think so."
"You won't get bored?"
"We can always go in the pool," I said. I had no intention of going out of this hotel room anytime soon, but if telling them that would get them out the door, I'd gladly say it.
"All right. Have fun." They left. Finally.
There was a bit of silence filled in by the TV, when Jason said, "You're mad at Andy, aren't you?"
"I am not!" I said. "I'm just as good as he is."
"You're mad. Admit it."
I shook my head. "Maybe… a little. But honestly, does everyone think I'm not able to be happy for him? Because I am. Really."
"Uh-huh."
Knock, knock, knock!
I got off the bed, went to the door, and opened it. I saw Andy standing there, but then I noticed the guy next to him. He looked a lot like…
"Dean?!"
"Andie!"
I threw my arms around him and hugged him. He hugged back. I never thought I'd see him again, but here he was! I couldn't believe it!
"I've missed you," I said. "I didn't think we'd ever meet again after the move."
"Neither did i. You look so different." He playfully flicked at my shoulder-length blond hair. "It's growing back."
"I miss my long hair," I said. "I've been so impatient waiting for it to come back."
"C'mon in," Andy said, stepping in the room. Dean followed him. "I don't know if you ever met Jason…"
"I don't think so," Dean replied.
Jason looked up from the TV. "Hi," he said.
"Hi."
Jason turned his attention back to the TV.
"So, Andie," Dean said, turning to me. "Do you still ride?"
"Um, yeah," I said. "Mom talked my dad into letting me race, but I don't do it a lot." That wasn't the truth. Not the whole one, anyway. Mom had talked dad into letting me race, but I'd actually been practicing a lot for the X-Games. But if I told Dean that I'd been practicing, he'd know I wanted to compete. And failed.
"That's cool."
"So," Andy said. "Do you wanna go in the pool or go out for pizza or something?"
"Actually, I think I have to get back. Baby-sit Kor. But it was cool seeing you guys again. I'll see you around."
"Bye."
"Bye, Dean," I said. Once the door was shut and Dean was gone, my smile was gone, replaced by a glare to my oldest brother. "Why did you bring him here?" I demanded. "So he would know I'm not competing? So he would know you're better than me?"
"No!" Andy said. "I… I didn't think that at all."
"Then what were you thinking? What exactly was going through your mind when you invited him over here? Because I know he didn't invite himself over."
"He was asking about you," Andy said, his voice no longer defensive, but low and timid, almost. "I knew he wanted to see you."
I took a deep breath. Dean was asking about me? Me! How exciting! At least I knew he still liked me. "If you're lying I'll kill you. What'd he say?"
"I'm not gonna play Yenta. Ask him yourself."
"Fine, keep it a secret," I muttered as I sat down on the bed.
"Andie?"
"What?"
Andy's eyes were deadly serious. It almost scared me. I never saw him this solemn.
"Are you mad at me? You seem testy lately."
"No! I'm not mad, bitter, jealous, irritated, upset, or cynical! Will everyone just leave me alone?"
Andy raised an eyebrow. "Jealous? Is that it?"
"NO!"
"Then what? Anger management problems?"
"UGH!" I started walking towards the door, frustrated.
"Where are you going?"
"Oncoming traffic," I muttered in response. I didn't know if he heard me or not. I didn't care.