Chapter 2- Strained friendships

It was getting dark by the time I arrived home. I'm not a person who takes the transit, nor did I even bother thinking about buying a car. I mean, in New York? When would I drive it? So I walk as my mode of transport around the Apple. As a result, it took me a long time to get there. I headed up the walk into the lobby, up the elevator, and into my apartment. I took my bag and headed over to Cindy and Juno's.

Juno likes this secret knock where when one of her close friends wants into the apartment, they must knock the bass riff from one of her favorite songs I can't remember the name of now. I knocked it, and she answered the door.

"Hey, Ollie! You got the stuff?"

She was wearing one of those loud Hawaiian print shirts. It was so bright, I just tried and avoided eye contact with it by handing her the bag of groceries.

"I also thought you might want this." I said handing the umbrella to her.

"Wow! You'd think I'd really want to stand out in a crowd." She said, sounding a bit disappointed. Then she smiled. "I love it!"

"Nothing too fancy," I said "but I think something that bright and cheerful suits you. I'll bet you'll really pull it off."

"Well, come on in. Just setting up the punch bowl." She said.

So I walked right in to see that Juno may have been a little too flashy by the whole "luau" idea. She had set up a limbo bar and I saw that Cindy wasn't looking too happy while emptying cans of punch into the bowl, clearly wanting to be spending her Friday night doing something better than this. Juno headed into the kitchen with the stuff I brought as I grabbed a few cans and started draining it into the bowl.

"Part of me wants to know why, despite her annoying the hell outta you, you still put up with her, Cindy."

"You'd be surprised at how much fun I realized she can be when she isn't going crazy or stealing other people's boyfriends."

"No need. I know her, and you."

"God, how long? 3 years?"

"Yeah. We went to that Econ class together, and you beat me at the stock game. I believe it was fate we met."

"You really believe in fate?"

"Cindy, that's my forté. I don't believe in coincidences. See I believe that everything happens for a reason. It's always something crazy going on."

I then heard a rumble that I knew too well. It started shaking the apartment as I rushed for the nearest glasses in the kitchen, about to fall to the ground. Cindy did the same while holding the punch bowl down. Juno had just turned on her amp and was playing a riff as loud as she could.

"With all the noise she makes every week, I'm surprised the landlord hasn't evicted you guys." I yelled over the shaking.

"Well, she doesn't really know when it's a bad idea to play it that loud. It's like living with an American girl version of Sherlock Holmes. Always playing their music at the wrong time." Cindy called back.

And almost as soon as it started, it stopped. Juno then walked right out of her room, looking as if it was water off a duck's back.

"J? Can you get more punch from the kitchen?" Said Cindy.

"WHAT?" She called.

"Karma strikes again, Juno." I said, laughing. Juno had lost her hearing for a second.

"Karma bikes on ten? What does that mean?"

I had been so used to these situations happening frequently, that Juno and I both learned a bit of sign language in the event that she blows her eardrums clean out.

"Can you get more punch from the fridge?" I signed.

"Oh! Sure!" She said, running into the kitchen.

"So is anyone else showing up to this punch party?" I asked, throwing lemon wedges into the bowl.

"Mainly Juno's friends from her band: Joe, Mark, Mandy. I think that's about it."

I finished with the lemons and moved onto the rum. Juno soon came back out with another pack of punch.

"How much rum are we putting in the punch?" I signed.

"The whole shebang." She said. "I thinking my hearings coming back a bit." She sat down at the table and opened a bottle to start pouring in.

"Was playing a pretty loud riff there, huh, J?"

"Yeah. I got a goal to one day break a window just by playing my guitar."

"Gotta have one hell of an amp to do that. I think I heard of one that can do that. I know a guy at a music store of of Times Square."

"Really? Cindy-"

"No. I'm not getting evicted because you wanted to commit vandalism using only the laws of physics, and not an actual weapon. Even if you, or your band mates could afford a new amp like that, I'm not letting it in here."

"Buzzkill!" Juno said. She got back to mixing up the punch. "So Ollie, you're joining us tonight?"

"Oh yeah. I find it ironic how my job is a bartender, and I spend my night off getting shit-faced drunk."

"You know something? I think that umbrella's gonna come in handy. Thanks for that." She said.

"Umbrella? You got her one?" Said Cindy.

"Yeah. Nice bright yellow one." Said Juno.

"J, can you give us a minute?"

"Okay..." Juno looked suspicious as she headed into her room.

"What the hell are you doing, Oliver?" Cindy snapped, slapping me upside the head.

"Ow, Cindy! Calm down!"

"I'd be calm if you weren't sending mixed signals like this. You claim you're not falling for Juno, but the day she complains about not having an umbrella, you go out and get one for her. You might say you don't have feelings for her, Ollie, but I keep doubting that more and more."

I then understood. "You know what? I get it, Cindy. Juno makes a few of your guy friends fall head over heels for her, and suddenly she's a guy thief. When I said I wouldn't make a move on her knowing it would jeopardize our friendship, I really meant it. I just think that Juno really needed an umbrella."

Cindy crossed her arms and looked up at me. I'm quite taller than her, but that look made me feel like an ant.

"I don't know, Ollie." She said, suddenly a lot more sad than angry, sitting down at the coffee table. "I don't know if it's her or me."

I sat down beside her, putting my arm around her shoulder. "If you want my opinion, I'll give it to you straight: I think it's both of you. You're always afraid that someone will fall for her, mentioning it to every guy who you end up with, and then her quirkiness snatches them up. I think some guys find that hot. If you really want to sort this out, then you'll talk to her tomorrow."

"Just let me ask you something, Ollie."

"Anything."

"Did you have feelings for her? Like in school?"

I thought a moment. "Yeah, I think I did. She's funny, and smart. But it was a small crush. It didn't take much for me to realize that Juno's not really my type. You girls are more like my sisters than crushes. And I'd take that over the world."

Cindy smiled at me, and Juno walked out into the living room.

"I'm hoping you didn't hear that, J."

"Nah. I was humming Journey songs in there. Even if I did, I think drinking's just gonna make me forget it." Juno's eyes then lit up. "Hold on, I'll be right back."

Cindy smirked. "Like sisters,huh?"

I just smiled back. "Like sisters."

Juno came back with the proper way to start it up: tequila. Pouring carefully into the shot glasses, I prepared myself for the next few hours of foggy memories.

"Ok, what should we toast this for?" Said Cindy.

"I got it!" I said. "To the future. Let's hope that we'll all find what we're looking for out of life: love, family, success. I then say to you two, welcome to the first day of the rest of our lives!"

And with that, we took the shots.