"Oh my God!" I screamed. "I am so sorry!" I scrambled up to my feet and backed my heel into a mop. My foot got caught and I twirled around and landed on my stomach. I felt someone help me up. I turned around to see whose hands were on my waist. "Th-Thanks, Micky," I mumbled.
"No problem," Micky whispered. His voice cracked. "S-So how long were you in there?" I looked down. "Long enough, huh?"
"I…I'm sorry," I said, biting my lip. I was so embarrassed I felt like I was going to cry.
"Nah," Micky laughed uneasily. "It's okay. My fault anyway for not talking to you sooner." He threw a sidelong glance at Mike as if he knew exactly what was going on. "Don't worry about it."
(-)(-)(-)
"He likes you?" Rhenda laughed. "No…Wait…Hold on…YOU?!" She laughed so hard that she choking on her own spit. "I can't believe it! My little sister finally has a little crush on someone!"
"I never said I liked him back," I mumbled indignantly. Rhenda looked at me critically. She stared. And stared. And stared.
"Reggina..." she said warningly, yet understandingly.
"OKAY!" I shouted. "I LIKE HIM BACK!" Rhenda looked smug. Sometimes it really bothered me that she could almost always get me to admit anything she wanted.
"So when are you going to ask him out?" Rhenda asked nonchalantly. She swiped her perfectly manicured nails against her silky shirt and blew on them. I looked at her in disbelief.
"Me? Ask him out? How am I supposed to do that?"
"Go up to him and ask him out," Rhenda sighed rolling her eyes. She probably thought it was the easiest thing in the whole world. I looked at her with fearful eyes. "Are all your friends single?" she asked randomly.
"What?" I was so confused.
"Are all your friends single?" Rhenda repeated. I thought a minute before nodding. "Okay. Next time they call, give me the phone and let a pro show you how it's done." As if to answer her request, the phone rang. I picked it up.
"He-Hello?" I wasn't so sure how to answer the phone now that Micky was talking to me. What if I made a fool of myself and said something dorky?
"Reggie? It's Mike." I let out a sigh of relief.
"Hey, Mike," I sighed.
"I have a question," Mike said pulling the thought out of thin air. "Is your sister single?"
"Rhenda? Yeah. Why?" I blurted out before I could think about it. Rhenda looked a tad shocked.
"No reason," Mike trilled. Rhenda grabbed the phone from my hands.
"Hello?" her voice cracked. I looked at her, astonished. How could she assume a totally different personality in a matter of seconds? "Hmm? Oh I'd, uh, absolutely love to! When do you, um, have in mind? Next Saturday sounds, um, fine. How 'bout you pick me up at about…say, uh, 8:00? Ok-kay. It's a d-date. Bu-bye!" She hung up the phone and looked at me.
"The pro at work, huh?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. Rhenda held up a finger to talk to me, but no words came out. Instead, her legs gave out and she collapsed, fainting on the living room floor.
(-)(-)(-)
"Okay," I sighed. "You can do this. C'mon, Reggina, ol' girl. Pick up that phone and…I can't!"
"You are so pathetic, Reggina," Rhenda rolled her eyes. She was applying a fresh coat of clear nail-polish to her fingernails and watching me try to psyche myself into calling Micky. "Just dial and ask. Dial and ask. Dial and ask." Each time she repeated the phrase, she waved her hand to make the polish dry. "And if he rejects you, which I seriously doubt, I'll…" Her voice trailed off as she flexed a muscle and punched the air violently. It was bizarre how girly, yet boyish Rhenda could be depending on her mood.
"C'mon, Reggina," I said taking a deep breath. "Do it. Dial and ask. If you can't do this, you're a big fat loser." I reached for the phone, snapped my arm back, reached for it again, and snapped back again. Rhenda sighed and propped her feet up on the coffee table. "Call me a loser!" I exclaimed defeatedly. I flopped down on the couch next to Rhenda, making her arm bounce. Clear nail-polish was now in a thin, shimmery streak from her nail to her wrist.
"Reggina…" she groaned, glaring at me. "This is starting to get annoying. Why are you such a wimp?"
"I just can't," I sighed, digging my face into my hands. "I've never liked a boy this much before and I've never had to ask him out myself. Can't I just wait until he calls me?"
"And what if he doesn't?" Rhenda asked, her voice gentle, yet firm. "What if he's waiting for you and after a while, he begins to think you aren't interested? What if you both waste your lives waiting for the other to call?" I looked at her and cocked my head over to one side.
"Rhenda," I smiled, "that was strangely deep and sensitive."
"I have my moments," she flounced. I rolled my eyes and reached for the phone. I held my hand over the phone for a while and Rhenda leaned in, staring intently at my hand and what it was about to do. I began to shake and I whimpered a little before yanking my hand away. "DANGIT, REGGINA!" Rhenda exclaimed, flabbergasted. She capped her nail-polish, got off the couch, and stalked away to her bedroom.
"Yeah," I whispered after she was gone. "Dangit, Reggina."