The roller rink echoed with laughter and squeals - which were loud, but failed to drown out the Britney Spears track that was currently playing for the patrons to skate to. Keith had an earlier shift at the store that night and decided to visit his sister at work. Weaving his way through the crowds along the side of the rink, he slipped himself into a booth he knew was in his sister's section and peered around, looking for her as another waitress skated past his table.
Jane was good on her skates. That was one of the only things she liked about her job. The fact that it was at a roller rink and the waitresses had to wear skates. That and the tips. Keith knew she would much rather be dancing, but the only thing remotely related to dancing in that town that earned money was the gaggle of exotic dancers down at the Spotted Coat. And that certainly wasn't the kind of dancing his sister wanted to do.
Before he could react, his sister had slid into the booth across from him, dropping a large order of french fries on the table between them. "Hey, good timing. I'm on my break."
Keith grinned at her and reached for the ketchup at the end of the table. He could feel the wheels of her skates against the sides of his ankles and could see the thin sheen of sweat that was always apparent on her forehead while she was at work. They kept the rink lukewarm, it seemed, even in the middle of summer. She looked healthy though, and that was what mattered. The two of them had been working extra hours after school and on weekends to avoid going home. Their bosses didn't seem to mind.
"How was work?"
"The same," Keith responded, blandly. It was always the same. Irate customers, obnoxious children, stocking broken shelves...
"That bad?"
He nodded in response. His eyes glazing over and his right hand hovering over the fries that were already half gone.
"What are we going to do for our 17th birthday?" She asked suddenly, changing the subject. It seemed like something she had been waiting for the right moment to bring up.
"I don't know. What do you want to do?"
"I think... I think we should take a trip to the city."
"What?"
Keith watched Jane describe the plan that had been stewing in her brain, her hands moving around in front of her with each word. She liked to talk with her hands. He usually ribbed her about it but often found himself doing it recently because of her. Currently though, he was watching her right hand, which held a particularly perfect french fry.
"-then once we get off the bus, we can grab our stuff and then you-" She stuck the french fry towards him with the word "you" and was only mildly shocked when he leaned forward and snatched it from her grasp with his teeth. He chewed it triumphantly and shrugged.
"You were just taunting me with it. You should've eaten it before you started yapping."
Shaking her head, she chuckled before pushing herself to her feet and scooting the fries towards him. "Finish those. I have to go work."
As she skated off, Keith watched her stop beside a table full of giggling preteen girls and let his mind wander to her plans of them taking a trip to the city. Was it plausible? Could they do it? He knew their father wouldn't like it, but frankly, Keith didn't care. He was sure Jane didn't either.
He absently ate the rest of the fries, his eyes slowly grazing over the rink to his right and the tables to his left. He was fine with people-watching. He didn't want to go home too early. They never wanted to show up anymore before their father passed out for the night. When the last fry had been devoured, Keith noticed his sister headed towards the hallway in the back, towards the restrooms. Moments later, a guy who had been seated at one of her tables - a greaser with a sloppy tan in a fake leather jacket - had headed back there as well. He lost sight of them and found himself standing from the table and wandering through the crowds of people, past the other tables towards the wall so he could see down the hallway.
The first thing he noticed, out of everything that was happening, was that the bun her hair had been pulled into was coming loose. There were strands of dirty blonde hair in her face, which was twisted into an angry expression as she yelled at the guy who had followed her down the hallway. Keith obviously couldn't hear her because of the din around him, but he could easily see her rage. The guy said something back, sneered and pushed her back against the wall, one hand planted on the dirty, peeling wallpaper over her shoulder and the other toying with the bottom hem on the skirt of her uniform. Keith was about to charge over there until he froze. He and Jane had grown up together, they were twins. They had a bond that many siblings couldn't even understand.
He knew Jane could handle this.
And moments later he was proven correct. As much as he wanted to go over there and shove his fist into that crooked and spray-tanned nose, he stayed against the wall and watched as his sister introduced her right knee to the guy's crotch - in skates, no less. Jane shoved him backwards and skated out of the hallway, spotting Keith and grabbing his wrist on the way by.
"Screw this. My shift is over."
He had to jog to keep up with her as she pulled him to the back room behind the counter. Keith watched her as she retrieved her shoes from her locker and sat herself down on a chair in the corner. He was waiting for her to elaborate on what just happened, and when she didn't, Keith took it upon himself to prod her into it.
"Who was that assh-"
She cut him off as she unlaced her skates.
"His name's Gregory. He's a regular here. He's 22. He's a jerk."
"...I take it this isn't the first time he's come onto you."
Jane said nothing.
"Has he done anything... worse... to you?"
"No."
"Janey, look at me."
She hesitated before picking her head up and looking at him. "No, Keith. He hasn't."
"I... I'm just worried about you."
"I know," Jane nodded, slipping her shoes on and standing up. "You know I can handle myself."
"Yes. But that doesn't mean I don't worry about you."
"Keith, you know I'm older than you-"
"-by eight minutes! Don't hand me that."
Grabbing his wrist again, Jane led him out of the back room and towards the main entrance of the roller rink, slipping her arm into his once they got through the crowds. The air outside was cool and seemed to wake Jane up a bit. She shook her brother's arm, "We can talk about our birthday plans on the way home. We can take our time walking just to be safe."
"You don't think he'd be out yet? It's..." Keith moved his free arm up and looked at his watch. The second hand was stopped. "Damn. Watch is broken. Guess we'll just have to try our luck."
"Ha, luck." Jane's lips thinned. "When has luck ever been on our side?"
Keith said nothing. He just tightened the crook of his elbow in hers and huddled closer to her as they walked against the breeze back towards the place they were forced to call home.
