Dear Diary

37. IDRIS

K E L L Y

"Please, Derek?" Sidney begged, following him into the kitchen where I was seated in a stool at the island. I wished they had stayed in the living room. They'd been going back and forth about the same thing for the last ten minutes and it was starting to exasperate me. Especially since I only came to their house for one thing.

Derek rolled his eyes and whirled around to face her. "Sid, the answer is no."

She pouted at him like a petulant child. "Grandma and grandpa will never know, we can get away with it."

"You don't have your license, not even a permit," Derek said, opening the fridge. "Forget it."

"Mom lets me drive while she's in the car sometimes. Come on, the rental looks fun."

Derek pulled out a Honeygold apple. "I said forget it. We're only back in Grovesville to give Kelly her house key back."

"Yeah, thanks for stealing it, by the way," I snipe at Sidney.

"I was borrowing it," Sidney said innocently. "I forgot it was in my bag."

"What were you doing with it in the first place?" I asked as she handed me the key in question.

"I was gonna make a copy, duh."

"To my house?"

"Easy access. You never know." Her attention went back to Derek. "I'm not letting this go."

Derek looked to me for help. "Can you tell her she's being ridiculous?"

"He has a point, Sid," I said to her.

"Nice to see that you're consistent in being a goody two shoes," Sidney sneered.

"Don't get mad at Kelly because she has an iota of common sense," Derek retorted, coming over to sit next to me. "It's a bad idea."

"Derry, come on," Sidney persisted. "Just to the peak and back."

Derek remained stubborn. "Leave me alone."

Sidney wasn't going to give up. The gears were turning in her head. She'd come up with a way to crack him. She always got her way. Always. "I'll do your chores for a month."

Derek seemed intrigued. Got him. "A month, you say?"

"No more than that, you know how much I hate cleaning. A month is more than a good bargain. It's just one stupid car ride."

"Fine, since you're so desperate. I'll let you take it for a spin. Please be careful, though. We can't damage a rental."

Sidney grinned and looked at me. "You're coming with."

I almost objected, but I'd been in a vehicle with Sidney driving before while her mom was present. She wasn't a bad driver and it wasn't like I had anything paramount to do.

I sighed. "Promise not to kill us?"

She chuckled. "No promises."

Later in the evening we piled into the rental. Sindey was in the driver's seat, Derek in the passenger's seat, and I sat in the back. Derek already looked like he regretted his decision.

"Okay," he started, "just put the gear in reverse to—"

"I know how to drive," Sidney snapped as she adjusted the gearshift and made the car reverse onto the street. Changing gears again, we started cruising down the block. "See? I'm not an idiot."