Bastiana has a loving family, two amazing best friends, and a secret.
Over summer vacation, Bastiana and her besties do their best to focus on their bucket list in order to distract them from all the secrets they're keeping from one another. When a...
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"I don't know if he'll make it tonight. His sister is in town and they're having a family dinner." Ryker explains when I ask him where Asher is. "Said he'll try to come over after, though." He adds as we make it to the bottom of the stairs and round the corner into the living room.
Asher Benet, our other best friend, always comes to our summer movie nights, too. He's a tight end on the same team as Ryker, Jaxon, and Abi, even though he's also a sophomore.
We met Asher on the first day of sixth grade, when he moved to town from Wisconsin. Our quiet Oregon town was a big change of scenery for him, but now he likes it more than his hometown.
He's six feet tall, with beautiful olive-toned skin and wavy brown hair that always falls over his forehead into his eyes. His forest green eyes always seem to shine with mischief, and he's been a troublemaker from day one.
On the first day of sixth grade, he set Mr. Howard's class pets free. As the two rats scurried across the floor of the commons area during the orientation assembly, sending the girls screaming and the boys chasing after them, Ryker and I broke down in a fit of uncontrollable laughter that landed all three of us in our first detention of the year. It may have been our first, but it definitely wasn't our last. After that day, we became quick friends and have been inseparable ever since.
"Well, that sucks." I respond to Ryker. "Cool that Kate's in town, but he's missing quite the lineup tonight." I tell him.
"What's on the marquee tonight?" he asks as we get set up on the living room floor.
"Oh, you're in for a treat." I laugh. He looks at me, curious and confused. "Abi got to pick tonight." I explain. Abi always picks movies revolving around the same thing.
"So, which sports movies are we watching tonight?" He scoffs, shaking his head and looking over to where Abi is putting the first disk into the DVD player under the TV.
"Tonight, for your viewing pleasure," Abi says, "we have an iconic trio of summer classics. To start," she holds up the first case. "We have The Sandlot. An American classic." She says proudly. "And you can't watch The Sandlot without following it with The Sandlot 2." She adds, holding up the second movie case.
"Okay, I see you. I'm here for it." Jaxon adds from his spot on the couch next to Dillon. "You'll love these, Dil. They're about baseball and best friends." He says to my brother, who smiles and nods happily.
"Alright, that's not too bad." Ryker adds, nodding his head.
"Please," Carter says, rolling her eyes as she comes into the living room from the kitchen, holding a cup of soda. "Tell me it gets better than that." she says as she plops down on the other side of Dillon.
"Don't worry, Car, I saved the best for last." Abi grins knowingly. "Since Dil only gets to watch two movies tonight -" She starts but Dillon cuts her off with a whine.
"No fair! I'm not supposed to have a bedtime on movie night!" he says, crossing his arms and pouting.
"Hey, it's not our fault you have baseball camp at 9am on the first Saturday of the summer. You wanted to go." Abi tells him. He mutters a 'whatever' under his breath and Jaxon gives him a handful of Skittles, which makes him smile again.
"So, what's the third movie then?" Carter asks impatiently.
"Ah, right, yes. Saving the best for last! We have a summer horror classic." She says. Carter sits up, suddenly interested. Abi looks at each of us, building up the suspense before she speaks. I roll my eyes at her theatrics. "I Know What You Did Last Summer." she finally says.
"Finally! A decent movie choice." Carter throws her hands up in the air, nearly spilling her soda on Dillon.
"Alright, nice." Ryker nods appreciatively. "Hopefully Ash makes it in time for that one. He loves slasher flicks."
"So does Car." I tell him. We look over at her and she nods enthusiastically. The doorbell rings just then.
"I got it! I got it!" My mom comes running out of the kitchen on her way to the front door. The front door opens and closes a minute later, and she calls out again. "Pizza's here!" she says as she comes back into the living room. She sets the stack of boxes down on the coffee table in front of us, then turns to Jaxon. "And I remembered that you like the barbecue chicken pizza, Jaxon, so I got one of those this time, too."
"Thanks, Miss Josie." He gives her a big, charming grin that makes her laugh and wave her hand at him.
"Aw, it's no problem, Sweetie." She says. I roll my eyes at the interaction.
Josephine Rigby is one of the most intimidating women I've ever known. Her word is law in this house, and she can always tell when we're lying. She looks young, for being 41 and raising four kids mostly alone. She works hard, but always makes time for movie nights with us. She's warm and kind, but she is fiercely protective of her kids.
She's also a proud feminist and activist, something she and Carter share a passion for. Josephine doesn't take crap from anyone, and she's the most head-strong person I know.
However, for some unknown reason, Jaxon's charms always seem to make her giggle and blush like a teenager. Which annoys my sisters and I to no end.
Ryker turns to me and just shakes his head at the interaction as she takes her spot in the big recliner in the corner.
"Oh, Abi dear, I forgot the plates on the counter. Will you grab them for me before you sit down, please?" Mom asks.
"Sure, no problem, Mom." Abi disappears into the kitchen and reappears a moment later with a stack of plastic plates. She passes them out before taking a spot on the floor in front of where Jaxon sits on the couch. "Alright." She claps. "Who's ready to get this party started?" She picks up the remote and hits play on the first movie.
