24 Hours (Wattys 2016)

Hour 13

Hour 13

(7:00 PM EST)

    We drove out of the parking lot and off to the art center where Jamie was having her dance performance. We were planning to meet my parents at the front door when we got there so that's what we did, we waited outside the theater for my parents to show up. They were always late so I wasn't surprised when we were one of the last people in. We managed to get a good seat though because it was a really big theater and the show was only for family and friends of the performers. We took our seats and waited for the dancing to start.

    Five dances later everyone took a bow and the crowd roared and clapped as loud as possible. Then we went up on stage and gave Jamie a hug. Once everyone started leaving the theater we stayed back to take pictures with her in her dance outfit which was a leotard and a tutu since she took ballet. Beckett and I took one with Jamie and my parents took one with her, then we asked her dance instructor to take one of all of us.

    We left the theater and as we were about to leave and go to our next adventure Jamie asked, "Can I go with you and Beckett?" She walked towards us. "Mom, Dad, can I please go with them?"

    "Jamie, I'm sure Beckett and Harlyn have other plans." My mom said. "Maybe some other time." Jamie didn't argue and went back in my parent's direction.

    "Mom, It's fine." I said. "Jamie you can ride with us." I told her. She turned around, her eyes bright.

    "Are you sure?" My dad asked.

    "Yeah." I nodded. "We can take her out for ice cream." I smiled. Jamie looked up at my mom for permission.

    "Fine." She said to my sister. "Harlyn, be sure to bring her back on time." My mom lectured.

    "Thank you." Jamie hugged my parents and then followed us to my car. "Are we actually getting ice cream?" She asked me as she buckled her seat belt.

    "Yup." I said.

    "Jamie, what ice cream place do you want to go to?" Beckett asked her.

    "Ben and Jerry's." She beamed.

    "Ben and Jerry's it is." Beckett drove out of the art center theater and made his way to Ben and Jerry's. "I really liked your performance Jamie." Beckett complimented her.

    "Thanks." She smiled brightly.

    "You don't need to boost her ego." I joked.

    "Hey!" Jamie leaned forward and hit my arm.

    When we got to Ben and Jerry's Jamie went straight to the ice creams and Beckett and I followed her. She scanned every possible choice and tasted a few before she decided on Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough. I paid for her ice cream, as she carried her ice cream and sat down. Then Beckett and I got a scoop of Chocolate Peppermint Crunch to share. We joined Jamie at the table and we all ate our ice cream together.

    "Thank you Harlyn and Beckett for taking me out." She said.

    "Mom and dad have taught you well." I smiled.

    "They probably would have killed me if I didn't say that." She mentioned.

    "That's good parenting for you." I laughed.

    "Beckett?" Jamie asked.

    "Yeah?" He responded.

    "Are you and Harlyn still going to date when you go off to college?" We both looked at each other before he answered.

    "Yeah, yeah, we will." He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and squeezed me.

    "Good." Jamie smiled. "I like you and Harlyn together."

    "Jamie, wanna tell Beckett about a certain someone?" I nudged her.

    "No." She blushed.

    "Come on spill." Beckett teased.

    "You want me to tell him?" I asked her.

    "No, I'll tell him."

    "I'm waiting.." He sang.

    "I like this guy in my Science class." She blurted.

    "Ahh.. Young love." He sighed. "So who is he beside a guy from science?" Beckett took a big scoop of ice cream. "What's his name, favorite color, you know the basics."

    "His name is-" She stopped. "Harlyn you can tell him."

    "His name is Bryce." I told him. "His favorite color is red, he has two cats and a dog, his favorite subject is Social Studies and he has light brown hair and hazel eyes." I finished.

    "Wow Jamie, thats a lot of information you got there." Beckett pointed out.

    "Trust me, there's more." I replied.

    "Okay, let's move on with this conversation." Jamie budged in.

    "Wait Jamie, is that him?" I asked her, pointing to a boy walking into the store. She nodded.

    "This is so cute." Beckett smiled. He whispered into my ear, "We should get them to hang out. He looks like he's by himself." I nodded.

    "Let's do this." I Whispered. I got up slyly.

    "Harlyn, what are you doing?" Jamie asked. "Harlyn." She said more sternly.

    I tapped on Bryce's shoulder and he turned around. "Hi." I greeted him. "I swear I'm not creepy but, I was wondering if you wanted to come sit with us." I pointed to our table where Jamie had her head down. "My sister Jamie was in your science class I think." I said. He looked at me strangely.

Jamie came towards me, her head still down. she tugged on my arm and muttered, "Harlyn, stop."

"You know Bryce right?" I asked Jamie.

"Yeah I do." She lifted her head with rosy cheeks, knowing what I was up to. "Hi Bryce." She waved.

"Hey." He waved back. "Your sister was just inviting me to your table." He told her. "I wanted to make sure it was okay with you."

"Yeah, sure, why wouldn't I be okay with that?" Jamie replied. We all walked back to our table and Jamie shot me a death glare.

It only took a couple of minutes for Bryce to get Jamie out of her shell. As they talked and laughed Beckett and I secretly high fived each other under the table. She'll thank me later, I grinned.