Pusher

twelve.

Ellie and I drifted through half a dozen stores, surrounded by the buzz of shoppers bouncing off the shiny store windows and slick floors. A gray shopping bag was balanced in the crook of her elbow and knocked into her thigh as we walked. El could never leave the mall without buying at least one thing.

She released a loud laugh when she caught sight of the blue ink on the inside of my wrist. "What did I tell you? You've only been selling weed a week or so and you've already got invited to your first party. Take me with you. I'll be like your wingman but with drugs. It'll be fun."

Sometimes it creeped me out how well Ellie took to me becoming a pusher.

"I'm not even sure I'm going to go. Who knows what kind of shady stuff goes down at those kinds of parties?"

"Come on, Angelica. You're a dealer now. You've got to be tough. Shady is just another risk of the profession."

I brushed off her comment and steered her out of the little boutique we were strolling through. It was cute but incredibly overpriced.

Ellie drew in a long breath and released a satisfied sigh. "Do you smell that? I have to get one of those pretzels. I'm starving."

It seemed Ellie was always starving, but I kept my mouth shut as we ambled into the food court. It was small, with just a few dirty tables and old wooden benches in the center but the food stalls did smell divine. I caught a whiff of cinnamon and my tongue practically melted in my mouth.

"Oh my God!" Ellie said, slapping my arm. "It's him!"

"It's who?" I asked, already scanning the crowd. Fear crept into my skin.

"The hottie standing in the Taco Bell line. Blonde hair, maroon varsity jacket, and dreamy blue eyes," she said, not-so-discreetly pointing a finger in his direction. "His name's Emanuel. He's the new guitar player at the metro church. And oh, you should hear his voice. Sure makes me want to praise God in some kind of way."

She winked at me and I scrunched up my nose. Ellie was a little boy crazy, but if my personal experiences were an accurate reading, all teenage Catholic girls were.

"We should go talk to him," she said suddenly. She stopped and positioned herself in front of me, throwing her lips into a slight pout and her hand on her hip. "How do I look?"

"Like an ethereal goddess." The sad part was that it was hardly an exaggeration.

"Perfect." She grabbed my hand and dragged me over just as was taking his food back to one of the benches. A smile flashed across his face as he recognized Ellie.

"Hey there, stranger," he said. He had that boy-next-door kind of charm. He was tall, cute in that boyish way, and had an air of awkwardness about him He walked like his limbs were too long for his own good.

I could see why Ellie like him. He was a nice, uncoordinated boy. Now that was someone I could stomach dating my best friend.

I offered a small wave while Ellie introduced us, but quickly faded out of the conversation. She twisted her finger around a strand of scarlet hair as they made small talk. He was here alone, stranded until his little sister and her friend finished their shopping. He was tasked with the job of being her personal taxi.

A kind older brother. Ellie was practically swooning beside me.

"Angelica and I could keep you company if you wanted," she offered. Her voice was just a touch too hopeful but he didn't seem to notice, just agreed with that irresistible boy-next-door smile.

A siren sounded within my skull. Third wheel alert!

"Uh, I've got to find a white dress for that thing I was telling you about, but how about you get something to eat and I'll catch up later?" I said. I fumbled a bit on the delivery but Emanuel was oblivious to the lie and Ellie sent me a silent thank you with her eyes.