The Reality of Now

Four

"What, sorry? I'm going... tunnel... driving... Edmonton."

"You-you're what?" I asked Jules, beyond confused.

"Oh, okay. We're out now," Jules said. "The guys and I are driving to Edmonton. They all say hi."

A smile grew on my lips. "Hi everyone," I responded.

Jules repeated my words, then there was some muted conversation and I heard Jules exclaim, "No Dan, I'm not going to say that to her, you revolting leaf."

Deciding to ignore that, I asked a question. "Why are you driving to Edmonton, anyway?"

"Right, that. A friend of mine couldn't use her Cirque Du Soleil tickets, so she gave them to us! Isn't that sweet?"

"I didn't peg you as a Cirque Du Soleil fan."

Jules' laugh vibrated through the phone. "Yeah, no. Me neither, but I guess having tickets really persuaded me to become one."

I tugged on the hem of my shirt. "I can see that."

There was a pause. "Dammit Cash, I've told you a million times, you can't light that in here. Put that out!" Jules' voice sounded far away, so he was probably covering the receiver, but then he came back to the phone. "Sorry about that, so what were you calling about?" He prompted.

My gut twisted, and I knew that I couldn't say what I planned. "Just to say hi," I finally managed.

"Oh... well hi," Jules said. "I'll talk to you when we get back on Saturday. Is that okay?"

I sighed. "Yeah, that's fine. Bye, Jules."

"Bye."

He hung up, but I kept the phone pressed against my ear. "I don't think we should be friends," I mumbled, though no one was even listening.

Tossing the phone on my bed, I ran a hand through my hair and seriously considered binge watching How I Met Your Mother.

Just as I opened my laptop, my phone started buzzing. With a groan, I leaned forward to pick it up. The screen flashed Faith Power, and a picture of the two of us at prom behind it. "Hello?" I answered.

"Saya, we need to take you out," was the response, short and to the point

"I thought you were pissed at me..." I muttered.

There was a huff of laughter from the other side of the line. "Honey," Faith chided, "you know I could never stay mad at you. So Carly and I are going to The Crane tomorrow night. I'd give it three out of five stars, but the security there is lack enough that no one will care if we're a year underage. Wear something sexy, I'll pick you up at ten thirty and take you to the club."

The dial tone sounded, and I rolled my eyes. Since second grade, Faith had been calling the shots in our friendship, and I always just followed along.

I grabbed the bowl of popcorn I had made and pressed play on my laptop, deciding to ignore every problem and all responsibility.

I was turning eighteen in just under a month, but clearly I still needed to work on being an adult.

Twenty six and a half hours later, I was standing in front of my mirror. I had on a low cut black dress with tight rips down either side, a pair of black and gold wedges, and I was holding a simple black clutch.

My dad was working late tonight, so I didn't have to worry about leaving him alone. I knew it helped him cope with the divorce if I was around.

Downstairs, I heard the door open and Faith shouted, "We've been parked outside for eight minutes, Saya! Mitch and his friends are waiting. Are you coming, or what?"