The Library Card

What a rebel.

"Have you lost your mind?" I hissed, rubbing my temples.

"Please? Your sister does it all the time" He whisper-shouted, cupping his hands as if they were a megaphone.

"But my sister is a rebel! I'm obedient and respectful of my parents, especially my father, which he wouldn't approve of, if you didn't know. Oh wait! You did know." He crossed his arms, appearing  to have  been rolling his eyes. "Just this once, please. Look, I'll even get on my knees, Elliot!"

I laughed.

"Please?"

"No way."

"Pretty please?"

"Not in a million years, Lincoln." I began to shut my windows, which was a bit rude, but I was already having enough of his nonsense.

"Wait! What if I told you... Uh... What do you really want again...?"

I thought about this. What did I really want? I never really asked for much... But everyone wants something. Nobody is ever fully satisfied, I think. Except maybe Ghandi, which I'd learned about from a girl with weird hair in my class who said her style was called "dreads" and then  proceeded to sing a nice tune from a group called "The Beatles" with a girl that had multiple tiny braids. When I asked Raven about Dreads and The Beatles she laughed at me and said I really was more sheltered than her, and that dreads were "Very cool but outdated" and The Beatles were "Effing awesome", which I replied with by asking "is effing even a word?". I never got to know the answer to that because she'd slammed the door in my face rather rudely, and mother then shouted at the top of her lungs :

"Raven do you need a hit to the fanny?!" and Raven just made very disturbing gurgling noises and other noises that sounded a bit like a dying whale, which resulted in mother removing the lock from her door.

But really, what did I want? After a few more minutes, I realized it. I'd probably been reading the same books for more than a decade, and the last time I'd asked Dad to take me to the library in town, he just laughed and told me to do my chores.

"Well, Elliot? What do you want?"

"To go to the library."

"If I take you to the library, would you sneak out with me?"

I laughed. "No."

"Ugh, Elliot, don't make me come up there and get you!" He demanded.

"Oh please, you wouldn't."

~

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this!"

"I'm very good at convincing, babe"

"Don't call me that"

"Sorry.."

"Why are you trying to be like Rain?"

"She's exciting. Rebellious. She's gonna either go somewhere or go to rehab or a mental institution."

"What's rehab?"

"Nevermind, love."

"Don't call me that."

"Love."

"Stop. Calling. Me. Names."

"Make me." He laughed as I then jumped on his back, hitting him. "Ouch! Ouch! Elliot, please! Elliot!"

~

It must have been quite ridiculous, seeing two teenagers together walking to God knows where, and the girl on the guy's back attacking him. It was very un-ladylike, but if I was going to rebel (at least for a few hours) I was going to do it right. If I got caught, I'd be in a lot of trouble, but... would one night hurt? Maybe, maybe not.