Balconies

Chapter 3

After many blonde curls are produced and makeup has been applied to every inch of Amber’s face, we say goodbye to Brandon and make our way across the yard to me house. In the garage, we find my car, Hello Kitty, a purple bug with Hello Kitty ears and several Hello Kitty stickers on the outside. We decide to take her to the strip so we can go walking in some of the beach stores. As we step onto the boardwalk, we see that practically everyone is at the beach since school just ended and people are on vacation. The stores are crowded and the prices are jacked up high so we just find a place to sit outside one of the restaurants.

“So, guess what?” Amber asks as she finishes off her ice cream cone.

“What.”

“I got a boyfriend.”

“Whoa! When?” I say is shock. I have never known Amber to have a boyfriend other than that creepy Charles kid in 9th grade. She smiles slightly.

“It’s one of Brandon’s band members. Austin, the bass player.” I smile a little at the fact the Amber is dating a band member. I’d like to date a band member too, her brother. She then begins telling me a really long and complicated story about how it was love at first sight and how he asked her out last night after I left. I don’t pay much attention to the distinct details she gives me like what she was wearing or how her hair looked. I have never really cared to much about the tiny things that seem to mean so much to girls like Amber.

        When we get back to my house after the strip, I check my house phone to find that my grandma had left me fourteen messages about how I didn’t tell her where I was and that I was leaving. She is all worried so I call her to clear things up. While I sit at the kitchen counter being lectured, Amber is rummaging around in the kitchen looking for something to satisfy her hunger. By the time she is finished opening cabinets and drawers, I have already called my grandma and went to the bathroom.

“I’ll be right back. I am going to go get my phone charger.” I say to the distracted Amber. I really just wanted an excuse to check out what was going on at the balconies. Was Brandon outside? Could I talk to him? I jog up the stairs and find my way into my room. The curtain is pulled over the screen door. I make it a big event when I pull the curtain back and my excitement level skyrockets whenever I see him standing against the railing having a cigarette. I open the sliding door and walk on to the balcony.

“Hey.” I say as I stand in front of him. He blows smoke out of his mouth and coughs a little. He drops the cigarette to the ground and smiles.

“Hey. Where’s Amber?”

“Downstairs looking for food.”

“You ditch her?” He asks smiling. I can tell he understands what she is like. She just goes through peoples’ houses like they’re own.

“Yeah,” I reply. I take in the smell of axe and cigarette smoke. It is a rather interesting smell. It’s relaxing and is the only smell that makes me think of Brandon. Mostly because he is the only person I know who smells so amazing.

“Are you okay?” He asks this with a confused face. I realize at this point I am just staring into his eyes and dreaming of how things would be if I could change everything.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” I say and then shake my head to clear my thoughts. Thoughts like those belong in a journal somewhere. He smiles and then looks past me to my doorway. He points behind me and I stand from leaning against the railing.

“Wow Lils. I was wondering what took you so long. Why are you talking to that loser?” says Amber as she walks onto the balcony. Her question stings my throat like a bee stinging my arm. I don’t know an excuse that would seem reasonable in a situation like this. I just shake my head and put a fake smile on my face. I follow her back into my room and smile and wave to Brandon as I leave. How could she drag me away from talking to someone I am in love with? It bothers me but, not enough to say anything to Amber about it. What could I say anyway? ‘Hey. Why won’t you let me talk to your extremely attractive brother that I am in love with?’. That would go over well. Not.

        As the day passes on, Amber and I have done nothing but talk about Austin. Austin this, Austin that, Austin can freakin’ die in a hole right about now for all I care, it ain’t gonna bother me one bit. I try to smile and act like I am interested in listening to every detail about why he is perfect for the fiftieth freakin’ time. I close my eyes and think about the part on Saturday. It’s going to be so much fun to be able to talk to Brandon. I won’t get to have any really long conversations with him but, I will get to at least talk to him. Plus, there are always some people we know from school there so I can see how some of my friends are doing. It hits me then that I have no idea what I am going to wear on Saturday.

“What about the party Saturday, Amber?” I can’t recall what Amber was talking about of if I interrupter her but, she probably would be more interested in this subject anyway.

“Oh my god! What are we going to wear?!?” This question makes Amber jump from my desk chair and run over to my closet. She slings the door open and begins going through every short dress, skirt, and tube top I have. It amazes me how she feels so comfortable going through other peoples things. I guess since we are best friends it would only make sense that we rifle through each other’s closet without an invitation.

        She pulls out two dresses and holds them up. One is a strapless, short, aqua blue with tapered sides and sequins at the top. The other is a bright pink dress that is shorter than the blue one. It has sequins on top and a straight across top instead of a V-neck. She tosses me the blue one and holds the pink one up to herself. She then starts digging through the bottom of my closet for heels to match.

        “I guess we know what we are wearing.” I sat to Amber as I stand from my bed and walk to my full length mirror. I hear Amber mumble something from the floor of my closet but can’t make it into words. I start modeling the dress I different angles as I hold it against me. It still has the tags on it from when I bought it a month ago for the party that Brandon had to cancel. Amber stands from the closet floor with messy hair.

“Found them!” She shouts as she blows her bangs from her face. She smoothes down her hair and tosses me the heels. She begins stripping her clothes and putting the dress on. She slides the heels on and walks to the mirror.

“How do I look?” she asks with a smile on her face as she models the dress.

“Like Barbie.” I reply and smile at her. She twirls around several times and then goes to sit on my bed.

“Your turn.” She says as she waits for me to try the dress on. I strip down and then slide the dress on over my head. It gets stuck so Amber gets up to help me. We are laughing and attack each other as we try to pull the dress down. We tip over a chair and run into the door.

“Got it!” Amber yells as we finally get the dress pull down. I put the heels on and then model in front on Amber and the mirror.

“Perfect.” She says in her hyper, high pitched usual tone. I begin walking to my bed when I see a curtain close. I walk over to the sliding balcony door and look out at Brandon’s balcony. I can see the curtain moving.

“No way.” I say as I continue to stare at Brandon’s window. Amber stands from the bed and walks over to the door.

“What?” she says as she looks over my shoulder at Brandon’s closed curtain.

“We got ourselves some peeping toms!” I say as I sling the curtain shut.