At Aunt Amy's

Chapter 8

"I think I'll just get a cat when I'm older," I rambled on to Jenna as the bus chugged down the highway. "Just me and a cat in an apartment living out my days until I die."

"Sounds legit," Jenna states in reply. "But you'll turn into a crazy cat lady."

"Then I'll get a bunny. Even though half my family's allergic..." I thought for a second, then blurted out, "Y'know what? All the better reason to get one."

After chuckling for a minute, Jenna asked, "Can my wife and I move in with you?"

"Yeah. We'll buy a two-bedroom condo in some city, and live out the rest of our lives there."

"And my kid could play with your bunny, I'm guessing?"

"Well, if you're gonna have a kid then we should make it three-bedrooms, right?"

"Possibly four."

"I mean, in that case why not buy, like, a house?"

"And you'll live in my basement."

"Basement? No way! Give me a little room above the garage or something!"

"Are you gonna just help raise my kid or something?"

"Sure!"

"And the bunny?"

"Sure!"

"Wait, did we just plan out our whole futures?"

"Sure. I mean that's just what everyone expects us to do at this age."

"Mood."

By then, the short bus had turned into the school. When we entered the building, Jenna immediately said, "I gotta go use the can. Be right back."

That left me alone in the hallway, right amid the ruckus of a bunch of teenage girls, all of them rather tired, stoned or both. For me, it was (luckily) the former. I leaned my head up against the brick wall, crossed my arms, and slowly let my eyes close...

"Hi!" a familiar high-pitched voice squealed. I flinched. Prying my eyes opened, I looked around until I realized who the voice belonged to: Charlie.

"Did we have any homework?" she asked me, standing as usual with her fingers curled up and palms out, and leaning on one leg so that her hip popped out. And her little short-haired friend whats-her-name leaned against the wall simply staring into space. Forgetting the question I blurted out, "No? Wait...we don't have the same classes every day."

"Yeah, but like, I wanna get it, like...done as like soon as like possible," she droned, killing half my brain cells in one foul swoop. (Also, I counted. That was four likes in one sentence).

"Okay..." I told her before letting my eyes wander. I really hoped it would at least drive her away...

"Hey, don't you hang out with Jenna a lot?" her little friend asked. Motherf-my brain yelled.

"Yeah?" I responded, a little unsure. Her friend told pointed into the hallway and said, "Hey, is that Katlin Pierce?"

"Omigod, Gretel, where's that little slut?!" Charlie stomped off, leaving just me and Gretel (stupidest of names, by the way).

"So your friends with Jenna?" she asked. The first thing I noted about her is that her voice is just about a hundred times less annoying.

"Yeah. Didn't Charlie leave her after she-" I muttered.

"Wasn't Jenna flirting with her?" Gretel demanded.

"What? No!"

"Then why would she stop being friends with her?"