Elle Jones

Chapter 12: Second Avenue

As much as he hated my diabolical plans, Austin takes a deep breath, then decides to tag along with me to the library. When he told me about his decision, Austin's dark eyes lingered straight ahead, like a snake preying on the sunbaked floor for a midnight snack.

His hands stayed inside his pockets, whilst his expression didn't seem all that convinced to throw away his dreams and accompany me on a road trip.

Instead, Austin longed to go to Harvard, where he can become a famous comic book artist. Both of his moms have supported his decision, but since Harvard is expensive, Kristy and Olivia made him find a job that can pay his tuition.

Meanwhile, I have no plans on what or who I wanted to be in life. Although I have good filmmaking skills, I didn't know whether my prick of a Dad would let me walk the same road as my older brother did.

Come to think of it, Joseph has already decided on turning me into a lawyer. On weekdays, he would give me a book on Criminal Law then have me read a few chapters.

I tried reading as much as I can, but I couldn't see myself as a lawyer; quoting passages of the law and questioning morals weren't necessarily my thing.

I also don't feel comfortable going to a courtroom, wearing a blazer and defending people from their opponents. So rather than waste thirty hours on studying laws and amendments, I stowed away the book underneath my bed then lied to Joseph that I accidentally left it in my school gym locker.

At first, Joseph went ballistic then grounded me for three weeks, but after seeing that I had no interest in Criminal Law, he decided to left me off the hook.

He knew the last thing I want is to be involved in crime, but Joseph would rather see his cynical sixteen-year-old daughter become a defense attorney than watch her make short films with a teenage boy.

Speaking of Austin, I notice the sweat dripping quickly down from his bright red face. His eyes were glued to the floor, and his lips grimaced immensely as if he had a sip of black coffee.

In the meantime, Austin's pale hands are still buried deep inside his jeans pockets. Although I couldn't see them, I can imagine the sweat and guilt soaking into his palms like a dry sponge.

Feeling bad for him, I patted his right shoulder then told him that everything is going to be okay.

"How is everything going to be okay?" asked Austin glumly. "My best friend is going to jail, Warren is an absolute prick, and so far, our movie ideas are pathetic."

"What?" I say, frowning. "Our ideas aren't pathetic-we've just come up with a badass title."

"I know, but still, " he grumbled. "I should have never forced you to work with me. Maybe I just want to do it so I can hang out with you."

Angrily, he kicked a small pebble onto upcoming traffic, then cussed: "I am so goddamn selfish."

I gave him a sympathetic look.

"Austin," I began carefully. "you're not being selfish; you just have the IQ of an overbearing mother."

"Wow, that makes me feel so much better," Austin scoffed sarcastically.

"But, " I add. "you are the most incredible person there is. You have a badass friend, two amazing moms, and you are an excellent artist."

Slinging my left arm over his shoulder, I looked at him with confidence eyes. With the shifting breeze consuming like an enormous tsunami, strands of my butterscotch hair had already begun to fall out of place.

Scowling, I abandoned Austin's shoulder then tried to make a neat ponytail out of my messy curls. However, thanks to the wind, my hair squirmed out of my reach.