They Call It Magic...

Chapter Four

“Done!” I shouted triumphantly as I slammed the top of my suitcase shut.

            It was only a little past 4:00pm and I had just finished packing for the trip. Everything was in its assigned bag and ready to go. I had bought extras of the stuff I used daily like toothpaste and deodorant (not that I smell…because I don’t) so I wouldn’t have to worry about digging things out of the bag when I needed them. Like I said before, our family is VERY organized when it comes to traveling.

            I saw down on the edge of my bed and read and reread Zander’s texts from earlier. I hadn’t thought earlier about what a long shot it would be for me to convince my parents to let me go out the night before we were leaving. But I also couldn’t imagine them not letting me go either. I was responsible about getting home on time and I knew my parents knew that. So I got up off my bed and strode out into the hall to find them.

            “Mom? Dad?” I called into the quiet house.

            “What do you need, Ree Ree?”

            I spun around on my heels towards my dad’s voice but found my brother standing there instead. Joe had this “talent” of being able to talk exactly like our dad and it sometimes got a little creepy. “You know I don’t like it when you do that,” I rolled my eyes.

            He raised an eyebrow at me and then grinned. “You’re going on a date?” he asked, like it was no big deal.

            “Who told you?” I snapped.

            “You were squealing like a pig,” he laughed, “I think the whole city heard you.”

            I opened my mouth to reply but I couldn’t think of any good enough comebacks so I just glared at him. Joe had been going out with the same girl since 9th grade and he never ceased to make fun of the fact that I hadn’t had a boyfriend for more four months at a time. Which is totally not my fault, by the way, but we can talk more about that later…

            “Sooooooo, who is he?” Joe asked.

            “He’s none of your business,” I smirked.

            “Who’s none of whose business?”

            I looked over my shoulder and saw my mom come out of the laundry room with my dad following. I shot a look at Joe that said “keep your mouth shut”; he just shrugged innocently and went back in his room. Boys, I thought.

            “Would it be okay if I maybe, possibly went out tonight?” I bit my lip.

            “Is all your stuff packed?” my mom asked.

            “I just finished,” I nodded.

            “I guess it’s okay,” my mom said and my dad nodded. “Just make sure you’re back by 11:00 so that you can get a good night sleep.”

            “Planes are for sleeping on,” I told them, “But, yeah, I’ll be back by then.”

            “Well, we have to finish getting us and your sister packed,” my dad said. “So, if we don’t see you before we leave then we’ll see you when you get back.”

            “Cool, thanks!” I smiled.

            That’s one thing I really loved about my parents: they cared about where and what I was doing but they also trusted me enough that they didn’t ask for every single detail. They knew I was smart enough to make the right decisions and I think that’s really cool.