-Andy-
"Come to the party with us, Andy!"
"No."
Beth kneeled down and stared at me, chin on the table. "Why?" she pressed.
"Why not?"
"Is that a yes," she grinned.
"It's a no."
"Come on, we're juniors now! You haven't had a boyfriend since..." She tapped her chin in thought, standing as I did to grab my books. I fixed the jacket I wore and pulled up my sock that was slowly falling since the converse shoes I wore were low-tops. "When have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"Try never?"
Beth gasped. "How?! You're like super pretty, too!"
I wasn't going to lie; I am not ugly. But then again, no one is--unless you're trying. It's the honest truth. I'm on the border of 'maybe pretty'.
"I don't think I need a boyfriend to live my life. No money, time-consuming dates, drama? No thanks."
"Oh, wow! You're like great in everything and literally have time to make a warp in the time-space continuum."
"Says who," I ask, walking through the maze of desks to get to the door. I disregarded a wave from the French teacher, Mr. Weeder, and continued down the hall, Beth following close behind.
"Says me! Weren't you voted one of the top ten on the popularity thing?!"
"That's not because I'm pretty."
"You're friendly?"
"Pssht, you'd have been the first to witness my nonexistent trait of being 'friendly'! You're hilarious, Bethany."
Beth pouted. "Back to the subject--please come with me to the party?"
"No," I say sternly before walking into my next class, leaving Beth staring at me in the doorway, the bell signaling you only had 1 minute left not fazing her.
Suddenly, she cupped her hands around her mouth to amplify her voice and shouted, "Ugh, don't forget we're going to the mall after this!"
***
Beth isn't a fan of the bands I like, or even the skate shops I go to--she's not quite a girly-girl either.
She is, however, a cheerleader, super outgoing, and very perky. So, she sticks to those colors that are not too dark but not too bright--which makes red her favorite color.
With us, is our other best friend named Max--us three have been together since back in preschool when Max threw his shoe at my head and said he like me, and afterwards, Beth had said I wasn't even pretty.
"OMG, there's a sale in Victoria's Secret!" Beth tugged on the sleeve of my shirt. "Lets go!"
"I don't want to," I groan. "Besides, look at that line!"
"A sale in VS? Come on, Andy, move your ass!"
"My butt cheeks don't need moving, gosh! Lemme go!"
"Underwear, bras, loungewear, swimsuits--come on! Girl heaven!"
"You know I'm moving soon, I'm gonna be tight on money."
"Why don't you ask your mom--"
"That wench? Ha, I'd rather be struck by lightning," I sneered.
"I'll buy you groceries for a week, as soon as you move," she bargained.
I could imagine my eyes filling with the dollar sign, and I nod vigorously.
"Deal!"
"Great," Beth squealed before dragging me by the arm into the women's store. Upon entrance, some women that stood near it with perfume samples offered us cards that gave us some sort of deal. It wasn't like I was going to buy anything here, anyway. The music that played was probably a Justin Timberlake song from what I heard; Beth went crazy, reminding me of an over-energetic puppy that ran 'round and 'round. Her eyes showed a glimmer that hinted at being in bliss, and I couldn't snicker a bit at the sight.
Not much longer, I hear some squealing. Not from Beth, but from a group of girls surrounding the clerk's counter. I sigh; it's probably just a sale going on, and they're overreacting.
"Andy!" Beth's shrill scream nearly broke my eardrums. "Andy!" I turned to see, just in time, Beth trip over the leg of one of the displays holding some pretty-in-pink colored lingerie. "Andy! Oh, my GOD!" The last word was drawled a bit as Beth rushed over, getting up from the floor. "You won't-AH!" She fell in a heap, bras and panties covering her and the polished floor around her.
I snickered a bit, as she tugged a pink panty from her hair, and before I knew it, I turned around and full-on laughed aloud.
"Shut up, Andy! I have something to tell you!"
By this moment, tears spilled freely from my eyes. "Only..." another burst of laughter from me, starting from my diaphragm. "Only... you-BWAHHAAHAHA!!" I covered my face and keeled over, clutching my stomach. "You... that... haha... clumsy!"
"Hey!"
"BOOO!" came from an uproar of teenage girls... and their moms and grandmoms?
"What now," Beth groaned. Her embarrasment didn't start there, I realized, as I started slapping my thigh, my stomach clenched in pain from laughing so hard.
"STOP LAUGHING!" My laughter didn't abrptly stop like you'd think, but it did quiet down to a slight snicker. "Damn--you'd think a guy could get some respec--"
I turned to the boy dressed in a pink shirt that had his nametag pinned to it and VS printed to the side, and black cargo shorts.
"They let guys work here," escaped my mouth before I could stop the words from tumbling out of my mouth. "Or are you just the new VS angel?"
"This is what I needed to tell you," Beth whispered in my ear once she got over her moment of silence that resulted from the tomato color of her face.
"You're late, now aren't you?" Came the boy's snarky reply. "Anybody can work anywhere--aren't guys the only ones who could work then?"
"How do you think we got to work now, huh? Because we fought, obviously--besides, girls do way more than guys can. Just because they seemed to have muscles and different genetalia, the government decided, 'Hey, only guys can work, and we'll leave the housework to the ladies! They're too dumb for anything.' But hey..."
I glanced out the window and saw security advancing.
"...Crap," I muttered before turning to face the guy's smirk.
I glanced at Beth, and before anyone could realize, Beth and I were bolting out the entrance.
"You owe me," is all she could gasp through her heaves of breaths.
