Time And I

Twenty-Three

It was Friday night, and I was home alone. How today ended with me alone on the couch pissed me off. I wanted to cry, but I didn't think Jeanie deserved that from me. It was her fault I was angry, so I chose to be angry.

Only a few hours ago I came home from school. Tomorrow was The Struts concert, and I was looking forward to it. For the past month and a half, it was all I could think about. I was going to see one of my favorite bands live, and my sister was going to take the night off work and come with me.

It'd been a long ass time since we last spent an entire night hanging out. She was always there for me when I needed her the most, but since the school year began, she'd been swamped in work. There were several new games that were coming out that she had to get gameplay footage of for her YouTube channel, as well as live streams for the other multiplayer ones. And with her ever-increasing popularity, she was visiting a lot of other gamers' houses and playing with them. But tomorrow night was going to just be about us.

Thankfully, she was finally more exited about me joining 7 Years of Blood, and when I came home Sunday, we talked about what it meant to be in a band and all those responsibilities. Mainly it was just a repeat of everything Brody questioned James and I about. But she was just looking out for me, so I appreciated it. She even bought me a new pair of drumsticks. Black with my initials on the butt in silver. They were most likely supposed to be a gift for tonight, but she gave them to me early as a congratulatory gift.

The fact that she had to remember made me feel a little better, but when I walked up the driveway to find Rick and her packing her car, I felt my heart sink.

"Where are you two going?" I asked.

"Atom Studio is hosting an indie game convention, and as the Queen of Indie Games, I'm making an appearance. I know it's sudden, but I'll be back on Tuesday."

I gawked. "You can't leave."

"I have to. It's for work," she said. "I will take you out when I get back to celebrate. I promise."

"But... The Struts concert."

Jeanie stared at me, confused, before her eyes shot out of her head. She gasped and covered her mouth. She looked at Rick and he flipped through his schedule quickly. "No, it's next weekend. You said next weekend."

"No... it's tomorrow."

He cursed under his breath. "I must have written it down wrong. I'm so sorry, Mel."

"Me too. I was really looking forward to it." She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. "I'm sorry, baby. But I already promised to make an appearance. If I back out now, it'll look bad for the brand. I'm trying to get more people to help, and if I cancel, I won't be able to."

"No, I get it," I said, taking a step towards the front door. "You're practically a celebrity now. You have to make work your priority."

"Don't say it like that," she pleaded.

"But it's true. You're doing this to make women gamers equal, and that means you have to put in triple the amount of work of anyone else. Do it for me. Make this my birthday gift or... whatever."

She placed her hand over her chest, mouthing 'Birthday.' I doubted she realized the concert was what I wanted for my birthday. It wasn't like I told her it was, just that I wanted to go.

"I will make this up to you. I promise," she declared as she climbed into the front seat. She had to leave now, or she'd be late. "I love you."

I waved goodbye before turning back to face the house. I ran inside before she could see me cry, but I didn't let myself until the door shut.