Dead Living (38 page)

The funny part was how everything changed in
high school. Suddenly Cindy made me a very popular guy, and the
same thing happened when Alicia was a freshman and me a senior.
What happened was both girls grew up.

Alicia was nothing like me. Short and small,
long blond hair, always hanging out in the sun to get a tan. All
the guys in school told me how hot she was, which bothered the hell
out of me. She was my damn sister. Let’s not hear about how hot she
is.

Cindy, on the other hand.

Wow. I first realized it in middle school
when we were playing basketball in her backyard. It’s funny that I
remember that. But I remember thinking to myself as she went up for
a rebound how attractive she was. A very strange thought to have
about someone you’ve known since kindergarten. Bright smile, lean
body, funny and sweet, with a brain to top it all off.

She was my best friend, plain and simple. I
knew everything about her. She was hard not to like. Growing up
there were plenty of times she could have ditched me for the more
popular crowd, one that would have made growing up a little easier
for her. But she never did.

The next event in my life that made me lose
quite a bit of sleep happened in my senior year. We were about two
months in, just around the corner from Homecoming. I was already in
coast mode, not really caring about classes too much. Senior year
can have that effect. Cindy on the other hand studied her ass off.
When she wasn’t running track at school she was studying for
college. Alicia was a freshman, and spent her first month of high
school with her eyes wide, taking everything in. She was nervous at
first, but smiles and stares from all the guys relaxed her pretty
quickly.

That morning started out like most others
during my school years, me waking up about ten minutes late. I
stumbled out of bed like a zombie and nearly fell into the shower.
As I woke up I could hear Alicia already downstairs in the living
room watching TV. She actually liked going to school, unlike me.
After drying off I gave myself a look over in the mirror.

I’d like to think I’m not ugly, but we're all
our own worst critic. Nothing about my features really stood out.
Plain face, brown hair, blue eyes. I did work out every day, and it
definitely showed. When I was in eighth grade I thought working out
and getting a good body would have the girls beating down my door.
I was wrong. But selfish reasons aside, I actually like keeping in
shape.

After a shower I spent about twenty seconds
looking through my dresser to pick out the daily wardrobe. A pair
of black shorts and a plain green tee shirt. Good enough.

Alicia wrinkled her face as I walked down the
stairs.

“You’re going to school in that?”

I looked over her clothes. Tight jeans and a
tee shirt showing off about an inch of her stomach, a school
no-no.

“School is for learning. I’m trying to get
educated, not win a fashion contest.”

“Please. You haven’t learned anything in
years.”

I smiled. We definitely got in our share of
fights, but she made me laugh just as much.

“Yes I have. I learned yesterday that Mister
Johnston gets mad if you fall asleep in his class.”

“I’ll try to remember that. You ready to
go?”

“What? Go? What time is it?”

She rolled her eyes. “It’s time to go. Try
waking up just a little earlier.”

“Christ. Hold on.”

I trotted into the kitchen to get a Pop-tart.
Alicia kept talking to me.

“Mom left a message last night. She said
she’d be stuck in Ohio a few more days.”

I nodded. That was nothing new. All Mom’s
hard work paid off. She was now a successful lawyer. Of course that
involved a lot of time away from home.

I stuffed the Pop-tart in my mouth and
snatched the keys to my truck off the table. A hand-me-down gift
from Mom when she got a more business-like Mercedes to show off to
clients. Still, I loved my truck, and thanked Mom a lot when I saw
her.

“Oh, Mom said I could drive too,” Alicia said
as we left the house and walked down the sidewalk.

“Like hell she did. You’re lucky I don’t make
you ride the bus.”

“Yeah right. The only reason girls even think
you’re alive is because you’re my brother.”

The sad part is I’m sure she was half
right.

I picked Cindy up every day ever since I got
my license. She only lived a few blocks away from us. I pulled in
front of her house and gave my morning two quick honks. I saw her
father Mister Marshall poke his head out the front door. I knew I’d
grown up since kindergarten, but he still looked liked he could
crush a watermelon in his hand. He gave a friendly wave and called
into the house.

A moment later Cindy hugged her father and
trotted down the sidewalk. She looked great, as always. Jean
shorts, showing off her runner’s legs, and a white blouse with
puffy shoulders. Throughout high school, whenever she happened to
be single, guys would bug me all the time about what she liked,
what was she in to, could I get her number, blah blah. It annoyed
the hell out of me, but I can’t say I blamed them.

“Hey guys,” she said as she opened the rear
door. “Come on, Jeeves, let’s get a move on.”

Alicia laughed.

“Ha ha,” I said. It was still too early. I
didn’t have a comeback ready yet.

Cindy leaned forward between us from the back
seat.

“So Leese,” Cindy said.
Everyone called Alicia
Leese
. I was the only one who
didn’t. “You figure out who you’re going to Homecoming with
yet?”

I groaned. I love Alicia and Cindy, but they
did have their share of girl conversations.

“I don’t know. Brian’s asked me. So has Todd.
But I really want to go with Josh. But he won’t even look at
me.”

“I’ll talk to him for you.”

“Nah, don’t worry about it. I can get his
attention.” I rolled my eyes. “What are you and Daryl doing?”

Daryl was Cindy’s boyfriend. They’d been
going out since the end of junior year. I didn’t have any problem
with him, but I could tell he didn’t like me. Was he jealous of
Cindy’s friendship with me? I have no idea.

“Well I thought we’d all go together.”

“Not me,” I said. “No date here.”

“Well have you asked somebody?”

“Nah.”

I wasn’t that big into school events. I
skipped out on junior prom the year before.

“Come on Alex. It won’t be any fun without
you.”

“Don’t worry Cindy. We’ll get him a
girl.”

“Uh guys. I don’t need a girl.”

They didn’t say anything, but I could sense
the two of them looking at each other, making plans with their
eyes. I knew I was in for it. I’d have to figure out how to fight
them off.

I parked in the senior lot like I did
everyday. We took a few final jabs at each other, and then went our
separate ways. We didn’t share any classes together. The only time
we saw each other during the school day was lunch.

Lunch couldn’t come fast enough. I had a bad
day. I was late for three classes, and each teacher let me know
about it. I forgot I had a test in physics I hadn’t studied for.
Three people asked me if Cindy was going to Homecoming with anyone,
and by the third time I told them she had a boyfriend I was ready
to attack people.

As I walked to the cafeteria I saw Cindy and
Daryl kissing near their locker. He didn’t have lunch when we did,
but always stopped for a little public affection before heading off
to his next class. He made Cindy happy, and for that I was glad.
Her last boyfriend broke up with her in the middle of our junior
year. She was crazy about him, a senior named Jay. The bottom line
was he found another senior he liked better, and dumped Cindy over
the phone. It took a lot of baseball games and pizza to get her
mind off of him.

I bought a lunch and headed over to our
normal table. We sat with a few of Cindy’s track friends. I sat
across from Alicia and gave her a friendly nod.

“Hey.”

She took a bite of pizza and nodded her head.
There’s nothing like sibling communication.

“I’m still on the hunt for a Homecoming date
for you.”

I winced. “Alicia, don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because. I really don’t wanna go anyway. And
I don’t want to think I’m so pathetic that I need my little sister
to find a date for me.”

“Well you are, aren’t you?”

“Ha ha.”

“Seriously, Alex. When’s the last time you
had a girlfriend? Eleventh grade?”

Tenth, actually, but I felt no need to
correct her.

“Yeah. So?”

“Come on. Look. This is the last year I’ll
have a chance to do anything like this with you and Cindy. Then
I’ll be all alone here.”

I was saved from more torture by Cindy
approaching. I saw a good chance to change the subject.

“Cindy. Hey.” She sat next to me. “You still
coming over tonight to watch the ball game?”

One of our favorite pastimes. Baseball.

“Yeah. I’ve gotta go out with Daryl to buy
some clothes. But I’ll be over after that.”

Alicia waved her hand around, remembering
something.

“Oh, before you two get lazy tonight, I need
you to drive me over Tammy’s house. She wants me to hang out with
her in her haunted house.”

Tammy just moved into town that year. Alicia
and her were pretty good friends. She’d been over our house a few
times. But this was the first I’d heard about any haunted
house.

“Huh?”

Alicia smiled. “Oh yeah. She tells me she
can’t sleep or anything. Noises during the night, all of that. Just
like in the movies.”

Cindy laughed at the idea. “Whatever.”

And I agreed. I didn’t give it another
thought.

“Have fun with that.”

The rest of the day went by normal. Cindy
never rode home with us. She stayed after for track, so it was
Alicia and I by ourselves. She filled me in on all the potential
dates she’d interviewed for Homecoming, along with plans of renting
a limousine. That sounded a little too much for Homecoming, but I
didn’t argue with her. Alicia was hard to argue with once she set
her mind on something.

As the sun started to set I went into the
basement for my daily workout. The basement was full of different
pieces of workout equipment and weights I’d gathered over the
years. I leaned against the wall and did some curls while Alicia
ran around upstairs getting ready to go over Tammy’s house. She
actually took a shower and changed clothes to do that. I asked her
what the big deal was.

“Well if we happen to bump into any guys I
have to look good.”

All I could do was laugh.

I was nearly done my workout when a familiar
pair of dark toned legs walked down the stairs. Cindy put a hand
over her eyes.

“Holy Christ! Blinding white skin! Man, Alex,
put your shirt on. I haven’t eaten dinner yet.”

I laughed. I always worked out just in a pair
of shorts. I talked while I squeezed out a few more reps.

“I will in a second. Can you believe that
women everywhere just aren’t falling over me?”

“Oh yeah. Just so hard to believe.”

I stared straight ahead, trying to
concentrate. But I swear out of the corner of my eye I saw Cindy
checking me out. I admit, best friend or not, I stole looks at her
myself. But never did I think she did the same.

When I turned to look at her she quickly
turned her head. Was she really stealing looks or was I imagining
things?

“So you and Daryl do your thing?”

“Yeah. We talked about Homecoming too. He’s
gonna rent a limo tonight for six people. He’ll get a total and
we’ll split it however we need to.”

I put the curl bar down and gave Cindy a
look.

“Cindy, I don’t think I’ll be going.”

“Yeah you are.”

I sighed. “Cindy.”

She mocked my tone. “Alex.”

“It’s too late now to be asking around for
dates.”

“It’s never too late. I know Leese has a list
about a mile long right now. And either way, just go stag. But you
have to come.”

“Oh do I?”

“If you don’t, I won’t go. Then Leese
probably won’t go. Then Daryl will blame you and he won’t be
happy.”

“You’re serious?”

She nodded. She certainly looked it.

I took a deep breath. Alicia and Cindy both
had their ways of getting what they wanted out of me.

“Alright. But tell Leese to call off the
search. If I can’t find anyone to go with I’ll just go alone.”

“Good. I knew you’d see it my way.” She
flashed that bright smile of hers.

I heard the basement door open at the top of
the steps.

“Hey!” Alicia called. “You taking me to
Tammy’s or what?”

“Yeah. Just hold on a minute. The house ain’t
going nowhere.”

I grabbed my shirt and slipped it on.

“Do I look alright?”

The corner of Cindy’s mouth curled up
slightly, almost into a smile. I was dying to know what was going
on inside that head of hers.

“Yeah you look good.”

We went upstairs to see
Alicia already by the front door. Patience definitely wasn’t one of
her better qualities. Tammy’s house was about ten minutes away on
the other side of town. Alicia was bouncy when Cindy told her I was
going to Homecoming. She started reading off her list. Literally,
a
list
, that she
started on during school. Suddenly I didn’t have the heart to tell
her I didn’t want her help.

We pulled up in front of Tammy’s house. She
was sitting on the front steps, which I thought was kinda weird. It
was a little too hot outside to just hang out on the front porch.
Cindy and I got out of the truck along with Alicia just to say a
quick hello. Tammy stood up and walked toward us.

I was startled as she drew closer.

Tammy was always a cute girl, which is why
her appearance caught me off guard. She looked almost sick. Her
skin was pale white along with dark circles under her eyes. She
tried to smile a little, but it didn’t quite happen. She looked
exhausted, like she could pass out at any time.