Adrian
HavingSophia's little brother tag along with us all day is not what I had in mind when I showed up to her door this morning with breakfast. I'm not going to dwell on the negative though. I'll use this chance to prove to her brother that I genuinely like her, and I want to see where things go. If things go my way, we’ll be great friends by the time we make it back to her house.
"Yo, Adrian," Jay yells at me. "You're up. Or, I could always bowl for you."
We ended up at a bowling alley that also has miniature golf and laser tag. It was the only thing I could think of that would entertain all three of us, and provide enough opportunities for Sophia and I to sneak away. "I'm coming, I'm coming. I’m ahead of both of you, and I don't want to lose my top spot."
He rolls his eyes and sits down on one of the benches in front of the lane. "I'm not that bad."
Sophia is laughing so hard she has her hands wrapped around her stomach. "Dude, you're pretty bad if even I am winning against you. And we all know how much I suck at bowling."
Seeing their bond makes me long for my family. Even though they aren't supportive, the camaraderie that these two have with their family is refreshing. It's a pipe dream, though, and never likely to happen. I haven't talked to them in years and I don't see that changing anytime soon. If they decide to stop being so damn judgmental one day, I’ll consider opening up to them again.
"What is this? Pick on Jay day." He glares at his big sister but he doesn't mean it. The small smile playing on his lips an indication that he's only joking. "Go ahead and prove how awesome you are, Adrian. After this, though, I want to go play laser tag. There's no way in hell either of you are going to be any good at that."
Sophia snorts, "Just because you wasted away your summers playing video games doesn't mean you're going to be any good at laser tag."
"Those are the words of someone who is scared." He puffs his chest out to make himself look bigger. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you."
I pick up one of the balls from the return and almost drop it on my foot. Their bickering is comical and it is hard to hold in my laughter. "I almost want to bow out of the game just so I can see you to go at it. Who knows, maybe I can be a judge."
"There's no need for that," Jay waves me away. "It's a point system, and you get points for every target you hit.” It’s silent for a few seconds. “Let's make this interesting." He says it just as I release the ball and it goes into the gutter. I'm curious how he's going to make a game of laser tag interesting. Cursing at my bad throw, I face the both of them.
"You're on," Sophia shifts until one of her legs is bent beneath her. "What are the terms?"
I rush to stand between them, and hold up my hand. "Is this really necessary? I feel like you two are about to come to blows."
"Oh, it's nothing physical," Jay assures me. "If my score is more than both of yours combined, y'all pay for the pizza. But if you beat me, the food is on me."
Sophia reaches around me and pushes her brother. So much for not getting physical. How the hell did I become the adult in this situation? My level of expertise in sibling fights is exactly zero. "How are you even going to pay? You don't have a job."
"That doesn't mean I don't have money," he cuts in, "but… if you're too scared, I'll take my pizza now."
"There are only two more frames left in this game," Sophia sits up straighter. "After this we," she points between herself and me, "are going to kick your ass."
"Bring it on big sister, let's see what you've got." With the gauntlet thrown down, Jay picks up one of the bowling balls and sends it soaring down the lane. I'm unsure whether he knows that it's still my turn, but I don't say anything. "You're welcome for knocking down the rest of your pins." Well, that answered my question. "Guess I don't suck as bad as y'all thought."
* * *
Laser tag is a lot harder than it appears. It is pitch black except for a few black lights covering the obstacles throughout the room. All of the players have neon reflective strips on their vests dividing us into two teams. You would think spotting the other players would be easy, but the way they weave around and dodge under the structures placed around the room is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure a lot of these people play more often than others, and I feel like a complete newbie.
One of the players on my team bumps into my shoulder and whispers, "I think that guy over there is gunning for you." He's not wrong. Jay has managed to find me no less than ten times in the fifteen minutes we have been in here. If he's going to be around us a lot, or we do things like this again, I'm going to have to get better on my laser tag skills because this isn't cutting it. He’s going to make fun of me every chance he gets.
"Thanks man," I say much louder than a whisper and the light on my vest flashes red once again.
* * *
Taking the vest off is such a relief. I'm hot, sweaty, and I'm sure I look like complete shit. This has to be what Sophia felt like earlier, and I feel kind of bad for not giving her warning before just going to her house. It's not that I don't think she's beautiful when she first wakes up, but she had this fear in her eyes as she was trying to brush her hair with her fingers. Obviously, she’s not used to people showing up unannounced, and I shouldn’t have put that burden on her.
Sophia pulls her vest off like the material is burning her skin. "Hurry up, Adrian. I want to go see what the final scores are." I never realized how much of a competitive streak she has in her, and it will definitely make for some fun interactions in the future. My mind is already spinning with things I can challenge her with.
Both her and Jay are standing in front of two monitors when I join them outside the laser tag area. Jay has a horrified expression on his face while Sophia's arms are crossed, smug.
"I take it we’re not buying pizza?" The shock on Jay's face is hysterical. It’s exactly what he gets for thinking that he could be better than us without even knowing if we can play. Well, Sophia can actually play because let's face it I sucked it up in there, and it will be surprising if I got any points.
"Nope," Sophia beams. "Pizza will be on my lovely brother because he obviously underestimated me."
"I don't understand," Jay mumbles, "that should have been an easy win for me, but these old people somehow managed to beat me. It’s just not possible."