1.KYLIE'S REQUEST

   "Stephanie!" My brother, Simon's voice pierced through my ears. I begrudgingly looked away from my book. I have to give it to Simon for always interrupting my reading when something really interesting is about to happen. The main leads were just about to have their first kiss, but no, he has to ruin that.

             "What?" I yelled back, the annoyance in my voice was visible. "Where the hell are my blue sneakers? Brian and the girls are waiting for me. I am already quite late." The mention of Brian piqued my interest. "Where are you guys off to?"

        "The shoes, Steph, and the fair. We're going to the fair. Do you want to join us too? Rita and Lyla are coming as well." Hearing Lyla's name dampened all my excitement, "No thanks, I'm good, besides, I have work in an hour." Lyla was Brian's girlfriend, and Rita was the girl my brother had been seeing lately. Simon and Brian had been best friends since middle school, and their friendship started with the passion and aggression that the two shared for basketball. Brian was the captain for the team. The first time I met Brian was when I was thirteen, when I was cycling outside our house. My brother showed up with him out of nowhere, and I could not stop staring. I had tripped on our front porch pavement and fell flat on my face, in front of the guy I had a massive crush on. I would have died of embarrassment then and there, had he not offered his hand to me then. I still remember the big grin on his face when he said, "So you're Simon's little sis." When my hand met his, and he helped lift me up, I had electric shocks going through my body.

                   I used to go watch Brian's basketball matches eagerly and drag Kylie down there with me too.

         “Steph, we have a math test tomorrow, and I'm really not prepared.” 

         “I promise, I'll help you out. I'm known for multitasking.” I had insisted, I had even carried her bag for her, which she had taken as chivalry, but I was just making sure she wouldn't run away.

          It had been a win-win for both of us. I had plenty of time to simp on Brian, Kylie had received a B minus on the math test and Simon thought I was a really supportive sister. Little did he know.

          I had stayed up nights making posters for Brian and Simon's team, Team Omega. Kylie and I had once, in the spur of the moment, tried to cheer, “We love you, Brian!” And then had died of cringe and embarrassment.

        Once, during a match, Brian had thrown a wrong pass, and the coach totally came down on him.

         “What was that, Smith? Is that how you're going to play on the day of the match? If that's how you're planning on playing, then I'll make you sit out! Disgrace to Teresa! What the hell was that throw?” And with my eagle eye that always stayed on Brian, I saw him wiping a tear that had trickled down his face, and that entire evening I had been really upset.

            “I mean, why did he have to be so harsh!” I had complained to Kylie, who had shown zero concern. “Brian's one of his best players; he doesn’t even goof around on court. I've seen Simon make many dumber mistakes.”

           The next day, I baked muffins for him and left them by his door before school with an anonymous note that said, “Don't pay heed to what the coach said. You'll always be St. Teresa's number one hero! From your number one fan!” I hid in the bushes to watch him react to receiving the muffins.I had also typed the note, so he wouldn't be able to recognize the handwriting, not that I thought that he would go through that much trouble. But the smile on his face was worth going through all that trouble.

        I was really excited to get into my first year of high school too, because I would finally be in the same building as Brian. Did I mention how freaking hot he had grown over the years? With muscles literally everywhere on his body?

 Also, even though Brian and Simon were only a year older than me, I felt Brian had always seen me like a little girl in middle school. I thought maybe my promotion to high school might bring some change.

       But my big bubble of imagination burst the second Lyla made her entry in the second year of high school as Brian's classmate. No wonder they got together. She is the definition of hot. She is a brunette with light brown skin with a hint of olive. The queen of fashion. People would succumb to her just as they were crazy about Brian. But, for some reason, Lyla and I never connected. I tried to join her sorority club. She had given me one look from top to bottom and had said, “Nuh uh, honey, you won’t do.” And had rolled her eyes at me. My hopes had been very much crushed that day.

          I had even deluded myself into thinking that maybe she had only said no to me professionally because I really wouldn't bring anything to her sorority because honestly I didn't know anything about fashion. So I tried to win her over with my chocolate chip cookies, but that only got me a, “Listen kid, this sucking up won't work on me.” And that was enough to make me stop. After that, even when Simon brought Brian and Lyla home, I would try to stay out of the way as much as possible.

   

        "Okay, suit yourself, and, please, my shoes." I came back to the present evening, as my brother, very annoyingly, demanded for his shoes.

"Yeah, I washed them and put them out to dry; they were stinking up the house." Simon rolled his eyes at me.

                     **********

           "I have something to tell you, but you'll kill me." These words were uttered by my best friend, Kylie. We were sitting in my room, enjoying the fresh, warm cookies Kylie's mom had sent for me, whilst completing our calculus homework. Kylie's parents had been the only adults who had taken care of Simon and me without any ulterior motives ever since the accident. Over time, Kylie and I grew extremely close to each other, so much so that now she is the one person I blindly trust.

           "What did you do now?"

"Well, Nick kind of asked me out," she says, looking down at her lap.

          "You don't like him?"

          "No, I really do like him. I want to go on the date. The problem is that, erm, it's a double date. He's bringing his friend Josh along and asked if I could ask you to join us, and I kind of said yes."

      "Kylie!" I yell, spitting cookie crumbs out of my mouth in the process.

         "I'm sorry, but listen, it's just one date. Besides, why not? For how long are you planning to imagine scenarios with Brian in your head? Don't you want to experience it and see what romance is really like?" She pleaded.

       "Umm, no, because I'm doing great without romance so far. Besides, I don't even know this Josh guy." That was true. As much as I crushed over Brian, I had been on dates, and I had never liked them. Maybe because now I had set the bar with Brian too high and I just had too many expectations.

    "Please just help me out, just this once. Please, I'll do your makeup and hair. Please! Pretty please, with a cherry on top." She said, batting her eyelashes. I couldn't say no with that puppy dog face of hers. After all, this was Kylie, she knew how to win me over.

   "Fine, but on one condition: if the date sucks, you buy me ice cream." I said it with my finger pointed in her face.

   "I'm trying to cut down on a few pounds, but it's a deal. Ice cream on me." She grinned.

The next evening, I finished work at around seven. I do a part-time job at a pet daycare in our town called Sam's Pet Care. It's great money, and when you are surrounded by fifteen adorable little animals, work does not really feel like work. The pet care is really not that far from our house, so I usually walk back home. Another reason for that, which I usually do not admit to, is that on the way home, I pass the basketball court, where sometimes my brother and his teammates are practicing. Which means I get a glimpse of Brian. And gosh, does he look so sexy with his muscly build and the tattoos that ran down from his biceps to his wrist.

        I had the same idea in mind today; who knew it was going to be a big mistake? I was walking past the court, where I witnessed Simon and Brian engaged in a serious game of basketball. He looked even more handsome, with his muscular, veiny arms showing and sweat dripping down his chin. On the bleachers, I could see Lyla sipping her drink. You could give it to that woman for looking like a full-glam model every time you meet her. I decided to stop by for a few minutes to watch, which proved to be my biggest mistake later. 

The opponent team was a point ahead, and about nine seconds were left. So to win the match, Simon decided to aim for a three-pointer. However, just as he jumped to shoot, the opponent's flailing arms hit Simon's face, and he missed the shot. I was covering my mouth with my hand while I saw my brother crouching on the ground with his hand over his eyes. The incident led to a heated argument between Brian and the opponent. Amongst all the shouting, threatening, and warning, Brian shoved the opponent, who, in his anger, picked up the basketball and tried to hit Brian with it. However, Brian, being a pro basketball player, dodged it easily. On the other hand, being a clumsy wreck, I became the direct victim of the throw, and the basketball came flying and smacked into my face. Unfortunately, my world did not go black; if only that had happened, I would have been saved from the embarrassment that I faced next.