“No.” I shut it down before he can even ask me, already knowing what’s about to tumble out of his mouth.
“Come on, Crew,” he groans.
“I’m not doing it, Vinny.” The nickname elicits a groan from my friend. Again, he hates the nickname because it reminds him of the mafia, and he doesn’t fuck with them.
“Please?” Ali begs, pouting her lips.
Don’t stare at her lips,I repeat to myself in my head about five times.Best friend’s girlfriend, remember? You’re not about to ruin the only genuine friendship you’ve ever had.
I close my eyes and count backward from three before opening them. “I’m still set on my answer.”
“Is it because you don’t want to be a third wheel?” Vinny suggests. “Because Ali can invite her friend, and then it could be like a group date.”
Like a group offourpeople is even better. I’d rather be a third wheel, but even that’s cutting it close. Four, however? That’s much worse. Because in Mandarin, the number four is a little too similar sounding to the Mandarin pronunciation of death.
My superstitious ass would rather be a third wheel.
Ali, however, lights up at the prospect. “Yeah! Carly would be down to join us. She loves bowling!”
“Even more of a reason to not attend,” I mutter to myself. My vendetta against the movie industry is mostly due to the people part of it. The directors, producers, actors—everything.
Just like clockwork, my phone buzzes in my pocket. This is something I can expect every day—every minute to be honest—and each time, I put my phone on silent, making a mental note to block this number when I get the chance.
A mental note that I probably will end up forgetting about.
“Well, you could use a break from freaking out about your film analysis class,” Ali brings up. “There’s nothing wrong with bowling.”
Instead of pointing out all the things wrong with bowling, especially with a group of four people, I press my lips together and stay shut.
“Just think about it,” Vinny suggests. “If you don’t like the outing, we won’t ask you about it anymore.”
And my interest is now piqued. “For the rest of your lives?”
Both of them nod their heads.
“Fine,” I tell them. “But it better only be bowling.” And not a ploy to set me up with Ali’s friend.
Vinny holds three fingers up. “Scout’s honor, dude.”
2
Don't Think About It
Carly
There’s a list of ways to combat boredom and procrastinate on a paper that was already assigned to me at the beginning of the week.
At the top of the list? Annoying the fuck out of my twin brother, who is currently prepping for finals. This is why I have my laptop open, ready to start a video call with him, even though he lives twenty minutes away and I’m the one with the car.
I don’t feel like driving, especially with LA traffic. Aside from that, I haven’t bothered Carson in a long time. As his sister, who has the most similar DNA patterns out of everyone he knows, I’m not fulfilling my job description very well.
Carson’s face appears on the screen, and his hair looks like it’s been tousled, messy even bymystandards. Either he’s stressed out about his internship, or I interrupted him. From what exactly? I don’t want to know.
“Why?”
I roll my eyes at the screen. “That’s the greeting I get? Wow, little Cars. I’m feeling the love.”
Carson pinches the bridge of his nose, an indication that he’s either pissed off or annoyed. Given the situation, I’m thinking both, but what could I have possibly interrupted?
