Nothing Wrong With Being a Tomboy

Chapter 3: Deal With an Imp ✔

|Andrew|

     "Dammit!" I cursed under my breath while I smacked the surface of the table.

    "What is the little girl whinning about, now?" Ayden, my best friend and my worst enemy, asked while he ate one of Dad's famous ice cream banana splits.

   It was past nine and the shop was empty, we always hung out there whenever we Dad needed. In exchange for cleaning and closing the shop, we rewarded our sweet-tooth with free treats.

We were supposed to enjoy free ice-cream, have fun with Ayden’s anecdotes, and just ease in the solitary atmosphere. But no, Lora had to send some idiotic text and ruin everything. I always knew Lora lacked intelligence and common sense—and what she lacked, she gained it in beauty—, but I never thought her obtuseness was so high.

    Frustrated, I looked up from my phone’s screen. I came to meet Ayden’s munching jaw. The urge to destroy his little pretty face kept me from enjoying the dessert.  Even though he was my friend, between us, there was an immortal rivalry. He had the looks, the charisma, and the girls, and I was obviously jealous of it— I mean, what sane guy wouldn't? However, on the other hand, I had the brain, the charm, and the family.  

And that was my winning card.

   Ayden's grandmother raised him and his parents flew off when he was one. He could trick everybody with his confident magnetism, but not me. I always knew he hated his parents and wanted mine.

 I couldn't ask for a better father nor mother— although, I can't say the same of my sister.

They were cool, I guess—especially my Dad. In all probability, the whole town loved him. No joke. The worst part of having a Dad like mine was that his shoes were too big for me to fit in one day. I knew it. Everybody did. I wasn’t blind.Probably Ayden knew it himself and befriended me because of it. We both were failures in some way or another.

I can even remember the marbles I lent him— he never gave it back and we started to fight. I think we were nine or something, when one day, he came to me while I was sweeping the shop's floor. His lanky figure apologized to me with five coins in his fist. “This is all I have. I’ll pay for it,” he said. Then, he grabbed another broom and helped me to clean. He lost the marbles in a debt and that was his way of paying me back. He didn't only do it that time, but for a whole year, by then, we became good friends and then, allies.   

     "What is it, man?" Ayden saw my expression. He understood it was serious.

     "Lora just texted me. She wants us to have some time for separate ways."

I showed him the text. U & I need some time off. It's not U but me. 4 both of us.

     "Pretty original, huh?" I snorted. 

    "What is the problem? You didn't even like her." He shrugged his shoulders as he took another scoop of his ice cream. 

    He was right, though.  Lora was some easy fix, I knew that. But in the middle of our dates—I don't know why—I started to like her. She was clingy and demanding, but I got used to her and hell, I wanted her back. The sole reason of her cutting our ties first made me desire her more.

   Who else was going to listen to me? I liked her, because she could listen to me for hours and I could talk to her about anything. Although, she never had something good to say, I felt better to get that bad accumulated stuff off my chest.  Who doesn’t like that?