Hannah's Story

Chapter 14 - The Guys

Sorry this took forever.  I also wish it was longer and/or more eventful.  Don't worry, I'll be writing more often very very soon.  Hope you like it.  :-)

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JESSE

"But she used to like Pepsi better," Ethan said quietly.

I couldn't believe how immature my brother was being.  Everyone that had been over to play games had left.  Nadia's morning class had been cancelled, so she and Ethan were staying the night.

"Will you please drop it?  So she drinks Coke now?  Really?  Your ex-girlfriend's taste in soda has changed, and you're all bent out of shape?  What is wrong with you?" I asked. 

Maybe I should have been kinder, but I was tired.  It was midnight, and I needed to get up for school the next day.  He was still obsessing over the stupid argument he had with Mr. Parsons in the kitchen.

"I don't know.  I don't like that guy," he said.

"Well, he is the first guy Hannah has gone on more than one date with since she broke up with you," I said.

"Maybe that's it.  I don't know.  He wasn't very nice to me, either," my brother said, sounding a little like a small child.

I had seen them both enter the kitchen, and thought I should probably make sure they were getting along.  I walked into a pathetic scene.

Gabe was standing holding a blue solo cup in his left hand and in his right hand was a 2 liter bottle of Coke, poised to pour into said cup.  It appeared he had stopped to respond to my brother.

".....likes Pepsi," is all I heard from Ethan as I walked through the door.

"She asked for Coke," Mr. Parsons had said.

"She doesn't like Coke," Ethan said.

"Then why did she ask for it?" Mr. Parsons replied, agitation in his voice. 

I stood there taking in the fact that they were arguing over what type of soda Hannah preferred.  How childish. 

"She drinks Coke now," I said.

The two of them turned to me, as if noticing for the first time that they weren't alone.

"She does?" Ethan asked.

"She's mad about Pepsi using placenta from unborn babies to make the drink taste better.* She said she found that the older she gets, the more she likes Coke anyway," I explained.

"Oh," Ethan said.  He turned to Mr. Parsons.  "I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said anything," he said, sounding more like a child made to apologize by his parent or teacher than someone who was actually sorry.

"Whatever.  I'm going to give my date what she asked for," Mr. Parsons said, glaring at Ethan and leaving the room.

Ethan looked at me, his mouth open as if he were about to say something, then closed his mouth and ran his right hand through his hair instead.  Then he walked brusquely out of the kitchen. 

"Um, in his defense, you got smart with him about what type of soda his girlfriend asked for.  You sounded a little crazy for a minute there," I said.

"It's just that I feel like I should protect Hannah.  How well does she know this guy?" he said.

"Listen, she's a grown woman.  She likes Mr. Parsons.  He's not a bad guy, and he seems to really like her, too.  Leave it alone.  Besides, you should be focused on Nadia," I said.