I Hate My Brother (editing!)

15.

(Photo of Ally Edison)
• • •

The next few weeks passes by in a blink of an eye. By now, all of us have a routine planned for our daily lunches. On Tuesdays, Cass and I both have lessons that end at 2PM while our usual lunch hour for the rest of the days is set at 12-1PM. Hence, every Tuesday is a reserved lunch date for the girls only.

During my first English writing lecture, I met Ally, who's a freshman just like I am. I found her really familiar at first, but couldn't point out where we've met; until she came over and said she recognized me from the Pizzeria.

Yes, she was the waitress who served us that night after Bianca's party.

I remember her being shy around Wayne that night, but little did I know she's a real bubbly character when you get to know her. That's why I introduced her to Cass too —who's also another gregarious one, and they instantly clicked with each other. Unfortunately, Ally has all her classes scheduled in the mornings as she works the afternoon shifts in the Pizzeria, while the rest of us mostly arranged for our lessons to start slightly later in the day. So, Ally only joins us for lunch on Tuesdays with Cass and I, when we'll end our classes at 2PM and Ally stays behind to spend an hour with us before she shows up for work.

Because of that, Ally hasn't really got the chance to meet the guys for real other than the occasional times they walk pass each other on campus grounds.

"Hey, Ally," I call out to her while she's halfway slurping down her bowl of noodles. "You don't happen to have a shift this weekend, do you?"

She puts up her index finger, signalling me to wait as she chews her food. "I do. It's Halloween, we get double pay for shifts like that!"

"Really?" This time it's Cass speaking, sitting next to Ally while I'm across them. She secretly winks at me in assurance. "What do you think will tempt you to skip it?"

"Are you kidding me? That's like $20/hour, $100 a day! Not even including the tips yet. Why would I want to miss that?"

"Oh c'mon, it's not like you don't work enough on normal days already. You clock in like six days a week, on top of your college schedule! Don't you think you should relax a bit?"

"No, no, no- this is a once in a year-"

I quickly interrupt her before she gets to reject us. "Don't you want to hang out with my brother?" I shoot her a knowing grin. "C'mon, just one party! Besides, this one is gonna be big. Please?"

Ally furrows her brows, placing her chopsticks down to rest. "He's obviously not going to spare someone like me another glance. Have you seen him? He's always with a different girl by his side every time I chance upon him." She sighs, and I feel a strong urge to smack my brother if he was here.

Ally had developed a tiny crush on Wayne since she saw him at her workplace. When she first found out he's my brother, she freaked out. Cass and I couldn't help but tease her about the sneaky glances we noticed, and that's when she admitted she finds him attractive.

I unlock my phone and tap on the camera icon, switching it to front camera mode before sliding it to Ally. "Look, look at yourself. You're fucking pretty, okay? And if he doesn't sees it, then fuck him! He's not the only tree in the whole damn forest."

"I don't know... that's hundred bucks," Ally trails off, fixing loose strands of her hair with the help of my phone camera.

"Okay, how about in exchange, I can get the guys to eat in on your next shift and leave you a huge ass tip?" I suggest, practically putting my thinking caps on to convince her. She's one tough brick to break when it comes to working. "You know they eat like pigs. It's definitely going to be over hundred!"