Their Days of Nights

20 : Denial

February 2011

Benjamin

This song is stuck in my head for days now.

I'm playing it with my guitar when my phone rings, and I read my sister's name on the screen.

"How's Althea?" Jessy asks right away.

"I'm doing fine too, thanks for asking."

"I'm serious, Benjie. Our call earlier didn't end well."

I also noticed my younger sister was a bit down during dinner, but I didn't pry.

I put the guitar down on my bed. "Why? What happened?" I ask Jessy.

I hear a heavy sigh. "I thought I could make it home this weekend, but I have to stay here until Tuesday next week. Then I'll be back on Wednesday." She sounds like she's crying.

"Why are you crying?"

"Because...we've been looking forward to this...for months now. We have lower box tickets." She pauses and sniffs. "Do you know how hard it is to secure even the cheapest ones for this?"

That's what this is about.

I try to hide a laugh. "I didn't realize she's that big of a deal," I say. But Jessy goes on, dismissing my sarcasm.

"...and I love our sister. This is supposed to be our moment...and it's Taylor Swift! But I also love my job...and I want to go...but I'm here and..."

I stand and step away from my chair. "When is that again?"

"This Saturday," Jessy replies as I'm heading out of my room.

I open the door and walk into hers. "Where do you keep the tickets?" I ask.

"In my drawer."

"You have about a hundred drawers in here."

"The one under the mirror," she huffs.

She gives me the exact location, which is thoughtful of her because there are also about a hundred things in here.

"Here, I have them." They're inside a small envelope. And she's right, they have nice seats. "I'll take Althea to the concert."

"Really? You don't even like Taylor Swift."

"But I love that kid." I glance past the doorframe and see Althea's door closed, but there's light coming from the crack under it. "And I'm a hundred percent sure mom or dad will ask me to anyway," I add.

Jessy is silent on the other end.

"Why are you still crying?" I ask.

"Because you're going to see Taylor Swift," she whines.

"If it makes you feel any better," I say with a laugh, "this is going to be torture for me. Spending hours surrounded by screaming teenage girls over some pop star."

"How is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I don't know."

Silence.

I sigh. "Look," I say, "if she's that huge of a star, she'll definitely come back for a tour after her next album. And by then, you're going to score front row tickets."

"Can I use your credit card by then?"

"Sure, but I'll charge additional interest."

"Shut up, Benjie."

"I'll talk to Althea now. Take care over there."

"Thanks. You're still my favorite brother."

"Of course, I am."